Anyone else noticed their electricity bill go through the roof this quarter?

Glad I made the jump to off-grid when I did tbh. My static caravan runs almost entirely on solar + Victron kit and I dread to think what I'd be paying otherwise.

Saw my neighbour's bill last week — nearly £400 for the quarter. For a caravan. I nearly choked on my tea.

The standing charges alone are criminal now. Even if you barely use anything you're paying through the nose just for the privilege of being connected. That's what pushed me over the edge to go fully off-grid in the first place.

Anyone still on-grid and thinking about making the switch — honestly, the upfront cost stings but the payback period is looking shorter every time these bills land. I picked up some Fogstar cells last year and between that and a decent solar setup I'm pretty much sorted through spring/summer. Winter's still a bit scrappy but a small backup genny covers the gaps.

What are people's bills actually looking like this quarter? Curious whether it's worse in certain regions or if we're all equally suffering. 😅

@Midge52 welcome to the forum — good to see another Victron user on here!

Honestly the timing of going off-grid matters enormously. I've been running my narrowboat on solar + lithium (Fogstar cells, DIY build) for a couple of years now and the sums only get more favourable every quarter when I see what grid-tied friends are paying.

What's your storage setup on the static? Curious whether you're finding it adequate through winter or whether you're having to supplement. That's usually where people hit their first real limitations — generation in November/December can be brutally low even with decent panel capacity.

Don't be shy about posting specs — this lot are very helpful when it comes to optimising systems.

@Midge52 I know exactly what you mean. Did my narrowboat conversion three summers ago and every time someone on the marina shows me their electricity bill I feel this smug little glow inside — then immediately feel guilty about it, then feel smug again.

The Fogstar lithium cells I paired with the Victron MPPT have been genuinely transformative. Even through last winter's grim grey weeks I was managing better than expected.

That said, don't get too comfortable. I made the mistake of thinking I'd cracked it completely and then a dodgy battery connection wiped out a week of stored charge in January. Off-grid isn't "set and forget" — it still bites you when you're not paying attention.

But compared to being at the mercy of the energy companies? Not going back. Not a chance.

Been running our place on a hybrid setup for about four years now and honestly the satisfaction of watching those energy bills shrink to almost nothing never gets old. @Midge52 the Victron kit really does pay for itself over time doesn't it — that initial outlay feels painful but the payback period is shortening every year with prices the way they are.

One thing I'd say to anyone on the fence — don't underestimate battery storage. Solar alone only gets you so far, especially through a British winter! Got a pair of lithium batteries added last year and that made an enormous difference to overnight self-sufficiency.

@AngliaCamper narrowboat conversions are brilliant for this sort of setup too, compact load requirements make the maths work out really favourably. Would love to hear more about what you're running on yours.

@Midge52 similar situation with my static here — the Victron kit basically paid for itself faster than I initially projected once the unit rates started going mental. One thing I'd flag though, and I keep meaning to post a proper thread about this, is that the standing charge is the sneaky bit people don't always factor in when they're calculating savings. Even if you're nearly 100% solar you're still paying just to be connected. Worth checking whether full disconnection makes sense depending on your setup. I've got EV charging running off mine too which complicates the numbers considerably — the EV basically became my largest single load overnight and I had to rethink the whole battery sizing. Fogstar cells for the bank, for anyone wondering. Still working through whether I've got enough storage headroom through winter honestly.