Is a home battery worth it on Octopus Go?
Octopus Go has one cheap window, 00:30 to 05:30, and one flat price for the rest of the day. Like Intelligent Go it is for electric car owners, but you schedule the charging yourself.
The tariff in brief
| Price pattern | Cheap 00:30–05:30. |
|---|---|
| Who can get it | Needs an electric car (Octopus Go terms). |
| Octopus product code | GO-VAR-22-10-14 |
| London unit rates | 9.9p / 36.3p per kWh |
| London standing charge | 44.4p 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 | 36.3p | 12:00 | 36.3p |
| 00:30 | 9.9p | 12:30 | 36.3p |
| 01:00 | 9.9p | 13:00 | 36.3p |
| 01:30 | 9.9p | 13:30 | 36.3p |
| 02:00 | 9.9p | 14:00 | 36.3p |
| 02:30 | 9.9p | 14:30 | 36.3p |
| 03:00 | 9.9p | 15:00 | 36.3p |
| 03:30 | 9.9p | 15:30 | 36.3p |
| 04:00 | 9.9p | 16:00 | 36.3p |
| 04:30 | 9.9p | 16:30 | 36.3p |
| 05:00 | 9.9p | 17:00 | 36.3p |
| 05:30 | 36.3p | 17:30 | 36.3p |
| 06:00 | 36.3p | 18:00 | 36.3p |
| 06:30 | 36.3p | 18:30 | 36.3p |
| 07:00 | 36.3p | 19:00 | 36.3p |
| 07:30 | 36.3p | 19:30 | 36.3p |
| 08:00 | 36.3p | 20:00 | 36.3p |
| 08:30 | 36.3p | 20:30 | 36.3p |
| 09:00 | 36.3p | 21:00 | 36.3p |
| 09:30 | 36.3p | 21:30 | 36.3p |
| 10:00 | 36.3p | 22:00 | 36.3p |
| 10:30 | 36.3p | 22:30 | 36.3p |
| 11:00 | 36.3p | 23:00 | 36.3p |
| 11:30 | 36.3p | 23:30 | 36.3p |
A battery charges in the five cheap hours and covers the day. The saving is the day–night gap minus round-trip losses, on however many kWh you use outside the window.
What a battery saves on Octopus Go: 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%. Only homes with an electric car can join this tariff.
| 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 | £1,001 | £416 | £567 | £567 | £5,162 |
| Home all day, 3,500 kWh | £1,334 | £416 | £752 | £792 | £6,842 |
| Electric car, 2,700 + 2,000 kWh | £1,267 | £416 | £613 | £614 | £5,578 |
| Heat pump, 2,700 + 3,500 kWh | £2,187 | £416 | £813 | £1,011 | £7,396 |
For comparison, the typical home pays £1,001 a year on Octopus Go without a battery; Flexible Octopus in London is 27.9p per kWh.
Octopus Go in every region
| Region | Standing charge, p/day | Cheapest rate | Dearest rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| A Eastern England | 54.26 | 9.9p | 36.4p |
| B East Midlands | 53.28 | 9.9p | 34.7p |
| C London | 44.41 | 9.9p | 36.3p |
| D Merseyside and North Wales | 70.08 | 9.9p | 37.5p |
| E West Midlands | 59.44 | 9.9p | 35p |
| F North East England | 63.74 | 9.9p | 35p |
| G North West England | 47.09 | 9.9p | 36p |
| H Southern England | 49.85 | 9.9p | 36.6p |
| J South East England | 54.82 | 9.9p | 36.6p |
| K South Wales | 57.08 | 9.9p | 36.2p |
| L South West England | 58.30 | 9.9p | 36.4p |
| M Yorkshire | 63.90 | 9.9p | 34.7p |
| N South and Central Scotland | 64.51 | 9.9p | 35.1p |
| P North Scotland | 58.04 | 9.9p | 36.2p |
Frequently asked questions
Is a home battery worth it on Octopus Go?
In Fortyeight’s model of a London home, a 10 kWh battery on Octopus Go saves about £567 a year for a typical 2,500 kWh home and up to £813 for the heavier users modelled. To pay back in 10 years it would need to cost under £7,396 at best. Your own data will differ.
Who can get Octopus Go?
Needs an electric car (Octopus Go terms).
What are the cheap hours on Octopus Go?
Cheap 00:30–05:30. 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.