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Powering my home using a GivEnergy battery.
Does Intelligent Octopus Go work with solar and battery? My Octopus Energy bill so far – May 2024, they owe me!
Written by: Sarah Chambers (aka Sarah Go Green)
Yes, Intelligent Octopus Go works amazingly well if you have solar panels and it works with a home battery. Let me talk you through the last 20 days in May and show you how Octopus Energy now owes me money.
My energy usage and export so far in May.
It’s the 20th of May 2024 and so far I have earned more money than I have spent on electricty in my home this month. I am on Intelligent Octopus Go for my imported electricty and Octopus Outgoing Fixed for my solar export.
I have;
- 15 solar panels = 6.1 kWp
- GivEnergy 13.5 kWh battery
- MyEnergy Zappi EV charger
- Tesla Model Y long range.
Like many people who can use their home as an office and even a school, I am home most of the week with my 3 children.
So far this month I have exported more than I have imported from the National Grid.
Most of my imported electricty has been between 11.30 pm and 5.30 am. I try to use as much energy as I can during this time and then during the day I try to run the house from my home battery.
You can do this with any home battery. The size of the battery and the time of year will dictate how successful you are in reducing your imported electricty at peak times.
@sarah_go_green #smarthome #batterystorage #homebattery #solarpanels #sustainability #sustainablelifestyle @Octopus Energy @GivEnergy ♬ original sound – sarah_go_green
What is the difference between imported and exported electricty?
What’s the difference between imported and exported electricty?
- Imported electricty is electricty you have bought from the National Grid.
- Exported electricty is electricity you have sold back to the National Grid.
When you import electricty into your home in the UK it’s recorded on your electricty meter and you will get charged for it by your energy supplier. The same happens when you export electricty to the National Grid if you have an export meter.
For both imported and exported electricity you will need an MPAN number.
If you want to be paid for your exported electricty you need two MPAN numbers. Most households have one for imported electricty. Your solar installer will apply for a second MPAN number for your export meter. This can take a few weeks and they should forward it to you along with any other documentation such as an MCS certificate.
Until you have your MPAN number and an outgoing tariff with an energy supplier any excess solar generation you can’t use or store in a home battery will be exported for FREE to the National Grid. (If you have FiT payments it works differently – You would have signed up for Fit Payments before April 2019.)
I think Octopus Energy can also get your MPAN number when you apply for an Octopus Export tariff. I am unsure as Octopus Energy installed my solar panels and battery storage. So they did it all for me!
Do Octopus smart meters work with solar panels?
Yes, they most definitely do.
You’ll have two MPAN numbers once your solar panels are live and registered.
On your Octopus dashboard, you will see your usage for both import and export.
I would apply for an Octopus home mini. This allows you to see live data. When exporting electricty the screen shows a minus figure which is good to see! This is when Octopus are paying you for your energy.
How much electricty have I imported and exported in May 2024?
So far up until 20th May, I have;
- Imported electricty – 280 kWh – Cost £21
- Exported electricty – 303 kWh – Earned £47.70
I pay 7.5p per kWh for my electricty when I import from the National Grid between 11.30 pm and 5.30 am. This is on a tariff called Intelligent Octopus Go. It is an EV tariff but you can use the off-peak electricty to run your home and charge a home battery too.
During my off-peak window, I fill my GivEnergy battery overnight so when I wake up I have 13.5 kWh of electricty stored ready for the day.
If my solar panels aren’t generating enough power to meet my home demand or after sunsets my battery automatically steps in to provide my home with the electricty it needs.
As long as my battery doesn’t run out of power or my demand doesn’t exceed the amount it can deliver I can run my home using almost no electricty imported in from the National Grid during the day. This keeps my electricty bills low as I use very little full-price electricty.
As well as setting my home battery to charge overnight I also plan my day so that any high-demand items, such as my dishwasher and washing machine, turn on, where possible between 11.30 pm and 5.30 am.
I get paid 15p per kWh to export my excess electricty to the National Grid.
Why not just use all of your solar power at home and only export what you don’t use?
It is simple maths so don’t panic. I won’t be showing you spreadsheets.
- On Intelligent Octopus Go: 7.5p per kWh to import electricty between 11.30 pm and 5.30 am.
- On Octopus Outgoing Fixed: Export electricty anytime at 15p per kWh.
If I self-consume all my electricity my Octopus energy bill will be lower but I can’t use it all. I will still need electricty when it is dark or when demand is higher than the energy generated on my roof. Storing more free solar energy in my battery and using that would reduce my energy bill but as I can sell my electricty for more than I import it basic maths. I would get a larger reduction on my electricity bill by selling it rather than just using it during the day.
I am prepared to wait until the off-peak window to turn the dishwasher on. If I run the washing machine at night and during the day I don’t stress. It happens a lot. I am still saving money compared to not having solar panels.
How long will my solar and battery installation last?
No one can predict how long any tariffs or incentives will last. At the moment I can make a credit on my energy bill very easily from May to October.
Since having solar panels and battery storage installed by Octopus Energy in October 2023 I have made considerable savings over winter too.
I have taken part in initiatives like Octopus Saving Sessions over winter and got paid in some instances a whopping £4.25 per kWh exporting my electricty to the National Grid! As an example, in one hour I earned around £21.25 credit in December.
However, anything could happen in terms of tariffs and incentives. They could get better or worse no one knows but my gut feeling is that the National Grid and time-of-use tariffs will start to play a big part in our energy security in the UK.
I have warranties for my;
- Solar panels: 25 years
- Solar Edge inverter: 20 years
- GivEnery battery: 12 years
I paid around £150 to extend the warranty on my Solar Edge inverter.
With some basic maths, I am guestimating that I should recover the cost of my solar and battery installation through energy-saving costs in around 7-8 years BUT this wasn’t the main reason for my installation. I wanted to reduce my reliance on the National Grid and for me, that’s been so worth the investment!
About the author: I’ve Been a Happy Octopus Energy Customer for 6 Years and the cherry on the cake is they installed my solar panels and battery storage too.
You can find me on X and TikTok where I connect with around 7,000 followers looking for practical ways to electrify their homes and reduce energy bills.
Feel free to follow me Sarah_Go_Green and join the conversation – I’d love to hear from you!
I’m also featured on the Octopus website and their YouTube channel as a solar customer. I’ve been on BBC News, Radio Wales, published in the Telegraph for owning part of a wind turbine and had a feature in Bloomberg.
Even if your only aim is to lower your household bills and find the cheapest Octopus tariff I help there too.
Customer review.
My website is not managed or owned by Octopus Energy. It is just a website created by me, Sarah Go Green. A mum, a home energy geek and a very happy Octopus Energy customer.
I didn’t get paid for this review. Should you decide to have Octopus install solar panels we can split £200. Just quote code 9546o to Octopus. Let them know any time before you sign the final sales agreement. This has not influenced my review, it’s just a perk I would be delighted to share.
You can read further independent Octopus Energy reviews on Trustpilot where 89% of customers give them 5 stars.
Summary
If you have solar panels, battery storage and a qualify for Intelligent Octopus Go it’s a marriage made in Octo heaven.
Combined with Octopus Outgoing Fixed Intelligent Octopus Go can make a lot of sense.
So far in May 2024, I have made a credit of roughly £26.70. The weather has been a mixed bag so I am happy.
Roughly 5% of homes in the UK have solar panels. I struggle to understand why there isn’t a government initiative to encourage more people to install it.
When you combine solar panels with battery storage your home becomes a mini power station. You have choices you can make that will not only reduce your bill but also help balance the National Grid.
Octopus Energy has helped me to rethink how I use energy. They have a variety of smart energy tariffs for importing and exporting electricity. I think that’s the key to encouraging the uptake of smart green technology.
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