Agile Octopus - A Smart Tariff For The Adventurous!

Part two in a series on smart energy tariffs, where we look in depth at the Agile tariff from Octopus Energy.
My Octopus Flux Video:
• Octopus Flux - the Fut...
UK Electricity Spot Prices (dynamic):
tradingeconomics.com/united-k...
Ofcom - Your Energy Bill Explained:
www.ofgem.gov.uk/information-...
How Agile pricing is calculated:
octopus.energy/blog/agile-pri...
Energy Stats UK - Dashboard:
dashboards.energy-stats.uk/d/...
Energy Stats UK - Plunge Pricing Events:
energy-stats.uk/agile-price-p...
Octopus Watch App
octopus.smarthound.uk
Octopus Compare
www.m4-consulting.com/apps/
Octo-Aid
www.octoaid.co.uk
OctoComparison Utility
octocomparison.co.uk
Chapters:
0:00 Intro
0:39 Smart Tariffs
2:41 Agile Octopus
5:05 Wholesale Prices
6:02 Electricity Bill Component Costs
6:40 The Agile Formula
7:46 Historical Agile Rates
9:40 Agile Export
10:09 Useful Mobile Apps
10:44 Summary
If you're getting a lot from my videos, and would like to support me in my efforts to help everyone, here are a couple of ways to do this:
1. You could www.buymeacoffee.com/GaryDoes... :-)
2. If you're thinking of switching energy supplier to Octopus Energy. If you call them and give them my referral code ("blue-wind-201") and my name ("Gary Waite") and we'll both get a £50 credit to our accounts as a result! share.octopus.energy/blue-win...
I believe Octopus Energy is doing more than any other energy company in the UK to take us forward to a bright renewable future, and I'll make making reference to them and their initiatives in future videos.
For business enquiries:
Email: [e-mail]
(Please note: despite my channel name, I don't provide, nor consult on, solar installations)
(c) 2023 Gary Does Solar. All rights reserved.
DISCLAIMER
Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the content in this video, no warranty for that content is provided, nor should it be implied. Viewers acting on the content, do so at their own risk.
#agile #octopus #energy

[@nicflanagan6662]

As always, excellent content, presented in a crystal clear way. Some very useful websites included. Thanks

[@GaryDoesSolar]

Hi Nic, thank you :-) This particular video was a little trickier - a more complex tariff that could have come across quite boring. I had to cut a lot of footage on while wholesale prices change etc. (educational but dull) lol

[@ianbeck5897]

For people on brand new PV/battery installations there are huge opportunities and a bewildering array of tariffs from Octopus. For those of us who have legacy systems and FIT's running, it's more difficult to swap without losing some or all of the FIT and also maximising the PV from our inverters into our batteries. We added a 15KWh AC battery to our existing 4KWp PV system and the PV provided spectacular results during the sunny weather last month. This month, with poor sunshine in SW England, it's been less stellar. This got me thinking about changing from the Octopus SV rate of 29.9p per KWh to something else so as to help pay for the battery. With no heat pump or EV (and no plans to buy) we were limited. In the end it came down to Flux or Agile. Flux seemed to require the surrender of some elements of our existing FIT and I wasn't especially comfortable with that. Plus, our actual export to the grid hasn't been massive so we wouldn't win massively by having a decent rate for actual export. Agile, on the other hand, can leave the FIT alone but is a risky proposition as it's linked to wholesale prices. Where will Putin invade next? What happens if penguins take over the world? We thought long and hard and decided to take a punt with Agile. Octopus changed us over within 24 hours. We kept our existing FIT. We've set the battery to charge between 2am and 5am and between 1pm and 3pm. Agile prices are generally lower during these times. The most it will charge to is set to 75%. The grid tops our battery up to 75% by 5am. The battery depletes from then until 1pm. It's topped up for a couple of hours and then discharges right up until 2am again. PV can top things up throughout the day and the grid can deal with the higher loads. If the sun shines more than normal the battery will fill completely and we wont need the grid. Even if the battery fully charges and we export some power, we've been paid at source. In so many ways it is just like Flux except that there are opportunities for additional cheap charge windows and we get the advantage of some lower charge rates and occasional plunge pricing. Yes, it is adventurous - especially if those pesky penguins take over the world but, with import pricing when we are buying in the range of 14 to 18p at the moment , we think it worth a punt. If the prices that we pay remain at a little over half of the SVR, it makes a big dent in our energy bill. If the prices do shoot up and remain there, my understanding is that we can revert to SVR if we want to. We have to be sensitive to heavy loading in the evening as we don't have access to mains gas and our AC inverter is limited to 3KW output. My wife cooks in the evening so we will end up paying for some electricity at a high rate. Hobs and ovens are not drawing power constantly, so the drain is transient rather than continuous. The last thing I want her to do is worry about having the oven turned on at 6pm - best to accept that as a downside and let the battery take most of the strain. Now being retired I could spend hours each day planning when to buy tomorrows electricity. I can't be bothered! I will look periodically to ensure that the pricing hasn't time shifted massively. If it has, I'll adjust the charge time for the batteries. It is nice, instead, to feel like we are getting cheaper power while flattening the S curve that little bit too. But I will keep watching the news just in case those penguins start migrating northwards! :=)

[@GaryDoesSolar]

Hi Ian, thanks for taking the time to post this - it will help a lot of people who are on UK FiT payments and wrestling with decisions on what tariffs to go for. I think I'll keep an eye out for those penguins too, the way things are going... :-)

[@sdewaard]

Very well researched and presented video again, Gary. Wish we had a plan like Octopus Agile here in Ireland.

[@GaryDoesSolar]

Thanks :-) Yeah, I'm hoping that Octopus will continue to extend their global coverage - they have everything required to do that...

[@PaulVanCotthem]

Very clearly explained, as always. 👍

[@GaryDoesSolar]

Thanks Paul - this particular video was quite hard to make. Agile is quite a complex tariff and I tried not to bore everyone! Thanks for taking the time to let me know it turned out ok :-)

[@buddywheels]

Another excellent video Gary. You manage to demistify subjects that shouldn’t really be mysterious in the first place….were it not for vested interests etc etc. Thank you 👍

[@GaryDoesSolar]

Thanks Steve - very happy to do my bit to help folks :-)

[@StefanHolmes]

No battery. No solar. Been on Agile for more than 12 months and it’s been great for us. 2 adults working from home and we’ve saved approx 30% versus what I see other people paying on standard tariffs.

[@GaryDoesSolar]

Wow! That’s impressive, Stefan 👍🏻❤️

[@eddyd8745]

I'm on Agile and it's been great to-date. In the winter I'll regularly charge my battery at very low or negative costs. During those times I'll also heat a tank of water. However, I am considering swapping to flux for the summer only when I know I'll have a surplus of electricity even after charging the battery and heating the water. I might as well get the best outgoing rate I can. I might then change back to Agile for the winter when I'll export less and benefit from the price plunges. Just a thought at the moment!

[@GaryDoesSolar]

Thanks Eddie, for taking the time to post this - great insight for everyone thinking about going Agile! :-)

[@kevingregory3498]

Having just got a solar battery system operating this week, I watched Gary's video on Flux yesterday and just watched this Agile one. Again extremely uncomplicated and useful practical advice. Your added comment also makes good sense - didn't realise you could switch between tariffs so easily. Do you think this option will remain? Thanks again Gary

[@eddyd8745]

@@kevingregory3498 Hi Kevin, I have changed over to Flux now and it happened on the day I submitted the application. The Ts&Cs say that you can change at any time after 30 days on the new tariff. I only have a small array and I'm getting around about £4/day income at the moment after my battery and water are filled/heated. That'll add credit to subsidise the winter. Good luck with your system. Regards, Eddy

[@ChrisChurchill-by7ek]

One of the best discussions I have seen, thank you. You are also right to underline the adventure part as I think you either need good automation or the time to look carefully at the next day's numbers to make good use of Agile. I have 7.2kWp solar, 6.5kW battery, nearly 70kW of EV and went for FLUX because it is/can be so easy to manage. I charge to 80% each night then prevent further, intentional, charging at any other time so I export absolutely everything the house doesn't use. Even now the days are long enough that the battery rarely gets below 25%. I stop at 80% as the inverter peaks at 6kW but will "overflow" into be battery (its kinda like regenerative braking on the car!). The only "fun" bit is trying to use as little as possible in the 4pm-7pm export peak so we maximise export at this time. I am not discharging the battery into the grid as my calculation suggested doing so was pretty much break even *FOR ME* over the expected lifetime of my battery. If I factor in that my replacement battery will probably be a larger capacity with a longer life then I am probably wrong not to add the extra cycles so I get to the new one sooner.

[@GaryDoesSolar]

Hi Chris, this is really great insight - thanks for sharing! And also, thank you for the kind words :-)

[@PitBull78q]

Thanks for the wonderful content

[@GaryDoesSolar]

My pleasure :-)

[@stevejeffrey1]

Hi Gary I'm very grateful to you for explaining all this it will greatly enhance my decision making in the future. I'm also grateful to Octopus for being such a forward thinking energy supplier, leading the way whilst others sit in disgrace.

[@GaryDoesSolar]

Hi Stephen, you're most welcome - it's great to hear that my videos are helping people become more informed about solar technology :-) I'm wondering how long it will take for Octopus' competition fights back with their own innovative offerings. Currently, Octopus looks to be sewing up the whole market!

[@greg_takacs]

In Texas we had Griddy that essentially did exactly this. It was all nice and people loved it until we had a mass power grid failure due to extreme winter cold in February, 2021. The spot wholesale price of energy spiked to $9,000/MWh and people ended up with electricity bills in the thousands. Griddy went out of business and the Energy Council of Texas now bans such pricing. Apparently individual consumers love capitalizing gains and socializing losses. It was also fine while you choose to time shift your washer and dryer cycles to save a few dollars or choose to turn off your A/C for a few hours in the summer evenings but when the price spikes for 3 straight days and you're about to freeze, the system collapses.

[@GaryDoesSolar]

Hi Greg. Wow, just wow.

[@2k10clarky]

To be clear the octopus tariff has a cap. To me energy provision is a balance of regulation, public ownership/funding and the dynamism of free market capitalism. As an pretty essential service I do think the government needs to be involved in terms of regulation and as a financial backstop.

[@trevorbromley-palmer]

That was an excellent video. I am on Intelligent Octopus as I have an EV, Solar & Batteries. Currently I am managing to get 99% of my grid import in the overnight period, so using the batteries during the day. This is giving a usage rate of about 11p kWh which is very very good.

[@GaryDoesSolar]

That's pretty good, Trevor! I'll be doing a video on IO in the near future...

[@billyoung2458]

I have been on agile, but have recently swapped to flux because 1. Flux standard export is above agile peak export ( mostly 😊 ), 2. Flex peak export is unbeatable and 3. Battery import between 2 and 5am is less than the export price allowing my batteries to be topped off and maximise the daily solar export. Cheers

[@GaryDoesSolar]

Hi Bill, yeah Flux really is a breakthrough tariff! I still can't get over the export rates :-)

[@rosenightingale7716]

Just done exactly the same thing....Flux for summer to earn some credit, then back to agile or cosy in the autumn.

[@harwichsaint117]

Very informative Gary - I have signed up to Octopus using your code and I am told we will receive the credit next bill

[@GaryDoesSolar]

Thanks for the kind words, and also for thinking of me wrt the Octopus referral :-)

[@wuffothewonderdog]

I bet you never did receive the mythical credit you had waved in front of you.

[@medialegend]

Great video. Thank you. Clear, concise and very informative. I've recently moved to Agile from Go and I'm loving it, particularly as we're currently in a negative price plunge thanks to storm Kathleen. My one gripe with comparison apps like Octopus Compare is that (unless I'm mistaken) they cannot distinguish between Go's four hour price reduction and Agile's ability to take advantage of favourable prices at any time of day or night so, when I'm charging my EV between 5am and 9am because it happens to be cheap on one occasion, it compares that with the 31p per kWh that I would have paid on Go. Of course, if I was still on Go I wouldn't have chosen to charge at that time so the comparison makes it look like I'm saving much more than I actually am. Hope that makes sense!

[@GaryDoesSolar]

Thanks for your kind words - and yeah, what you say makes total sense. I'm contemplating creating a Patreon utility that does a better job than the existing comparison apps... it's a lot of work though and will take a little time...

[@medialegend]

@@GaryDoesSolar I’ll look forward to that. There’s so much to be excited about in the current climate. Thanks for replying to my comment.

[@stefanhorn6780]

excellent video gary, i switched to agile i for my soalr + battery install, avg price per kwh 29.05, 28.86, 26.04 and 22.20, bare in mind higher standing charge of 45.24p per day. I have decided to go with the fixed price for output of 15 per kwh, as its not easy to automate my setup

[@GaryDoesSolar]

Nice one, Stefan! Thanks for sharing, and thanks for the kind words :-)

[@shavian208]

Thanks Stefan, I made the same moves on 18 June, so now have a month’s experience of Agile. Amazing. For the first billing period of 16 days to 4 July my average price was 15p/kWh, with a peak plunge price of -19p for a 30 min period while I was charging the car! It seems to go price-negative at the weekend. The highest evening price I have seen so far is 45p, which I avoided with judicious use of my little 2.6 GivEnergy battery. Thinks: must buy a bigger one!

[@EcoHouseThailand]

Enjoyed the video and the last one on Flux. This clearly is the direction that electricity markets should go. Here in Thailand if your solar is over 5kW you are barred from feeding back to the grid, so I have gone off-grid powering my house, EV and electric motor bike from solar. It’s just a shame to waste the excess solar.

[@GaryDoesSolar]

Thanks for taking the time to comment, and also the kind words. I've just taken a look at your KZbin channel and accompanying website - really, really good! Let's hope that over time, the energy restrictions change in Thailand...

[@EcoHouseThailand]

@@GaryDoesSolar Thanks Gary

[@jameswestgate416]

My sunsynk inverter now supports Octopus Agile directly. It will charge / discharge any connected battery based on minimum / maximum pricing you set.

[@GaryDoesSolar]

Hi James, that's great to hear! Soon, nearly all inverters will support these kinds of tariffs ;-)

[@sweetvuvuzela4634]

Super thanks buddy

[@GaryDoesSolar]

You're very welcome! Cheers :-)

[@SimoneWilson]

Good video Gary. I've been on Agile for some years now, pre-pandemic and coincided with a battery storage system to augment my Solar PV setup. Best move I've made was to switch to Agile as I have saved a significant sum over the years. This last winter was tough being at capped rate for weeks on end, but one takes the rough with the smooth and overall I am much better off on Agile. I don't use their export tariff as I'm still on FiT payments.

[@GaryDoesSolar]

Hi Simone, thanks for the taking the time to share your Agile experience. I did wonder what it would have been like for anyone on it over last winter, but you seemed to have got through it ok :-) And being on FiT would have been a great cushion - long may that continue!

[@simonmasters3295]

@GaryDoesSolar and Simone... Do you have the option of re-exporting stored grid or solar at the FiT tariff, or would you have to give up on that if you did export?

[@user-xd7ws2uu7n]

@@simonmasters3295 Octopus' terms & conditions require you to give up the FiT, so I chose not to export to them

[@enjoyinglifewithxhavie9157]

Hi Gary,I taught agile tariff can be used also for customers who have solar panels and battery, but want to remain with pay as you go smart meter.

[@GaryDoesSolar]

Hi there. My understanding is that you've have to move away from your pay-as-you-go tariff directly onto Agile. Worth you making a call to Octopus to ask them directly though...

[@jimmcdonald6465]

Hi Gary, great video as ever! I'm a recent switcher to Agile so not too much experience as yet but my initial sense is very positive. As someone who is actively weighing up solar + battery but not yet resolved I figured this was the greenest move I could make. I't's very effective in making me move load out of the evening peak and I am making small savings over the standard flexible rate. Also it felt a natural progression from Octo's winter saving sessions. Your other video suggests I may be better off delaying a little before buying into the tech and also battery chemistry could become more diverse I guess. Major issue in paying VAT on battery only purchase is further demonstration that government has no coherent strategy on the domestic energy transition.

[@GaryDoesSolar]

Thanks Jim. Yeah, the buy now or later question is a tough one. I'm sure battery prices will come down over the next couple of years, but will they come down more than the 20% VAT burden, I don't know. Agile looks to be a great tariff at the moment, hope it is beneficial for your usage profile! :-)

[@jimmcdonald6465]

@@GaryDoesSolar Thanks Gary - both very interesting and imponderable right now.

[@GaryDoesSolar]

@@jimmcdonald6465 ain’t that the truth!

[@mattcbinns]

I’m in the same boat. Just moved to Agile and due to plunge pricing recently am very pleased. Will wait until autumn/winter before making my mind up though.

[@Riktenstein]

I'm on Agile and it works for me. I have solar, battery and mixergy tank. When prices go negative which has happened quite a lot recently, battery, watertank etc gets charged. Luckily this year my Solis inverter can now be programmed with the app which really helps. Before this I had to go in the loft which was a massive pain.

[@GaryDoesSolar]

That's brilliant! And I'm thinking of moving to Agile myself shortly :-)

[@Riktenstein]

@@GaryDoesSolar today prices go negative at 1:30 today for half an hour. Its seems in Winter due to wind there is some free or cheap electricity going. I’ll take that.

[@GaryDoesSolar]

@@Riktenstein Love it! 😀

[@pauls1096]

I’m with Agile too and all good so far. I use Octorati to get a daily email of import and export rates applicable to me. Plenty of wind this week!

[@GaryDoesSolar]

Yeah, I’m quite impressed with Agile last few days 😀 let’s see what happens over the next week or so! 👍🏻

[@shavian208]

Many thanks Gary, as a result of your video I went onto Octopus Compare and immediately found I could have saved over£100 had I switched from Flexible Octopus to Agile Octopus in March. So I’ve applied to switch today - great advice. We have 10 PV panels and one solar thermal panel (wonderful - does all our hot water in summer so we don’t need the heat pump). We also have a 2.6Kwh GivEnergy battery which is not really big enough to take full advantage of Agile. ATM we charge the MGZS on a 3 pin plug as we watch EV charger developments, as I want to be able to do V2H in event of a power cut, and also to arbitrage low overnight rates using Agile. Are we getting there? Next step - another battery module !

[@GaryDoesSolar]

My pleasure and great that you’ve found a much better tariff for your circumstance 👍🏻 I’m actually starting to prepare for a video about solar batteries given the tremendous advantages they bring to any solar installation, so yeah, I agree - upgrading to a bigger battery will be great for you! All the best 😀

[@shavian208]

@@GaryDoesSolar Thank Gary. In this sunny period I’ve taken to trickle charging the MG from about 0830 when I see that the morning sun has charged up the battery. The car then gets topped up to 80% by about midday (my mileage is not usually great) and the we can do a bit of export with the rest of the sun until the battery kicks in when we start cooking around 1800. Works well on a sunny day in summer, but we’ll have to modify it when the weather is not so nice!

[@MagicMarvin33]

I have just gone onto the Flux now. This is going to be our first year with solar and battery. See how we get on in summer and winter and if its worth going on another tariff. I really do like the high payment on the Flux though and if that keeps up I can't imagine leaving for another tariff. At the moment we are sending around 15 - 30 kw a day to the grid depending on the sun.

[@GaryDoesSolar]

That's pretty good production, Marvin! And with Flux you should get a healthy payment for that :-)

[@IamMotorHomeless]

I just came back to your channel looking for your 'code', I just emailed Octopus as we are close to switching my G99 was approved yesterday, and an EV car is on my wish list

[@GaryDoesSolar]

Great news about your G99 (mine to 5 months to approve!) Yeah, I'd love to get an EV but I'll need to wait until prices come down a little I think... Hope all goes well with the install, and thanks if you're able to use my code - much appreciated :-)

[@philreilly6959]

Hi Gary, Another excellent video! I'm already with Octopus (I joined a couple of years ago in the hope that I would soon be buying an electric car. In the event, it took until last October.). I had Solar (6.4kW split equally on my east/west roof) and a 5.2kWh battery installed in February, togetherwithan Eddi diverter. I can't make up my mind whether I should opt for Flux or Agile. We do very little milage now (our car has done just under 2000 miles since October) and we are now filling the battery by 11-12 o'clock and the Eddi is heating the water by mid afternoon. We're already exporting a lot to the Grid. As an aside, Octopus have put us on 4.1p per kWh export! They don't advertise that tariff!!! I've been trying to get switched from Flexible Octopus to either Flux or Agile for more two months without success. Anyway, I was hoping you could give me your feelings on whether Flux or Agile is the better tariff overall. I know it's a difficult one to answer, but any help would be appreciated. Best wishes, Phil

[@GaryDoesSolar]

Hi Phil, thanks for the kind words about the Agile video. I went for Flux myself as I don't have an EV so expect to be exporting a lot. I like the concept of Agile, but I'm not sure I want to be looking at hourly pricing for the rest of my days. It would be great if my (GivEnergy) inverter could control things automatically, but I don't think the functionality is there yet. I'm pretty sold of Flux :-) Hope that helps...

[@philreilly6959]

@Gary Does Solar Hi Gary, I have a GivEnergy Inverter and Battery as well. I agree that control is fairly basic. (I've had good support from GivEnergy though. They've responded very quickly). Looking at the import tariff on Flux, it looks like a good idea, so I think I'll go with that - if I ever get a response from Octopus, that is!

[@Venomator.]

Thank you Gary, this is another informative & well presented video. We have just had our panels fitted and the Inverter & Battery is being hooked up Monday… 🤞🏻 Added to that, our current (low) fixed price tariff ends in June, so we will be looking very seriously at when Octopus offer, as they seem to be head and shoulders above all others for those with Solar and/or Battery storage… 👍🏻 Thanks again for helping us with the information gathering and decision making… ✅ NB: Commented in the wrong place originally… 🙄🤯

[@GaryDoesSolar]

Hi there, great to hear your solar is in, and good luck with the battery installation tomorrow. My installation has been in a couple of weeks now and I'm loving it! Of course, I would like a little more sun, of course :-) Yeah, you're almost spoilt for choice now with Octopus tariffs - my pleasure to have helped you out! All the best :-)

[@Venomator.]

@@GaryDoesSolar I will let you know how it goes if you are interested and I’ll definitely use your code as and when I join Octopus (assuming it does not expire)… 👍🏻

[@GaryDoesSolar]

@@Venomator. Yes, I'd be very happy to hear how the remainder of your installation goes and if everything works as expected. And that would be very kind of you to use my code - thank you 🙂 All the best!

[@Venomator.]

@@GaryDoesSolar Hi Gary, Growatt Hybrid Inverter + 6.5kWh Battery now installed and working. Current panels are South Easterly so we do see a drop in generation into the afternoon and, consequently, end up using the battery for home use. This does mean the battery discharges to 10% overnight then has to start recharging again by solar next morning, hopefully. I plan to add half a dozen panels to our garage flat roof, which covers the afternoon & evening period, as soon as can pick them up (early May) and am collecting the mounting buckets next week… 👍🏻 I am also seriously considering adding a second battery (which is the max apparently!) to benefit from the additional extra solar, but will need to have this installed for us… 🤑 Talking to Octopus next month ready for swapping over, to either Flux or Agile, early June when current tariff expires… ✅

[@GaryDoesSolar]

@@Venomator. Great news! Glad everything is up and running ok :-) More panels and another battery - sounds brilliant! 🙂

[@neilmcarthur532]

Thanks

[@GaryDoesSolar]

Hi Neil, that is so very kind of you - thank you! I'll use to continue building the channel...

[@radiotowers1159]

I, m on Agile, Ive had a few price plunges so that's when the car, the dishwasher and the washing machine gets switched on.( might even sit up watch a film with 3 bars on the electric fire!) after all I,m getting paid to do so Sometimes the overnight rate is higher than the economy 7 overnight price but this is offset by the day price which is generally lower than the standard rate. Agile in the name is exactly what you need to be, if the house is occupied all day then you can move appliance times to catch the day time mid afternoon lower price. Meal times are usually the most expensive but so far still cheaper than my economy 7 day rate. You will notice on windy sunny days the prices are cheaper, on cloudy still foggy days the energy is dirty and more expensive. As it is a beta tariff I believe numbers of customers are restriced.

[@GaryDoesSolar]

Thanks for taking the time to share your experiences with Agile - really informative!

[@FrankPloegman]

Thanks for another excellent video. Did I understand correctly that the Octopus rates you mentioned include *all* taxes (not just VAT)? Where I live (Netherlands), I have the impression that taxes add quite a bit, so pre-tax electricity prices would have to go quite a bit into negative terrority before they are also negative on a post-tax basis. Regardless, relative fluctuations still matter, so you can save by choosing when to use electricity (as far as possible) and when to feed it back into the grid (if you have batteries).

[@GaryDoesSolar]

Yeah, the only consumer tax is 5% VAT.

[@iancollyer9995]

I’m enjoying Agile. You load the dishwasher/washing machine/dryer and, rather than just turn it on, simply delay the start so they power up in cheaper, greener times of the day 😊

[@GaryDoesSolar]

Hi Ian, thanks for taking time to share this. Agile is a great tariff :-)

[@iancollyer9995]

Would be interested in a video comparing Agile vs Flux for the solar panel and battery owners out there. I appreciate there are many variables and suspect that flux will offer the best savings with its higher export tariffs however this would have to pass the test of Gary’s very splendid spreadsheets! 😊👏🏼

[@russellc5950]

I think octopus are hand in glove with the government robbing people blind, solar is expensive, seg is a pittance no matter what the best rate is! As for octopus… cheap rates etc… simple time delay applies to come on when you have excess energy, when you’re at work and the load is low, when you’re battery has a decent charger or when you are exporting. Exporting energy over using what you produce is always the worst option, and all these KZbinrs, energy people should start banging that drum instead of showing how they profit from nonsense

[@GaryDoesSolar]

@@iancollyer9995 Thanks! There is now a web app utility which might be easier to use: garydoessolar.com/utilities/dailymodellingutility/ I'll be adding capability to this web app over time 🙂

[@jeffgraham6387]

I have 4.6kw solar with 3.6 inverter and 6.5kw battery, I'm on Octopus variable input and Agile output...last year around Nov/Dec I noticed they were paying £1.30 - £1.05 export over a 2 hour period 4pm ish on...so at 2.30 I loaded up my battery at 34p kwh then sold it back after 4.00.......did that a few times, but £1.30 was the best I saw....😊

[@GaryDoesSolar]

That sounds great, Jeff! I've just switched to Flux myself (my installation only went in 3 weeks ago) so I'm looking to see some revenue myself! I'm not sure if I'll charge the battery during the night though - I guess I might if there was some automated way of choosing how much charge depending on next day's production estimation...?

[@finlayevans8483]

An excellent video - thank you! One question though, what features does one need to look for on a battery to know it will be able to automatically make use of this type of tariff?

[@GaryDoesSolar]

Thanks. You would need to ask the battery/inverter manufacturer directly as it will be different for each. I know that GivEnergy has Agile integration, for example 👍🏻

[@oaks7045]

Great videos Gary. I've been on the Agile tariff since April and have a 4kw pv system (since 2011), a 16kw Nibe ashp and 19.2kwh Greenlinx batteries with a Luxpower squirrel pod system. This allows you to set up to 10 half hourly charging sessions both overnight and during the daytime and once the prices are announced for the following day the cheapest sessions are automatically selected. The average rate on my September bill was 14.16p/kwh. Winter will be the telling time trying to schedule the heating in the cheapest periods! Always hopeful that we have plenty of wind to provide cheaper rates! Might need to consider an alternative tariff - any suggestions? Last January we were using an average of 38kwh/day.

[@GaryDoesSolar]

This is great information - thanks for sharing! I’m on Flux at the moment, but I’m looking to switch to Agile (as I don’t have an EV yet) - so your comment is very timely for me! I’m halfway through making a video on strategies for tariffs and the conclusions I’m coming to are quite surprising! I just need to find the time to complete the video and then hopefully, it’ll give you some extra info 👍🏻

[@dch1066]

Thank Gary for another clear and professional video. I like the microinverter architecture but can Nphase systems for example exploit these clever Octopus tariffs? What’s the Nphase ‘inverter’ equivalent that controls what power is flowing between PV/ battery/ loads / grid?

[@GaryDoesSolar]

My pleasure, David. Thanks for supporting me by watching them :-) Now, the only batteries that can be used with microinverters are AC-coupled batteries. And this means, you can connect any kind of AC-coupled battery - it doesn't have to be Enphase, although they do have their own battery solution. An Enphase battery will likely be controlled by the Enphase monitoring unit, Envoy, and batteries from other manufacturers will either have their own internal charge controller (e.g. Tesla Powerwall) or an dedicated external inverter (e.g. GivEnergy).

[@dch1066]

Ok thanks Gary, makes sense. I’m interested in the theory on how AC power flow is governed in PV systems. Eg what stops PV power flowing back into the grid rather than into the AC coupled battery ? If I decide to export rather than charge battery, what device controls this power flow? Or is it done by relative voltages to ‘guide’ the current flows where power is required. If you or any subscribers have any pointers to any material on this I would be most grateful. Just trying to understand some of the theory here 🙂

[@GaryDoesSolar]

@@dch1066 So, there will always be a "charge controller" for the battery somewhere in the system, either inside the inverter that the battery is connected to, or it's part of the battery itself. And the charge controller dictates when the battery charges or discharges 👍

[@wajopek2679]

I find it fascinating that Octopus has managed to absorb most of those customers whose providers folded up last year and still manage to create these kind of deals…..whilst the other Big Six are not doing so. Will we wake up one day to find out they overstretched themselves? I hope not.

[@GaryDoesSolar]

They have a great backend platform that does all the heavy lifting for them - It's called Kraken. (I'd put a link to it here in the comments, but KZbin seems to automatically delete them)

[@bioweez]

​@Gary Does Solar Kraken, the word, is flagged because of its connotation to crypto. For some reason they don't like it. 😶

[@GaryDoesSolar]

I mean, I don’t mind if KZbin wants to restrict comment content but they should let the commenter know if their comment is later deleted - causes all sorts of headaches otherwise!

[@fredflintstone1428]

Yes, quite strange how they've managed to do that. A bit like, Amazon making losses for over fifteen years and then cleaning up during a 'pandemic'. These business people are very clever to see into the future.

[@GaryDoesSolar]

@@fredflintstone1428 I'm always impressed when I see you companies looking at highly established markets, then break into them using new technologies to completely disrupt the status quo. The incumbents of course, never see it coming!

[@ianrob4760]

Agile this weekend was fantastic, used 90KWH over it and exported 16kwn as the sun was out !! total cost excluding standing charge - 25p ...

[@ianrob4760]

so for this topped the battery up at night when free, used solar to export then during the day and cover the peak time with the battery and then export the excess ...

[@GaryDoesSolar]

That's brilliant! :-)

[@Jarvis9259]

Great video thanks. I will be moving to Flux when my system is installed due to the high export rates and no EV. What have you gone for out of interest. I’m very likely to go for Lux-Power inverter and Greenlinx batteries due to the integration with Octopus. Suggestion for future video are the differences between MCS and Flexi-Orb (not yet supported by Octopus)

[@GaryDoesSolar]

You're very welcome, Oliver. So, my installation (finally) went in a couple of weeks ago. I'm still on the standard tariff until my export MPAN is sorted - that might take a few weeks yet, I'm hearing. Once that's done, I'll be going onto Flux as I am exporting quite a bit at the moment. Thanks for the future video suggestions - I've added them to my (rather big) list :-)

[@DanEVSolar7]

Hi Gary. Great video. I agree, before Flux my plan was also to go onto Agile but as I’m also without an EV at the moment, Flux makes much more sense financially for now. 👍

[@GaryDoesSolar]

Hi Dan, really liking your videos :-) Good to see Octopus Energy pushing the boundaries on this. Hopefully other suppliers will follow their lead!

[@johnsherman999]

Hi Gary. Great channel. Thank you for your work on it. I've 8.2kW solar and 8.2kWh GiveEnergy battery. No EV. Currently still on Flux but Octo Compare is suggesting I can save a lot by going to Agile, at least until the sunny months start. Does this tally with your thoughts? John

[@GaryDoesSolar]

Hi John - thanks and you're most welcome! I switched from Flux to Agile a couple of months ago, and it's been an interesting, but overall interesting experience. Rather than managing the battery charging manually every day, I signed up to MyOE, which works very well. Here's a link to my video on that: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hJ7OaIBnapuShqc Good luck with whatever you decide!

[@bob23301]

I love agile, and living alone means i have no issues with not using lekky during peak times, and i love it, glad i moved to it......and if i dud not i would be paying BG 30p pwh and 60 standing charge, so it was a no brainer to move to octopus agike.

[@GaryDoesSolar]

Fantastic, Bob! You'll be saving a fair bit of money at the moment :-)

[@tomeyles1670]

Referral used. Thanks.

[@GaryDoesSolar]

Hi Tom, that's so very kind of you - thanks! :-) It means a lot to me

[@markbowden3031]

Love your videos, lots of great information, I have just moved to Octopus (couldn’t use your referral code as I am a returning customer but I tried.) I am looking at the agile tariff as I have solar (contracted so I don’t get paid for exporting) and expecting my EV next month. I was looking at battery storage, but I am waiting for the trial of V2H to see what happens with that as I will have 71Kwh portable storage which could be put to use. Have you heard anything about vehicle 2 home/grid?

[@GaryDoesSolar]

Thanks Mark - I think you'll like Octopus Energy - the hardest part is choosing from all their great tariffs :-) And no worries about the referral code - I appreciate you thinking about me though! I really like the concept of vehicle to home/grid - it just makes a lot of sense, using a large battery asset that you already own in an additional way. It'll take a few more years though before it becomes the norm, I reckon...

[@matbowden9156]

​@@GaryDoesSolarI remember the Mégane being advertised as V2G, but when it went on sale here in the UK, the feature has been turned off. I just saw EVM's review on the car. £32k new. I'm wondering what will happen when it's turned on 🤔. Also, the new EV9 is V2x capable, but no one at Kia (that talks to the public) knows anything about the necessary bidirectional charger. My hope is, at the time of this comment, is octopus (who already have wallbox products) start providing the quasar chargers. $64m question - how much of a premium will they be over a regular charger?

[@GaryDoesSolar]

Thanks for this insight, @@matbowden9156 - I'll make a note for my video on the topic, when I get to that point! Maybe, just maybe things are moving forward for V2G...?

[@matbowden9156]

@@GaryDoesSolar I sincerely hope so! 🤩👍

[@nickbradley3966]

Hi Gary, Thanks for another informative video. Is Agile still capped? It didn't seem so when I looked yesterday?

[@GaryDoesSolar]

Cheers for the great feedback, Nick :-) Now, looking at this webpage on the Octopus Energy website (octopus.energy/agile/) it looks like there's a £1 cap in place per kWh.

[@nickbradley3966]

@@GaryDoesSolar Ah, yes: right you are Gary.

[@nigelholland24]

i have no solar no batteries nor a ev but i am saving on agile as i have a hot tub and a ashp also running home assistant which heats the hot tub when agile says its cheap

[@GaryDoesSolar]

That's a great use of Agile - I can't imagine the costs of running a hot tub in the UK on a standard tariff these days!

[@scottcameron8936]

I have solar and an EV but no battery and on early FIT. Generate about 11kw a day during summer and maybe 2-3 in the winter. Which if the Octopus rates might be best for me? Live in a gas area for water heating and cooking so not hoigh users in leccy in any case.

[@GaryDoesSolar]

I don’t have any experience with FiT, but perhaps others can comment on your question 👍🏻

[@pauld7827]

I like these videos but wonder if these tariffs really work with non-Octopus friendly inverters or batteries. In December I installed solar panels a Fox Inverter and 7.5kw Fox batteries. As I have an EV I chose the 'Go' tariff to allow me to charge the car and the batteries during the 4 hour cheaper period. Now we are beginning to have longer and brighter days, I switched to Agile and that proved much more expensive overall, in my situation. Especially as I was not being paid for exporting electricity. Recently, I switched to the 'Flux' tariff as it allows me to get paid for exporting electricity. Overall the situation is that I need to charge my car more often as I only get 3 hours 'cheap' electricity. The cost of that 'cheap' electricity is higher (20p per kWh rather than 12p). Overall I am paying more for importing electricity which is slightly offset by the export payments. On Agile I never saw any plunge pricing. With solar panels, EV chargers and batteries that do not work with Octopus Agile, I don't think that you will get any benefit. Especially in the winter. I think long term, I will look to go to the 'Go' tariff to charge the car and top up the batteries in the winter and a different company for my export as Octopus does not offer an export tariff on GO.

[@GaryDoesSolar]

Thanks for taking the time to share your experiences, Paul. As you have an EV, being on Go (or IO) is likely to be best for you - at least from what I hear from other people in your situation...

[@symmetryofzero]

I'm not sure what to do here. I have a Tesla power wall, solar panels and we have two EVs. Currently on intelligent Octopus. I have noticed there are periods where I'm exporting to the grid but I won't be getting paid for it. This doesn't happen much but I'm sure it will happen a lot this summer. We charge the EVs and the battery during 11:30 and 5:30. I have become used to Intelligent octopus and not sure this new tarriff will benifit us. Any thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated.

[@GaryDoesSolar]

I plan on making a video on the Intelligent Octopus tariff soon. More and more people are getting EVs now (great) and so you're not alone in this tariff dilemma. IO is a pretty good tariff for EV owners, but worth trying out some of the comparison apps I referenced in the video... :-)

[@ginod2279]

Be great if you can actually switch to it easily. Octopus seem to always drag their feet when you want to swap tarrif. 3 weeks they said to me. Why when I've been on it before and my meteres work fine apparently

[@GaryDoesSolar]

Hi Gino, sorry to hear you're having difficulties switching over. I think Octopus is swamped with their Bulb customer migration at the moment?

[@ginod2279]

@Gary Does Solar yeah I can imagine just need more staff then don't they. Since we switched last June its been 1 phone call after the other. Just makes me wonder how they won so many awards.

[@allan4787]

Excellent video. I'm just at the stage of ordering solar and battery storage. You mention in this video that some batteries (and presumably inverters) are able to react to octopus agile. Can you list some of these please this seems a really interesting tariff thanks Allan

[@bertiesworld]

Have a look at Luxpower. There power controllers work with Octopus.

[@jjlodgephotography]

Pretty sure Giv Energy does

[@GaryDoesSolar]

Sunsynk inverters also

[@allan4787]

@@bertiesworld thanks

[@allan4787]

@@jjlodgephotography thanks

[@bazcurtis178]

Another excellent video. I have been tracking Agile against the standard tariff since before we got our panels. In January we saved, £24.76, February £26.78 and March £30.70. So far this month £17.41.This is comparing what we use and includes charging the battery overnight. This does not include what we save by being off grid using solar and the battery. I joined Agile Export in late March. On 5 days we have made a profit. Not a lot, but it all counts 😀 I know have Home Assistant setting the overnight charge level so we don't overcharge the battery when Solcast says the next day is going to be a good solar day. It will also controls if we need an afternoon top up on bad day. I have written this up on my blog. If you want to read more, please Google, Too Geeky For My Own Good.

[@GaryDoesSolar]

Hi Michael, thanks for the kind words, and great to see that Agile is working well for you - those savings are pretty good! :-) Nice use of home assistant. Do you find it reliable? I'm asking because I'm thinking about doing a video on that technology (in terms of, is it robust enough for non-techie people?) I'll check out your blog!

[@bazcurtis178]

@@GaryDoesSolar It has been very reliable. The research was interesting. What forecast required what overnight charging level? I seem to have that sorted. I need to write up the afternoon charing logic. That was a bit more tricky. I also need to write up overnight battery usage time. Over the winter the battery would start at 6am as I wanted as much as possible during the day. Now Home Assistant set the time, midnight, 2am, 4am, 6am depending on the forecast and how much battery is left. I am wondering if I really need to bother as Agile is cheap between midnight and 6am anyway.

[@dangermousieie]

Looking at historical data, Agile looks very dismal overnight during cold snap last December. For someone with solar, batteries, PHEV, and an air source heat pump, I guess Agile is good for summer only?

[@GaryDoesSolar]

Yeah, Agile can be quite unpredictable. Luckily, I think Octopus Energy allows you to change tariff every month if you wished...

[@71brp84]

How do i work out which tarrif would be best when I've got no historical data? We've recently moved house, are waiting for a smart meter, have an EV and are getting solar and batteries installed in a few months. Agile potentially looks attractive, but also high maintenance, whereas other Octopus tarrifs, such as IO have poor export rates. We're also planning an ASHP (property already has UF heating), probably next year, as were currently on oil for heating and HW.

[@GaryDoesSolar]

Wow - you're really going for it! Fantastic. I'm guessing that with an EV and a heat pump, you won't be supporting much, if any solar. So that would rule out Flux in my mind. Therefore, it would be more about buying electricity as cheap as possible when the sun isn't shining - and so Agile comes into the frame, together with Intelligent Octopus (which I think is replacing Go). The thing is, your EV battery is generally far bigger than any solar battery you would have, so a tariff with a ton of off-peak hours (Agile, IO) can only be good :-)

[@71brp84]

@@GaryDoesSolar thanks Gary. I've had a play around with your utility and Intelligent definitely looks best for winter in pretty much all scenarios. Agile, although potentially better, looks like it would require very high maintenance from an end user perspective, unless I can get set up with HA. Flux looks good for summer as we only need to charge the EV once a week for the most part and that can run from xs solar anyway. Can't wait for the install to get things started.

[@GaryDoesSolar]

@@71brp84 Yeah, Intelligent Octopus really does look the business for EV owners! And agreed, on Agile - I'm hoping the equipment manufacturers will integrate Agile into their products before long... Hope everything goes well with the install (which will come around in no time!)

[@ianandrew8030]

I'm on Octopus Agile and Agile Outgoing Octopus no complaints so far, don't think I'll be swapping to Flux 🤔

[@GaryDoesSolar]

Great to hear that Agile is still has plenty benefits in the light of tariffs like Flux :-)

[@dr6124]

Can i change energy supplier yet? I moved house during the price increases and i had no choice but to go on their standard variable rate (currently 46p/kWh)

[@GaryDoesSolar]

Assuming you're living in the UK and are not with Octopus Energy yet then, I suggest you give them a call, and they'll you you what your options are: 0808 164 1088

[@jezlucas3878]

If you are careful can you save using agile onna standard system without any renewables in place ?

[@GaryDoesSolar]

I would say mostly likely yes compared to the standard rate. And possibly yes against the daily tracker rate 👍🏻

[@Teachaman2fish88]

What’s the criteria for you solar instal to qualify for the agile tariff. Because my system is a self instal. And I could dump a huge amount of energy into the grid when the max amount was paid . Adding a extra battery is no problem.

[@GaryDoesSolar]

So, the problem about exporting energy is a UK Ofgem requirement for your installation to be certified (MCS or equivalent). And some energy providers restrict to just MCS. I'd put some links here, but KZbin automatically deletes comments with links in :-/

[@Teachaman2fish88]

@@GaryDoesSolar thanks. With that in mind I would rather just enjoy paying the standing charge only. A tax on being connected to the grid maybe. But the three way switch seems to work well. I can charge the battery if I want when the cost is cheapest and the generation has been poor.

[@roxyoscamouse]

Hi Gary I have received an email from Rowan Energy about a miner…how about a video for us newbies on the subject…or have you one that I missed?

[@GaryDoesSolar]

I think you're referring to this, yes? www.rowanenergy.com It is certainly something I'd like to talk about in a future video, but the short version is (at the moment anyway) there is not much money to be made from crypto mining these days, not least because of the transition from "proof of work" to "proof of stake" in many crypto assets. Take a look at this article, which gives a fairly easy explanation: tangem.com/en/blog/post/cryptocurrencies-mining-and-the-environmental-impact/

[@markloughtonUK]

Does octopus supply and fit batteries? I have a solar system installed 11 years ago but am interested in storing some excess energy now and I have no hot water tank (only combi boiler).

[@GaryDoesSolar]

I think they will only do batteries alongside solar panels, but there are any number of solar installers that can fit batteries for you. Just go onto the “MCS Registered” website in the UK to see a list of installers in your area. I’d put a link but KZbin seems to delete comments with links

[@adrianlynch9435]

@@GaryDoesSolar I found it very difficult to search for an MCS installer directly via there search function. The best way I found was to use the map with flags for the installers (on the MCS website) and found them that way. MCS may have sorted this now though as this was in October 2022.

[@eddyd8745]

I pre-heat my water using solar or cheap agile (with a price plunge and I get paid to heat it) and store it in a tank before feeding it through my combi. There's a sensor on the combi that stops it firing up if the incoming water is hot already.

[@wheresswitzerland]

Anyone has an ideas for other services in europe? Especially switzerland?

[@GaryDoesSolar]

Could you be more specific please? Do you mean remote control services?

[@wheresswitzerland]

@@GaryDoesSolar Services for dynamic costs. Like the octoput service.

[@GaryDoesSolar]

@@wheresswitzerland Ah ok. I don't know too much about the Swiss market, I'm afraid. Worth looking on local solar online forums there to see if there is discussion about energy providers having innovative smart tariffs...

[@bobchambers6952]

Hi, I have solar an E V and at the moment I am doing V2G. I now have been offered V2H. I am with Ovo at the moment and not sure what company to go with. Octopus seems a no brainer but which tariff. Any help please.

[@GaryDoesSolar]

Hi Bob, I would certainly recommend Octopus over OVO (I used to be with OVO myself). In terms of tariff, you're spoilt for choice. Most EV owners are likely to be on Go, but I think that tariff is soon to be superseded with Intelligent Octopus. Alternatively, there is of course, Agile. In terms of being adventurous, from least to most, I'd suggest: - Go - Intelligent Octopus - Agile

[@bobchambers6952]

@@GaryDoesSolar Thanks Gary. Hopefully I will be going on to V2H in May. I got a 30 kwh Leaf and a heat pump and solar so if I charge the car up at night I can run my bungalow in the winter on cheap electricity. I am retired so the car is in the garage most of the time. Still not sure what tariff to go on. Bob.

[@GaryDoesSolar]

@@bobchambers6952 Not sure if you're on Facebook or not, but there is a group called "Octopus Go, Intelligent Octopus & Octopus Flux chat" where you can see how others are getting on with those tariffs, and you can ask questions to the experts there too - good luck with whatever you decide 🙂

[@Zebsy]

Imho this tariff sounds like taking on a part time job, watching the prices to save a few pence here and there. Unless someone has worked out how to program their system to take advantage of the lower prices automatically? Flux makes more sense to me as it's completely predictable and the export rates are excellent.

[@Zebsy]

Ps I asked Octopus about programming our inverter for Agile, they had no clue. Eventually I got referred to their smart tariff forums to ask there...

[@GaryDoesSolar]

Yeah, you're right - life's too short to manually manage a tariff like this every day. Thankfully, more and more inverter/battery manufacturers are building in automated management for smart tariffs like Agile. Tesla, Lux and GivEnergy, to name a few...

[@johnneale8390]

What's your views on ripple energy and their scheme Gary

[@GaryDoesSolar]

Hi John, I'm still trying to get a handle on it. I certainly like the idea of investing into a wind turbine/farm to compliment my solar installation, but I'm not too sure about investing into a solar farm, which is Ripple's 3rd venture. They've just closed applications for this latest venture and they're having a webinar tomorrow for all 20,000 applicants (I was one, paying £25 to find out more). Check out this video by John Tilbury. You'll see I asked John some questions in the comments, and he gave valuable insight.

[@GaryDoesSolar]

Hmmm, I just realised that KZbin tends to delete comments with URLs and email addresses in them, so please search for "Solar PV, Tesla Powerwall 2 and home energy costs for Feb 2023" on his channel in case you don't see the URL after this comment...

[@GaryDoesSolar]

John's KZbin channel: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iWObYmxrqceHqrc

[@johnneale8390]

I'm the same I put 25 in to secure a slot in the farm but looking at the numbers it 17 years to just break even seems a long time to just break even

[@greg_takacs]

Such pricing can only be lucrative if I also have a way to automate my energy import and export, battery use and consumption. Manually trying to chase the highs and lows of spot wholesale pricing is a fool's errand and will never work.

[@GaryDoesSolar]

Hi Greg, I'm not sure I would use the word 'only'. There are many people who are quite happy to spend 5 minutes each day, setting up their battery based on the next day price alert text they receive. I couldn't be one of them though - life's too short! Automation is a far better approach, and hopefully more and more manufacturers will integrate such capability into their products...

[@inh415]

No one should be doing it manually. Should be fully automated using something like home assistant and / or node red.

[@Olivarus238]

I see that I'm 7 months late watching this 😅 but I have 5.4kWh of solar, 28.4kWh of Battery storage, a large ASHP and an EV. I note that you say that you're on Flux and that because you don't have an EV, you would use Agile if not already on Flux. That suggests that because I have an EV, I'm better on my current tariff of Octopus Go. Neither my car nor my charger are compatible with Octopus Intelligent. So I used Octopus Compare to look at my Go usage against Agile and for the last week, the last month and the last year my usage makes Go cheaper than Agile by £240+ for the year. Does that make sense to you, or are the daytime savings low enough to charge my batteries in the day as well as overnight? There's plenty of spare capacity in the batteries at this time of the year and we're home all day.

[@GaryDoesSolar]

Thanks for taking the time to comment. Yeah, if I had an EV I'd try to get onto Intelligent Octopus Go... Agile is quite good, but of late, the off-peak prices have not been as low as I'd want. Octopus Compare is a good app, but of course, your usage habits would change depending on the tariff you're on, and I'm not sure the app can simulate that when comparing, meaning the results are not as accurate as they could be. Check out my latest video (released just now) which demonstrates that charging your batteries to full every day (regardless of the weather) is a good thing. The tariff in question was Flux, but I think it would be the same conclusion for other tariffs... :-)

[@avivscrewvalla]

For those who's household consumption is below 4K kWh per annum, a battery makes no financial sense, even when on the Flux tariff. Said another way, only households with heat pumps, EV's or really heavy consumption should invest in a battery. For everyone else with Solar PV, Agile incoming and outgoing are the way forward.

[@GaryDoesSolar]

I don't know if I agree with this. The battery moves power from one time to another, so it really depends on the demand usage of the house in question.

[@avivscrewvalla]

@@GaryDoesSolar Yes of course, but there is a substantial cost element to batteries and a lifespan < 50% that of a PV system. When the house isn't consuming more than average, the numbers just don't add up. Perhaps a "Gary analysis" is worth exploring? Thanks for another informative presentation!

[@geoffwebber8272]

I agree with @Gary Does Solar, if you have the time (being retired or WFH) to manage your consumption, and / or adjust the charging and discharging times of the battery there are great savings to be made. On the 25th of March my total spend (for 13kWh) of electricity was -12p (Octopus paid me 12p)! This is because I charged the battery (10kW) when the unit cost was barely above zero, and exported (due to the sun shining) when the rate was relatively high. It takes me less than 10 minutes to check the rates for the next day and set up the inverter using the app on my phone. Since the beginning of the year my average unit cost for electricity is about 16p. This is calculated by dividing the amount paid for power from the grid by the total number (solar + grid) units consumed.

[@avivscrewvalla]

@@geoffwebber8272 Ofcourse you do. But have you calculated your incremental spend on the battery, it's life of 10 years compared to importing on Agile and exporting at 15p kWh? The analysis may surprise you!

[@waqasahmed939]

@@GaryDoesSolar I think I'd need at least a 5 kw battery to get me through the time when my solar panels aren't generating, assuming that it's also a very bright day the next day too If however it's quite murky, 5 kw suddenly isn't exactly amazing if you've generated above and beyond what you needed the day prior

[@uknavynige]

Ive discovered you can add referral code after the fact! My account goes live in June so I've just emailed your referal code to octopus. I'm learning lots from you thanks, this week had solar,and battery Installed.

[@GaryDoesSolar]

Apologies for the delayed reply - I only just got notification of your message. Great news that your solar installation is up and running! How is it all going? And thank you for the referral - that’s very much appreciated 😀🙏

[@uknavynige]

Making up to 42kwh a day at moment with my east West 19x415 watt panels. And solely using battery at night charged by the daylight hours. Still waiting for my paperwork to arrive as panels were fitted inless than a week and on a bank holiday before I can go over to flux but I change to octopus 1st of June. Wish I'd done it sooner and I never realised how fascinating it can be looking at all the graphs of load and battery etc. My system is a growatt which probably isn't the top brand but besides battery not charging at 1st after a reset it's worked perfectly. And the app everyone moans about I find easy to use intuitive and informative.

[@GaryDoesSolar]

@@uknavynige Wow - that's really good generation! And having West-facing panels will be great for the peak export period of Flux as well 😃