Plug in solar, EV tariffs and economy 7
Discussion
I live in a listed thatched cottage with an electric aga, storage heaters and electric water heating, so choosing a economy 7 tariff is simply a case of "who has the lowest off peak rate".
We're also looking at getting a cheap EV (used Zoe) which would cover about 6k a year, which means we qualify for an EV tariff.
EDF seem to offer an incredibly cheap EV tariff - 11pm-6am for 6.66p a unit - which is over 3p a unit less than the best Economy 7 tariff I can find. Day rates are around 35p a unit. It's unclear if they offer Economy 7 switching on this tariff.
I'm considering plug in solar (the biggest I can get) with the hope it covers our base usage of about 0.25kWh during the day, with headroom for more when I'm working at home.
Luckily, our back garden is perfectly aligned for max solar performance, so I'm interested whether people think this might be achievable at a sensible price.
As an aside, why do they offer way better rates for EV tariffs than Economy 7, even though they have the same time window?
We're also looking at getting a cheap EV (used Zoe) which would cover about 6k a year, which means we qualify for an EV tariff.
EDF seem to offer an incredibly cheap EV tariff - 11pm-6am for 6.66p a unit - which is over 3p a unit less than the best Economy 7 tariff I can find. Day rates are around 35p a unit. It's unclear if they offer Economy 7 switching on this tariff.
I'm considering plug in solar (the biggest I can get) with the hope it covers our base usage of about 0.25kWh during the day, with headroom for more when I'm working at home.
Luckily, our back garden is perfectly aligned for max solar performance, so I'm interested whether people think this might be achievable at a sensible price.
As an aside, why do they offer way better rates for EV tariffs than Economy 7, even though they have the same time window?
As an EV owner whose mileage has dropped recently I ran the numbers on EDFs EV tariffs and didn’t find them that competitive so switched to their FreePhase one.
This isn’t EV specific, results in 3 different rates throughout a 24 hour period, and they text me the day before to notify me of free electricity. So far I’ve had 49 hours of free electricity over 2 months.
This isn’t EV specific, results in 3 different rates throughout a 24 hour period, and they text me the day before to notify me of free electricity. So far I’ve had 49 hours of free electricity over 2 months.
rscott said:
I live in a listed thatched cottage with an electric aga, storage heaters and electric water heating, so choosing a economy 7 tariff is simply a case of "who has the lowest off peak rate".
We're also looking at getting a cheap EV (used Zoe) which would cover about 6k a year, which means we qualify for an EV tariff.
EDF seem to offer an incredibly cheap EV tariff - 11pm-6am for 6.66p a unit - which is over 3p a unit less than the best Economy 7 tariff I can find. Day rates are around 35p a unit. It's unclear if they offer Economy 7 switching on this tariff.
I'm considering plug in solar (the biggest I can get) with the hope it covers our base usage of about 0.25kWh during the day, with headroom for more when I'm working at home.
Luckily, our back garden is perfectly aligned for max solar performance, so I'm interested whether people think this might be achievable at a sensible price.
As an aside, why do they offer way better rates for EV tariffs than Economy 7, even though they have the same time window?
Aren't peak rate and standing charges considerably higher with an EV tariff compared to E7 to cover the difference?We're also looking at getting a cheap EV (used Zoe) which would cover about 6k a year, which means we qualify for an EV tariff.
EDF seem to offer an incredibly cheap EV tariff - 11pm-6am for 6.66p a unit - which is over 3p a unit less than the best Economy 7 tariff I can find. Day rates are around 35p a unit. It's unclear if they offer Economy 7 switching on this tariff.
I'm considering plug in solar (the biggest I can get) with the hope it covers our base usage of about 0.25kWh during the day, with headroom for more when I'm working at home.
Luckily, our back garden is perfectly aligned for max solar performance, so I'm interested whether people think this might be achievable at a sensible price.
As an aside, why do they offer way better rates for EV tariffs than Economy 7, even though they have the same time window?
With low mileage and an efficient EV you may find E7 makes more sense if your peak use is quite high due to the AGA etc.
Surprisingly, the peak rate is < 1.5p difference.
Given that we use about 12,000 units a year and 80% of those are off peak, the 2.5p a unit off peak saving potentially means a significant saving.
Paying 35p a unit for peak rate hopefully means that potential breakeven for plugin solar might be relatively quick. A kit with 2 x 525w panels, 800w inverter is £504 from City Plumbing. I'm in East Anglia with clear line of sight to the south, so if the kit generates about a 1kwh a day in winter and 3-4 a day in summer I'd probably recoup that in 2-3 years.
| Tariff | Standing Charge | Off Peak | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|
| UW | 52.45 | 35.14 | 9.13 |
| EDF | 51.84 | 36.46 | 6.66 |
Given that we use about 12,000 units a year and 80% of those are off peak, the 2.5p a unit off peak saving potentially means a significant saving.
Paying 35p a unit for peak rate hopefully means that potential breakeven for plugin solar might be relatively quick. A kit with 2 x 525w panels, 800w inverter is £504 from City Plumbing. I'm in East Anglia with clear line of sight to the south, so if the kit generates about a 1kwh a day in winter and 3-4 a day in summer I'd probably recoup that in 2-3 years.
Gassing Station | Homes, Gardens and DIY | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff