Energy Prices (Strictly NO referrals!)

Unfortunately solar installations can't be free - like everything in life things which add value cost money to enable that value. Even if you do it yourself you have to buy the kit, and then take the time to install it, it won't be without cost.

Personally an EV doesn't seem like a good investment, whereas you can get a ROI on solar kit easily within 5-10 years depending on how much you use and the cost of electricity.
 
Given most EVs are 40k, that's £2k of interest income which offsets fuel costs in the combustion engine vehicle. Unless you can get one cheap and have free charging I would struggle to recommend. For me it works, for others maybe not.
 
SpeedFreak said:
Given most EVs are 40k, that's £2k of interest income which offsets fuel costs in the combustion engine vehicle. Unless you can get one cheap and have free charging I would struggle to recommend. For me it works, for others maybe not.
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The MG 4 starts at under £27k...... sure its not cheap.... but its not that much more expensive than equivalent ICE cars......

there are plenty of decent electric cars 2nd hand in the 15k range

down to 10k things are more limited but there are some plug in hybrids which may be useful (Ampera and the like) i am not really a lover of hybrids but if 80% of your journesy are under 30 miles but you want to have the range of an ICE then it could be an option.

once you get sub 8k things are pretty bleak i admit for main cars...... (this will change)

I agree its not for everyone, but i think there are a lot of people who write them off as "not being ready yet" when they could work for them with just a slight change to their habits.
 
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Oh, completely agree, but even 27k is a decent wedge of cash to lay down. It has worked so far for me, but I get a car, free charging and insurance/maintenance for around £300 per month at present so it's a no brainer.
 
Moved from British Gas to Octopus and have just been sent my final bill. There’s a large discrepancy between the closing (8260) and opening (8046) electricity readings on the respective bills. The Octopus reading is right but their website seems to suggest this won’t leave me any worse off over time. I don’t see how that is the case as I’ve paid BG for 214kwh they never supplied to me, and then will pay Octopus for my actual usage.

Am I right or misunderstanding?
 
One More Solo said:
Moved from British Gas to Octopus and have just been sent my final bill. There’s a large discrepancy between the closing (8260) and opening (8046) electricity readings on the respective bills. The Octopus reading is right but their website seems to suggest this won’t leave me any worse off over time. I don’t see how that is the case as I’ve paid BG for 214kwh they never supplied to me, and then will pay Octopus for my actual usage.

Am I right or misunderstanding?
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I'd say you were correct.
Had a much much bigger difference (equivalent to 100s of pounds) on mine. And in end it went to having an independent meter reader come out.

If they don't match and it is like you say you will over pay BG and correctly pay octopus.

I'd raise a dispute. This is what I had to do. With such a small difference I'd suspect BG will just roll over and refund.


You need to take this up with BG. And if they dispute I believe you will need to talk to your new supplier.

Take pics of the meter now!
Without pics it would have been much harder to argue my case
 
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Doobedoo said:
It’ll be a long time until EV’s make sense for us.
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Agreed - but I also don't have any interest in them either! :D

Our 2 diesel cars are ULEZ compliant (not that we live anywhere near London), do 600+ miles per fill up, are cheap to run and maintain (I do a lot of it myself), and will run them to the ground as I do all my cars. Cost wise it makes no sense for us either.
 
On one hand I get this point around an EV being not cost effective etc but then on the other, saying they're not a good investment I assume is just a poor choice of words, cars are rarely a good investment given they are almost always depreciating assets..

Also the point is not necessarily them being cheaper to run.. people often don't have the cheapest to run car, like super frequently don't, in part the point is not perpetuating wrecking the planet and being part of the change.

For clarity I don't have one so this is no eco warrior viewpoint but it is a relevant part of the equation just the same as the 0-60 time, the infotainment system or whether it's going to get you laid. None of which make any difference in how they get you from A to B.
 
Kill_Phil said:
Surprised not at least interested given the amount of kW you're churning out! But yeah pointless switching at the moment if doesn't make financial sense
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I don't think they're the future. A stepping stone for sure but I'm a little concerned about the rare earth materials that are being excavated as well as the recycling capability. Also I just like the convenience of not having to charge at the moment.

However yes with the amount of solar I have it wouldn't be too bad from a charging perspective but for the mileage I do it's just not worthwhile for us as a family at the moment.
 
don't forget rare earth metals used in refining (and unlike batteries.not recyclable.
not saying electric cars are green OR that everyone should throw away perfectly good ice cars tomorrow.... but over the life of them I believe they are a better choice if you can make them work for you when the time does come to replace your existing car

if sodium batteries can replace lithium that would be a massive win. I bombed the chem part of my degree (spectacularly) but on paper at least it has similar properties to Lithium (albeit not quite as good)
 
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with the snow/temps outside - UK's doing well on peak electric/gas

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living our best energy consumption
 
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