Smart charging could cut EV running costs by more than £10,000 over seven years, according to EY and Eurelectric.
Smart EV home charging uses connected chargers and dynamic tariffs to automatically charge your vehicle during off-peak hours, reducing costs, easing grid demand and integrating with renewable energy where available.
The study highlights savings from using time-of-use tariffs and selling surplus energy via vehicle-to-grid (V2G) and vehicle-to-home (V2H) systems. Compact EVs could save £700 a year, mid-size models over £1000 and electric SUVs up to £1475.
These systems also help to balance grid capacity.
If fully adopted, EVs could supply up to 24TWh pa back to the grid by 2030 – around 7.5% of current UK electricity demand. However, widespread impact is dependent on infrastructure, driver attitudes, compatible vehicles and user uptake of smart charging systems.
Octopus Energy offers smart home-charging for EVs through its Octopus Electroverse platform and partnerships, as well as through specific tariffs and hardware integrations. Its key offerings include:
· Intelligent Octopus Go tariff – A time-of-use tariff providing cheaper overnight electricity rates (typically around 7.5p/kWh from 11.30pm to 5.30am) for EV charging. It works best with compatible smart chargers.
· Charger integrations – Works with smart chargers like Ohme, Wallbox, and Indra. These allow automated charging during off-peak hours, optimising cost and grid efficiency.
· Octopus Electroverse – Although primarily for public charging, it complements home charging by offering access to a large roaming network of public chargers through one app and RFID card.