Charging With An EO Mini Pro (On Octopus)

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Fossilnot
Posts: 200
Joined: Wed Jun 30, 2021 4:15 pm

Post by Fossilnot »

After two month’s ownership of our Enyaq perhaps some of our charging experiences might be of use to those choosing which charger to purchase:

80iv collected June 22nd. This was an earlier date than anticipated and was a bit of a pants down moment! I explained to the dealers that we had not really sorted our charging arrangements so would they kindly fully charge it for handover. They did-but how they managed to cram an indicated 415miles into the guessometer I have no idea! Needless to say I have not attempted to replicate that feat.

We moved from Ovo to Octopus as Ovo didn’t have a tariff to rival Octopus Go-not two months ago anyway. And if the article in the recent Sunday Times is to be believed they remain uncompetitive. The nub of the Octopus Go Tariff is a 5pence per kw off peak rate between the hours of 00.30 and 4.30.

To take advantage of this we opted for an EO mini pro charger. This has a usefully functional app that operates perfectly well on my iPhone 6. Using the full four hour window It consistently charges a total of 31kw and puts 106 miles into the GOM. I think of it as 26 miles per hour of charge at approximately 1.5 pence per GOM mile. Today, for example, I have 216 miles in the tank but have a bit of a journey planned tomorrow so have set it up to charge from 2.00am to 4.30am tonight
adding 62-64 miles thus topping up the GOM to around the recommended 80% mark. (The car has told me off a couple of times for charging too close to max. )

The type 2 to type 2 cable supplied with the car works fine with the EO. It locks electrically into the charger and the car socket until released by using the unlock function of the car key. (I elected not to have a tethered lead.)

The EO is remotely padlocked using the app so any attempt to steal juice is frustrated.

The EO can also be set up to balance charge with solar generation but we do not have solar panels.

Likewise it can be used to charge at normal cost per kw rates at other hours of the day-a far cheaper option than many pay public charge points.

Charging history can be accessed from the app.

I have reservations regarding the level of weatherproofing built into the EO Mini Pro and have tried to improve matters. Prospective purchasers of any charge point could usefully make weatherproofing a focus of their enquiries…

I’d be grateful if readers inclined to lecture would refrain from telling me what I should have done. I’ve paid my money and made my choice. I post this in the hope that it will assist one or two in making their choice.

Regards,

Fossilnot

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Susans Dad
Posts: 150
Joined: Mon Jul 26, 2021 1:53 pm
Location: Northern Ireland

Post by Susans Dad »

Fossilnot, well done and thanks. Happy motoring
Ordered 21 July 2021 - Enyaq iv 80 , Artic Silver, 21 Betria wheels, Light & view pack +, Infotainment pack +, Assisted drive pack +, Comfort seat pack +, Parking +, Climate pack +, Driving sport pack, Pan roof & now 125kW fast charge
Perchede
Posts: 444
Joined: Tue Jun 15, 2021 12:09 pm

Post by Perchede »

Ahh another good solution without using the poor defective Enyaq scheduled functionality. I am also using the functionality of another charger with a deferred Charing possibility.
IV60 Energy Blue, Loft, Matrix LED Lights, Drive assist+, Parking Assist+, HUD, Transport, Comfort, Tow bar. Schneider EV Link charger, 7000 Govt Grant - France, Delivered June 21.
Caman24
Posts: 16
Joined: Fri Aug 27, 2021 6:10 am

Post by Caman24 »

Interesting! Got my Enyaq on order due end of November.
Is Octopus Energy Go and the lower rate at night saving you money do you think? I’m looking at tariffs at the moment so good to get your opinion.
Fossilnot
Posts: 200
Joined: Wed Jun 30, 2021 4:15 pm

Post by Fossilnot »

It is a bit early to say-we are only 1600 miles in (real miles). And it is my understanding that the rate per Kw at other times is variable according to geographical location. We currently pay 14.99pence per kw outside the four hour window.but that might not apply to you-you might get a better rate…
So I can’t say but it sure feels good!
What was really good t’other day was driving into the rammed car park of a well known furniture store in Northallerton and spotting four empty electric car charging bays. 40 GOM miles of juice FREE while we enjoyed an excellent value for money meal.
The chargers at Barkers are Rolecs on posts.
Of course none of this takes capital costs into account.

Fossilnot
Fossilnot
Posts: 200
Joined: Wed Jun 30, 2021 4:15 pm

Post by Fossilnot »

I neglected to include this part: there is a vital QR code on the side of the EO wall box which is used in pairing the phone/activating the app. In our case it appeared not to work. I went to bed swearing, cursing, and generally damning all modern technology to hell and back. In the morning it had sorted itself out, all worked well, and has done what it is supposed to do since then in an impressive manner.

Fossilnot
Goaty
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Joined: Sat May 22, 2021 3:27 pm

Post by Goaty »

Caman24 wrote: Fri Aug 27, 2021 6:13 am …Is Octopus Energy Go and the lower rate at night saving you money do you think? I’m looking at tariffs at the moment so good to get your opinion.
I changed from British Gas to Octopus about 3 months ago I think. That was after reviewing current pricing on one of those price comparison sites - I can’t remember which one.

With Octopus, you have to go onto one of their fairly standard packages first, and then they switch you to ‘Go’ after they have either been able to connect to your existing smart meter, or installed a new one for you.

However what I failed to realise is there is a big backlog in my area (Surrey) so I’m still on their standard rate of 19 point something pence per kW, which is about the same as my old British Gas rate !!!

Once I’m able to switch to Go, I understand the rate for my area is 16 point something pence Peak and 4.5 pence for four hours from 12:30 am.

To be fair to Octopus, they have ‘softened the blow’ whilst I’m having to wait for a smart meter upgrade. I probably can’t go into specifics in case the ‘compromise’ is no longer available- suffice to say if you’re in the same position as I am ( i.e. having to wait to switch to Go) then moan a little bit at them but in a nice way !!

My Enyaq doesn’t arrive until October (or beyond! Who knows at the moment?!) so fortunately I’m not getting stung for high charging costs….yet !

By the way, I also put a simple spreadsheet together to compare a few options, with a bias towards burning up 70kW twice a week at 4.5p / kW during this time. Octopus Go did seem to win by quite some margin here.
(Note that on a 7kW PodPoint, I’ll only be able to squeeze in around 28kW in the four ‘off peak’ hours).
iV80 Loft, Black, 21” Betria, 125kW, Climate Plus, Asst Drive Basic. Tethered PodPoint. Ordered May 2021. Delivered Nov 2021. Regrettably returned Jan 2024 (Company car. Changed jobs).
Xtopher
Posts: 111
Joined: Wed Jul 21, 2021 4:07 pm

Post by Xtopher »

Good info, thanks for the feedback. Sounds like you time the charge to get the level of charge you are after? Can you not set it to 80% in the car and just plug in and leave the schedule on the charger to be 0030-0400? Then it always starts at 0030 and finishes at 80% (if it gets there)? That is how we plan to do it, and assuming we dont have big back to back days, if it doesnt reach 80% on a given night, it will get there the next night.

Its worth noting that GO and Agile are both 'beta' products. While they appear to work perfectly well, I don't think Octopus make much pains to point out they are beta and technically in testing - all be it they work fine. So having to swap onto their standard or fixed rate first while waiting for a smart meter is kind-of to be expected as they don't want new customers going on beta products. They could do better with estimating when a smart meter will be available. We had to wait months, but a bit of that was down to Covid. Fortunately with not having an EV, we didn't seem much impact.

We were lucky that Octopus fixed rate was still cheaper than anything else around here, so have been with them for a few years now, and certainly before contemplating getting the car. We've been on Agile but switched over to GO a few months back as Agile prices went crazy. I am surprised that they can do a cheaper day rate than we had before with giving out 5p night rate as well! Doesn't make much sense, but I'm not complaining. Even without an EV we are saving money on GO. Recently switched our immersion to be timed as our main boiler is biomass and cost a couple p/kW more. Plus it reduces the amount of deliveries of pellets we need in a year from 5 to 3!
jamest
Posts: 115
Joined: Mon Jun 07, 2021 3:50 pm

Post by jamest »

One interesting thing I found out about Octopus is that you can download apps which will use the Octopus API to get your electricity usage and show you what you would have spent had you been on their various other tariffs, so you can see if you'd save more on Agile or Go.

I'm using this one: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/octopus-c ... 1545004095

I can't tell you which tariff would be better for me yet as my Enyaq is still in production :/
Ordered 17th March 2021, delivered 17th November 2021. Enyaq iV 60 Suite, Moon White Metallic, 100kW, Comfort Seat Package Basic, Family Package Basic, Convenience Package Plus, Drive Sport Package Basic, Assisted Drive Package Plus, Parking Package Plus.
jamest
Posts: 115
Joined: Mon Jun 07, 2021 3:50 pm

Post by jamest »

Actually if that app is right it looks like the price of Agile isn't ever dropping below the price of Go at the moment..
Ordered 17th March 2021, delivered 17th November 2021. Enyaq iV 60 Suite, Moon White Metallic, 100kW, Comfort Seat Package Basic, Family Package Basic, Convenience Package Plus, Drive Sport Package Basic, Assisted Drive Package Plus, Parking Package Plus.
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