EV general discussion

Buffman said:
I guess the only other thing to consider is that electric unit rates go up for daytime use if you have an EV? IE 7p at night but I think most tend to go higher than 25p for daytime? I'm currrently on a standard britishgas variable so wondering what to change to? I think i heard one of them (ovo?) had a decent daytime rate plus a night time rate


Also for chargers any thoughts on the below shortlist?

Simpson and Partner EV Chargers | The benchmark in EV charging

Ultimate performance, intelligence and timeless craftsmanship. Built to last a lifetime and Octopus Intelligent GO compatibility.
simpson-partners.com simpson-partners.com

https://www.hypervolt.co.uk/

https://andersen-ev.com/pages/andersen-quartz

It sounds like hypervolt is pretty good but not sure if I'd rather something a bit more muted design wise.
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You do but the part you are missing is that while your paying slightly more for day time usage, you are also getting 6 hours where all your electricity is 1/4 the price.

For every 1kwh you use overnight, you can pay the 1.5p premium on 10-12 peak time units and come out on top. Chuck the dishwasher or washing machine on overnight instead of at 5pm like many people do and you are more than golden. You are also helping to shave the peak electricity price for everyone.

Before I got solar/batteries, when i originally moved to Octopus Go my household electricity bill (excluding charging) went down thanks to time of use pricing.

Edit: math error!
 
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b0rn2sk8 said:
Unrealistic list prices are also playing into these ‘fantasy’ depreciation figures. The gap between the list price and the actual selling price is massive for some manufacturers at the moment. If you can get a £10k discount on something you are handing over £18-20k for, the product was never worth £28k-£30k in the first place.
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This is true. I've mentioned before that on paper my Astra depreciated 38% on day one when you compare list to what we paid for it.

Its surprising when new EVs that break a certain price point seem to gain traction in the motoring press. It will also be interesting to see what happens when the BIK rates start to go up as that will make the "salary sacrifice no brainer" something that needs a bit more consideration.

Journey said:
Interesting article about how 'poor people' drive EV's in china - that will be the UK in the not too distant future.

www.bbc.co.uk

How China made electric vehicles mainstream

The world's second largest economy is both the biggest producer and buyer of EVs.
www.bbc.co.uk www.bbc.co.uk
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Not while we have a two tier situation with those who can charge at home versus those who can't.

Saving a grand on fuel for every 7000 miles (roughly speaking) only applies when you aren't paying public charging prices.

The article even mentions multiple incentives to go EV. I guess we'll have the stick of taxation on ICE vehicles and fuel to look forward to but I doubt there is any budget for any carrots to be offered.

The status quo will just see the 'poor' totally priced out of car ownership.
 
lordrobs said:
This is true. I've mentioned before that on paper my Astra depreciated 38% on day one when you compare list to what we paid for it.

Its surprising when new EVs that break a certain price point seem to gain traction in the motoring press. It will also be interesting to see what happens when the BIK rates start to go up as that will make the "salary sacrifice no brainer" something that needs a bit more consideration.
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In all honesty, it’s not such a no brainer now and They are much more closely priced than you might think despite the headline tax taxing.

The lease costs in many SS schemes are inflated because you are typically locked into a single scheme provider so they only need to compete with retail. They can be uncompetitive on certain makes and models at certain times of the year.

Manufacturers have been pricing aggressively at retail to hit those sales targets.

Then also factor in any loss of pension contributions if applicable and you might even be in the red in some scenarios.

This is one of those people shop at Amazon because they think it’s cheaper type scenarios. If you are happy to be flexible on the car (make, model, spec and colour) you’ll get a good deal on SS. If you want something specific, you may be better off going to retail.

When I worked it out for our current car, it was only about 20% cheaper going via salary sacrifice despite the headline tax saving.

As BIK rates go up, the inflated list pricing is really going to bite.
 
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b0rn2sk8 said:
You do but the part you are missing is that while your paying slightly more for day time usage, you are also getting 6 hours where all your electricity is 1/4 the price.

For every 1kwh you use overnight, you can pay the 1.5p premium on 10-12 peak time units and come out on top. Chuck the dishwasher or washing machine on overnight instead of at 5pm like many people do and you are more than golden. You are also helping to shave the peak electricity price for everyone.

Before I got solar/batteries, when i originally moved to Octopus Go my household electricity bill (excluding charging) went down thanks to time of use pricing.

Edit: math error!
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Only problem with above is I use very little at night. I'd chuck the dishwasher on but washing machine I think is a fire risk.
 
Tumble driers, fridges and dishwashers are the things that are most likely to go up in smoke.

Tumble driers are only top of the list because of the hot point issue and no one bats an eyelid about fridges.

How much do you use at night compared to during the day?

A 200w baseload off sets 11-12kwh of daytime use before considering any appliances being moved.
 
There are other knock on effects of moving from ICE to EV...... My Nectar points total is significantly down as i no longer spend £120 a month on fuel, my health is also better as i no longer grab a bottle of wine when the wife used to shout "if you're off to the garage get some wine for later...." twice a week.

:D
 
kefkef said:
There are other knock on effects of moving from ICE to EV...... My Nectar points total is significantly down as i no longer spend £120 a month on fuel, my health is also better as i no longer grab a bottle of wine when the wife used to shout "if you're off to the garage get some wine for later...." twice a week.

:D
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on the flip side tho if you are with octopus you can get a free coffee every week and if you are lucky the odd sausage roll or festive slice from Greggs :D
 
Buffman said:
I guess the only other thing to consider is that electric unit rates go up for daytime use if you have an EV? IE 7p at night but I think most tend to go higher than 25p for daytime? I'm currrently on a standard britishgas variable so wondering what to change to? I think i heard one of them (ovo?) had a decent daytime rate plus a night time rate
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I am on Tomato's Lifestyle tariff and I have three different rates:-

00.00-06.00 5p per kWh
09.30-11.30 and 22.00-00.00 14.04p per kWh
All other times is at 24.04p per kWh
Standing charge 45p per day

My car only charges at the cheapest rate and because of this my running cost is down to a penny per mile now. You can't argue against running a car that cheaply. I also have the washing machine and tumble dryer on overnight so compared to this time last year the cost of my household electricity is massively reduced.
 
I looked at Tomato as it seemed to good to be true almost, but at the moment they aren't taking any new customers and this appeared on Ofgem last week;

Tomato Energy Limited: Provisional Order

On 10 September 2025 the Authority issued Tomato Energy Limited with a Notice of failure to comply with a confirmed Provisional Order, which was issued in accordance with section 25 of the Electricity Act 1989.
www.ofgem.gov.uk www.ofgem.gov.uk
 
will zap map show you ev chargers with adjacent Greggs, though ?

bik effect
- thousands of private ev, total & fleet ev, total car sales last year each month - pretty biassed egh
nkVRkwR.png



[first world common sense - those that actually know how to use it put the washing machine on during waking hours so that you can intervene if the load turns out massively unbalanced]
 
What’s the BIK effect here. Can you summarise what the table is showing ?? BIK effect? What going from 2 to 3% in April ?
 
Simon said:
What’s the BIK effect here. Can you summarise what the table is showing ?? BIK effect? What going from 2 to 3% in April ?
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yes, months vertically downwards, private new bev sales, private total, fleet bev sales, fleet total (thousands)
I was tired that smmt don't report it , so loaded govt excel/ods

e: yes you are rights its odd , in april anomally was a lump of petrol sales (pre-regs ?? )
vWJwxH0.png


 
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kefkef said:
I looked at Tomato as it seemed to good to be true almost, but at the moment they aren't taking any new customers and this appeared on Ofgem last week;

Tomato Energy Limited: Provisional Order

On 10 September 2025 the Authority issued Tomato Energy Limited with a Notice of failure to comply with a confirmed Provisional Order, which was issued in accordance with section 25 of the Electricity Act 1989.
www.ofgem.gov.uk www.ofgem.gov.uk
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Don’t worry, when they go under, we will all get another few p on the standing charges to cover their liabilities.
 
b0rn2sk8 said:
Tumble driers, fridges and dishwashers are the things that are most likely to go up in smoke.

Tumble driers are only top of the list because of the hot point issue and no one bats an eyelid about fridges.

How much do you use at night compared to during the day?

A 200w baseload off sets 11-12kwh of daytime use before considering any appliances being moved.
Click to expand...
To be honest I'll need to check, I currently have a British gas smart meter so will need to work out how..

That tomato plan sounds good but challenging if they're going into administration

Weirdly I currently only pay 116 a month for gas an electric which seems good! (4 bed house)
 
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