UK Energy Prices

[SnoopZ]

Originally Posted by thenry

Estimate +800 to your estimate SnoopZ 2 bedroom flat, heating doesn't go off until the summer.

It's understandable because you work from home and have your heating blasting well above what normal people can tolerate in the UK I think, but maybe that is your flats fault if the insulation and draft is as bad as you say it is, however most people in the UK are unlikely to prance about in shorts like you do in cold weather so I don't know if the flat is that drafty!

---------- Post added at 23:09 ---------- Previous post was at 23:07 ----------

Originally Posted by Chris

My Octopus account is insanely in credit, like almost £600 *after* they’ve taken their monthly dues. I already over-rode their desire to increase my direct debit two months ago (they wanted £170, so I went in and knocked it down to £150). Last night I went in to lower it again, and on the screen where I put it down to £140 they were saying ‘this really should be £220’.

I have no idea what their clever predictor is smoking but I’m not having it.

You should ask for a refund and set your account to only pay what your usage each month is.

[Carth]

Originally Posted by Chris

My Octopus account is insanely in credit, like almost £600 *after* they’ve taken their monthly dues. I already over-rode their desire to increase my direct debit two months ago (they wanted £170, so I went in and knocked it down to £150). Last night I went in to lower it again, and on the screen where I put it down to £140 they were saying ‘this really should be £220’.

I have no idea what their clever predictor is smoking but I’m not having it.

I usually have the same issues with their 'estimated' predictions. and usually solved with a pleasant phone call telling them to take a hike (with a little explanation of why their numbers are way out according to the numbers on the statements I have).

I also look at it this way, if they have 1 million customers all 'fooled' into paying an extra £40 a month, that's a lot of extra cash earning interest for them

Outfox dont have a way to directly reduce the payment online.
You can however claim a refund if your credit is more than one months payment.

Already done that twice this year and right now the balance is well over again.
However, since winter is approching, I'll wait and see how much that eats into it.
Its boosted by the Warm House payment, and of course, electricity being 5% cheaper for the next 8 months.

[Kursk]

Originally Posted by Chris

My Octopus account is insanely in credit, like almost £600 *after* they’ve taken their monthly dues. I already over-rode their desire to increase my direct debit two months ago (they wanted £170, so I went in and knocked it down to £150). Last night I went in to lower it again, and on the screen where I put it down to £140 they were saying ‘this really should be £220’.

I have no idea what their clever predictor is smoking but I’m not having it.

Yep. I don't like increases when I'm in (significant) credit either. I think I'll go with Snoopz suggestion

Originally Posted by SnoopZ

You should ask for a refund and set your account to only pay what your usage each month is.

[Taf]

Scottish Power has let their databases do their work, and the new forecast has arrived.

[damien c]

Well I had a plan to save the money for an Ecoflow Stream 5000, then put 4x 515w Solar Panels on it, and hope they would provide enough power to remove for at least 8 to 10 hours a day my server rack from the house mains.

Given the extent that energy companies are increasing the price, thanks to all the crap going on in the world and it being Winter, I am changing my plans slightly.

I will be instead hoping to try an get enough cash sorted to buy an Ecoflow Stream Ultra and connect my first Solar Panel to it, which I currently have and then each month try to buy another.

Even if I can get the one panel which can produce 500w to produce even 50% of that at the moment it will help.


Future goal though is to buy a BMW I3 42Kw battery if I can and a Hybrid Inverter, build a little out building for it, and get it wired to the consumer unit and use that for the daily running of the house, except for the things that can use over 3Kw.

If I can manage to do that, I won't use Grid power during the day other than the oven if I use that during the day.

[SnoopZ]

Originally Posted by damien c

Well I had a plan to save the money for an Ecoflow Stream 5000, then put 4x 515w Solar Panels on it, and hope they would provide enough power to remove for at least 8 to 10 hours a day my server rack from the house mains.

Given the extent that energy companies are increasing the price, thanks to all the crap going on in the world and it being Winter, I am changing my plans slightly.

I will be instead hoping to try an get enough cash sorted to buy an Ecoflow Stream Ultra and connect my first Solar Panel to it, which I currently have and then each month try to buy another.

Even if I can get the one panel which can produce 500w to produce even 50% of that at the moment it will help.


Future goal though is to buy a BMW I3 42Kw battery if I can and a Hybrid Inverter, build a little out building for it, and get it wired to the consumer unit and use that for the daily running of the house, except for the things that can use over 3Kw.

If I can manage to do that, I won't use Grid power during the day other than the oven if I use that during the day.

Your old man is retiring next year so maybe he will pay for it with his lump sum if you still live with him! Lol

[GrimUpNorth]

Originally Posted by damien c

Well I had a plan to save the money for an Ecoflow Stream 5000, then put 4x 515w Solar Panels on it, and hope they would provide enough power to remove for at least 8 to 10 hours a day my server rack from the house mains.

Given the extent that energy companies are increasing the price, thanks to all the crap going on in the world and it being Winter, I am changing my plans slightly.

I will be instead hoping to try an get enough cash sorted to buy an Ecoflow Stream Ultra and connect my first Solar Panel to it, which I currently have and then each month try to buy another.

Even if I can get the one panel which can produce 500w to produce even 50% of that at the moment it will help.


Future goal though is to buy a BMW I3 42Kw battery if I can and a Hybrid Inverter, build a little out building for it, and get it wired to the consumer unit and use that for the daily running of the house, except for the things that can use over 3Kw.

If I can manage to do that, I won't use Grid power during the day other than the oven if I use that during the day.

This guy has used EV batteries to power his house.

https://youtube.com/@theofficialbatt...oX9h6niQmXEf3p

You can power your house with storage batteries if you have enough money to buy them.
Wont save you anything for a very long time though, I looked at the costs and it was rather eye watering.

[damien c]

Yep that is why EV car batteries make sense, massive storage for effectively quite cheap.

[Itshim]

Originally Posted by Paul

You can power your house with storage batteries if you have enough money to buy them.
Wont save you anything for a very long time though, I looked at the costs and it was rather eye watering.

Very true , but get a good feeling not caring what's on

[damien c]

Originally Posted by Paul

You can power your house with storage batteries if you have enough money to buy them.
Wont save you anything for a very long time though, I looked at the costs and it was rather eye watering.

This is essentially what I would look at.

https://driverevolt.co.uk/products/r...54701853999427

That is the Renault Zoe battery with a hybrid inverter, add another £2k for a building, and Electrician work and you have a decent amount of storage for a "cheap" price.

The other option I would look at, as I say is a BMW I3 battery or I believe some people are getting Tesla Batteries to work as well.


Then there is the "best" option really for me which would be a Fogstar system, at just under £10K and that is for effectively 60Kw usable capacity with a 20kw three phase inverter, or knock a grand off and get the 14kw hybrid inverter.


Things will change though once BYD start licensing their Blade Batteries to companies to make home batteries with them.

I had a chat with a bloke over the street from me about this the other week. He works for our local DNO so he knows his stuff (has geek-level control with a 3rd party app that gives him access to all sorts of smart stuff in his house). He paid out about £6k for 10kW of battery, *without* power-cut backup because that costs more (mostly, some quite complicated attritional switching and wiring on your fuse box to ensure the thing switches over safely and legally during a power cut). He is expecting the up-front investment to pay back in about 7 years. He pointed out that the money you spend on it would actually yield more if you invested it. He did it because he’s a systems nerd and because he can.

If your interest is continuity of supply in the event of a power cut there are other things you can do - with the right research (and never admitting to anyone you’re actually doing it) you can run a cable from your EV if you have one into a 3-pin socket in your garage and run bits of your house that way. There are many caveats to doing that safely of course. Safer would be to buy a 3kW camping battery and keep it charged, and run essentials off it if/when needed. You then also have a useful bit of kit you can take with you on days out etc.

[Jaymoss]

Home Assistant Chris? his name isn't Paul Hibbert is it??

No, just a random neighbour dude with an app and geek levels of data in a spreadsheet. It was impressive, and I thought I knew how to geek out over home systems after I got a wood pellet boiler in my last house.