Octopus energy company. Anyone use 'em?
Discussion
Trustmeimadoctor said:
Home assistant is free if you have any old hardware
I'll investigate tomorrow. It looks like I need to use a virtual Linux machine. My spare computers are quite old (Windows XP old), so they can't be connected to the internet. I do have a spare Windows notepad that was Windows 10. It was cloned to make this one, so I don't know how good it will be. It got to the point where Windows 10 upgrades were failing because it was too small.It looks like whatever machine I use, it will have to be permanently switched on. This won't be a problem if the small notebook works, but I don't want to leave a PC permanently on.
pingu393 said:
Home Assistant is £85. I'd buy it to play with, but the only reason to buy it is to save money. I won't save £85.
From what I've read, the algorithms in GitHub can't cope with Octopus Agile. They need a fixed-time, and fixed prices. As you know, Agile changes the prices for its half-hour slots every 24 hours, with only 7 hours notice.
I can do the maths manually, but to do it automatically would require a daily download of tomorrow's Agile data. One good thing is that the battery slot selection could only be done after solar had stopped charging. If the model were to run at 2200, this would mean there would be time after 1600 to download tomorrow's Agile data.
I just need the code to download the data, and the code to amend the battery app data. I'll have to do some creative Googling.
I've never programmed in Python, so that's another learning curve. I may not need to, as that seems to be used to program a Raspberry Pi. I may just reverse-engineer Python into Java or HTML. We'll see.
My little program works very well, but is very much like a 1970's generation of car. It's not as Bobby-basic as a 1960's, as it has electric windows and a fitted rear heated-window, it has an electronic distributor, but still has a carburettor and manual choke. Being able to automatically download the Agile data, and amend the Tesla battery app, at the press of a button would be a 2010 car. A fully, hands-off, application, probably on a mobile phone app would make it a 2025 7-series
.
I'm being paid £64 to sit in a room with nothing to do for the next fortnight. I'll spend my time on a laptop, if I'm not being one of twelve angry men
.
I believe there is a documented octopus API ... not played with it directly, but it's probably restFul and accessible using curl. It'd probably need your meter number as a param. From what I've read, the algorithms in GitHub can't cope with Octopus Agile. They need a fixed-time, and fixed prices. As you know, Agile changes the prices for its half-hour slots every 24 hours, with only 7 hours notice.
I can do the maths manually, but to do it automatically would require a daily download of tomorrow's Agile data. One good thing is that the battery slot selection could only be done after solar had stopped charging. If the model were to run at 2200, this would mean there would be time after 1600 to download tomorrow's Agile data.
I just need the code to download the data, and the code to amend the battery app data. I'll have to do some creative Googling.
I've never programmed in Python, so that's another learning curve. I may not need to, as that seems to be used to program a Raspberry Pi. I may just reverse-engineer Python into Java or HTML. We'll see.
My little program works very well, but is very much like a 1970's generation of car. It's not as Bobby-basic as a 1960's, as it has electric windows and a fitted rear heated-window, it has an electronic distributor, but still has a carburettor and manual choke. Being able to automatically download the Agile data, and amend the Tesla battery app, at the press of a button would be a 2010 car. A fully, hands-off, application, probably on a mobile phone app would make it a 2025 7-series
. I'm being paid £64 to sit in a room with nothing to do for the next fortnight. I'll spend my time on a laptop, if I'm not being one of twelve angry men
.I found the Octopus API last night. Daunting stuff .
I'm learning Python today, but I expect to be angry this afternoon, as I was let off yesterday. I can't be lucky two days on the trot.
I think the stumbling block will be the Tesla app. I don't think I'll be able to amend that without manual intervention.
I think the best that I'll be able to do is to get a list of the best slots to select, but they will have to be selected in the app. I have seen some software that attempts to replicate the Tesla app. I'll have a look at that.
Just using my little website worked a treat last night. I was able to select the best slots, and their start percentages and finish percentages were very close to the actual values. The time-consuming part was working out the different price options. That will take some "interesting" programming.
My estimates...
Actuals...
.I'm learning Python today, but I expect to be angry this afternoon, as I was let off yesterday. I can't be lucky two days on the trot.
I think the stumbling block will be the Tesla app. I don't think I'll be able to amend that without manual intervention.
I think the best that I'll be able to do is to get a list of the best slots to select, but they will have to be selected in the app. I have seen some software that attempts to replicate the Tesla app. I'll have a look at that.
Just using my little website worked a treat last night. I was able to select the best slots, and their start percentages and finish percentages were very close to the actual values. The time-consuming part was working out the different price options. That will take some "interesting" programming.
My estimates...
| Slot Start Time | Battery @ Start of Slot | Battery @ End of Slot |
|---|---|---|
| 0400-0430 | 64% | 80% |
| 0430-0500 | 80% | 96% |
| 0530-0600 | 94% | 100% |
Actuals...
| Slot Start Time | Battery @ Start of Slot | Battery @ End of Slot |
|---|---|---|
| 0400-0430 | 66% | 82% |
| 0430-0500 | 82% | 93% |
| 0530-0600 | 92% | 100% |
AyBee said:
After almost a year on Agile, I've just switched to IOG. The lack of cheap slots means I'm charging the car on c.20p/kwh so reckon I can beat it on IOG for a while. Feb's average was 21.4p/kwh which is significantly higher than I've been averaging.
Feb's average? Is your EV a De Lorean?We signed up to Octopus a few nights ago. Looking to go onto the dumb EV tariff (Octopus Go?) as neither our charger or car is compatible with their intelligent tariff. We've had to go onto one of their normal tariffs until we can get a SMETS2 smart meter fitted, no idea how long this will take but hopefully not too long as I'd like to be able to charge the Phev for 8.5p/kWh over night! Any idea how long it takes from being switched to octopus to getting on a Go tariff? Reading around it seems we need to go on every Monday and try and get a slot for the smart meter fitting but seems a bit of a PITA
Crudeoink said:
We signed up to Octopus a few nights ago. Looking to go onto the dumb EV tariff (Octopus Go?) as neither our charger or car is compatible with their intelligent tariff. We've had to go onto one of their normal tariffs until we can get a SMETS2 smart meter fitted, no idea how long this will take but hopefully not too long as I'd like to be able to charge the Phev for 8.5p/kWh over night! Any idea how long it takes from being switched to octopus to getting on a Go tariff? Reading around it seems we need to go on every Monday and try and get a slot for the smart meter fitting but seems a bit of a PITA
Once you've got the smart meter installed and it's working and readings are visible in the app or website, you should be able to switch tariffs immediately.Suggested EV rate - Octopus go night rates for me changed to 8.5p now
Night rate (00:30 - 05:30):
8.5p / kWh
Day rate (05:30 - 00:30):
26.4p / kWh
Standing charge:
62.22p / day
Their suggested solar rate - Flux seems expensive
Day rate Import: 24.98p / kWh Export: 13.32p / kWh
Flux rate (02:00 - 05:00) Import: 14.99p / kWh Export: 4.74p / kWh
Peak rate (16:00 - 19:00) Import: 34.97p / kWh Export: 26.6p / kWh
Standing charge 62.22p / day
I'm on flexible currently
Import: 24.98p/kWh all day, Standing charge 62.22p/day
Export: 15p/kWh
With only 5kw of battery that won't charge at more than 1.1kwh, I can't see it's worth changing
Night rate (00:30 - 05:30):
8.5p / kWh
Day rate (05:30 - 00:30):
26.4p / kWh
Standing charge:
62.22p / day
Their suggested solar rate - Flux seems expensive
Day rate Import: 24.98p / kWh Export: 13.32p / kWh
Flux rate (02:00 - 05:00) Import: 14.99p / kWh Export: 4.74p / kWh
Peak rate (16:00 - 19:00) Import: 34.97p / kWh Export: 26.6p / kWh
Standing charge 62.22p / day
I'm on flexible currently
Import: 24.98p/kWh all day, Standing charge 62.22p/day
Export: 15p/kWh
With only 5kw of battery that won't charge at more than 1.1kwh, I can't see it's worth changing
Edited by Byker28i on Wednesday 5th February 11:45
Have you put your details into here and set the from/to dates to see what the cost would be for the various options?
https://www.octopriceuk.app/compare
If you have the option to use Go then that should be cheaper than being on Flexible if you use it to charge your battery up overnight then power the house during the day (or hybrid it) as that is the point of having one is it not?
5 hours at 1.1kW charge rate per hour will be enough to charge up your 5kW battery with time left over. Plus you can load shift other appliances to overnight if you are currently using these during the day off the battery.
I say this with the large caveat of not knowing your usage pattern or any numbers
https://www.octopriceuk.app/compare
If you have the option to use Go then that should be cheaper than being on Flexible if you use it to charge your battery up overnight then power the house during the day (or hybrid it) as that is the point of having one is it not?
5 hours at 1.1kW charge rate per hour will be enough to charge up your 5kW battery with time left over. Plus you can load shift other appliances to overnight if you are currently using these during the day off the battery.
I say this with the large caveat of not knowing your usage pattern or any numbers
Edited by KTF on Wednesday 5th February 12:14
Skodillac said:
AyBee said:
After almost a year on Agile, I've just switched to IOG. The lack of cheap slots means I'm charging the car on c.20p/kwh so reckon I can beat it on IOG for a while. Feb's average was 21.4p/kwh which is significantly higher than I've been averaging.
Feb's average? Is your EV a De Lorean? Good spot - the bill lands in Feb in my defence!KTF said:
Have you put your details into here and set the from/to dates to see what the cost would be for the various options?
https://www.octopriceuk.app/compare
Didn't know about that - thankshttps://www.octopriceuk.app/compare
hum around £50 better on electric, £50 worse on gas...
Edited by Byker28i on Wednesday 5th February 14:19
Made the decision this morning and came off tracker onto a fixed tarrif. The current tracker deal was going to end in a week, and the new one looked to be a couple of p more per kWh, which would be quite a but more than the fixed at the moment, although could well have come down over summer.
Everything I've read shows prices are likely to go up over the next year, so thought I'd take the plunge. Wish I'd done it a month ago as the fixed has gone up quite a lot since then, but hindsight is a wonderful thing!
Everything I've read shows prices are likely to go up over the next year, so thought I'd take the plunge. Wish I'd done it a month ago as the fixed has gone up quite a lot since then, but hindsight is a wonderful thing!
Silverage said:
I switched to Tomato Energy for electricity last November. I’m still with Tracker for gas with Octopus. I’d like to switch to fixed if I could but I can’t see a way to do it. Do I have to contact them?
I did it online, just went to my account and there was a box to switch tariff. I'm on the 14M Fixed for gas at the end of the week.I'm trying to change from Gas Tracker to a fixed gas tariff. I'm doing it in the app on my phone (there's no option available in my online account using a web browser on my laptop), but it's telling me I can't because I'm not due to renew until November. I thought customers were allowed to jump off Tracker any time? Am I wrong?
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