Best value charger with Octopus

[FallFromGrace]

Hi everyone. I'm contemplating buying a MG5 in the near future and I'm currently with Octopus. I was just wondering what charge/tariff to plump for?

Many thanks in advance.

 

[johnb80]

Go for a Zappi, Ohme or Wallbox charger, that will allow you to go onto Intelligent Octopus GO at 7.5p per kWh making you running costs around 1.5p per mile for fuel or the equivalent of 481 mpg on a diesel car. IOG also gives you the same 7.5p for your household energy for 6 hours 23:30 - 05:30 every day. The charger will negotiate with Octopus and often get extra charging hours scheduled during peak times but at off peak prices.

 

[FallFromGrace]

Go for a Zappi, Ohme or Wallbox charger, that will allow you to go onto Intelligent Octopus GO at 7.5p per kWh making you running costs around 1.5p per mile for fuel or the equivalent of 481 mpg on a diesel car. IOG also gives you the same 7.5p for your household energy for 6 hours 23:30 - 05:30 every day. The charger will negotiate with Octopus and often get extra charging hours scheduled during peak times but at off peak prices.

Many thanks. Does it matter which charger I go for? Are they all a similar price?

 

[johnb80]

Many thanks. Does it matter which charger I go for? Are they all a similar price?

The most widely recognised charger is MyEnergi ZAPPI, it has the edge on all of the others especially if you have, or are thinking of having solar PV/Batteries. Ohme is slightly cheaper and Wallbox the cheapest. To keep costs down you can buy the Zappi online at places like TradeSparky:

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Have a chat with a local electrician (theyre dead easy to fit), if youre up for a bit of DIY you can run the cables too for him to terminate. I have fitted a few like this for friends and family, usually takes an hour of my time to connect up. If you do want to go the DIY route you need to talk to the electrician first to make theyre happy for you to obtain the Zappi and run cables etc (decent sparkys are ok usually).

There are usually a few Zappis on ebay used which can save a bit too.

 

[FallFromGrace]

The most widely recognised charger is MyEnergi ZAPPI, it has the edge on all of the others especially if you have, or are thinking of having solar PV/Batteries. Ohme is slightly cheaper and Wallbox the cheapest. To keep costs down you can buy the Zappi online at places like TradeSparky:

Search

Have a chat with a local electrician (theyre dead easy to fit), if youre up for a bit of DIY you can run the cables too for him to terminate. I have fitted a few like this for friends and family, usually takes an hour of my time to connect up. If you do want to go the DIY route you need to talk to the electrician first to make theyre happy for you to obtain the Zappi and run cables etc (decent sparkys are ok usually).

There are usually a few Zappis on ebay used which can save a bit too.

Thanks for the info. My Wife would have a fit if I was running cables. She doesn't even trust me to change a plug socket ?

 

[johnb80]

Thanks for the info. My Wife would have a fit if I was running cables. She doesn't even trust me to change a plug socket ?

Running a cable doesnt carry any risk, its only clipping it to the surface or burying dependent on locations etc. If it can be near your meter box then it's dead easy, the whole job should only take about one hour to do.

Good luck, keep us updated on your car and charger.

 

[FallFromGrace]

I have a small array of four solar panels on my house - would I really benefit from a charger that has been made to take them into account?

 

[johnb80]

I have a small array of four solar panels on my house - would I really benefit from a charger that has been made to take them into account?

Yes, in the case of IOG you should export all what you generate at 15p/kWh and charge the car off peak at 7.5p

 

[Jomarkh]

I have a small array of four solar panels on my house - would I really benefit from a charger that has been made to take them into account?

Ignore the solar as it wont be enough to charge the car, just export excess solar.

 

[FallFromGrace]

Ignore the solar as it wont be enough to charge the car, just export excess solar.

Hiya. How do you export excess solar?

 

[Jomarkh]

Hiya. How do you export excess solar?

I sell to Octopus at 15p/kWh

 

[johnb80]

Hiya. How do you export excess solar?

It's usually a setting in your inverter, you need to have an export tariff setup like Octopus, they pay 15p kWh.

 

[FallFromGrace]

It's usually a setting in your inverter, you need to have an export tariff setup like Octopus, they pay 15p kWh.

Many thanks for the heads up.

Off on another tangent......how long is the charging cable that comes with the MG5? I've not sure if I should go for a tethered charger or not.....

 

[Jomarkh]

Go tethered so you can keep the type2 cable in the car and not have to put it away every time.

 

[johnb80]

As above, tethered every time, way more convenient and on a wet rainy morning you will appreciate not having to pack a cable away in the car.

 

[FallFromGrace]

I was just in the middle of setting up the inverter's app to see if I can setup exporting etc, but its asking for an installer code? It is a Growatt inverter if that's makes any difference.....

 

[Rolfe]

I've got my Zappi inside the garage, right by the car's charging port when it's garaged, but the tethered lead is long enough to allow the car to be charged while sitting on the drive outside the garage if I want to. Very convenient. My type 2 lead lives in its bag under the bonnet and only comes out if I use a public type 2 charger.

 

[johnb80]

I was just in the middle of setting up the inverter's app to see if I can setup exporting etc, but its asking for an installer code? It is a Growatt inverter if that's makes any difference.....

It sounds like your installer may have locked it down so that you may not be able to adjust this parameter. If it's just asking for the normal code it's the date backwards if your using the internet access from a browser i.e. today is 20240531 if youre doing it from the app its Growatt20240531. The parameter you want is 'SetExportLimit' set to off.

 

[Gomev]

Many thanks for the heads up.

Off on another tangent......how long is the charging cable that comes with the MG5? I've not sure if I should go for a tethered charger or not.....

Tethered EVSE ('chargers') usually come as 5m cable standard, but some you can specify longer options if needed.
....and yes tethered every time, no digging out the cable from the car or wherever and having to plug in and then wrapping it up and putting it away. 30 seconds max to plug in/out a tethered charger. Plus a cable for away times.

 

[RudeYute]

QQ: I have the Octopus Tracker, and my Hypervolt will soon support Octopus API integration (they seem to be implemtenting my feature requests from 12 months ago!) - Can I continue nbow get a cheaper rate for my EV charging, and stick with a reasonable rate for my other charging?

I don't think Go is for me, as the daytime cost would be higher, and I don't have solar panels to make it more economical.