OHME Smart Tariff with app Vrs NonSmart with Car

[007fair]

Hi All 

I have had my BZ4X for 2.5 months and am generally very happy with it (Apart from a rattle in the roof lining).  I was on the Octopus Go Tariff which gives cheap overnight rates (7.5p per Kwh) so have been charging it in my garage with a three pin plug using the in car scheduler set to - Times between 12.05 am and 5am / Max rate 8Amps (It feels safer for a 3 pin plug).  I don't do many miles.  This system was working fine.

I got my OHME E Pod charger fitted the other day and have switched to Octopus Intelligent Go Tariff.   On paper it seems like a good idea but ..  is it?

Just wondered what the general consensus on intelligent charging was out there?

PROS

• The system will charge at the lowest rate it can find no matter when you plug it in. 

CONS

• A pfaff to set up with additional apps and connections.
• Needs an internet connection (If internet goes down or trips the charging stops)
• Is not compatible with other charging schedules (Like the one in the car).
• Can only set a % charge (IE put in 50%) rather than a max %.

 

I am thinking the simpler approach of Octopus Go is better.  Set the charge schedule on the car and just plug it overnight when required. 

  

[FROSTYBALLS]

2 minutes ago, 007fair said:

I have had my BZ4X for 2.5 months

Please update your profile to include the BZ4X

[philip42h]

1 hour ago, 007fair said:

Times between 12.05 am and 5am / Max rate 8Amps (It feels safer for a 3 pin plug).  I don't do many miles.

There's nothing 'wrong' with what you were doing. 5 hrs at 8A will have given you 9.2 kWh each night - so an average daily range of around 27 miles (?). If that's all you need, that's fine.

A 3-pin plug is rated at 13A (peak) but the granny charger takes a more conservative view and limits you to 10A for safety anyway. 5 hrs at 10A would give you 11.5 kWh and a daily range of around 35 miles - which is, obviously, further should you want/need it.

Switching to a 7.4 kW charger will provide more charge in less time - so hopefully over 100 miles of range in the same 5 hr window.

But to your question, I don't think that the technology behind intelligent charging is quite ready for universal adoption just yet. While on paper that is exactly what you should be doing - to minimise your impact on the electricity supply network and thereby get the best price for yourself - it does appear to tie the consumer into a specific supplier and a single brand of charger (or small number of charger brands). It feels a bit of a "VHS vs Betamax" scenario to me ... 

I'm still waiting to go EV (I will next time I change car, I think) but I won't go for an overly intelligent tariff or smart charger until there is a decent amount of standardisation in the industry so that, having invested in a charger, I can switch cars and electricity suppliers without 'hassle' or additional expense.

[paulzog]

Octopus go is the best tariff as you know exactly when it will be cheap, usually when you are in bed! The problem with Intelligent Octopus is it gives cheap times when I'm out in the car so I don't get to take advantage. Might work if your retired.