EV Tariff to charge solar battery

Help & Support
#1

Hello

I have a query regarding the EV tariff.

For the EV tariff, is it possible to charge a home solar battery using the cheaper overnight rate instead of charging the electric car directly?

I’d like the flexibility of being able to charge the electric car at any point during the day when needed, using the stored energy from the battery

Thank you
Al.

#2

The EV tariff doesn’t come with any terms and conditions that you have to use it only for charging an EV, in fact the webpage is pretty clear you can use it for other things:

Blockquote Our EV Tariff is designed for members with electric vehicles (EVs), although it could benefit anyone who can shift a large portion of their electricity usage to our off-peak times.

#3

Perfect - thank you.

Now the challenge is how to switch my account. The website says I have a compatible smart meter, but no actual ‘switch’ option… I’ll contact Bulb.

#4

Hi @Al_Essex :wave:

As @geuben has said the EV tariff can be used to benefit members in many ways rather than just through an EV so you can use this to charge your home solar battery.

You can request a switch to the EV tariff through your Bulb Account on the Web browser. You can follow this link here: Bulb account

Just go to our tariff page and select ‘Pay Monthly Variable EV’ this will then take you through the process of switching your tariff over to an EV tariff :zap:

If you have any other questions please drop them below :point_down:

Best,
Luke :bulb:

#5

Hello Luke - thanks for your reply.

Unfortunately I can’t switch over to the EV tariff. I left the request below on another thread - are you able to help?

Hello.
I’m also trying to move onto the EV tariff.

Having contacted Bulb yesterday, they advised that they have not been able to automatically get a reading from my SMETS1 meter for the last 2 months. That is why the option to move the EV tariff is not available.

How can I fast track the process for a SMETS2 meter? The ultimate goal is to quickly move onto the EV tariff.

Thank you
Al.

#6

Hi @Al_Essex

Thank you for your post.

It sounds like there may be some connection issues with your meters, our smart team are working on getting all smets1 meters enrolled onto the smart network but this is also dependant on network updates.

To get you onto SMETS2 meters and then to the EV tariff, we would need to physically replace the meters you currently have in the property. SMETS2 meters are free to install but we would need to charge for the removal of the SMETS1 meters you currently have.

Here is our list of Meter job costs, let me know if you want to procede with this or have any more questions

Thanks
E

#8

Thank you.

How can I get a SMETS2 meter install scheduled? I believe the cost is £120.

Kind regards
Al

#9

@Ele_at_Bulb

Can you please advise.

#10

Hi @Al_Essex,

The cost of removing your SMETS1 smart meter would be between £120 - £350 per meter, depending on who installed it and the meter type itself.

This being said, depending on the urgency, your electricity meter isn’t enrolled in the DCC network yet, but your gas is (hence the smart gas readings). Once the electricity meter is enrolled we would be able to convert that to the EV tariff, but unfortunately, I cannot give a timeline on this at the moment.

Let me know how you’d like to proceed

Thanks
Dominic

#11

Hello Dominic

Just to clarify - if I pay to upgrade to a SMETS2 meter,will this be covered by the DCC network in my area?

If so, how I can arrange to proceed with the upgrade?

Thank you
Al.

#12

Hi @Al_Essex,

The cost to remove both your meters and replace them with smets2 will be £120. We would request this with our metering team who would then confirm if we had a strong enough smart signal in your area to go-ahead

– KT :bulb:

#13

Thanks Kate

So how to proceed please?