[BeEnergyWise Series] Step 3: I want to charge my EV at the lowest cost

Author: Schneider Electric

This audio was created using Microsoft Azure Speech Services

An average of 80% of the EV charge is made at home. While it is the most convenient, and somehow the least expensive way of charging, some studies have shown it can increase energy consumption by up to 40%.

With the increase of energy tariffs across the world, the EV charge at home might represent a big hike of your energy bill. Bear with us, we are not at all encouraging you to come back to gasoline cars. Electrification is so far the cleanest way to drive our cars. But there are surely ways in which you can make your home EV charging a less expensive experience.

There are 2 ways to do this: either by charging at the cheapest tariff of electricity, or – if you are equipped with solar panels, you can also prioritize to charge when sun power is at its maximum.

Are you solely aware that variable or flexible energy tariffs exist?

In more and more countries, this is increasingly common to discourage people from using electricity at peak times. Hence, government and utilities start to apply variable or flexible-time tariffs. If you are in Norway, the electricity will be 10 times more expensive at certain time of the day, like peak hours.

But its difficult to constantly be aware of what power you are consuming and when.

Let’s take a very practical example: you come back from a long day of work. It’s 7pm and you immediately plug in your car to the EV charger so it’s ready for the next morning. You’d struggle to imagine yourself shuffling out in your slippers at 10pm, when the tariff changes, to plug your car in…

That’s where a Home Energy Management System like Wiser comes in. Connected to your Schneider Charge, our EV charging solution Wiser will only start the charge of your car at 10pm, when the tariff of electricity is cheaper.

Let’s now do a simple math: in countries like France, where the tariff of electricity is 2 cts per KWh cheaper (nothing compared to some Nordic countries), you’d save on average 5 euros per charge… and if you do the maths… say you charge 2 times a week, 5 hours each time, you’d save more than 200 euros a year!

With Wiser and Schneider Charge, you can activate the Reduce My Bill charging mode to charge automatically during the cheapest hours or during the sunniest hours (if you have solar panels).

Which products for my project?

With Wiser, you can:

• Monitor and control the consumption and duration of your charging sessions
• Set your charging times according to your needs and habits
• Charge automatically your vehicle during off-peak hours or when solar energy is available
• Control charging remotely via your smartphone

The charging station
Schneider ChargeThe reinforced socket
Mureva EVLinkPower7,4 kW/ 11 kW / 22 kW3,7 kWConsumption monitoringYesYesCharging sessions schedulingYesYesAnti-tripping controllerYes (anti-tripping controller to be added)No

Inside the Wiser app

Charge your EV with sustainable and low-cost energy.

Know more how Schneider Electric is transforming Home of the Future.

Listen to our podcast, to learn more about the present-day economics of EVs and home energy management systems. In it, we hear from Colin McKerracher, Head of Advanced Transport at BloombergNEF, discuss electric mobility trends across different angles.

Tags: Energy Efficiency, EV charging, Schneider charge, Sustainability, Wiser Energy