Smart charging: How to power your electric vehicle for less
If you already have an electric vehicle (EV) or are looking to reduce your environmental impact by switching from petrol or diesel, then you’re likely to benefit from lower running costs thanks to cheaper energy, tax savings and less maintenance.
With smart charging from ev.energy, you can enjoy additional savings whilst reducing your carbon footprint even further. Better still, many existing electric vehicles, EV chargers and utility providers are already compatible, making set-up quick, simple and affordable for everyone.
What is smart charging and what are the benefits?
Energy prices and carbon emissions fluctuate due to changes in supply and demand, which can happen for various reasons, such as a peak in usage or a change in weather conditions. Smart charging allows you to power up the battery in your electric car, van or bike when energy is cheapest and most environmentally sustainable.
For example, on a usual weekday evening, most households will cook dinner, use the washing machine and binge the latest series on Netflix. With all this going on, there is a lot of strain on the energy grid and prices are usually at their highest.
If there is less power being made through renewable sources, such as solar and wind, limited supply could increase prices even further. In some cases, high-carbon and unsustainable energy sources, such as coal or gas, may be used to keep up with this peak in demand.
In the UK, wholesale energy prices, the cost at which energy suppliers buy power, are updated every 30 minutes. These prices may then be passed on to households, depending on the tariff they have with their energy supplier, to encourage using energy at off-peak times and reduce strain on the power grid.
EV owners can reap the rewards of lower-priced, lower-carbon energy by charging at off-peak times when energy is more readily available, such as through the night, or during “low-carbon events”, such as during a storm when more energy can be produced by wind. This simple change could save you hundreds on energy bills and reduce your carbon emissions by up to 15% each year.
Many energy providers offer dedicated EV tariffs which give you a lower energy cost at set off-peak hours. This trend is likely to continue as the transition to electric vehicles will create a huge demand for electricity which needs managing to avoid overwhelming existing power systems.
This is a win-win situation for households, energy providers, and the government, who are on a mission to hit international targets and avoid the worst potential outcomes of the climate crisis.
How does smart charging work?
With energy prices fluctuating so often it would be incredibly difficult to monitor these changes and adjust your behaviour accordingly, and the standard charge timer built into electric vehicles isn’t able to calculate the cheapest, greenest times to power up either.
The free ev.energy app fits into your daily routine connecting to your vehicle or EV charger over the Internet and staying on top of these changing energy prices and carbon feeds. The app will then switch your charge on and off automatically so that you can enjoy smarter, cheaper and greener charging without even having to think about it.
All you need to do is set a ready-by time in the app to fit in with your routine, such as when you usually leave for work or do the school run, and we’ll connect with your electric vehicle or charger to take care of the rest. Easy!
You can override the usual settings by pressing the Boost button in the app if you need your vehicle sooner and want to charge it right away, just like with the heating system in your home. Plus, soon you’ll also be able to set a different ready-by time for each day of the week with Smart Schedule.
Better still, if you have solar panels installed, Solar Only Mode can find the local solar forecast in your area and automatically charge your vehicle with self-generated, zero-carbon, renewable energy when the sun is due to shine, unlocking further savings for you.
You can check the ev.energy app at any time to see a record of the cost, energy and carbon emissions for each charging session, both at home and away. Then, for each 10kWh smart charge, you can earn rewards including Amazon vouchers, Starbucks discounts and zero-carbon charging credits with ev.energy Rewards in-app!
How to get started
Just download the ev.energy app from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store to get started. When you open the app, we’ll ask you a few questions about your vehicle, equipment, energy tariff and where you live. That allows us to collect the energy price from your provider as soon as it’s been updated and predict when energy will be the cheapest and greenest.
Next, connect our app to a compatible electric vehicle or EV charger from our growing list of partner manufacturers. We’re already working with electric cars from Tesla, BMW, Volkswagen, Renault and many others, plus home charging points from Rolec, Indra, Keba and more.
ev.energy currently works in the UK, US and Germany and we’ll be expanding to more countries soon, so watch this space!
Once you’ve set up the app and connected your device, you can rest easy as our app powers your journeys with green energy that saves you money with every mile.
Become a driver of change
Get smart with your energy by downloading the ev.energy app from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.
