Octopus Charge Pack vs Axle Energy: Which Is Better For Your Home Battery?
- jontracey4
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
Octopus Energy has launched Charge Pack, a new service designed to optimise home batteries for customers on Intelligent Octopus Go. The announcement has immediately drawn comparisons with Axle Energy, a company that already pays homeowners to support the grid using their battery storage systems.
But are these two services actually competing with each other? And which one is likely to make you more money?
I've spent time digging through the details, reading the FAQ, and comparing both approaches.
What Is Octopus Charge Pack?
Charge Pack is a battery optimisation service that works with compatible home battery systems. Once connected, Octopus can automatically decide when your battery should charge and discharge.
The aim is simple:
Charge when electricity is cheap.
Discharge when electricity is valuable.
Optimise your battery for changing energy prices and grid conditions.
Octopus says its Kraken AI platform uses forecasts including:
Weather
Solar generation
Grid conditions
Electricity prices
to make decisions automatically on your behalf.
For many homeowners this sounds attractive. Instead of manually creating charging schedules or constantly tweaking settings, the system does the work for you.
How Is This Different From Axle Energy?
This is where things get interesting.
Axle Energy's proposition is very simple:
Keep control of your battery and only participate when the grid genuinely needs support.
When a grid event occurs, Axle may request access to discharge your battery and currently advertises payments of up to £1 per kWh during qualifying events.
Outside of these events, you remain in control.
Charge Pack takes a different approach.
Rather than only stepping in during specific grid events, Octopus can optimise battery behaviour more broadly as part of its automated energy management system.
This raises an interesting question:
Who Is The AI Optimising For?
Octopus says Kraken AI considers multiple factors when making decisions.
But homeowners may reasonably ask:
Does the AI know I'm planning a barbecue this evening?
Does it know my friends are coming over?
Does it know I want to heat the hot tub?
Does it know I need to charge my EV later tonight?
Humans are unpredictable.
The grid is not.
That doesn't mean Charge Pack is bad. Far from it. Many homeowners will welcome a fully automated approach.
However, it does highlight a philosophical difference between the two services.
The Control Question
One of the biggest themes emerging from the discussion is control.
Some people love automation.
Others prefer to decide for themselves when their battery charges and discharges.
If Axle empties part of your battery during a grid event and pays you £1 per kWh, you can often afford to buy replacement electricity later at standard peak rates and still come out ahead.
With Charge Pack, Octopus has not yet publicly published a simple payment model equivalent to Axle's £1 per kWh headline figure.
That makes direct comparisons difficult.
Which System Will Make More Money?
The honest answer is:
Nobody knows yet.
Charge Pack is new.
Axle already has a track record and a straightforward payment model.
Until we see real-world results from Charge Pack users over several months, it's impossible to know which approach delivers the highest returns.
Factors likely to influence the outcome include:
Battery size
Inverter size
Solar generation
EV ownership
Electricity tariff
Household energy use
A homeowner with an 8kW inverter and large battery may see very different results from someone using a smaller 3.6kW system.
My View
I can see strong arguments for both approaches.
If you want maximum convenience and trust automation, Charge Pack could be very attractive.
If you prefer to remain firmly in control and only support the grid during specific events, Axle Energy may be more appealing.
The important thing is understanding exactly what you're signing up for and how much control you're comfortable handing over.
Watch The Full Video
In the video I break down:
What Charge Pack actually does
How it compares to Axle Energy
The AI and automation debate
Real-world examples involving EV charging and home batteries
Who is most likely to benefit
👉 Watch the full video here:
If you're considering Charge Pack, Axle Energy, or any other home battery optimisation service, I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.
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