Download Octopus Compare app, load your usage history then compare your usage against Agile and see if you can benefit from it.
From what I have seen so far, unless you can flexibly move your leccy usage around, tracker is the one to stay.
I've found agile to be better only if you are a higher user (>10kwh a day) and can shift your electricity usage. I only use about 5-6kwh a day and even if I shift majority of my usage outside of peak hours, agile loses out to tracker because of the base load during peak hours. That's something I didn't initially consider on agile. Although I saved considerably against the standard variable tariff on agile, I would have saved more on tracker overall.
Yeah, it's about 100W, so about 2.4KWh a day, which is almost half my usage. The majority of my other usage would then be 7-10pm, unless doing a dishwasher or laundry load which I could shift to more preferable hours. I found 7-10pn weren't always that cheap (would be on average more expensive than tracker). So perhaps I oversimplified my previous response, but I found I needed higher usage if devices like the dishwasher that I could shift to really benefit from agile.
I guess it's more my usage between 7-10pm that has an impact than the base load now that I think about it, but I think what I was trying to say is that the remaining 2.5KWh or so is the only part I can really influence.
Agile is better if you can move your electricity usage to the off-peak hours. Peak times are much more expensive and off peak is much cheaper.
Both prices are very cheap today, with the the tracker under 11p all day and agile ranging from < 0p to 20p. That's unusual, but there's low demand and high wind at the moment.
Agile, even this month, has exceeded 60p during the peak hours of 16:00 to 20:00 so that's a lot more variable.
Agile data: [https://agileprices.co.uk/](https://agileprices.co.uk/)
Tracker data: https://www.xv5.co.uk/
It depends.
If you have a lot of usage you can shift into periods when energy is cheap, then Agile likely wins out most of the time.
We shift our major loads like washing and cooking into off-peak (though not enough to get the most benefit, especially cooking). But we have no other substantial usage. As such Tracker and Agile are very similar to us.
But if we had an electric car, heat pump, or battery, then Agile would easily win out as these could all easily be moved to said.
Have an EV: Then off peak 7.5p/kwh for 6 hours or 9p/kwh For 4 hours depending on your car/charger configuration.
Heat pump: Octopus cozy. Multiple "cheaper" periods throughout the day for thr heat pump to run.
Solar & Battery: Flux (cheap period overnight)
But again, only If you have Qualifying equipment and can shift power usage.
If you have a typical ushae of 5kwh a day, you could potentially get an All in one Battery storage and just buy when agile is cheap and run on that the rest of the day.
Some small 3.6kw output units with 5kwh of battery storage can be had for about £2500. (My Energy Libi or GivEnergy)
Thanks for your comment I’ve been searching for advice on this. Solar and battery at home for me - on flux - have felt through winter I may be better switching to agile. Have you or do you plan on switching between them I.e. Agile in the winter and flux spring to autumn for example?
Moved to agile on Nov 24th from flux. Currently at 40% saving on all my importing over flux.
Checkout the octopus compare app - you can see your usage with different tariffs.
My only regret is not moving to agile earlier as soon as exporting was done this year. Will switch to flux again in spring
Agile is a half hourly pricing structure.
eg: 11am you may be paying 17.5p per kwh at 11:30 you maybe paying 40p per kwh at 12:00 you could be being paid 4p per kwh.
I've just done an octopus compare comparison. Yesterday my costs on Agile were 39p inc standing charge, compare to £3.50 odd on tracker.
Agile is great if you can load shift away from peak times and/or you have batteries that can be charged up when prices are low to be used in the peak period. This of course takes effort, checking the rates every day and planning out usage. I have recently switched to tracker so I have the one price for the day which means I don't have to do too much intervention. Also helps that I have solar and batteries so my annual import is pretty low which reduces the risk of getting caught out with any price spikes.
Agile is great if you can shift your load and spend time monitoring half hour windows. Tracker you get told the day before what the rate is for the next day and off you go.
Example I'm on Tracker and today eletricy is 8p a kwh. If it was sunny my solar exports at 15p per kwh so I'd be making money. I don't have a battery so Agile wouldn't be as good for me.
I was on agile and as im a home worker and easily able to move my peak usage around however moved to tracker. Only been on it a week but using octopus compare app against my usage I would have saved £10 last month had I moved to tracker earlier. These windy days have been great this week 8.17p per kwh in the North West electric and gas always under the flexible price.
Have to say I'm loving Tracker, my bills stay below £45 a month (it's 35 this month thanks to my octopoints) my partner is paying £80 a month with EDF (similar size house/usage)
As others said, tracker is the easier one.
I'd put it SVT > Tracker > Agile and the further down you go the more you need to pay attention to your pricing.
If you can be bothered and load shift during 4-7 you'll be golden for the most part, best if you can run appliances when it's low or negative but these are roughly at night so might not be suitable due to noise ect.
You might not be able to rejoin tracker if you switch to agile as it says moving from the tariff has a 9 month wait to join back, not sure if that wait applies to switching between smart tariffs but if it does you might not be able to switch back if it wasn't suitable.
Same here we are saving approx £200
a month at the min. It's crazy. Love the tracker. There hasn't been a single day it's gone over the standard rate all year
Download Octopus Compare app, load your usage history then compare your usage against Agile and see if you can benefit from it. From what I have seen so far, unless you can flexibly move your leccy usage around, tracker is the one to stay.
I've found agile to be better only if you are a higher user (>10kwh a day) and can shift your electricity usage. I only use about 5-6kwh a day and even if I shift majority of my usage outside of peak hours, agile loses out to tracker because of the base load during peak hours. That's something I didn't initially consider on agile. Although I saved considerably against the standard variable tariff on agile, I would have saved more on tracker overall.
How much is your base load? Even 100W for 3 hours at 50p/kWh is only 15p (or 5p/hour)
Yeah, it's about 100W, so about 2.4KWh a day, which is almost half my usage. The majority of my other usage would then be 7-10pm, unless doing a dishwasher or laundry load which I could shift to more preferable hours. I found 7-10pn weren't always that cheap (would be on average more expensive than tracker). So perhaps I oversimplified my previous response, but I found I needed higher usage if devices like the dishwasher that I could shift to really benefit from agile. I guess it's more my usage between 7-10pm that has an impact than the base load now that I think about it, but I think what I was trying to say is that the remaining 2.5KWh or so is the only part I can really influence.
Agile is better if you can move your electricity usage to the off-peak hours. Peak times are much more expensive and off peak is much cheaper. Both prices are very cheap today, with the the tracker under 11p all day and agile ranging from < 0p to 20p. That's unusual, but there's low demand and high wind at the moment. Agile, even this month, has exceeded 60p during the peak hours of 16:00 to 20:00 so that's a lot more variable. Agile data: [https://agileprices.co.uk/](https://agileprices.co.uk/) Tracker data: https://www.xv5.co.uk/
It depends. If you have a lot of usage you can shift into periods when energy is cheap, then Agile likely wins out most of the time. We shift our major loads like washing and cooking into off-peak (though not enough to get the most benefit, especially cooking). But we have no other substantial usage. As such Tracker and Agile are very similar to us. But if we had an electric car, heat pump, or battery, then Agile would easily win out as these could all easily be moved to said.
Have an EV: Then off peak 7.5p/kwh for 6 hours or 9p/kwh For 4 hours depending on your car/charger configuration. Heat pump: Octopus cozy. Multiple "cheaper" periods throughout the day for thr heat pump to run. Solar & Battery: Flux (cheap period overnight) But again, only If you have Qualifying equipment and can shift power usage. If you have a typical ushae of 5kwh a day, you could potentially get an All in one Battery storage and just buy when agile is cheap and run on that the rest of the day. Some small 3.6kw output units with 5kwh of battery storage can be had for about £2500. (My Energy Libi or GivEnergy)
Just moved from flux to agile with my solar + battery. Winter is 30% cheaper on agile
Thanks for your comment I’ve been searching for advice on this. Solar and battery at home for me - on flux - have felt through winter I may be better switching to agile. Have you or do you plan on switching between them I.e. Agile in the winter and flux spring to autumn for example?
Moved to agile on Nov 24th from flux. Currently at 40% saving on all my importing over flux. Checkout the octopus compare app - you can see your usage with different tariffs. My only regret is not moving to agile earlier as soon as exporting was done this year. Will switch to flux again in spring
Great thanks for getting back to me I’ve emailed today to request the switch and like you will head back to flux in spring. Have a good Christmas
And you!
Agile is a half hourly pricing structure. eg: 11am you may be paying 17.5p per kwh at 11:30 you maybe paying 40p per kwh at 12:00 you could be being paid 4p per kwh. I've just done an octopus compare comparison. Yesterday my costs on Agile were 39p inc standing charge, compare to £3.50 odd on tracker.
In my experience it's not better for me, switched to tracker.
Agile is great if you can load shift away from peak times and/or you have batteries that can be charged up when prices are low to be used in the peak period. This of course takes effort, checking the rates every day and planning out usage. I have recently switched to tracker so I have the one price for the day which means I don't have to do too much intervention. Also helps that I have solar and batteries so my annual import is pretty low which reduces the risk of getting caught out with any price spikes.
You can use octopus R&D for a no effort approach to charging off peak. It’ll choose the lowest 30 min slots for you within a window you prescribe.
For me Tracker is best. I do have an EV, but not compatible with Intelligent. I used Compare and Tracker worked out cheaper than Agile.
Agile is great if you can shift your load and spend time monitoring half hour windows. Tracker you get told the day before what the rate is for the next day and off you go. Example I'm on Tracker and today eletricy is 8p a kwh. If it was sunny my solar exports at 15p per kwh so I'd be making money. I don't have a battery so Agile wouldn't be as good for me.
You can use octopus R&D for a no effort approach to charging off peak. It’ll choose the lowest 30 min slots for you within a window you prescribe.
I was on agile and as im a home worker and easily able to move my peak usage around however moved to tracker. Only been on it a week but using octopus compare app against my usage I would have saved £10 last month had I moved to tracker earlier. These windy days have been great this week 8.17p per kwh in the North West electric and gas always under the flexible price.
Have to say I'm loving Tracker, my bills stay below £45 a month (it's 35 this month thanks to my octopoints) my partner is paying £80 a month with EDF (similar size house/usage)
As others said, tracker is the easier one. I'd put it SVT > Tracker > Agile and the further down you go the more you need to pay attention to your pricing. If you can be bothered and load shift during 4-7 you'll be golden for the most part, best if you can run appliances when it's low or negative but these are roughly at night so might not be suitable due to noise ect. You might not be able to rejoin tracker if you switch to agile as it says moving from the tariff has a 9 month wait to join back, not sure if that wait applies to switching between smart tariffs but if it does you might not be able to switch back if it wasn't suitable.
Same here we are saving approx £200 a month at the min. It's crazy. Love the tracker. There hasn't been a single day it's gone over the standard rate all year