In this mode Octopus & your vehicle controls charging so your zappi should be set to "Fast" mode. 

Note that not all vehicles support vehicle integration, please see the Intelligent Octopus site for further details and compatibility.

Expected Operation

When you first plug in your vehicle it will begin charging straight away (if you don't have pin lock enabled) and Octopus will start receiving data from your vehicle. After a short period of time they will command your vehicle to stop charging and also generate a charging schedule. At the specified times in this schedule your vehicle will be commanded to start and stop charging as necessary.

In this mode the zappi effectively operates as "dumb" charger, it still has all the protective functionality in place such as grid monitoring but simply offers charge to your vehicle regardless of the time of day or solar generation. It is up to the car to decide whether or not to take that charge.

Troubleshooting

• My vehicle didn't stop charging
  • Have you disabled PIN lock on your zappi. Octopus only stops charging if it starts as soon as you connect. If you connect at 5pm but release the pin lock at 6pm charging will start and Octopus will not stop it. The recommendation is to disable the pin lock or set charge to on. 
  • This is likely a connectivity issue between your car and Octopus. If they didn't know it was charging or were unable to command it to stop charging for example. We advise you to contact Octopus. 
• My vehicle didn't start charging
  • This could again be a connectivity issue as above but it also could be charger configuration. Make sure to clear any schedules from your device, smart schedules from myaccount, car charging schedules and that the device is set to fast mode. 
  • Do you have a pin lock on your zappi and did you enter it?
• Solar divert isn't working
  • This is expected, the car and Octopus are in full control of charging and are unaware of any solar generation.

Why did my EV charge outside of the boost periods?

Octopus periodically polls electric vehicles to avoid draining their 12V batteries. This polling frequency introduces a few nuances to how charging states are detected and managed:

1. Transition from Disconnected to Charging
   If a vehicle moves directly from a "disconnected" state to an "actively charging" state while parked at home, Octopus will detect this as an unscheduled charge and stop it immediately. However, if the vehicle transitions from "connected" to "charging," Octopus interprets this as an intentional override, allowing the vehicle to continue charging until the next poll.

2. Implications of Polling and Timing
   a. Extended Charging Period
   When the vehicle begins charging from the "connected" state, it will continue to charge until Octopus polls again, regardless of the usual schedule or limits, because it was recognised as an override.

   b. Polling and Pin Lock or Delays
   In cases where a pin lock or a randomised start delay is in effect, Octopus may miss the precise moment of connection change. For instance, if the vehicle is momentarily in the "connected but not charging" state when Octopus polls, it will not trigger the "disconnected to charging" state change. Consequently, when the pin lock is unlocked, or the delay expires, the vehicle will begin charging but may not be stopped, as it no longer matches the "disconnected to charging" condition required for Octopus to intervene.

These side effects highlight the importance of aligning polling frequency with charging schedules and any custom vehicle settings, as the timing of Octopus's polling intervals plays a critical role in detecting state changes accurately.

In this mode your zappi controls the charging and as such your zappi should be set to "Eco+" mode.

Joining

When signing into myenergi through the Octopus app YOU MUST use the same login method you used for the myenergi app. If it's a username/password in the app you must use that, if it's a Apple login you must use that. Failure to do so will likely cause the process to break. The email/account type you use for Octopus or myaccount does not need to match.

Expected Operation

When you first plug in your vehicle it will not immediately start charging and will operate under the normal rules of Eco+ mode, i.e. it will take solar divert if you have it and the thresholds are met. Octopus will generate a charging schedule for your vehicle shortly after being plugged in. At the specified times in the Octopus schedule your zappi will be commanded to start boost and stop boost charging as necessary. No schedule is pushed directly to the device, if you wish to see the schedule it is available in the Octopus app. 

The boosts sent will be roughly for the amount of energy that can be delivered in the specified time period or less. So if you have a 7kW charger and a boost of 1 hour is sent it will likely be for an addition of around 1-8kWh. As such in the event of an outage with your internet, Octopus or myenergi the boost may undershot/overshoot but not by a huge amount. 

In this mode the zappi continues to allow solar divert and any vehicle can be connected to the charger. However, when the zappi is commanded to start charging it simply makes power available, it is down to the car to accept it. If the zappi reports "Charge delayed" that indicates it is making charge available to the vehicle but it is not accepting it. Please see the troubleshooting steps below. 

If your device is put into either "Fast" or "Eco" mode Octopus will command it back to "Eco+" mode. If the device is in "Stop" mode then the device will not attempt to charge the vehicle. 

If you want to initiate a boost yourself outside of the schedule you can do so from the device itself, the myenergi app or the Octopus app. In all cases the energy delivered during a boost will contribute to the target energy delivered to the vehicle and on completion of the boost the zappi will return to IO control. Octopus use the term "bump" in place of "boost", it means the same thing although it operates slightly differently, see the Octopus site for further details. 

Important note: A bump charge issued by Octopus can take a few minutes to arrive, it is not immediate. Also there is a know bug in which if a bump is cancelled within 5 minutes of starting then the bump cancellation may not be sent. 

If you want to make use of higher rate export and not divert to the Zappi then follow this guide

Beta, what does this mean?

This service is a beta product (a real world test with real customers) from both myenergi and Octopus so issues may arise from time to time. Although charging generally takes place during the night neither myenergi or Octopus have engineering and support staff available out of hours should an issue arise. If the service breaks at 2am on Christmas day for example it is unlikely to be investigated until the next working day. 

If you have ongoing issues we advise you temporarily disable the integration from the Octopus app and temporarily setup a scheduled charge in the zappi to coincide with the overnight low-rate period until your issue can be diagnosed and rectified. 

Note you should not do this on an ongoing basis as IO terms require a minimum number of IO controlled charges over a given period. Failure to perform regular IO charging may result in you being removed from the IO tariff. 

A note on Home Assistant

Some customers use Home Assistant (HA) to control their zappi and flip it to different modes depending on the time of day. As previously mentioned IO eligibility requires Octopus to control your zappi to control charging. 

We have asked Octopus about this and the current position is:

"usage of HA's to dictate charging behaviour will often result in the customer acting outside of the Intelligent Octopus Fair Use Policy"

So be aware if you use HA to control your zappi you may be removed from the IO tariff. We strongly advise you disable HA control of your zappi before switching tariff. If this is an unacceptable change then you should not join IO.

If you're using home assistant to prevent your home battery from discharging perhaps look at the situation differently. If your Zappi is boosting under IO then power is at the lower rate, perhaps charge your home batteries or put your batteries into "stop" mode.

Troubleshooting

• I have been asked for a QR code while onboarding.
  
  • This is a known bug within the octopus app, log out of the app and back in, this will fix the issue. 
• I cannot onboard through the Octopus app
  
  • Make sure the login method you're using for the myenergi app is the same as the one you're using for IO onboarding. As a test, log out of the myenergi app, login to the myenergi app, if your devices are shown you should be fine. 
• My vehicle didn't stop charging
  • If this was not solar divert then this is likely a connectivity issue between your zappi and Octopus. If they didn't know it was charging or were unable to command it to stop charging for example. Please email support@myenergi.com 
• My vehicle didn't start charging
  • If your zappi is reporting "Charge delayed" then there is an issue with your vehicle not taking the charge offered.
    • Make sure to clear any charging schedules in the vehicle
    • Some vehicles are known to not wake to up when asked change, this is a known issue and we've been working with manufacturers to resolve the problem. Unfortunately if your vehicle is in this group we advise we contact your car manufacturer for an update.
  • Do you have a pin lock on your zappi and did you enter it?
  • If the zappi didn't go into boost mode at the expected time this may be a device communication issue, please email support@myenergi.com 
• I didn't get as much charge as I expected
  • When you go through onboarding the choice of vehicle you make is important, for example if you pick a Tesla Model 3 Standard Range it has a 54kWh battery. From the Octopus app if you specify a 40% charge then 54 * 0.40 means it will attempt to deliver 21.6kWh. If you picked the wrong vehicle or you connect a different vehicle then the zappi will not know this and neither will Octopus, Octopus will still attempt to deliver around 21.6kWh within a margin of error.
  • Vehicles have losses converting household AC power to DC for storage in the battery, the losses associated with this vary from vehicle to vehicle. As such you should not expect an exact 40% of energy to be delivered, it could vary a little. If you specifically need a lot of charge for a journey it may be best to overestimate to account for losses.
  • We have found in some cases especially with PHEV's that requesting a 0-100% charge comes up short, if this frequently happens by a large amount then we advise you contact Octopus support to investigate and make sure they have the correct battery size for you vehicle registered.
• I want to divert my solar energy and not be issued a grid schedule
  
  • Your best bet is to pause IO integration from the Octopus app
• I want to divert my solar energy and not be issued a grid schedule
• • • Your best bet is to pause IO integration from the Octopus app
  •  

• My vehicle is charging during the day
  • This is generally expected and part of the operation of intelligent Octopus, charging is scheduled when the current wholesale energy price is best. This could result in day time charging in periods of sun and high wind for example. The billing process for this is explained on the Intelligent Octopus FAQ page.
• Zappi drained my home battery
  
  • There's unfortunately not a lot we can do about this. Part of the agreement to using the IO tariff is the ability for Octopus to schedule a charge at any time of the day. This may result in a charge during the day causing your battery to discharge in an attempt to meet demand from a daytime zappi charge. The zappi does not have the ability to tell 3rd party batteries not to do this. 
    • Option 1: Turn off your battery during the period when zappi will day-time charge as on the supplied Octopus schedule visible in their app. 
    • Option 2: Temporarily update your battery schedule to charge during the cheaper period.
    • Option 3: Move your batteries own grid CT clamp so it cannot see the load generated by the zappi. This will likely be best done by your installer or someone who understands the system and may require work from a qualified electrician to split out the zappi load. This may not be suitable for all batteries. 
    • Option 4: Buy a Libbi, it has the ability to distinguish between zappi and home energy usage.
• I changed integration type and it's not working
  
  • We found in testing that some vehicles require being unplugged and plugged back in again after changing integration type. 
• I requested a "bump charge" through the Octopus app and it didn't start/stop
  
  • A bump charge requested through the Octopus app may take a few minutes to arrive, it is not immediate. In testing it's generally a 40-80 second delay but that could vary. 
  • I cancelled the bump charge in the Octopus app but it didn't stop. Much like requesting a bump if you cancel a bump it takes a few minutes for Octopus to issue the command. However if you try to cancel a bump within 5 minutes of the bump starting it may not get cancelled. The solution here would be to cancel it via the myenergi app.

Octopus has updated how schedules are displayed in their app. Previously, charging times were visible; however, these are no longer shown. Octopus controls all charging schedules, whether via integration with the zappi or directly with the vehicle, determining when charging begins and ends.

As a general guideline, once you have set your 'ready by' time, the schedules are managed in the background to ensure your vehicle charges as required. For additional information, please contact Octopus directly, as we have no influence over their app settings.

Warning: It is important to be aware that Octopus may also adjust charging plans mid-schedule, which can cause unexpected pauses in charging.

In short, don't do it. If you're doing something to artificially increase the duration and/or frequency of your low cost slots then don't do it.

Octopus receive telemetry data from your device indicating charge rate, energy delivered and grid draw so they have more than enough data to be able to identify who is abusing the system and may take action against you.

Off-boarding / Suspending Smart Charging

If you wish to off-board or suspend smart charging then you can do so from the Octopus app.

• Off-boarding / disconnect device: Completely removes the connection between Octopus and your device
• Suspending: Flips a switch on the Octopus end which enables and disables their ability to control your device. It's still fully onboarded but not being controlled.

1. Tap the profile button at the top right corner

2. Then tap devices

3. Then tap Intelligent Octopus Go

4. From here you can toggle smart charging on/off or off board entirely using the "disconnect device" button.