Solar PV plus battery storage - how to make best use of the battery and what's the best type of energy tariff?

Hi @will4jan 

Lots of solar / battery experts are on the forum so they should be able to point you in the right direction.

Yes, you can theoretically load an Economy 7 tariff on a smart meter, so this could well be an option if you don’t have an electric vehicle to make use of the EV tariffs. (Octopus have released their updated tariffs, but off-peak prices have gone up compared to before, so Economy 7 may come into play, especially if you need slightly more cheap hours for your battery charging).

Hey @will4jan,

Welcome to the OVO Online Community!

Unfortunately, if you are currently Single Rate we don’t have the functionality to change your meter to Economy 7. 

@nealmurphy is right we have many Solar PV and Home Battery experts on the Forum….

Have @sylm_2000, @PeterR1947, @Heatherd got any advice for @will4jan?

We have some similar threads on these topics which you may find helpful:

Hope this helps. 

I have economy 7 and a smart meter. With enphase. I am charging 1 hour night time going to 2 in nov and 4 in dec, jan and feb is 3 then 2 in march. I take on time of use in march and turn off in july so i can use excess power all day. 7 out of 10 times i use dishwasher and washing machine plus over one at a time during day in summer. At night time in winter. 

Thanks @Heatherd 😊

Back again- Just found this great thread with lots of helpful advice from @BPLightlog you may also find useful:

The question from @will4jan has a common theme but there seems very limited options at the moment. For those who can, charging overnight and limiting grid use at peak times is in line with all requirements (carbon reduction, grid limitations etc) but people need an incentive to do this. 

The incentive is your usage and pocket. I have an ASHP as well. A biomass would have been better. Just keep one hungry item at a time. No kettle and oven on at same time. Keep an eye oon your in home thermostat. I still only get 33% independence. But in summer with TOS  off june to sept were over 75% savings. 

@Heatherd yes, I understand but at present many (including me) can’t get an off peak (or tou) tariff and so when charging we pay the same rate. Given that battery technology has inherent losses, there is no incentive in that case

I’m on a Tide tariff with GE UK, it’s 30.08p daytime 6am to 4pm and 7pm to 11pm and weekends, 9.52p 11pm to 6am but, from 4pm to 7pm weekdays it’s 67.02p (all rates subject to VAT) So, having V2H & V2G I discharge at 4kWh between 4pm and 7pm to avoid paying this, Could you do this from your battery?  They also pay 12p per kWh for export.

Thanks everybody. I’d like to ask Ovo why their EV tariff is limited to EV users when there must be a growing number of people with Solar PV plus battery, wanting to charge their battery off peak during the winter (and willing to discharge some of that in the peak). Isn’t there an opportunity there to sell some off peak power and cut demand (and increase supply) at peak times ?

GE aren’t offering the TIDE tariff to newcomers at the moment; that’s exactly what I am looking for.

The simple answer is they'd lose money if they offered an EV tariff to battery users in the current market.

From all that's been said I think Economy 7 would work the best for you now as this would give you a lower night time rate for topping up the battery and also allow you to export at peak times at a reasonably high p/kWh rate. But keep an eye on when time of use tariffs become available again as these could work out better if you are not importing that much during the day.