More than two in every five EV owners could not benefit through smart charging functionality that costs 10 times less, Smart Home Charge revealed in a survey. This has highlighted the need for consumer education as regulations alone aren’t enough to cope up with rising inflation and soaring electricity prices.
SHC, a leading home charging retailer and installer in the UK, found that nearly half, or 46 per cent, of survey respondents did not take advantage of off-peak charging times, and could benefit by either installing a smart charging point at home or using the smart scheduling features if they already had one.
All EV charge points sold after 30 June 2022 will have smart functionality, according to a new regulation the Government will introduce. EV smart charging involves shifting charging to a different time of day, such as overnight when there is lower demand on the electricity system, the Government said in a policy document. This can help reduce the need for costly electricity network reinforcement to meet increased demand from EVs, and offers benefits to consumers too, including savings on their energy bills.
The SHC survey found that across 10,000 miles in a single year, peak rate-only charging would cost £1,071 versus £107 when using off-peak only charging, a saving of £964 for average EV. The calculation was done for Nissan Leaf using EDF’s GoElectric 35 tariff.
However, the study found that EV owners were not utilising cheaper, off-peak charging despite inflation soaring to a 40-year high and electricity bills rising by £700 a year.
The poll showed that education is needed for those new to EVs to help with what smart charging actually is, and how to make the most of it and reap the cost savings, SHC said.
“While drivers cannot ultimately control wholesale electricity prices, they can make sure they are charging their cars at the lowest rate possible by using the Smart Home Charge EV energy tariff comparison tool,” Danny Morgan, Editor and Marketing Manager at Smart Home Charge said.
SHC said smart charge points provide drivers more control over their home charging setup, such as setting up scheduled charging to coincide with cheaper electricity rates, as well as providing information on charging history so drivers can monitor their EV home charging costs. It has also designed a product called the Smart Home Charge tool to assist in comparing home charging rates.