For those on Octopus as energy supplier - free power

[Harry Bloomfield]

Sounds like a reason to consider buying a battery bank. How many KW could I dump into it FOC in an hour?

23Kwh -ish stored, export at a guess at 15p x 20kwh =£3. Would it be worthwhile for the wear and tear on the batteries???

But then it begs the question why aren't octopus storing all this free lecky themselves.

Lack of cheap, mass storage? I would expect them to fill their boots first, then customer get whats left..

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

For the small amount of effort it would involve, I am thinking of recommissioning our immersion heater. It was installed 40+ years ago, as a backup to the gas boiler, but was never, ever needed. It's supply, was simply diverted as a supply for my loft/electronics/ham shack. I just need to swap it back over, to feeding the flex outlet, maybe add a digital timer. Then set it to come on at the appropriate time.

 

[JohnW2]

... But then it begs the question why aren't octopus storing all this free lecky themselves.

Do you mean 'for their own use'? Quite apart from the impracticality and cost of large-scale storage (if it were do-able, the generating companies would be doing it), there is no way that they could male the stored electricity available only to Octopus customer's.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

there is no way that they could male the stored electricity available only to Octopus customer's.

Why could Octopus not make their storage available to just their customers - you do know that every substation includes an electron sorter, so only Octopus customers, receive the electons intended for them - don't you

 

[JohnW2]

Why could Octopus not make their storage available to just their customers - you do know that every substation includes an electron sorter, so only Octopus customers, receive the electons intended for them - don't you

Oh, is that how they do it - I thought that they perhaps used specially-labelled electrons

 

[JohnW2]

Oh, is that how they do it - I thought that they perhaps used specially-labelled electrons

... and yes, of course, they must be "smart electrons"

 

[ericmark]

The number of kWh you can put into a battery in an hour depends on the inverter

That would depend on the battery size and number, my battery is small, so maximum charge rate is 2 kW and discharge rate 3 kW limited by the battery, the inverter can take up to four batteries, so with four the the inverter would limit the charge and discharge rates.

My software allows me to set charge only times from the grid, or discharge and charge to house from solar, it can't charge from grid, and be used in the home at the same time, except for the UPS supply.

It is easy enough to change the time which the battery is charged for, and in theroy I could alter the point where is stops charging to match what sun the day will likely produce,

I look at that dip, where battery is discharging before the solar is enough to equal then exceed my needs, the closer it goes to 10% the more I save, and from 2:30 am to 5 am I can charge the point when I start using the battery, but simply not worth the effort. I have is set for charge 1 am to 5 am and leave it like that rain or shine.

 

[Why Not Indeed]

free hours - 13:00 to 14:00 tomorrow.

Is this regional? I got the email last week about the 15th but didn't act on it. Nothing this week.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Is this regional? I got the email last week about the 15th but didn't act on it. Nothing this week.

Then it must be regional and/or, possibly, individual addresses...

 

[Why Not Indeed]

If it's per-address then pricing on the grid is more sophisticated than I had thought.

 

[blup]

Free Electricity with Octoplus

octopus.energy

Octopus are giving away an hours worth of free electric, on some days, when there is a surplus on the grid. Usually around between 1pm and 2pm-ish, but they email you to let you know the day before, and the actual timing of the hour. Use as much power as you like, during the hour - all for free, any consumption which for that hour, is higher than your normal consumption.

Put the fan heater on full blast if it's cold, do the washing, put the dishwasher on.

For the none Octopus customers, here's a referral link to become one... https://share.octopus.energy/jade-light-417 - You get £50 off your first bill, I get the same off my bill too, what's not to like?

Sounds suspiciously like a free lunch, or free electric for a lunch.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

I was in, and there was no one home to take advantage of the free hour, but today I received an email, suggesting I had managed somehow to consume a little more than normal - 'You used 72% more than usual: 2p worth of Free Electricity'

I guess my freezer decided to start during the hour

 

[Adam_151]

It was either free or negative from half ten to half three today and I was in. So I washed and dried two loads of washing, ran the dishwasher, boil washed the dog's smelly blanket, topped the car upto 90% after going out for lunch, did some 3D printing I'd wanted to get done, while busying myself with steam cleaning the bathroom (which was a job that was sorely in need of doing). Seems I've used 25.36kwh at a total of 80.44p so 3.17p per unit. I was running at a negative cost for the day pre 16:00, but then base load and a couple of cups of tea during peak time killed that!

 

[Why Not Indeed]

After reading this thread and thinking about it a bit I've started the switch to Agile. As it rarely seems to exceed the SVT cap then it seems like a bit of a no-brainer. Just have to stop using the oven to make dinner...