Intelligent Octopus Go: Is It Worth It?
Karl Wallis
Imagine waking up to free miles, cheaper bills and greener power.
Picture this: your electric vehicle (EV) is 100 % topped up, your washing machine has finished its cycle, the immersion heater has primed tomorrow's hot water, and your battery is brim‑full of cut-price units. All that happened while you slept-at 7 p per kWh-because you switched to Intelligent Octopus Go and teamed it with rooftop solar. Keep reading and you'll see exactly how much you can save, why the tariff works so well for UK homes, and the simple steps that put you in control within a fortnight.
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1. At‑a‑glance, benefits
• Six-hour off-peak window (23:30‑- 05:30) at 7 p/kWh for the entire property
• Smart scheduling that charges the car whenever wholesale prices are rock‑bottom
• Pairs perfectly with solar + battery systems and home EV chargers
• A typical driver saves £400-£800 a year versus the April 2025 price‑cap rate
• Switch online; no engineer visit once a smart meter is fitted
2. What exactly is Intelligent Octopus Go?
Intelligent Octopus Go is a smart import tariff from Octopus Energy aimed squarely at EV owners. It splits the day into two:
1. Off peak period - 23:30-05:30 each night, charged at 7 p/kWh.
2. Peak period - the rest of the day, priced a little above the standard cap rate, region by region.
The Octopus app links directly to either your electric vehicle or a compatible charger. Tell it how many miles you need and when you need them; the cloud software buys power at the cheapest wholesale rate, guaranteeing that 7 p rate whether that occurs inside or just outside the off-peak window. More than 150,000 cars now form part of this virtual power plant, giving National Grid valuable flexibility while ordinary households pocket the savings.
3. Why solar households should pay special attention
A 4.4 kWp UK solar array will typically create about 4,000 kWh of electricity per year. Without storage, half of that vanishes to the grid at times you don't need it. Add a 10 kWh battery and Intelligent Octopus Go, and you unlock a beautiful three-stage energy flow:
• Daylight - panels feed the house first, battery second. Surplus exports on Octopus Outgoing Fixed at 15 p/kWh.
• Evening - battery discharges, covering cooking, TV and lighting at a zero‑grid cost.
• Night - battery refills on that dirt-cheap 7 p off-peak rate, ready for breakfast and the morning commute.
Our install base shows combined savings of £650-£900 a year when solar, battery and the smart tariff work together-halving the payback time of the panels.
4. Intelligent Octopus Go vs Octopus Go
Feature. Intelligent Octopus Go Octopus Go
Off peak rate 7 p/kWh 9 p/kWh
Off peak duration 6 h (23:30‑- 05:30) 4 h (00:30‑04:30)
Smart auto‑scheduling Yes No
Export partner tariff. Outgoing Fixed (15 p) Outgoing Lite (8 p)
Compatibility Selected cars/chargers Any EV + timer
Unless your hardware is missing from the compatibility list, Intelligent Octopus Go wins on every metric: longer off-peak, lower price, better export rate, and a smarter app.
5. Eligibility checklist
1. You buy electricity from Octopus (or are happy to switch).
2. You have a working SMETS2 smart meter in half-hourly mode.
3. At least one electric vehicle or charger appears on the Octopus compatibility checker (Tesla, VW, Ford, Audi, Hyundai, Kia, BMW, Polestar, etc., plus chargers from Hypervolt, MyEnergi, Ohme, Wallbox and Indra).
4. You own an iOS or Android phone for the scheduling app.
Pass those four gates and you're ready in days, not months.
6. Regional prices and standing charges (April 2025, fixed option)
• London: 7 p off peak | 26.98 p peak | 44.66 p/day standing
• Manchester: 7 p | 26.74 p | 47.72 p/day
• Edinburgh: 7 p | 26.20 p | 55.92 p/day
• Bristol: 7 p | 28.08 p | 53.37 p/day
• Cardiff: 7 p | 28.10 p | 49.87 p/day
• Birmingham: 7 p | 26.81 p | 51.69 p/day
• York: 7 p | 26.66 p | 58.07 p/day
The tariff tweaks its peak element quarterly in line with the price cap, but that 7 p off-peak hallmark has budged just once since 2022-and moved down.
Ready to Power Your Future with Solar?
Join hundreds of UK homeowners and businesses already saving with GRW Solar.
Enjoy cleaner energy, lower bills, and expert support every step of the way.
Call us free on 0800 059 0606
Email:
enquires@grwsolar.co.uk
Visit grwsolar.co.uk to get your free quote today
7. Savings scenarios
A. Commuter family (no solar)
• 7,000 miles a year ≈ 2 000 kWh for the car
• 3,000 kWh household usage
• 75 % shifted to off peak at 7 p.m. → £263
• 25 % at peak ≈ £235
Total £498 vs £ 1,350 on a flat‑price cap-saving £852
B. Solar upgrader (4.4 kWp + 10 kWh battery)
• Same mileage and demand as above
• Night top‑up 1,500 kWh at 7 p.m. → £105
• Peak grid 400 kWh → £108
• Export 700 kWh at 15 p → ‑£105
Net annual bill £108-saving ~£1 200
C. High‑mileage EV driver (12,000 miles)
• 3,430 kWh for transport
• 2,000 kWh household
• 4 200 kWh off peak | 750 kWh peak
Total £579 vs £1 340-saving £761
8. Hardware spotlight - five chargers that love Intelligent Octopus Go
1. Hypervolt Home 3 Pro - seamless Octopus handshake, colour LED status.
2. MyEnergi Zappi - king of solar diversion, now multiphase.
3. Ohme Home Pro - on‑device screen shows live off-peak countdown.
4. Wallbox Pulsar Max - compact, rugged, app-locked cable.
5. Indra Smart Lux - newest arrival, ultra‑quiet relay and firmware built for Octopus scheduling.
We install, certify and commission all five, usually inside a single working day.
9. Power‑shifting strategies to milk every off-peak minute
• Delay‑start dishwashers, dryers and washing machines.
• Heat store cylinders or Sunamp bricks between 04:00 and 05:30.
• Pre‑condition your EV cabin while it's on the 7 p.m. supply.
• Charge e-bike, lawn‑mower and laptop batteries overnight.
• Run a dehumidifier or air purifier before breakfast instead of during the evening peak.
Each shifted kilowatt saves roughly 20p compared with the current peak rate- move 1,000 kWh a year, and you've banked £200 with zero lifestyle compromise.
10. Finance and payback made simple
A typical 4.4 kWp solar array, 10 kWh battery and Octopus-ready charger costs about £ 16,300 (0 % VAT). A ten-year 9.9 % APR green loan works out around £212 per month. The stack average combined savings of £80 in avoided imports and £25 in export income, and the project is cash‑neutral from day one. After the loan, you keep every penny of benefit-roughly £ 1,260 a year-plus any capital uplift when you sell the house.
11. Glossary of key Octopus terms
• Off-peak rate - the 7 p unit price under Intelligent Octopus Go.
• Peak rate - regional daytime price.
• Bump charge - immediate manual boost at the prevailing rate.
• Virtual power plant - the 150-plus EV fleet that the supplier can pause or start to help the grid.
• SEG exporter - Smart Export Guarantee tariff that pays for solar surplus (Outgoing Fixed 15p).
12. Frequently asked questions
Q. Can I join without an EV?
A. Not yet; Octopus needs a compatible car or charger connected.
Q. Is Intelligent Octopus Go a fixed deal?
A. Only the off-peak element behaves like one; the peak half tracks the cap every three months.
Q. Do I need a smart meter?
A. Yes-a half‑hourly SMETS2 is mandatory (fitted free if you don't have one).
Q. How long does the switch take?
A. Existing Octopus customers typically finish within 24 h. Switchers from other suppliers complete in under three weeks thanks to the Energy Switch Guarantee.
13. Advanced objections handled
• "Noise at night will wake the kids."
Modern white goods have <40 dB night cycles.
• "Quarterly adjustments scare me."
The 7 p benchmark has only moved once, and that was downward.
• "My 2015 Leaf isn't compatible."
Use a compatible charger (e.g., Zappi) and the app talks to the charger, not the car.
14. Case study - Bryson family, Kent
Six months post-install:
• Solar generation - 2,050 kWh
• Grid imports at night - 1,480 kWh
• Peak imports - 310 kWh
• Solar exports - 820 kWh
Six-month bill £241 vs £721 before: saving £480-on track for £960 a year and a 7-year payback.
15. Future-proofing your home
• Vehicle‑to‑grid pilots may soon pay >20 p/kWh at 17:00 peaks.
• Cosy Octopus complements heat‑pump schedules with triple off-peak windows.
• All our installs are wired for future AC or DC coupling, so upgrades are plug‑and‑play.
16. Act now
Energy prices rise and fall, but the off-peak window keeps its 7 p promise.
Pair that with solar and a battery, and you flatten your exposure to the peak rate.
Imagine stepping into a fully‑charged EV every dawn while the smart meter shows you spent less than a fiver overnight.
Ready to Power Your Future with Solar?
Join hundreds of UK homeowners and businesses already saving with GRW Solar.
Enjoy cleaner energy, lower bills, and expert support every step of the way.
Call us free on 0800 059 0606
Email:
enquires@grwsolar.co.uk
Visit grwsolar.co.uk to get your free quote today
Intelligent Octopus Go - the smartest off-peak tariff, the perfect partner for solar, and the fastest way to turn UK sunshine and nighttime wind into pure household savings. Let's start your journey today.
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