Best Electricity Plan for new EV Owners

It's a fair viewpoint but my advice isn't to get too hung up over the payback period. It's important, but it's far from the only metric you should look at

Most of the things we spend money on will never generate a return. I don't think anyone asks what the payback period on a holiday is for example

Yeah you can argue that spending the money on an extension or attic conversion or new kitchen might increase the value of the home, but that's only really worth anything when you're trying to sell the house. So technically if you never sell the house then they never pay for themselves

Solar panels will also increase your house value, but they're one of the few things you can spend money on that'll start putting money back in your pocket from day 1

I've also heard it argued that you can generate more returns if you invested into savings bonds or stocks. My counter argument is that most savings bonds that generate a decent return will have a longer term than the payback of most solar panels.

Then there's the stock market option, but frankly that's just gambling with extra steps and even if you make money, you need to sell the shares to use it. Last I checked Aldi doesn't take Tesla stock or Bitcoin as payment

It's also worth saying that having more money in your pocket every month enables you to save more into those other savings paths

My system is looking to have a payback period of around 6-7 years. I would say the payback period is important for figuring out the right level of investment versus return, but overall as long as it isn't something silly like 20 years then you're almost guaranteed to do well out of it

Anyway, that's my sales pitch for anyone still reading 😁

I don't understand, why are you pay 35c per unit if you signed up for 29.99c?

That was my thinking too.

I didn't argue it when I rang because I wanted to check in on boards first - usually a bit more helpful! But I might call them back now.

Do they ever make a mistake in the customer's favour I wonder?

I didn’t know about that €30 for an error on your Flogas bill. They charged me the wrong gas rate on a few units when moved to the Community plan.

I signed up to the FloGas community plan too. Was told I would get a welcome pack within 14 days, but that never arrived. My cooling-off was coming to an end and didn't have any confirmation of rates, so I rang them. Was told they couldn't see the rates on the community plan!!

Got my final bills from Bord Gais, so it went through. Good to know I can get the rates I signed up for by chasing them.

@the_amazing_raisin at the risk of building up peoples hopes..... are those figures accurate?

Thanks for input as Im also considering solar etc and want to get an idea of savings & payback duration.

a level pay of 260 p/m = 3120 per annum (with ~14,000 units per annum, thats a cost of 22c per unit - is that correct in today's market?)

a level of pay of 60 p/m = 720 per annum.

By my calculations 14000 units at todays prices, inc Standing charge and VAT.... would cost approx 5500 per annum (??) .. unless 75% of usage was night.

I cant see how that could drop to 720 with Solar.

What size solar system and did you get 1 or more batteries?

I hope Im wrong 😀

You can't count the PSO levy as you'd be getting that saving anyway. FIT is nice to have but will be going soon. I would exclude those, the figures work out for PV anyway so there's no need to stat pad.

@the_amazing_raisin thanks for that detail. It all makes sense and is a bit re-assuring. I use ~14000 per annum and am looking at options. Uouve a bit less usage than 14k, thats why original figures had me worried i was being screwed somewhere!

yourself and subsequent poster both mention that FIT will be gone soon.... thats a huge item to factor into Solar installations/payback times. has anyone any more details on that?

Well the prices have been elevated for 3 years so I'd say we're in the new normal unfortunately.

They may drop but I've yet to see anything which says they'll be back to pre 2019 levels when electricity was dirt cheap

Remember that 4c EV night rate from Energia? Don't think we'll be seeing that again 😞

In general the more electricity you're using then the more you save as you'll be able to self consume more of what you generate

Regarding the FIT, I'll admit I'm a bit murky on the details but the good times are probably ending soon

Basically at the moment everyone on a Day/Night meter gets an estimated export amount (deemed export). This is generally more favourable than metered export if you have a large battery or one or more EVs because you'll be self consuming almost everything you generate

From September this year the D/N meters will be replaced with Smart meters meaning you'll get metered export instead

If you refuse a smart meter then you won't receive any FIT payments

Some suppliers may require you to move to a Smart tariff before receiving a FIT payment. Since the night rates there are generally higher then you'll probably end up saving more

Funnily enough this probably makes a PV system more attractive because you'll want to avoid as much import from the grid as possible, particularly those killer peak rates.

There's also some EV specific Smart plans which usually have around 3-4 hours of very low rates during the night. If you can charge your cars plus your house battery during this time and it's enough to keep you going through most of the day then you can save some money as well

You can always break a contract if better deals come along. Only €50 and they may not even charge it, as in the case of us (And others) last September with Bord Gais. We changed to the great fixed deal with Energia, only 4 weeks remaining unfortunately. It really has been a great deal, with two cars on 8c/kWh and almost no day usage due to a modest solar array.

Will be keeping an eye on this thread ...

@the_amazing_raisin I'd imagine solar generation is way back considering how bad the weather has been over the last 6 weeks?

Not sure if solar panels save money? Think of panels as a permanent fixture attached to your roof that produces free electricity. How much does this "free electricity" fixture actually cost you?

Imagine there are two houses on sale. One with solar panels, one without. The house with solar panels is €15k more expensive. The mortgage term equals PV longevity of 20 - 25 years.

It turns out that the difference in mortgages is about €60 a month. That's a simple way to calculate the cost of going solar for anyone.

Will panels generate at least €60 worth of energy a month for the investment to be worthwhile?

So far based on my experience, yes 😁

But every cases varies, so it's important to do your own calculations and see how much you're willing and able to invest

I do think there's a seriously good case for anyone with a south facing roof to cover that face with panels

Even if you're a fairly low consumer you can make a decent bit of income from the current export rates

Personally I think systems without a least a small battery are pointless because some degree of energy storage can always be useful, like avoiding the peak tariff

They are a pretty big expense however, so I can understand why people are hesitant. Another option is what we did and get the system battery ready and then install the battery further down the line