Which smart tariff should I choose? A simple guide
Choosing the right Octopus smart tariff mostly comes down to one thing: what tech you have. If you've got an EV, solar panels, a battery, a heat pump, or some combination, there's usually a clear best-fit tariff.
Once you've got two or more of solar, battery, an EV or a heat pump, the choice gets more interesting. This is where it's worth a closer look rather than defaulting to the single-tech recommendation. I'm Phil Steele and I've advised thousands of customers on conundrums exactly like these. I'm here to share what I've learnt.
Quick tips
Avoid decision paralysis with my simple smart tariff picks for most homes.
Or skip on to dig deeper.
| Your tech | Smart pick |
|---|---|
| Solar panels | Outgoing Octopus |
| Solar + battery | Flux |
| Solar + battery + heat pump | Flux |
| Heat pump | Cosy Octopus |
| EV | Intelligent Octopus Go |
| Heat pump + EV | Intelligent Octopus Go |
| EV + solar + battery | Intelligent Octopus Go + Outgoing + Charge Pack |
| Heat pump + EV + solar + battery | Intelligent Octopus Go + Outgoing + Charge Pack |
I have one smart thing
Recommended tariff: Intelligent Octopus Go
Why: It's built specifically for EV charging. You get a guaranteed low-rate overnight window plus smart charging that fills up your car whenever it's cheapest and greenest (bonus: your whole home gets that cheap rate whenever your car is charging).
Works if: Your car or charger is compatible (check your eligibility here). If it isn't yet, Octopus Go is the next best option.
Rate structure:
6 hours of smart car charging for 8p/kWh
plus six hours every night between 11:30pm and 05:30am for your home.
Day rate varies; get an Intelligent Octopus Go quote here.
Recommended tariff: Cosy Octopus
Why: Offers super-cheap rates, three times a day, every day. These allow you to heat your home for less.
Works if: You have a heat pump, electric radiators or an electric boiler (they don't need to have been installed by us).
Rate structure: Three periods of super-cheap rates every day, 51% cheaper than the day rate in your region.
Recommended tariff: Outgoing Octopus
Why: Pays a flat 12p/kWh rate for the electricity you export back to the grid, on top of whatever you're already saving by using your own generation.
Works if: You have a working export meter (MCS-certified installation, in most cases).
Rate structure: 12p per kWh for every unit you export
Note: We’ve focused on your export tariff because that’s the exciting part of having solar panels: you can get paid for selling energy to the grid! When it comes to pulling energy from the grid, your options are exactly the same as anyone else's. Get a quote
No smart tech but interested in the world of smart tariffs? We still have recommendations for you.
Recommended tariff: Agile Octopus or Tracker
Why: These tariffs both track the wholesale price of energy but in slightly different ways. Agile prices update every half hour and Tracker prices change every day. Agile is generally worth it if you can shift your power use to less busy times of day, for example if you work from home and can put the laundry on in the middle of the day. Tracker may be a good idea if you want to track the wholesale market (for example, if you think prices are likely to drop) but don't want to think about your energy use on a half-hourly basis.
Works if: You have a smart meter.
Rate structure: Rates fluctuate based on the wholesale market. Tracker rates are set for the whole day, while Agile rates update every half-hour.
I have a combination
Recommended tariff: Octopus Flux
Why: On Flux, you can store up sunlight in your battery (or charge it up on super-cheap overnight power), use it to power your home, then sell any excess to the grid at peak prices.
Works if:
You have a smart meter providing us with half-hourly readings.
You are on an import and export tariff, both with Octopus Energy. If you're not yet on an export tariff, join Outgoing Octopus. You can then switch to Flux.
Rate structure:
Super-cheap rates between 02:00 - 05:00 every day
A peak rate between 16:00 - 19:00
Recommended import tariff: Intelligent Octopus Go
Recommended export tariff: Outgoing Octopus + Charge Pack
Why: Intelligent Octopus Go offers automatic smart charging for your car at super-low rates but its superpower is that your home also gets those low rates for six hours a night, so you can fill your battery with low-cost energy and use it to run your home or sell it at a higher rate. If you're eligible to join Charge Pack, our smart-battery add-on, we'll take care of your battery charging and exporting plus you'll make at least £12 a month.
Works if: You can join Intelligent Octopus Go if your car or charger is compatible (check your eligibility here). If it isn't yet, Octopus Go is the next best option.
You can join Charge Pack if you have a smart meter and a supported battery. Find out more about Charge Pack eligibility here.
Rate structure: Intelligent Octopus Go:
6 hours of smart car charging for 8p/kWh
plus six super-cheap hours every night between 11:30pm and 05:30am for your home.
Day rate varies; get an Intelligent Octopus Go quote here.
Outgoing Octopus:
12p per kWh for every unit you export.
Recommended import tariff: Intelligent Octopus Go
Recommended export tariff: Outgoing Octopus + Charge Pack
Why: Intelligent Octopus Go offers automatic smart charging for your car at super-low rates but its superpower is that your home also gets those low rates for six hours a night, so you can run your heat pump when it's cheap. You can also use those hours to fill your battery with low-cost energy and use it to power your heat pump or the rest of your home, or sell it at a higher rate.
If you're eligible to join Charge Pack, our smart-battery add-on, we'll take care of your battery charging and exporting plus you'll make at least £12 a month.
Works if
You can join Intelligent Octopus Go if your car or charger is compatible (check your eligibility here). If it isn't yet, Octopus Go is the next best option.
You can join Charge Pack if you have a smart meter and a supported battery. Find out more about Charge Pack eligibility here.
Rate structure
Intelligent Octopus Go:
6 hours of smart car charging for 8p/kWh
plus six hours super-cheap hours every night between 11:30pm and 05:30am for your home.
Day rate varies; get a Intelligent Octopus Go quote here.
Outgoing Octopus:
12p per kWh for every unit you export.
Recommended tariff: Octopus Flux
Why: On Flux, you can store up sunlight in your battery (or charge it up on super-cheap overnight power) and use it to power your heat pump and the rest of your home, plus sell any excess at peak prices. This makes you money and eases pressure on the grid. You can also pre-heat your home by running your heat pump during the super-cheap overnight period.
Works if:
You have a smart meter providing us with half-hourly readings.
You are on an import and export tariff, both with Octopus Energy. If you're not yet on an export tariff, join Outgoing Octopus. You can then switch to Flux.
Rate structure:
Super-cheap rates between 02:00 - 05:00 every day
Peak rates between 16:00 - 19:00
Recommended tariff: Intelligent Octopus Go
Why: Intelligent Octopus Go offers automatic smart charging for your car at super-low rates but its superpower is that your home also gets those low rates for six hours a night, so you can run your heat pump when it's cheap.
Works if: Your car or charger is compatible (check your eligibility here).
Rate structure:
6 hours of smart car charging for 8p/kWh
plus six hours super-cheap hours every night between 11:30pm and 05:30am for your home.
Day rate varies; get a Intelligent Octopus Go quote here.
Have you got so much smart tech we've not even thought of your particular combination? Congratulations! You are a green pioneer.
Get in touch and we'll give you a pat on the back, and a personalised recommendation.
Our models used the following assumptions:
Battery: Standard 10kWh home battery with a 5kW inverter that charges and discharges up to one cycle per day. Our tests assumed the battery operated between 20% and 80% full. We also factored in an 87.5% efficiency rate, accounting for the normal, small amount of energy naturally lost during the charging process.
Solar: We based our calculations on a home with solar panels that generate 4,500 kWh of electricity over a year. We assumed this power would be generated and used following the typical daily pattern for a standard home.
EV: We assumed the car is plugged in between 6:30pm and 7am, charging three times a week. Each session adds 28 kWh, taking 4 hours on a standard 7kW home charger. We factored in a 93% efficiency rate to cover the energy naturally lost during charging. If the modelled tariff wasn't specifically designed for EVs, we assumed the customer scheduled their charging to hit the cheapest off-peak rates.
Heat pumps: We looked at the standard energy usage patterns for homes with a Cosy heat pump across various tariffs (like Flux, Flexible, and Intelligent Octopus Go). For the calculations, we assumed customers manually adjusted their heating schedules to take advantage of the cheaper rates available on their tariff.
Other household energy use: We based this on data from the energy regulator, Ofgem. We used their benchmark household use of 2,700 kWh of electricity a year, mapping that total against standard daily usage patterns.
Charge Pack: For the Charge Pack tariffs, we based our calculations on two event days taking place each week. We factored in that the customer earns a minimum of £12 a month from taking part in these events.
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Philip Steele
Future Technologies Evangelist