Octopus Agile or Intelligent Go

Hi guys,

Current set up is 4kw solar, and 14.75 batteries, and a PHEV car (XC40) on Agile, and using Predbat on HA to optimise charge / discharge.

Will be hopefully full EV by the end of the year though, Im unlikely to be able to make use of extra charging slots during the day as I will be at work (unless they are evenings or Sundays) as I understand the lower rate only applies if you have the car charging?

Has anyone got experience of both of these tariffs, and similar setups to advise whether theyve had better returns making use of the more consistent pricing of IG?

Not sure if there is an easy way for me to work it out myself, if there is, can someone tell me what that is 🙂

We’ve got IOG with a gen 1 5kw, 9.5 battery, Tesla and 6.24panels east/west. First on the cheap rate IOG runs the house and charges the battery not just the car. Second I would ignore the extra charge times as we hardly ever get them. Car is set to be ready for 8am and we do about 10k miles. So far our electricity bill has been negative for 18 months including the car but with oil heating. Just got a heat pump so there might be some changes now! I used one of the compare tariff things (sorry can’t remember what it was called) but it showed Agile being consistently dearer for us. Your use may be different obviously.

SimonClarke yeah, so I know I sometimes get rates less than 7p I guess I just cant work out whether the fact that I also get to automate discharge and often get rates below 15p which allow a bit of charge / discharge for profit would make staying on Agile worthwhile.

I cant speak for IOG but find Agile excellent for my circumstances:

In my case 16kw ashp, 8kw pv, 24kwh batteries, ev. Inverter charge/discharge at max 2.6kwh
Interesting to see that imports so far in 2024 5608kwh @ ave 13.06p from 1Jan - 31Aug
Switched to Octopus Agile from 23rd Mar (Tracker prior). Agile only is ave just 10.22p for 2458kwh from 23 Mar. Usage includes EV, hot tub for a month, some imports at cheapest rates to fill batteries etc.
Exports 2432 @ 15p
Hopefully coming winter can keep under Tracker rates by good use of batteries as well as a bit of setback in peak periods
Ave import cost just 8.08p in Aug for 331kwh
Ashp for hot water and EV
Export 438kwh @ 15p
2023 imports were 8304kwh @ 22.2p on Tracker (not bad vs standard rates?)
Everyones usage, setup and ability to timeshift will mean its not one tariff that suits everyone. But so far I think Agile import and Fixed export is best for me.
Tracker 1st Jan to 22nd Mar: 2818kwh @ 16.15p
Imports ytd 5608kwh @ 13.06p = £732.31
Exports ytd 2432kwh @ 15p = £364.80
Net ytd cost = £367.51

shawry I'm on IOG (6.4kWp solar, 9.5kWh battery).

I do regularly get late-morning charging slots on Saturday and Sunday (up to 11am). I don't think I've ever seen early evening slots. But in truth, the bonus charging slots are a bit of a pest - my current routine is to fully charge overnight, discharge over the morning to ensure plenty of space in battery in case it's needed to avoid clipping. But when the car is charging late, I need to avoid exporting during the bonus slots. Could in principle switch between charging and discharging over that period to make a few pennies more, but doesn't really seem worth it. (Cycling battery when it's close to full may not be best for longevity ?)

I keep an eye on agile rates via the octopus compare app, but it fairly consistently reports that, for my usage pattery, IOG is cheaper than Agile. And usually on the days when it says otherwise, it was actually because there was a bonus charging slot, which the comparison app incorrectly assumes was priced at daytime rate. For the last month, app says IOG cost me £26.43 whereas Agile would have cost £32.08. But of course if I had actually been on Agile I might have imported at slightly different times. (Though I assume Octopus tended to charge the car when Agile would have been relatively cheap too.)

But we have ASHP coming soon, and so might try Agile (or perhaps even Cosy) depending on how things go. We don't use the car all that much, so ASHP usage is likely to be much more important than car usage (and I can usually defer car charging for a day or two if prices are high).

I've tried both, I also have a friend who I compare stats with.

I have a 4kw array and a 9.5kwh battery.

It will depend on your usage. If you regularly need to charge your car then IOG with it's daily cheap period will be easier to manage. If you occasionally charge your car, then Agile can work out better, as you can wait to charge it when you get the cheaper slots.

When I tried it, it was initially great when the price was cheap or plunging when you utilise as much cheap energy as you can. Like you I used predbat and left it to manage my home battery. My cost per kwh were initially very low.

After a few days though, when prices were as they are now, Predbat didn't really do much and was mainly acting as ECO. I had to use the grid as there wasn't enough battery or generation to fill up my battery and my cost per kwh crept up. Once the 30 days were up I gladly jumped back to IOG.

My average cost per kwh normally hovers around 7p and the last few months have been negative. As we move into autumn and winter, there will be less generation and my battery will run the house during the day.

Everyone's use case is different. You can try and it and jump back after a month if you don't get on with it.

IOG here. 11.34kW solar (not ideal orientations though! - net about 5,600kW pa) 2x 5.0kW Gen 3 inverters and 4x 9.5kW batteries. Tesla model Y 14,000 miles a year. Gas heating.

£216 elec bill in last 12 months on IOG. Although my system hasn’t been working properly for most of that. With it working properly I reckon it would have been zero or less.

All your electricity is at the cheap rate from 23:30-05:30. So charge car, fill batteries overnight, export everything from solar in the day at 15p and then discharge the batteries to empty at 15p ending at 23:30. (That’s the theory anyway!)

It’s a tricky one regarding tariff’s. I suspect we mostly all want the same thing - the lowest bill. The lowest average rate might not necessarily equate to the lowest total bill and vice versa (- depends how much you are buying at that average price of course). And very much depends on your usage pattern, equipment, if you have enough battery spare to export at the end of the day (in summer and maybe in winter), how much peak you have to buy, etc…

I can’t speak for agile because I haven’t tried it (due to technicalities with having my plant set up). I’m pleased with IOG though.

Hook You can try and it and jump back after a month if you don't get on with it.

Officially, you can't jump directly between smart tariffs, and are supposed to spend 30 days on standard tariff. But from what I've heard, as long as you've been on one smart tariff for at least 30 days, they will let you jump to another. They just didn't want people jumping in and out of Agile every few days as the wind waxed and waned.

https://octopus.energy/policies/smart-tariffs-terms-and-condition/

1.3 You can always switch from a standard import tariff to a smart import tariff (provided you meet the eligibility criteria for that particular tariff), but if you switch away from a smart import tariff, you cannot switch back to a smart import tariff within 30 days.

DD where does it say you can't jump directly between smart tariffs after a month?

"if you switch away from a smart import tariff, you cannot switch back to a smart import tariff within 30 days."

I read that as you can't jump between smart tariffs before the 30 day period.

Hook I read that as you can't jump between smart tariffs before the 30 day period.

You read that as within 30 days of switching to the smart tariff?