Hi,
I’ve just switched to Intelligent Octopus Go (mainly for EV charging) and I’m a bit confused how it actually works in practice.
I’ve tried searching on here and elsewhere first, but I’m still not 100% clear — mainly because the replies I’ve had from Octopus support seem to contradict each other.
My setup:
Kia Niro EV (64kWh)
About 140 miles a day so charging most nights
Hypervolt Home Pro 3 charger
What I’m seeing:
If I plug in early (around 6pm) it trickles along slowly (~10A)
If I plug in later (around 9–9:30pm) it sometimes starts straight away at full speed (~30A)
The app shows “smart charging” windows like 21:00–05:30 (but shows 8 and half hour total)… But based on kWh in Hypervolt it looks like the car only actually charges for maybe 3–5 hours
I emailed Octopus and got two different answers:
One said:
“the off-peak rate applies strictly between 11:30pm and 5:30am… any smart charging beyond this will be charged at the standard rate”
Another said:
“all smart charging is billed at the off-peak rate”
So I’m not really sure which is correct.
Also the daily cost in the app currently looks really high (like everything is peak rate), not sure if that’s normal before it settles?
Main things I’m trying to figure out:
If Octopus starts the charge (not me boosting), is that always cheap even before 11:30?
Is the 6 hour limit based on actual charging time or the whole window it shows?
Has anyone actually been charged peak for smart charging outside the overnight window?
Just trying to avoid getting stung on my first bill as I’m charging quite a lot.
Cheers