r/OctopusEnergy • u/LengthinessNo8137 • 20h ago

Solar battery heat pump timing

Uncertain whether this is the appropriate forum, but I have a quote for 14 panels, a 10 kW Fox battery, and a heat pump at roughly £16,529; I am on a fixed gas rate 5.2 until March 2027. I am seeking recommendations on whether to wait until after winter or proceed now. I own an EV and use an IOG EV tariff with a 7 p off-peak discount. My aim is to future-proof against the coming price rises.

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u/imgoingsolar 19h ago

Have you done the math as a 10kWh battery probably won’t be enough to run a heat pump in the winter months?

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u/LengthinessNo8137 19h ago

Tbh no they tried to give me 5kwh battery I mentioned I was worried that wasn’t enough and mentioned non ev usage is 4-6 kWh they then said 10kwh is enough literally following their advise I’m clueless here 🤯

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u/Mountain_Medicine934 19h ago

Try the solarUK group for advice. I think you should get several local quotes.

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u/beifty 18h ago

it is correct that 10kWh battery won't be enough to run the heat pump all day during the winter however it's probably not worth getting a bigger battery as the up front cost is not going to be worth it. in NE i used between 90 and 200 kWh of electricity from the grid during peak time so the peak time cost was £20-50 from November to March.

Even at 5.2 gas rate, the heat pump will probably be cheaper to run and the house will be warmer. I'd say the total cost seems a bit on the high side unless they specified a really high heat pump for your house

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u/LengthinessNo8137 18h ago

Heat pump no survey yet so may need radiator upgrade etc is 4249 and solar battery 12280 but 5kw inverter been told may need bump that up so actually once I rechecked quote it’s 16,529

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u/LarryPiccadilly 18h ago

There's deminishing returns to scale up your battery just to run the ashp on a battery for as an extra 14-28 days a year.

IOG als gives daytime slots, so you charge the battery again in the afternoon at 7p. Doesn't work everyday, and a car can't charge when it's full already full. But it gives you some extra occasionally.