Is a home battery worth it on Flexible Octopus?
Flexible Octopus is the standard variable tariff: one price all day, moving with the Ofgem price cap. With one price there is nothing for a battery to shift between, so a battery on Flexible only helps if it stores surplus solar.
The tariff in brief
| Price pattern | One price all day. |
|---|---|
| Who can get it | Anyone. Octopus’s standard variable tariff, tracking the Ofgem price cap. |
| Octopus product code | VAR-22-11-01 |
| London unit rates | 27.9p per kWh |
| London standing charge | 43.5p per day |
Octopus public API, fetched 25 October 2026. Import prices shown with the normal 5% VAT (VAT is off bills from 1 October 2026 to 31 March 2027).
A day on this tariff in London
All 48 half-hours
| Time | p/kWh | Time | p/kWh |
|---|---|---|---|
| 00:00 | 27.9p | 12:00 | 27.9p |
| 00:30 | 27.9p | 12:30 | 27.9p |
| 01:00 | 27.9p | 13:00 | 27.9p |
| 01:30 | 27.9p | 13:30 | 27.9p |
| 02:00 | 27.9p | 14:00 | 27.9p |
| 02:30 | 27.9p | 14:30 | 27.9p |
| 03:00 | 27.9p | 15:00 | 27.9p |
| 03:30 | 27.9p | 15:30 | 27.9p |
| 04:00 | 27.9p | 16:00 | 27.9p |
| 04:30 | 27.9p | 16:30 | 27.9p |
| 05:00 | 27.9p | 17:00 | 27.9p |
| 05:30 | 27.9p | 17:30 | 27.9p |
| 06:00 | 27.9p | 18:00 | 27.9p |
| 06:30 | 27.9p | 18:30 | 27.9p |
| 07:00 | 27.9p | 19:00 | 27.9p |
| 07:30 | 27.9p | 19:30 | 27.9p |
| 08:00 | 27.9p | 20:00 | 27.9p |
| 08:30 | 27.9p | 20:30 | 27.9p |
| 09:00 | 27.9p | 21:00 | 27.9p |
| 09:30 | 27.9p | 21:30 | 27.9p |
| 10:00 | 27.9p | 22:00 | 27.9p |
| 10:30 | 27.9p | 22:30 | 27.9p |
| 11:00 | 27.9p | 23:00 | 27.9p |
| 11:30 | 27.9p | 23:30 | 27.9p |
That makes Flexible the baseline: if you are on it now, the first saving usually comes from switching to a tariff with cheap hours — with or without a battery.
What a battery saves on Flexible Octopus: four modelled homes
London prices, typical-household profiles (Elexon Profile Class 1 shape), battery 95% usable, 90% round trip. “Most to pay” is the 10-year price ceiling with capacity fading to 80%.
| Home | Bill, no battery | 5 kWh saves | 10 kWh saves | 13.5 kWh saves | Most to pay for 10 kWh |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Typical home, 2,500 kWh a year | £857 | £0 | £0 | £0 | £0 |
| Home all day, 3,500 kWh | £1,136 | £0 | £0 | £0 | £0 |
| Electric car, 2,700 + 2,000 kWh | £1,471 | £0 | £0 | £0 | £0 |
| Heat pump, 2,700 + 3,500 kWh | £1,890 | £0 | £0 | £0 | £0 |
For comparison, the typical home pays £857 a year on Flexible Octopus without a battery; Flexible Octopus in London is 27.9p per kWh.
Flexible Octopus in every region
| Region | Standing charge, p/day | Unit rate |
|---|---|---|
| A Eastern England | 53.07 | 27.9p |
| B East Midlands | 52.71 | 26.6p |
| C London | 43.46 | 27.9p |
| D Merseyside and North Wales | 70.63 | 29.3p |
| E West Midlands | 59.08 | 26.9p |
| F North East England | 63.84 | 26.7p |
| G North West England | 46.42 | 27.8p |
| H Southern England | 48.62 | 27.8p |
| J South East England | 53.60 | 28.2p |
| K South Wales | 57.17 | 27.9p |
| L South West England | 57.22 | 27.9p |
| M Yorkshire | 63.93 | 26.9p |
| N South and Central Scotland | 63.72 | 27.4p |
| P North Scotland | 56.86 | 27.7p |
Frequently asked questions
Is a home battery worth it on Flexible Octopus?
Not on its own. Flexible Octopus charges the same price all day, so a battery has nothing to shift; in Fortyeight’s model it saves nothing for a home without solar. Switch to a time-of-use tariff first.
Who can get Flexible Octopus?
Anyone. Octopus’s standard variable tariff, tracking the Ofgem price cap.
What are the cheap hours on Flexible Octopus?
One price all day. Times are UK clock time, as published by Octopus in October 2026.
Tell us what to build next
Everything on Fortyeight is free while it is in beta. Leave your email and pick the feature you would pay for; we will write when it ships.