Transitioning to a low carbon life

[john davidson 1]

JD8----In Scotland , early 1900s before power lines appeared  many large estates with suitable streams installed their own hydro schemes, then in the 1950s abandoned them  as worn out and uneconomic with grid available. Lately Companies have offered to install modern plant often along side the old, there are literally dozens now round  here in upland Perthshire  , all to see is a small power house at the foot of the hill once the mess of installation is complete.

Edited November 17, 2023 by john davidson 1

[Tim Kearsley]

Has anyone with GivEnergy products taken up their GivBack offering?  It's one of the DFS (Demand Flexibility Scheme).  Essentially, you receive an email telling you when the next "event" is occurring (i.e. when the grid is under stress) and a third party, Axle Energy, manages pre-event charging of your battery (if necessary) so that you can export to the grid during the event.  Payment for exported energy is quoted as "up to £2.10/kWh" but I think typically is nearer £1/kWh.  I currently pay Octopus 30p/kWh peak, so the maths seems OK.  GivEnergy say that they guarantee that you will earn more than it costs to charge the battery.  As I currently don't run any smart home automation it sounds appealing. 

[MattyB]

3 hours ago, Tim Kearsley said:

Has anyone with GivEnergy products taken up their GivBack offering?  It's one of the DFS (Demand Flexibility Scheme).  Essentially, you receive an email telling you when the next "event" is occurring (i.e. when the grid is under stress) and a third party, Axle Energy, manages pre-event charging of your battery (if necessary) so that you can export to the grid during the event.  Payment for exported energy is quoted as "up to £2.10/kWh" but I think typically is nearer £1/kWh.  I currently pay Octopus 30p/kWh peak, so the maths seems OK.  GivEnergy say that they guarantee that you will earn more than it costs to charge the battery.  As I currently don't run any smart home automation it sounds appealing. 

 

I have Giv kit, but chose to use the Octopus scheme as it looked slightly more generous and I already have Home Assistant running. If I didn't have the latter though the GivBack one looks like an easier option (if it works).

 

[Tim Kearsley]

1 hour ago, MattyB said:

 

I have Giv kit, but chose to use the Octopus scheme as it looked slightly more generous and I already have Home Assistant running. If I didn't have the latter though the GivBack one looks like an easier option (if it works).

 

I think you're right Matty and the Octopus scheme is a little more generous.  It's the fact that Axle Energy take care of the battery charging algorithm which is attractive to me.  The crux is whether it works!