Didn't suggest it was covert, they're quite open about it, it's one of the major benefits for them. And better they reward people for turning stuff off rather than raise prices at peak times, although they'll presumably do that as well. Just pointing out that people who haven't got smart meters won't be able to do it.
How is this going?So:
20A Charger charging for 6.5 hours to give 130 Ah (1.6 kWh) to power 140 W computer for 7 hours.
Two 130 Ah Batteries. I discover that it’s 130 Ah (C100) meaning it’s only 130 Ah if discharged over 100 hours. If discharged over say 10 hours the capacity is only around 90 Ah. So I’m charging up 130 Ah worth but only getting 90 Ah back because of internal losses which is a bit of a shame but never mind. I’m thinking of two batteries so that they’re not deep cycling the whole time which I presume wouldn’t do them any good.
3 kW Inverter which might even let me run a 1 kW fan heater for an hour on sunny but cold winter day
I can’t retrofit a battery to my PV system so I’m hoping this will take me near off-grid between May and October. The panels would charge the batteries over day, with anything over the 240 W (20 A @ 12 V) being used by my existing controller to heat my immersion. I think that’s a cloudy but reasonably bright day. It all doesn’t take up too much room either, will need to allow for air flow but a block about 35l x 40w x 40h cm.
Tl:dr Costs around £310 and assuming a future price of 50p/kWh hopefully gives a repayment time of around 20 months.
All the bits have arrived and I've been through the 'structions a couple of times so I feel just about ready to set it up. I'm just waiting for a metal tray to put the batteries in (just in case of acid spill although I'm not expecting that). Also have the battery clamps I need - wasn't too keen on the large crocodile clips that came with the charger but I think they'll be fine. Will also add a touch of petroleum jelly to contacts I think so they don't corrode.
Sounds goodAll the bits have arrived and I've been through the 'structions a couple of times so I feel just about ready to set it up. I'm just waiting for a metal tray to put the batteries in (just in case of acid spill although I'm not expecting that). Also have the battery clamps I need - wasn't too keen on the large crocodile clips that came with the charger but I think they'll be fine. Will also add a touch of petroleum jelly to contacts I think so they don't corrode.
I'm setting it up upstairs although I did seriously consider having it downstairs in the conservatory (so on a slate rather than wooden floor) where I spend most of the day, thinking that I might spend evenings down here too but I actually like the change of going upstairs of an evening. Expecting the tray in a couple of days
I’m looking forward to hearing how it works out.
most online chats I have used have an option to email a transcript at the end of the chat.
Yes, I asked for that after my first call and low and behold . . . it never arrived, luckily I had my copy
Yes they are
On investigation I think they’re credit meters as I think they’re showing a credit balance when I push the buttons to go through the display
Octopus just put up my DD to £210 from £78 per month
They took over my last failed supplier (can't remember name) and didn't touch the DDs. This was about a year ago I think. It was in debit by around £460 before they sent me the email saying this was what they were going to do so that my account would be on track by July 2023.
Meanwhile OVO's glue sniffing department has increased their estimate of usage during June from just over 500kwh on the 8th, to almost 600kwh today [12th June], if this carries on, I should be on well over 1000kwh by the end of the month!
Aye, that's what I thought. Still shows how much the costs have risen over such a relatively short time. £78 per month used to easily cover what I used.Oh, £460 in debit plus new rates from April would explain it, sadly.
