🐙Cut your energy bills nearly in half with Octopus Tracker
- Thread starter ThatFragranceGuy
- Start date
What isn't the octoplus?
ThatFragranceGuy
Well-known member
"Free electricity when the grid is greenest
Yup you heard us right. We will let you know anywhere from a few hours to a day ahead when the Free Electricity Sessionswill happen via email, you let us know you’re taking part by clicking the opt in button in the email and use as much energy as you can (safely) during the session, we will then credit this back to your Octopus balance."
Yup you heard us right. We will let you know anywhere from a few hours to a day ahead when the Free Electricity Sessionswill happen via email, you let us know you’re taking part by clicking the opt in button in the email and use as much energy as you can (safely) during the session, we will then credit this back to your Octopus balance."
ThatFragranceGuy
Well-known member
You can move to it, they're a different supplier.I'm with Eon Next, and already have a smart meter
Does this apply to me? Is it still valid?
Can someone explain it like I'm 5 please
Everyone who has moved has enjoyed savings
Caveat though we are entering winter so if you join now there may be some days where it's more expensive, but so far not breached price cap. If there was a more risky time, it's now though.
In a nutshell, prices change daily and reflect wholesale costs instead of the 3-monthly price cap. They could rocket to 100p for elec for example, but never have. Think there was one day last year when it spiked high but other then that it's always been good savings. I've been on it since Feb and saved £700. Todays unit prices are 21.2p elec and 5.7p gas which are both quite high for tracker.
Octopus gives you £50 credit if you do join via a link (check first post) and id get the same, so there is that too.
It's a very different way of managing your energy and they give you access to a lot of data to track everything, if that's your thing - you don't have to but it's there.
If you want to post or pm me your unit rates, standing charges and annual usage I can run a comparison for you
Cheers mate...
Gas
Standing charge - 27.726p/day (£101.20/year)
Unit rate - 7.076p/kWh
Estimated annual usage - 14056 kWh
Electricity
Standing charge - 54.315p/day (£198.25/year)
Unit rate - 27.892p/kWh
Estimated annual usage - 4446.9kWh
It sounds like some people are having issues getting on the tracker? Or is that just user error (for want of a better phrase!)
Gas
Standing charge - 27.726p/day (£101.20/year)
Unit rate - 7.076p/kWh
Estimated annual usage - 14056 kWh
Electricity
Standing charge - 54.315p/day (£198.25/year)
Unit rate - 27.892p/kWh
Estimated annual usage - 4446.9kWh
It sounds like some people are having issues getting on the tracker? Or is that just user error (for want of a better phrase!)
ThatFragranceGuy
Well-known member
I don't think necessarily user error, I've just asked them if it is but their web page suggests it is
So the blue columns is you now
The grey is the uk average for price cap
The purple is the average for octopus tracker over the last 365 days so last winter included when gas and elec was much more expensive than it is now
wow mate, that's great - thank you. will chat to the wife about it and will look at making the move.
Looking at the octopus website I need to try and figure out which smart meter I have too (I think)
edit: are you billed via DD still, or do you pay for your usage per month?
Looking at the octopus website I need to try and figure out which smart meter I have too (I think)
edit: are you billed via DD still, or do you pay for your usage per month?
ThatFragranceGuy
Well-known member
If you have a smart meter you can join it, if they can't connect to your smart meter because it's not compatible they will book you a swap out, that can be 1-3 weeks but you'd just join on octopus's standard rate which is same as price cap which is almost identical to what you're on now
Even if octopus didn't have tracker, I'd still probably be with them because their data access and stuff like the octopus mini (for live elec use in apps) is great. Their cs is great (although some will no doubt have trouble as happens with every big firm)
I,m a TS postcode and signed up
ThatFragranceGuy
Well-known member
You are billed by dd but you have control over it, if you want to pay more in summer you can, or you can just pay roughly what you're using. I prefer to enter winter on a credit balance as it smooths out tour payments.
If you can afford it if d just set it at what you have now and then look at what you build up, can always take it out
Octo confirmed its still open to all
So basically you join via the link to get the £50 credit, and you join on the standard tariff - so ignore the quote they give you as that's for the standard tariff which will be more or less same as what you have now
Once you join, immediately apply for tracker, they'll backdate it to when you applied
Via the octopus app you can adjust your direct debit, apply for refunds of credit, see usage etc and then there is a host of third party apps that use the octopus api to give you all sorts of charts and graphs if you want them
Basically up to you if you use all that
I'd also set up alerts for daily prices. But also hold your nerve if they do go up, it's a long term view tariff someone scared if not goes expensive for a few weeks. But that's your call ultimately!
Bruce
Well-known member
For what it's worth, I'm on Octopus "Agile" in Scotland. That means that my electricity price changes every 30 minutes with peak pricing from 4pm-7pm daily. From 8th September to 7th October my average price paid per unit was 19.26p per kWh (unit). This is slightly down from 19.57p per unit the previous month.
My wife and I live in a medium sized ground-floor flat and are pretty medium users of electricity. We're saved around £20 per month on electricity (when you factor in the cheaper standing charge) compared to a normal fix. Gas: we're on the Octopus tracker, so price changes daily. Last bill, our average price was 4.44p per unit with a standing charge of 25.56p/day. Looks like we saved around £18 for gas compared to a normal fix.
My wife and I live in a medium sized ground-floor flat and are pretty medium users of electricity. We're saved around £20 per month on electricity (when you factor in the cheaper standing charge) compared to a normal fix. Gas: we're on the Octopus tracker, so price changes daily. Last bill, our average price was 4.44p per unit with a standing charge of 25.56p/day. Looks like we saved around £18 for gas compared to a normal fix.
ThatFragranceGuy
Well-known member
Are you ev users or load shifting? If not I reckon tracker would probably do better for you, agile works great if you have a lot of elec you can use over night but for those that can't make use fmod the best rates, the 5-8pm peak periods drag down your savings a lot - last 90 days on Octo tracker the elec has averaged 17p - it sounds small but adds up.
Generally when tracker has a good day agile has a great day, and the opposite is true for expensive days so when tracker is pricy agile is obscene
People like @Andy_W get round this by using their elec overnight and topping up with solar so the expensive times are last resorts and low usage
Bruce
Well-known member
A little bit. We have a couple of e-bikes and use some smart plugs to schedule stuff but I am coming to the conclusion that the daily tracker is probably better.
ThatFragranceGuy
Well-known member
If you get solar and battery storage you can make the most of agile, but without some serious load shifting eg washing machines, car charging etc, most people will probably suit the tracker better as it's just easier as it's single rate. I'd imagine you could try it for a month or two and compare your data?
Jonny Ingbar
Well-known member
Anyone joined the 'Octoplus' rewards?
I'm assuming it didn't affect the Tracker tariff?
I'm assuming it didn't affect the Tracker tariff?
ThatFragranceGuy
Well-known member
Are you signing up to their standard rate? I guess they just mean it's a variable tariff as in the old world you had fixed rates and variable, it's just that right now variable are generally fixed at price cap but it's not a fix so if cap changes the tariff can also
Tracker absolutely can and will change, daily
ThatFragranceGuy
Well-known member
No it's something on top