Intelligent EV Home Charging with Octopus
From all the benefits of owning an EV, the cost of fuel, or lack thereof, is one of the most compelling. Granted electricity prices have skyrocketed thanks to artificially inflated demand, but still it's possible to travel for a fraction of the cost of an ICE vehicle, or even for free.
An important aspect that's not understood until experienced is the ability to passively refuel your car at home. The majority of trips will not exceed a full charge so stopping to fill up becomes a special occurrence reserved almost exclusively for long-distance road trips, otherwise just plug in when you come home and wake up the next morning with a full battery ready to go again.
Of course owning your own solar and battery installation is ideal, the ability to collect free energy from the sun to power your home and transport is a game changer. Reducing reliance on utilities not only allows you to weather any external infrastructure issues, but also reduces your bills, or depending on your capacity, converts them into passive income by getting paid for any extra shared back to the grid. No wonder it's such a desirable product with home installations soaring over the past few years.
Average Pricing
The average cost of electricity in the UK is 34p/kWh, although in my area it's almost 25% higher than that, more than doubling since 2021. A Model 3 is stated to achieve 4 miles per kWh and I've personally found this to be true, meaning that at regular rates it costs 10.5p per mile. Compare this to petrol cars which can get as low as 15p for the smallest, most efficient, it's still a fairly substantial increase and you don't have the luxury of a pump in your driveway to top up from the comfort of your home.
The average public AC charger costs around 50p per kWh and comes out to 12.5p/mile, still an improvement, however, if you're fortunate enough to be able to use your own charger and electricity there are some great deals out there.
Octopus Energy
This company is the best provider I've found in the UK, offering competitive pricing for 100% renewably sourced energy. Over the many years with them I’ve found their service to be excellent and since I moved to a property with off-street parking it's opened up a new world of possibilities. The Intelligent Octopus tariff is specially designed for home EV charging and offers a reduced rate of just 7.5p/kWh or 1.9p/mile by intelligently charging during off-peak hours when the grid is quietest, adapted to your particular vehicle and charger to reach a chosen state of charge by a certain time.
Their app is simple and does everything you need to manage your smart charging plan, view and pay your bills, and keep an eye on your usage in almost real time.
This is between the hours of 23:30 and 05:30, all your charging and home usage will be over 75% cheaper! That's especially great if you do have a battery storage system that can also top up during this time, to be used later, or sold back to the grid at peak times for a premium.
Tesla provide a mains wall charger for their cars capable of 4kW, practically nothing if you're in a hurry, but perfect to trickle charge steadily overnight, helping to keep your battery healthier whilst not overwhelming the grid. It's currently a £475 optional extra, but highly recommended if you don't plan on installing an even faster permanent charger which is certainly a more desirable option that comes with many home energy upgrades. It’s great to keep in the car to be able to top up anywhere, or if you’re renting and aren’t allowed permanent fixtures. Octopus can handle a variety of models currently including; Tesla, Jaguar, Land Rover, Ford, Audi, BMW, Mini, Skoda and Volkswagen (excluding ID models), OR any car that uses an Ohme charger - Find out more.
Forgetting all other factors and comparing only the cost of fuel, I find it's most easily visualised below:
Comparison of fuel cost per mile of average ICE car vs Tesla Model 3 (various charging options)
In this category alone it's almost 8x cheaper to own an EV in the UK so long as you have your own place to charge it and are already a customer of, or are willing to switch to Octopus.
They are the only energy supplier to be recommended by Which for many years and to sweeten the deal anyone who signs up using this link gets to split £100!
Add this to the long list of other advantages and there’s a very convincing argument to switch to electric, probably one of the primary reasons the Tesla Model Y is currently the best selling car in the world as people realise this is true and are keen to reap the rewards, but most electric vehicles can benefit from these kinds of incentives and this is an all round net-positive for Earth’s transition to a sustainable energy future.