It’s a well known fact that EV charging at home is cheaper than charging on the go. With the public network having to hike up prices in line with rising energy costs, I wanted to work on a way to drive costs down wherever I could, and to help other EV drivers do the same.
That’s why in this article I’ll be breaking down how Clenergy EV’s new app feature helped me save £2,000 a year in EV charging costs without any changes to my daily routine.
Charge Scheduling: EV's Biggest Money Saving Tool
Most energy providers in the UK currently offer two rates for electricity; an off-peak rate, and an on-peak rate.
These off-peak rates are often significantly cheaper, and typically run through low usage times. The problem is that these typically run late into the night,with off-peak rates on my current tariff running from 00:30 to 04:30.
Hats off to anyone who’s committed enough to their electrical savings that they’d be happy leaving bed at half past midnight every evening to charge their car, but it’s just not for me.
Some EV apps allow you to set a timer for charges, but this can affect charging outside of these off-peak hours - and you need to remember to turn them off and on again.
But using our new app features, I’ve been able to plug in my EV and set a schedule for charges to start and end at exactly these times - without any 4 am wake ups.
My 7kWh charger typically takes me around 12 hours to reach a full charge if starting from empty. Naturally then, it makes more sense for me to charge in smaller four hour sessions every evening, which means my usual nightly usage for EV charging is 28kWh.
With the off-peak rate on my electricity tariff running at 9p per kWh compared to 30p per kWh during peak times, this meant charging cost £2.66 instead of £8.40 for a single night.
That’s a huge £5.77 per night in savings, through the click of a few buttons on my Clenergy EV app.
EV Tariff Comparison
Unlike other deals on at-home EV charging, the charge scheduling feature we’ve developed will work across any electricity tariff.
Below are some of the tariffs available through the UK’s biggest energy providers, as well as their off-peak rates to show you how much our tool can potentially help you save.
But if you find a better tariff elsewhere, it’s guaranteed to work for you too.
*calculated using a 7kw home charger at a standard speed of 4 hours to reach full charge.
**prices correct as of October 2023.
Will it work on my home charger?
The Clenergy EV residential charging software is designed to work across a massive range of charger brands. My at-home charger is a Rolec Zura double socket, but our software works across a range of EV charging brands.
We’ll be constantly looking to grow that list, and will be updating our social media channels regularly with news of additional brands passing our compatibility testing - so don’t fret if yours isn’t there quite yet.
