Meet Streams: why the best time to plug in your EV is 'all the time'

When you switch to an EV, it’s common to overthink when you should be charging it to save the most money. But on Intelligent Octopus Go, you can throw the schedule out of the window.

The golden rule for charging is simple: plug in whenever you're at home. To help make this eco-friendly behaviour a daily habit, we’re adding a splash of fun to the Octopus app with a brand-new feature: Streams.

What are Streams?

Streams are a new, gamified way to track your daily charging streak. By building a daily charging habit, you’ll give our system the flexibility it needs to snap up cheap, green energy, which helps keep Intelligent Octopus Go prices low — and you'll unlock a series of snazzy digital collectibles along the way.

How to play

Don't break the Stream: Just plug in your EV at home every day to keep your streak alive. (You don't need to do a full charge, just make the connection!)

Check out your Stream: Find it in the app under the “Devices” tab. Each day we check if your car was plugged in and apply a “Stream”, a “Freeze” or a “Miss”.

Unlock rare fish: As your Stream grows and you hit new milestones, you'll unlock a collection of unique, colourful digital fish companions. You'll start off with 1 fish and there are currently 21 to collect, with more on the way.

Automatic freezes: Life happens! If you miss a day and can't plug in, an earned "Freeze" will automatically apply as a safety net to protect your progress so your Stream doesn't drop back to zero. We'll start you off with 1 Freeze and the longer your Stream gets, the more Freezes you'll earn.

Track your progress: You can view your current streak, see your most recent fishy friends, and check your upcoming milestones right on the main device control page in the app (just below your preferences).

Why do we want you plugging in every day?

While the fish are just for fun, the impact is very real. Think of our tech as a highly trained, energy-sniffing truffle pig. Because the energy grid is dynamic, keeping your car connected as often as possible gives our system more chances to forage the grid for those golden moments of cheap, green energy, which helps us to keep your prices low.

During the summer, for example, solar power does a massive amount of heavy lifting. This creates a huge surplus of cheap, renewable energy flowing through the grid during daylight hours. If your car is plugged in, we can snap up those sunny slots.

‘Wait, won't I get charged peak daytime prices?’

This is the most common worry we hear, but it’s actually the exact opposite. Letting us schedule your charge during the day is how you could unlock bonus cheap hours for your entire house. Let’s break it down:

• The overnight guarantee: You always get 6 hours of off-peak electricity for your home between 11:30pm and 5:30am, no matter what.

  
  

• The whole-home daytime bonus: On top of that, you get up to 6 hours of smart charging for your car every 24 hours. If our tech schedules this charging outside your overnight window, your whole home gets the super-cheap rate for those extra hours, too. So if your car is smart charging at 2pm, your dishwasher and washing machine can also run on off-peak energy at 2pm.

  
  

• Cheap automatic charging: Even if it happens at 5pm. Even if it’s raining. Even if Mercury is in retrograde and your daily horoscope told you to expect financial chaos. If we schedule it, and you’re within your 6-hour daily EV charging allowance, you get the cheap price.

  
  

• The cap for thirsty cars: This is pretty rare, but if your car needs a massive top-up and we have to schedule more than 6 hours to hit your charging target, only the first 6 hours will be at the discounted rate. Any extra charging will be at your peak rate (even if it happens during the overnight off-peak window).

  
  

Ready to start your Stream?

Next time you pull into the driveway, don't wait for bedtime or try to guess when the grid is greenest. Just plug in, let us do the foraging and watch your collection of aquatic friends grow.