Settings for GiveEnergy to maximise Octopus Go window & EV charging

Hi all,
I've been trying to improve my GivEnergy settings so that I benefit by topping up my battery during the 4 hour Go window. However, this window is also the time when my EV is set to charge. My battery discharges to feed my EV and then often doesn't reach the 50% or other set charge. Any tips on the settings I should use to ensure my battery operates dynamically during the day, but doesn't disharge in the Octopus 4 hour window?
I've been happy to experiment with different things, but with the cost differential between on and off peak due to treble shortly, I'm more pressed about getting it spot on before my tariff changes.

Thanks,

D

Make the changes on the web portal, not the app.
Put the inverter in Eco mode. Set a Timed Charge up to match the off-peak period and set whatever SoC percentage you want to exit the off-peak period with.
That's all you need to do.

DaveJurgen As @Zakalwe says, but make sure that the Givenergy inverter and EV charger have the same time windows set so that they both draw from the grid at the same time. If your Givenergy battery Charge to % is higher than the battery SoC when the window starts, your battery should charge up to that value (while the EV charges from grid import). If the Charge to % is lower than the battery SoC, it will feed the house load (including the EV charger) until it reaches the target value when the battery should hold at the target and the EV should continue to charge from grid import. Your inverter should be set: ECO enabled; Timed Charge enabled (Start and Finish times) and Charge to (your % target for the battery to be at, at the end of the window).

I concur with @Tim and @Zakalwe as this is the way I have it set up and it does what you need.

Thank you all for your replies. I have now set my Battery and Inverter up through the portal and not the app.
I'm also looking into my EV Charger (an Indra Smart Pro - supplied and fitted for free with my EV lease) as this has not always been charging at the highest rate during the 4 hour window. I seem to get about 30minutes to an hour or so, before a lower charge rate. I worked out that under my 'new' Octopus Go tariff, it could be worth around £4.50 a night to maximise my off peak energy use.

Zakalwe Put the inverter in Eco mode. Set a Timed Charge up to match the off-peak period and set whatever SoC percentage you want to exit the off-peak period with.

I tried doing this once, but I found that the battery would charge up to the SoC target % successfully, then start discharging into the EV during the off-peak period, which is not what I want - I want it to charge up to that % then stay there until the end of the off-peak period. Did I do something wrong? Happy to try it again as it's quite possible some of the settings didn't save properly (or I clicked the wrong thing).

DaveJurgen This is normal. The charging rate reduces as the battery becomes full. It is controlled by the EV and happens whatever charger you use.

scrchngwsl

scrchngwsl I tried doing this once, but I found that the battery would charge up to the SoC target % successfully, then start discharging into the EV during the off-peak period, which is not what I want - I want it to charge up to that % then stay there until the end of the off-peak period. Did I do something wrong? Happy to try it again as it's quite possible some of the settings didn't save properly (or I clicked the wrong thing).

It should hit the requested SoC(either charge up to the level if below, or discharge down to the level if above) and then hold that charge level (it will bobble about a little bit). Did you make sue that the Timed Charge period ends at the same time as the off-peak period?

Basically, what Timed Charge does if force the battery to exit the Timed Charge period at the requested SoC. If you set the Timed Charge period to end before the off-peak period ends and the car is still charging then the battery will exit the Timed Charge period. The inverter will then move to Eco settings which tries to minimize import. As there is no PV generation it will then start to use the battery to meet the demand.

Also make sure that you EV charging is setup to only charge during off-peak period. Again, if not it will continue to draw current which the inverter will try to supply from the battery,

scrchngwsl Just make sure the EV and Givenergy inverter timed charge windows start and end at the same time. Watch out for GMT/BST. Most systems use UTC as their internal time and display that time in local "friendly" timezone (ie GMT or BST, depending on the season). Ensure that the Givenergy inverter timed charge is enabled and that your charge to % is set to where you want it to end the charge period.

This should work irrespective of which EV and charger you have: both systems programmed to charge during the same time window.

Tim Zakalwe
Thanks both - I suspect as you say I didn't set the Timed Charge period correctly, or it didn't save properly. I did this in the app, which I know is flakey, so will follow your advice from above and do it in the web portal next time.