Capture AI settings

[davidwf15]

I am trying the Capture AI program to control my battery......
is there a web interface to view it or only the mobile app?
I understand that once the battery is charged overnight at 7p/kWh (I have Octopus smart EV tariff) it will be used during the day to power the home if the PV output isnt enough to cover the load but when would the battery be topped up again?.......I dont want to end up with no battery capacity in the evening

[davidwf15]

edit...
It appears to take the battery offline when the cheap rate starts, running the house load on cheap rate leccy, then later reconnects the battery and charges it...I guess that makes more sense than running the battery right down before recharging it
during the day the battery remains full with the PV providing house load and exporting any surplus.....
all seems very clever...lets hope its not too clever

[davidwf15]

Not 100% convinced about this....it has been taking the battery offline in the early hours, presumably to stop it discharging and then boost charges it before my cheap rate ends at 05:30......but NOT every day, this morning for instance I awoke at 7am to find the battery at only 57%.....and it is now charging from the PV which, surely should be exporting
The usage graph shows two attempted charges but they only lasted about 5 minutes......surely it should fully charge the battery on the cheap rate overnight tariff ???

previous days have been similar to this chart.....

[TonyGomm]

Hi David,
I'm using Octopus Flux and my settings are as follows, with which I've never had a problem.

A day ahead I will check the weather forecast (Met Office App). If it's likely very sunny I set a battery charge for the following morning that will cover the early morning needs of usually 35%. This will mean that the battery will probablr be at around 15-20% by 9am when hopefully the PV will have started charging the battery. At tea-time the battery will be at 100% and I discharge to around 20% which by early morning will be at around 14-15% due to overnight use (fridge/freezer etc).

If It's not likely to be sunny tomorrow (overcast/drizzle or rain), then I set a charge of 50-60% on the premise that PV will be reduced. Often the battery will be at about 80-90% by tea-time under these circumstances. Then looking at the forecast ahead if the same dreary day, then I set a discharge to around 40%.

Note that I only ever use the built-in Fox mode scheduler to set the levels and times (with Octopus Flux it's 2am to 5am low rate import and 4pm to 7pm high rate export), and I've never had an issue, other than a couple of Fox server outages which prohibit altering anything until it's back online.
Regards, Tony

[davidwf15]

surely thats the whole point of the AI app.....
For us (Octopus intelligent go and Octopus outgoing) it seems to make sense to fully charge the battery overnight and use it during the evening with the PV supplying the house during the day and exporting any extra

[TonyGomm]

I’m not clear why you would pay to fully charge the batteries if they are
Likely to get a full charge during the day from PV. I only ever charge to close to 100% on dark, gloomy winter days.

[davidwf15]

....because I can charge it at 7p/kWh and export surplus PV during the day at 12p/kWh ....otherwise I would be effectively charging it at 12p/kWh using PV that I could otherwise export ....surely that makes most sense.....

[TonyGomm]

My theory is to buy as little as I need and sell kW that comes from the free PV. The 100% battery at the end of the day has also seen kW exported during the day too. I get 29p pkW between 4 and 7pm and 10p pkW during the day. My import at night is 15p pkW and usually works out at less than £1 p.d.
Tony

[davidwf15]

That works for you as you are on a different tariff