Green tech &amp; greener living

Our EV adventure in Spain part 1: an introductionBlog

My wife and I usually fly down to the south of Spain, but this year we decided to have an adventure and take our EV on the ferry from Portsmouth to Bilbao. Although it is also possible to go from Portsmouth to Santander, this would have added an extra hour of driving to the journey. Our EV is a Kia Niro EV3 (MY23) with a 64.8kWh battery pack, and a maximum DC charging speed of 80kW.Our Kia Niro EV3 To see how simple (or otherwise) the journey would be, I used ABRP (A Better Road Planner) to get some suggestions for charging stops, and also to find out how long it would take from Bilbao to our hotel in the south. It was immediately obvious that we would need to stay in one hotel on the way down, and (because of the Brittany Ferries sailing times) two hotels on the way back up to Bilbao. Some newer EVs have a much faster charging speed, but in reality the Niro is in the Goldilocks zone where the time to charge more or less matches the time required for a rest break. The charge speed is

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2 months ago

HangNail999Rank 6

Our EV adventure in Spain part 2: Learning to charge abroadBlog

Missed part 1? Follow the link below: Having planned the entire route using ABRP (plus a few manual tweaks) I used Google Maps to familiarise myself with the actual location of each of the stops, and placed the little man on the map so that I had a mental image of the final steps. This helped a lot as we approached each stop. I also created a “co-pilot” information sheet so that my wife could identify certain landmarks as we came closer to the destination. I highly recommend getting an Emovis Tag, also known as Bip-and-Drive. You need the VIA-T tag for Spain. This allows you to pass through the motorway toll gates without having to faff around with credit cards, which can be particularly tricky since our UK cars having the steering wheel on the other side, and the payment machine is on the passenger side. It’s quite amusing when you approach the toll gates, and some speedy Gonzales passes you in an attempt to get through the gates first, only to find that your Bip-and-Drive device auto

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3 months ago

Chris_OVOCommunity Manager

Unlocking your OVO Charge AccountF.A.Q.

Updated on 03/07/26 by Chris_OVO How to log in to the new OVO Charge app: We’re excited to announce that our new OVO Charge app has officially been released to users following a successful trial hosted here on the Forum. If you're downloading the app for the first time, you must create a new account when you sign in. Please note that you can't use your previous credentials. Download the OVO Charge app from the App Store or Google Play. The first time you open the app, you’ll be prompted to register. You can manually enter your information or use the quicker "Continue with Apple" or "Continue with Google" options to autofill your details. Once registered, you’ll have access to the OVO Charge app and the OVO public charging network. Once you’ve completed this step, you can use the toggle at the top of the screen to select "Home." This’ll let you link your OVO account. After signing in, press the "Home" toggle button at the top of the screen, as shown below. This’ll let you link your O

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4 months ago

BPLightlogSuper User

Diary of an ASHP install - Part 2Blog

The Install WeekOn the lead up to our installation date for our Heat Pump (HP), we had everything in place:Space outside clear for the heat pump itself Internal loft space for the pipework and any system parts A clear space inside around the existing boiler for removal Storage space for the pipes, insulation and other equipment (being delivered on the first morning)I got a text message from the lead installer on Sunday evening letting me know that he would be arriving at 8am on the Monday morning. He was actually early and supervised the off loading of the delivered equipment. This can take a little time as there is often quite a lot of items alongside the heat pump itself which need agreeing as scheduled items and delivered.Other trades were due shortly and so we walked the install route around the property from the HP position, through the loft access, existing pipework, boiler, radiators (6 out of 12 to be replaced), gas supply point and electricity supply.One of the things I partic

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Abby_OVOCommunity Manager

Meet the new Charge Anytime!F.A.Q.

Updated on 01/10/26 by Ben_OVO Charge Anytime has evolved - we’ve introducing monthly plans You can now choose a new, easy way of paying for your EV charging. One simple monthly payment, whether you’re smart charging at home, or out and about.* With the introduction of these new Charge Anytime monthly plans will come questions, and we’ve put together this FAQ guide to cover everything you might want to ask or need to know. If there’s anything you’re still unsure of after reading this, you can ask us below or get in touch with the team if you’ve got a more specific issue. What are monthly plans? Charge Anytime monthly plans are our charging products that offer one monthly fee for your home and public charging. Plus other perks depending on which package you choose. Here are more details of the current plans available. How does a Charge Anytime monthly plan work? Charge Anytime monthly plans offer combined home and public charging for one monthly cost. Each plan has a home mileage allow

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BPLightlogSuper User

Diary of an ASHP install - Part 4 (Conclusions after a year in use)Blog

A Years Worth Headlines:Cost - energy bills reduced by £160 Cost reduction despite unit costs for electricity rising and despite keeping a gas supply with the associated standing charge. Home comfort - our temperature levels in the home during heating season were increased (compared to the previous year) to run the heat pump more efficiently (20 deg C during the day and 18 deg C overnight) Hot Water - as previously reported, this has been changed during the year and the system now ensures our preferred set point is reached giving hot water at the points we use it most. Looking across the monthly usage, it becomes fairly obvious that any savings are focused on the higher usage months. I mention this in particular because as the heat pump is still used for hot water in summer, during these months in fact costs increased slightly compared to the equivalent months in the previous year. We have a busy household with 4 adults and so heating and hot water are important throughout the year.U

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BPLightlogSuper User

Diary of an ASHP install - Part 3Blog

An Air Sourced Heat Pump in useNow having had practical usage of our ASHP (Air Sourced Heat Pump) I thought it might be a good idea to update the story with a look at how it has performed over the months, including the start of the current winter.After the install our heating needs have been well catered for. It is important to understand that a heat pump does not operate like a gas boiler. The ‘instant’ heat does not happen in the same way and therefore it is suggested that any temperature set-back is relatively small. We have a single temperature zone set at 20 deg C throughout the property and set-back to 19 degrees overnight. What this means is that the heat pump never needs to suddenly reheat the whole house by several degrees and in fact, the comfort level in the property is higher than previously experienced.What does have to be taken into account is that the heat pump can either heat the home or heat a hot water tank and therefore it is important to time the switch over to prov

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Ben_OVOCommunity Manager

A tour of OVO ChargeTutorial

Updated on 06/07/26 by Abby_OVO OVO Charge is our one stop app for effortless EV charging. Charge your car at home anytime, day or night. And power up on the road with access to over 50,000 public charging points across the UK. It’s all at your fingertips, in one simple app. With Charge Anytime you can Smart charge your EV at home anytime you like, day or night. It’s cheaper and greener. Add Charge Anytime to any OVO energy tariff for free – it won’t affect your unit rates. Not with OVO? You can check your EV compatibility before you switch. With Charge Anywhere you can Charge your EV wherever you are, plan your route, and pay - all in one app. Save up to 15% on public charging at over 400,000 chargers across the UK and Europe. Anyone can Charge Anywhere – you don’t even need to be an OVO customer. Sign up for free today. Charge Anytime In OVO Charge you can link your EV or charger, set smart schedules for your vehicle and we’ll charge when it's cheapest and greenest so you can get

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8 months ago

Ben_OVOCommunity Manager

Customers with multi-rate smart meters can now sign up via the websiteNews

Updated on 23/06/26 by Abby_OVO We’ve made some great progress with the sign up process for complex / multi-rate smart meter setups (Economy 9, Economy 10 and Domestic Economy). Previously, customers with these types of smart meter supplies were unable to switch to us online, however we’re happy to announce that this is now possible. You can find out more about complex and multi-rate supplies here: How to sign up online If you have a complex smart metering setup like one of those listed above, you can switch your supply to OVO online here. You’ll first be asked to enter your address and personal details, and then you’ll be able to select which tariff you’d like. You’ll also be able to set up a Direct Debit. Once you’ve started the switch we’ll contact your current supplier to let them know you’re leaving. You can find more information on what to expect when switching to OVO, including how long it takes, in this Forum article: Thanks, The OVO Forum team

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11 months ago

BPLightlogSuper User

Dashboard for Home UsageBlog

With the raft of online apps and services now in everyday use, I had begun to get frustrated that for some simple things (like thermostats, energy usage and security cameras) it was necessary to open a whole array of different programs. I stumbled across the concept of gathering these together under one service and now have a very easy, comprehensive option via something called Home Assistant (HA). (available on mobile app and pc)Although it has been many years since I did any real programming, I decided to try out this system and have found it a lot easier to put together and operate than I expected.First of all, I need to say that it is often not totally without cost. The system can be run on an existing computer but as the service really needs to be running all the time, most people tend to use some sort of minicomputer. I used something called a Raspberry Pi. This is a small electronics board – which can be bought as a full system or piece by piece – which links to your broadband r

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BeePeeSuper User

The Mysteries of LegionellaBlog

I am not a biologist; in fact it is nearly 50 years since I passed my Biology “O” Level. HOWEVER I would like to be re-assured that if I make changes to my heating system I will not compromise my family’s safety and well being. The following I have gleaned from various sources on the Internet. If you disagree great, but PLEASE supply the basis for your differing view. I’m afraid “a mate down the pub said” will not wash. What is Legionella? From the NHS website:Legionnaires' disease is a lung infection you can get from inhaling droplets of water from things like air conditioning or hot tubs. It's uncommon but it can be very serious.You can get Legionnaires' disease if you breathe in tiny droplets of water containing bacteria that cause the infection.It's usually caught in places like hotels, hospitals or offices where the bacteria have got into the water supply. It's less common to catch it at home. Where does it come from? From the CDC Website:Legionella bacteria occur naturally in fre

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BPLightlogSuper User

Diary of an ASHP install - Part 1Blog

As often happens, a second generation of new technology provides better results for the user and so, although installers and training still require some updating, we decided to make use of the offers currently in place and see what was involved for a Heat Pump installation.For qualifying properties and systems, there is a Government grant of £7,500 (BUS) and we went with a scheme which also allowed a ‘free’ survey (£200 payment which either is refunded or goes towards the final cost of install) and an opt out right up to the days before installation.Our survey was arranged in a few days and a surveyor arranged an appointment to measure and review the property. The survey suggested a heat loss just under 9kW and so the plans revolved around a 9kW heat pump installation. We currently use a condensing gas boiler for our heating and hot water and part of the survey looks at the pipework and radiators to check their suitability. Our outcome was that the pipework was ok but 6 out of 12 radia

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Tim_OVOOVO Forum Legend

Smart Meters and In Home Displays - Topic HubTutorial

Updated on 24/06/26 by Chris_OVO Smart meters and In-Home Displays (IHDs) - Your topic hub See this list of topics and guides, all to do with smart meters and In Home Displays. Click on the link to open the one you need! Smart meter topic guides SMETS1 Secure Liberty 100/110 smart meter guide - here SMETS1 Secure Smart Meter Health Check guide - here SMETS1 Aclara smart meter guide - here SMETS2 Aclara smart meter guide - here SMETS2 Smart Meter Health Check guide - here SMETS2 smart meter installation guide - here Remote update of SMETS1 meters guide - here SMETS2 5th port guide - here Landis+Gyr E470 SMETS 1 or SMETS 2 guide - here How to read a Landis+Gyr E470 smart meter - here How to tell if your Aclara smart meter is S1 or S2 - here How to book a Smart Meter appointment on your online account - here Identifying Smart Meter issues on your online account - here Are there any disadvantages to getting a Smart Meter - here In Home Display (IHD) topic guides Troubleshooting issues

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Peter ESuper User

A New Chaos - A Greener Future: Part OneBlog

This was supposed to be a short piece. My apologies in advance to the part of your life you won’t get back after you have read it but it does a condense a lot of thought and research into one article so I think it’s worth reading. To save time you can skip the boxes. This is an personal journal of how the use of energy in one household has evolved over the past few years with a surprising setback but also an unexpected development and future possibilities for getting towards Net Zero. However, this is not about how a typical migration might happen. This is about an experiment that was kick started out of the chaos that was the result of Covid and then Russia invading Ukraine and how it influenced my thinking about how to reduce my costs with very high energy prices.. What is being presented here is more of a journal of what happened over the past few years to our household and it’s about provoking thoughts and discussions on the various pathways by which Net Zero may be achi

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2 years ago

Peter ESuper User

A New Chaos - A Greener Future: Part TwoBlog

...ContinuedThe diagram is a crude illustration of how the various technologies compare in installation and running costs. The heat pump starts off at a minimum of £500 per year due to the initial cost and that is after the grant. It’s over a £1,000 a year without a grant. The AAHP is standalone, £800 over 10 years. The gas boiler starts off at £4,000 over 15 years but probably 20 as it’s very lightly loaded. It’s only really going to be used on the coldest of days or if the electricity prices are high for some reason. With TRVs (that you can’t use with a heat pump) the gas boiler will only be heating the other rooms in the house as required to balance the heating. You are only asking the AAHP and the gas boiler to do what they do best so the combination is saving both money and gas at the same time. The immersion heater is saving gas on the lowest priced days but it’s capable of storing a certain amount of extra heat (as a battery) for later use so may save more than is initially es

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2 years ago

NotSoSmartMetersRank 1

What do you do when advisors just don't reply?

Through the ombudsman OVO said it was going to use an estimated reading. Asked me to say whether I was ok with that which obviously i was given the actual reading belonged to the previous tenant. They gave me an estimated reading that was higher than my average use, even though I provided evidence that I wasnt even in the flat half the month. Disgraceful. And now because the Ombudsman have technically done their part, and a resolution, albeit a iseless one, has been achieved, Ovo refuse to deal with me because I accepted an offer that didnt even show the final bill. Cretins.

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6 hours ago

Avus303Rank 1

Smart charging schedule ignoring ready by time

My wife and I have a hybrid each both with circa 25kWh batteries. We both use nearly all of that on our weekday commutes. I have a 7.4kW charger. Each evening I get home from work at about 6pm and put my car on charge and then when I go to bed at about 11pm I switch the cable over and charge my wife's car ready for the morning. I use the ovo charge app to set a ready by time of 11pm. This means the smart charging function gets 5 hours to optimise the smart charge but around 3.5 hours of that it will need to be running in order to meet my 'ready by' time. The problem is it always pauses the charge for too long and so can never hit its target. This evening i looked at my phone at 10.30pm and the charging was paused with 50% charge leaving it more than 12 kW to fill in 30 minutes. Or in other words the supposedly smart app had planned a schedule that requires a remaining charge speed four times the capacity of the charging setup I have just to do what I set it to do. A backup solution i s

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14 hours ago

BaleGeodRank 2

Are FoxESS chargers compatible with Charge Anytime?

Anyone know how often OVO qualifies additional/new EV chargers? Mine is the L series from FoxESS and while I use it using solar or pay full tariff price I am locked out taking advantage of any of OVO’s EV tariffs.

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1 day ago

DaveThorn76Rank 5

Morrisons Data Services - Why so often?

I understand the occasional need for an outside company - In OVO’s case, Morrisons Data Services - to come and take a manual meter read in order to check customer honesty and meter integrity, but isn’t it supposed to be just once a year or every 2 years?I’m due another visit, but I’m pretty certain they’ve already been round once this year, around February/March time.I submit a manual meter read at least twice a month, as I like to keep on top of my energy bills and know roughly how much I need to put aside when the monthly bill is live, so I fail to see the need for Morrisons to turn up every 6 months.I’ve followed the link in their email and submitted manual gas and electricity meter reads to Morrisons (with photographs!), so hopefully this time they’ve no need to physically visit.

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1 day ago

janieRank 4

re Meter Swap

Hi @Ben_OVO @Chris_OVO Just turned on my heating on Sunday and the afternoon slot 2.30-5.30 was fine albeit on minimum, evening slot 9.30 -1.30 came on but didn't charge ( no credit was used)morning slot 5.30-8.30 was also fine.I phoned Customer Support on Monday to be told I am not on Economy 10 and have never been, I am still on THTC and no change of contract had been made after the meter swap.I asked if my meter would need reconfigured but unfortunately they couldn't answer and instructed me to call the PAYG team.Have just been on to PAYG team who transferred me to squad 70 ( a very nice guy called Jamie)who have done a pretty thorough investigation and it would seem multiple flags have been getting raised on my account since the swap but nothing actually done about it.The squad 70 backroom team have raised the issue again so hopefully it will be resolved soon.

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3 days ago

darren_pRank 1

No scheduled sessions showing in Smart Charging

I’ve been able to charge normally for months but new problem not experienced before today. The car would not charge as there were no scheduled sessions shared with the charger (Hypervolt Pro3). I’ve checked internet, turned the phone on and off to refresh the App, checking connections, changed the “ready by” time on the App to be shorter - still no charging or charging sessions shared with the charger. I’ve raised a tech ticket with OVO live chat team as they were out ideas. Has anyone had a similar problem?

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4 days ago

scottbop38Rank 1

EV public chargers

Hi, I was just wondering if anyone knows if there is a digital map anywhere showing the public chargers I can use with my OVO charge anytime account please?

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4 days ago

Simon550Rank 2

Renault 5 E Tech has now stopped charging

We have a brand new Hypervolt Charger, and OVO as our utility provider, and I'm using the OVO Charge App on their Charge Anytime rate as it suits our lifestyle. Hypervolt has a direct charging arrangement with OVO, so those two apps seem to work seamlessly, and (as I would expect) the Charger App shows OVO setting the scheduling, and the OVO App shows the Hypervolt charger. Because we have a flexible lifestyle we don’t need to charge overnight and set schedules, so all we’re trying to do is the most basic operation which is to plug in the car whenever it needs a charge, and at any time of day, and the OVO tariff gives us a flat discounted rate for that. We had eight successful charges. I would plug in, make sure the car scheduling (via MyRenualt App) was Off, and set to Instantaneous Charging and then click on “Charge Now” in the car App. Although there would be a pause each time of a few minutes, and the command seems to not get through a few times, this charging worked 8 times in a

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4 days ago

KintyrescottRank 1