Charge to 80% or 100%?

[londiniumperson]

When we eventually get our smart meter (it's been taking an age) when we're going on to Octopus Go to charge at 5p between 00:30 - 04:30. I'm not currently brave enough to go on to Agile, but the half hour cost data for the previous year (I think) can be downloaded. It would be interesting to see how often the charge goes <=5p.

Having the fast charger means you'll be able to enjoy more kWh at the lowest rates. That will be nice!

Once you've got some data have a look at this, it's a neat Octopus Go/Agile comparison tool:
https://octopuscomparison.netlify.app/
Here's yesterday's screenshot with my usage where the cheapest rate in the early hours was around 7p and you can see on the left when the car was on charge. Even though the lowest Agile price was above that of Go, over the day it was still cheaper for me on Agile.

Using the OctopusWatch app on my phone, also provides a comparison, but only on a day granularity not half hour. Every day since I've been on Agile (13 Aug 2020) the savings have been between 3 & 45%, with the last 7 day summary below:

[ChesterUK]

Thanks for that. Not bad. It's the late afternoon/early evening bump that might be a little scary in winter when solar is producing precisely zero! We'll see...

[londiniumperson]

When we eventually get our smart meter (it's been taking an age) when we're going on to Octopus Go to charge at 5p between 00:30 - 04:30. I'm not currently brave enough to go on to Agile, but the half hour cost data for the previous year (I think) can be downloaded. It would be interesting to see how often the charge goes <=5p.

Having the fast charger means you'll be able to enjoy more kWh at the lowest rates. That will be nice!

I also have a question after my last long post.
You're waiting for the smart meter installation but then go on to say that you think you can download last years half hour data, how is this possible if you don't already have a SMETS2 smart meter?
Prior to my switch to Octopus I've never previously had any data (not a single reading) though I've had a SMETS2 meter for about 18 months and a SMETS1 since November 2015 (when I switched to British Gas).

Please ignore the rant below if you wish:
If you're wondering why I've had no previous SMETS2 smart meter readings, well only the Energy Ombudsman (EO) can answer that. It's a very long story (i.e. 18 mths) but in short Bulb repeatedly lied to me and the EO that they were able to remotely read my meter but even though I had proof of the lies and the EO agreed with me that Bulb had indeed repeatedly lied to both of us. The EO told me that because they had already made their decision based on these lies before they knew that they were lies, then their policy was to stand by the decision. I obviously appealled, however it turns out that you can only appeal once per complaint and must have new evidence (proof that the original decision was based on lies does not count in their eyes) so the EO decided there wasn't any further action to be taken.
I complained a second time but because Bulb lied again (the EO will believe whatever the energy company say)
so I lost my case again.
The only course of action left was to take Bulb to court at my own expense, so obviously that was never going to happen was it.

* Little known fact which can be confirmed on their website - If you complain to the Energy Ombudsman too many times they can bar you from further complaints, irrespective of the reason or outcome of the previous complaints. This is in addition their unacceptable actions policy.

[londiniumperson]

Thanks for that. Not bad. It's the late afternoon/early evening bump that might be a little scary in winter when solar is producing precisely zero! We'll see...

It's very scary, especially when most of the family (4 adults & 1 child) are home between 4 & 7pm (consistently expensive). It has an upside in that it makes my family more aware of the cost as well as the environmental impact. If I'm around at 4pm (Fri-Sun) I usually half jokingly, half seriously remind them that it's too expensive for a cup of tea
Also just my luck that energy prices have been on the rise the past month or so with the cheapest periods during the day/night now rarely drop below 7p.

Here's a more scary screenshot (there's a 35p max limit):

[ChesterUK]

You're waiting for the smart meter installation but then go on to say that you think you can download last years half hour data, how is this possible if you don't already have a SMETS2 smart meter?

https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/octo ... _2019.xlsx

[londiniumperson]

You're waiting for the smart meter installation but then go on to say that you think you can download last years half hour data, how is this possible if you don't already have a SMETS2 smart meter?

https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/octo ... _2019.xlsx

OK, I thought that you meant your actual half hourly usage.

[advance2020]

Some of the views aired here have got a bit heated, so I will tread carefully. I thought our 'e's provided “battery cooling”.

May I suggest One clue is in the Settings for managing Car Charging.
You can't set it below 80% but have several 5% steps up to 100%
Elsewhere people have suggested that we only recharge to Max 100% in preparation for a long journey, and hence need to max our range. Others have made the point about Regen. If you live high up like I do, 90% or 95% might be enough, to allow the battery room to top up during the early miles.

I also think it wise to vary the settings for Home Charging, so that you are not repetitively recharging to the same percentage daily. And by the same token, I suggest you vary how low you let your battery run down, before recharging.

With some types of rechargeable batteries, running down to 50% is suggested, and recharging repeatedly to 100% is to be avoided. But also it is occasionally good to run down to 20 or 30% and then fully recharge. However it is likely that our car batteries are more sophisticated , and I am sure the advice Honda have detailed in our Manual is our best guide. The Japanese are very thorough. One of the reasons why our cars were delayed, for software updates and pre-delivery checks.

The other factor, which could be just as important, is the Rate of Charge. I'm sure we have all read that regular use of Rapid Chargers is not recommended. And hopefully the cost would deter most people.

Fortunately our cars are equipped with intelligent Battery Management. There are several videos of “long range” Honda e trials where Rapid Charging slows considerably when reaching close to max capacity e.g. in Sweden/Norway?

One other key factor to maintain long life is temperature. With my e-bike, where the battery is detachable, I do as they recommend and keep my battery in our house, during a very cold spell. We don't have that option, but if we have another Beast from the East, and get snowed in for a week, I might have to start heating my Garage!

[Fortunatus]

Some useful info'

https://www.honda.co.uk/engineroom/cars ... es-charge/

[Isotope Toast]

And the debate rages on....

"Generally, no – top-up charging shouldn’t ruin your EV battery. Most battery management systems have countermeasures for constant fast charging too and most vehicles have innate caps to protect their batteries.
However, in some instances, it may be worth charging to less than 100% to preserve battery health."

Generally.....
In some instances.....

[Fortunatus]

Isotope Toast

What are the 'some instances?' 22kW, 50kW chargers that often limit the charge to 80% ??