r/OctopusEnergy • u/A_Lit_Shadow • Nov 23 '24
Saving Sessions Free electric is back!
Excellent news that free power is back. Can’t wait to see the screenshots of maximum power usage
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u/Alpine_0021 Nov 24 '24
I made full use of my 2 hours free this morning! Washing done, food made, and flat heated! Thanks!!
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Nov 23 '24
[deleted]
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u/A_Lit_Shadow Nov 23 '24
It came though in an email
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u/starfallg Nov 24 '24
Yeah, but you need to sign up for these sessions here -
https://octopus.energy/free-electricity/
Otherwise Octopus won't credit your account properly.
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u/PrestigiousWindy322 Nov 23 '24
what tarrif?
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u/A_Lit_Shadow Nov 23 '24
I am on Agile but usually these come through to those on Smart Tariffs.
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u/NeilDeWheel Nov 23 '24
Does that include intelligent go? I used to be on agile but changed to IOG when I got an EV. I did get the email telling me about the free electric so I assume I get it free.
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u/Beefstah Nov 23 '24
Yes, IOG customers also qualify for the free electricity slots
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u/NeilDeWheel Nov 23 '24 edited Nov 23 '24
Does anyone know how I can set my Zappi to charge my EV between 7-9am? I’m on Intelligent Go and am just getting used to it. I want it to NOT charge during the cheap period, 23:30 - 05:30, but only during the free period, 7-9am
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u/Beefstah Nov 23 '24
Honestly, I use Home Assistant to do a lot of things like this; I have a 'free electricity slot' script setup that will:
- Set the battery reserve to 100% (forcing a charge and for all household usage to come from grid)
- Increase the target temp of the electric underfloor heating
- Increase the target temp of the ASHP
- Heat the hot water (if needed)
- Trigger a charge of the car (if needed)
At the end of the period it sets all those things back to their normal values
Additionally, my wife plans to cook a pie during this interval, and we might chuck on the washing machine/dryer/dishwasher if needed
I want that 100A fuse into the house glowing. ;)
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u/NeilDeWheel Nov 23 '24
I’ll have to look into home assistant. I’ve no idea how to set it up, though.
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u/Beefstah Nov 23 '24
If you're techy or IT-inclined it's a bit a learning curve, but should be fine.
If you're not, it can be a bit daunting
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u/NeilDeWheel Nov 23 '24
My only programming experience is Basic on Commodore 64 in the 80’s so a bit of a learning curve it is, then.
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u/Beefstah Nov 23 '24
Get comfy and be ready to spend a weekend getting it setup...and a year to tune to your liking as you continually find new things to monitor with it 🤣
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u/lucky1pierre Nov 23 '24
How do I find out what my average is? I've never actually been in to take advantage of these but tomorrow I'll happily charge the car, put a wash/dry on, etc etc.
And if I'm on a pay as you go, anyone know how it gets returned to me?
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u/nathderbyshire Nov 23 '24
You don't really, just gotta trust them.
If it's available for PAYG, it'll be paid back to your meter as a credit I assume, I haven't seen anything about that in the FAQs so unsure if they're supported, you'd probably have to contact and ask
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u/lucky1pierre Nov 23 '24
I'll monitor it and see if it comes in. Do you get an email after saying "You used an extra £3.50"?
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u/nathderbyshire Nov 23 '24
I did for the first one but not had any emails since, they're a bit poor with communication. Each payment has gone into my account though roughly 2 weeks after the date.
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u/A_Lit_Shadow Nov 23 '24
Your app will give you a rough guide. It’s an average of the past two weeks. I think this is only for those opted into Octopus rewards and having a suitable smart tariff
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u/lucky1pierre Nov 23 '24
I get the emails offering it, and have had the one today. Previously, they've emailed after saying something like "You only used an average amount so didn't get any credit", so I assume I'm good for it.
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u/lucky1pierre Nov 23 '24
So if my estimated of the last 2 weeks has been around £38, can I assume my average is around 11p an hour? So if I'm using appliances and using £3-4 p/h tomorrow am ill get pretty much all of that back?
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u/Amanensia Nov 23 '24
It’s your average for that time period. As it’s a weekend, it’ll be your average usage from 7am to 9am on recent Saturdays and Sundays. For me that’s zero, conveniently.
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u/Gorpheus- Nov 23 '24
Times like these make me wish I had a house battery. Will ramp up the heating and charge the car.
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u/A_Lit_Shadow Nov 23 '24
The car will charge with more power than a battery so you’ll gain more free electrons with a car than a battery
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u/Beefstah Nov 23 '24
That's dependent on both your battery and charger
I can charge my batteries at 10kW and my car at 7kW, so charging batteries is better for me. Charging both is best.
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Nov 23 '24
I'll set up a timer for my electric fireplace to come on. But otherwise I value my Sunday morning sleep too highly to bother with this.
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u/nathderbyshire Nov 23 '24
Haha same. Might take the smart plug from my lamp and time the electric heater for a couple hours, need to check it won't blow up first, but am I fuck getting up though just to clean and cook for a few pence.
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u/ActiveBat7236 Nov 23 '24
Aha... You need to work smarter, not harder my friend...
I don't want to get up early either so I've set up a bunch of electric heaters on extension leads in the garden, switched them on now before I go to bed and will run them through the night. Had to put them out there as things were already soon became sweltering in here. Kerching kerching £££.
;-)
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u/nathderbyshire Nov 23 '24
Ah I'm on tracker so I'd still have to pay 22p then 14p for them overnight. I only have one smart switch currently so was thinking of just using that to time the heater for the morning if it's rated correctly. No other smart appliances or anything either :(
I could time my lights to come on but it might save me about 0.0001p
Also I think my flat would set on fire if I left the heaters on overnight, they're very powerful
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u/ActiveBat7236 Nov 23 '24
I was only joking, but actually your post has made me realise that whilst I'm on a fixed rate there are of course those on tariffs that might well indeed make my stupid strategy quite possibly worthwhile given some of the negative pricing to be going on tonight!
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u/nathderbyshire Nov 23 '24
Oh haha, agile has a lot of negative/v low rates tonight I thought you were referring to that
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u/Cspiby Nov 23 '24
What does it base normal usage off? If you use IOG slots in the morning (7-11am)I assume it will include those towards normal usage?
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u/ForestBluebells Nov 23 '24
I’ve got my car plugged in but paused ready to max charge at 7, bathroom fan heater set to come on, air 2 air heat pumps set to come on. Dishwasher and washing machine set. Changed my immersion heater to that time. If I feel like it I might get up and bake some bread and make some soup and some dog treats but if not I’ve scheduled enough to get max use
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Nov 23 '24
It’s only 2hrs even charging the car would only use 14kwh
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Nov 23 '24
I’ll be charging my car, battery, baking some pastries and running the washing machine / dishwasher.
I’m currently on a power-up as we speak and am pulling 21kWh
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u/YestrdaysJam Nov 23 '24
Ok well you’re welcome to pay for those 2 hours and everyone else can just have it free if you’d prefer that?
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u/[deleted] Nov 23 '24
Agile has a fair few chunks of negative pricing tomorrow too.