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Agile Octopus - NOW Inside MasterTherm Heat Pumps!

 

The majority of the UK households pay fixed price for electricity, approximately 15.5p/kWh regardless of when they use it. This is not the true reflection of the electricity prices. Wholesale electricity prices actually vary at different times of the day depending on how much electricity everyone is using and how much renewable power is being produced. Octopus have launched their Agile tariff which is from 100% renewable sources and the cost fluctuates in line with how much electricity is being generated, it's like Economy 7 and Economy 10 but much more innovative! Think of it like Economy 21 but with periods during the 21 hours where the electric can be even cheaper, sometimes negative! 

The prices of electricity are actually different in each half-hourly period and they’re changing every day. Throughout the day they are usually much lower than the 15.5p/kWh fixed rate, apart from the 4-7pm period when they increase above the fixed rate due to the increase in demand for electricity during this time.

This tariff is great for those that can change the way they are consuming power and use most of their energy during the off-peak periods (anywhere apart from the 4-7 pm). This is especially ideal for heat pump users as they can use their heat pumps during the cheapest periods of the day. Below is an example of the Agile Octopus prices against the big 6 energy providers:

Homely Energy have developed a really novel solution to control heat pumps and optimise their operation against the cost of electric. With other manfacturers, its a simple ON/OFF function but with MasterTherm Heat Pumps, Homely have direct control over the settings of the heat pump taking their solution up a notch in capability.

As an example of how MasterTherm with Homely automatically optimises, let's say you would like your house to be 21°C between 7-8am and 6-10 pm, here's how your system would optimise to deliver this:

MORNING HEATING

To make sure that you are nice and cosy by the time you get up, the heat pump might need to run before 7am at electricity prices of 5 to 7p/kWh. Half the price of what you would pay if you were on a fixed rate tariff.

EVENING HEATING

For the evening you could choose to just heat your house up in time for 6pm, but that would mean that you would be using your electricity during the most expensive period of the day. Another way to heat your home and make sure it is 21°C when you get back home is to heat it during the cheap times of the day (let’s say 12am – 4pm) getting it to ~21.5 °C by 4pm and then turning it off just so it falls to 21°C by the time you get home.

HOT WATER

You can set your hot water to the required temperature but Homely will increase the requested stored temperature duing the cheapest periods of the day to 'store' this cheaper energy.

HOMELY SMART THERMOSTAT?

The above idea is a basic concept of what can be done with Homely Energy Hub. We can make your MasterTherm Heat Pump much smarter and running costs much cheaper by connecting them to variable electricity tariffs, such as Agile Octopus.

All you need to do is programme your preferred temperature and heating schedules using the Homely mobile app. The Homely system then learns how long your house takes to heat up and cool down. It then uses this information, together with weather predictions, electricity prices and your set temperatures to make sure your heat pump is using the electricity prices during the cheapest periods of the day. Bringing you incredible savings over standard systems.

Benefits of using a MasterTherm Heat Pump with the Homely system include:

  • Lower Heat Pump running costs – expected savings of up to 35%
  • Use of more renewable electricity - Agile Octopus electricity comes from renewable low-carbon sources such as wind and solar farms
  • Ability to control your system through your phone - our thermostat will allow you to have remote access to the Heat Pump giving you total control.

HOW TO SIGN UP?

1 - Once you have your MasterTherm Heat Pump installed and connected to the internet you can sign up to the Homely service HERE

2 - Switch to Agile Octopus tariff. Use our referral link HERE

3 - Download the Octopus Energy and Homely mobile apps to set your preferred temperatures and heating schedules and start saving...

This is a major development in the cost and control of MasterTherm heat pumps and we encourage all new and previous customers to make the switch. Contact us with any questions or click here to view our information sheet.

 

 



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