We explore the best electricity tariff for home battery & EV owners

It’s now November and long sunny days exporting solar to the grid are long gone and you now want to know the best way to save money with your battery…….we explore your options with different suppliers.

If you’re charging an electric car at home, you’ll save money by switching to an EV tariff. Basic EV tariffs have a fixed off-peak window, like Octopus Go. Smarter EV tariffs, like Octopus Intelligent and OVO Charge Anytime, match your charging with the greenest energy, meaning lower-carbon charging and even bigger savings.

The best EV tariff depends on your car and your home energy use. It’s a balance between how much charging you do at home, how much energy you use during the day and whether you could shift any energy use overnight to benefit from cheaper rates. This last point can make a real difference when you compare two leading EV tariffs: Octopus Intelligent v.s OVO Charge Anytime

1. Best EV tariff for overall savings

Octopus Energy’s Intelligent Octopus, is a smart EV tariff with a minimum six-hour off-peak window for charging and home energy use. You use an app to schedule your charging and let Octopus get on with charging when it is greenest. You’ll pay 7.5p/kWh for off-peak electricity, much less than the 9.5p/kWh off-peak on the basic Octopus Go EV tariff. You may get some charging outside of the off-peak hours, in which case you’ll get some extra cheap home energy too. Lots of cars are compatible, but if yours isn’t on the list, you can connect through an Ohme charger.

If you have solar panels, Intelligent gets even better. You’ll now get a fixed rate of 15p for every kWh you export. This is much higher than the 4.1p SEG that you’d get with the Go tariff.

Longer off-peak along with 15p per kWh on their export tariff

Intelligent Octopus

Day: 30.52p, Night: 7.5p
Standing charge: 62p/day
Off-peak: 23:30-05.30

✔ Long off-peak for home energy
✘ Compatible car or charger needed

2. Best ‘set and forget’ EV tariff for any car or charger

Octopus Go was once the go-to tariff for EV drivers. But, at 9.5p per kWh, it’s more expensive than the smarter Intelligent Octopus tariff and there are only four hours at off-peak rates each night, compared with at least six. If you have solar, you’ll get a lower amount for the energy you export.

Why do we still rate it? It’s simple, and available to drivers of any make of EV and with any home charger or home storage.

Go

Day: 30.52p, Night: 9p
Standing charge: 52.18p/day
Off-peak: 12:30-04.30

✔Works for any charger, any EV
✘ Shorter off-peak window

Best EV tariff for long off-peak charging

E.On Next Drive

Day: 33.11p Night: 9.5p
Standing charge: 53.83p/day
Off-peak: 00:00 – 07:00

✔ Long off-peak for all energy use

4. Best EV tariff for daytime charging

OVO’s Charge Anytime, is just for your EV. You’ll get the 10p/kWh rate no matter when your car charges if you use their scheduling app and leave OVO to manage charging around your life.

When you get Charge Anytime you’ll also choose an OVO tariff for your home use, including the default Standard Variable Tariff. The downside of OVO’s new electric car only tariff is that you’ll only get your EV charging at the cheaper rate. All your home electricity use is charged at your standard unit price.

Charge day or night

OVO Charge Anytime

OVO EV tariff: 10p/kWh charging
Choose any SVT tariff for home

✔Cheap charging day or night
✘ Compatible EV or charger needed
✘ No off-peak home energy

Other good EV tariffs to choose from

GoElectric

Day: 35p, Night: 8p
Standing charge: 53.92p/day
Off-peak: 01:00-06:00 (summer), 00:00-05:00 (winter)

✔Works for any charger, any EV
✘ Shorter off-peak window

Scottish Power EV Saver

The EV Saver tariff is a ScottishPower tariff designed for electric vehicle (EV) drivers. It provides cheaper rates for charging your EV at home during off-peak hours (between midnight and 5am**). If you use less than 33% of your electricity during off-peak hours, another one of our tariffs may be more suitable for you. You can compare these in your online account.

Are there other tariffs if I have an air source heat pump?

Yes – Octopus have a Beta tariff called cosy that has 2 dips during the day that allow you to ramp your heat pump up and also charge your home battery at a cheaper rate. We delve into the details –

How does it work?

Cosy Octopus is a 3 rate tariff with double dip Cosy Hours every day: six hours of super cheap electric to warm your home.

1. A day rate, set at the standard Flexible Octopus rate in your region.
2. Two cosy periods of super cheap rates between 04:00 – 07:00 and 13:00 – 16:00 every day, 40% cheaper than the Flexible Octopus rate in your region.
3. A peak rate between 16:00 – 19:00, 60% above the Octopus flexible rate in your region.

So can I save money?

Yes – If you have for instance a 10kWh battery you can use all of the above tariffs to charge the battery during the cheap times and if you are super smart you can set your dishwasher, tumble dryer, washing machine to run during these times to allow you to “load shift”.

Still not sure get in touch with our team who will be happy to help.

If you want to receive £50 for signing up to Octopus then you can do so via this link