And we are not alone in this assessment.
To manage this expected growth, governments are putting in place new regulations mandating connectivity standardize technological developments and make EV charging more accessible to everyone.
If the connectivity of a charging station can bring many advantages, it also allows you to follow and control your charging sessions via a charging app. With the digital charging assistant on your smartphone, you can start and stop your charging sessions from your couch. However, there is more than that. This is because home charging apps can unlock a range of information and data. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at how you can benefit from this information.
How to benefit from information on charging electric vehicles at home?
Thanks to the connectivity between a charging station and an application on a smartphone, drivers can collect useful data on the performance of their charging station and obtain specific information about their charging sessions.
but what does that mean?
Well, with this data you can help control electricity consumption, track renewable energy usage, schedule charging sessions to optimize energy costs and renewable energy usage, and manage multiple users or even charging stations. Let’s look at each of these benefits in a bit more detail below.
Control energy consumption
An often overlooked benefit of connected charging and charging apps are the ability to see your energy consumption in real time. Although many may not realize it, electric vehicle charging is an energy-intensive activity that can put a strain on your home’s power supply.
Although power consumption varies widely between electric vehicles and charger types, a dedicated home charger can supply between 7.4 kW and 22 kW (or 7,400 and 22,000 watts) of power to an electric vehicle. By comparison, a the dishwasher uses between 1050 and 1500 W: in other words, charging your EV uses 7 to 14 times more energy than running your dishwasher*.
As such, plugging your EV in to charge can overwhelm your home’s supply if too many other devices are also using power simultaneously. For example, if you come home from work and cook dinner with an electric stove, oven, and dishwasher on at the same time, your home energy consumption and electrical circuit might not be able to charge your car as well. .
By gaining insight into energy consumption, Connected Charging allows you to optimize your car’s charging times and ensure that your energy consumption remains at optimal levels.
If you have solar panels and renewable energy integration with your charging station, some EV charging apps will allow you to track and even manage your renewable energy usage.
* Disclaimer: These figures differ depending on individual situations and driving behavior and are intended to give a rough estimate of energy consumption and costs. They are not representative of a real situation.
Save on your electricity bill
The power consumption information display is also useful for checking how much you currently have pay for EV charging and discover ways to reduce charging costs.
Electricity is usually billed per kilowatt-hour (kWh), where you pay a given amount per kWh you use. In many cases, utility companies offer tiered tariffs, where the electricity used during rush hours costs more and off-peak hours cost less. This varies widely between countries, cities, and utility companies, but generally off-peak hours tend to be nights and weekends when power consumption on the grid is lower.
By comparing how much you pay to charge during peak hours versus off-peak hours, you can determine whether the extra cost is worth it for your needs and, if necessary, choose to charge during off-peak hours instead, by programming the charging at night.
Depending on your charging station and application, there is even a smart charging feature called charge transfer who can automatically arrange this for you.
Manage multiple users and charging stations
Beyond energy consumption management and cost savings, a charging app can also separate data and information for multiple users and charging stations. This is relevant in case you own more than one electric vehicle (or charging stations) and want to track charging information separately.
But it may also be relevant for multi-unit residential buildings and apartment complexes, where EV charging stations are shared among residents. In these situations, obtaining accurate energy consumption information for billing can be difficult, especially if charging stations are freely accessible.
Connected charging can help overcome this problem by precisely tracking energy consumption and accurately attributing consumption to specific users.
Charging apps can unlock a range of information that can streamline home EV charging by tracking energy consumption, optimizing costs, and seamlessly managing multiple users and charging stations.
While information is an important benefit of connected charging stations, connectivity has many more benefits. To know more, check out our detailed article on the subject.