What is smart home charging and what are the benefits?

As electric vehicles are becoming rapidly more popular in Australia, the technology used to charge is also advancing. The use of smart charging stations in Australia is rapidly increasing as users are demanding easy-to-use home chargers. Previously, smart charging was reserved for larger, commercial chargers but now most of these valuable features can be utilised at home.

Smart charging is a system in which an electric vehicle, charging station and software or app communicate to share data. When these elements interact, the user will unlock insights into how the car and charger are both behaving, allowing the users to have a complete understanding of what is really happening after the EV is plugged in. More importantly, users will have remote access via an app for home chargers.

What are the benefits of smart charging?

With so many features included in upgrading to a smart charger, how are each of these features a benefit to you?

We will explore the most beneficial features of smart charging.

Schedule charging sessions

One of the greatest and most helpful features of a smart charger is the ability to schedule charging sessions.  Users can plug their cars into the charging station but delay starting the charging session.

There are many reasons to delay starting the charging session. For most homeowners, their energy provider offers off-peak energy rates at certain times of day. To use energy in the most cost-effective way, users can schedule charging to fall within this time frame to significantly reduce the costs of charging in the long term. Users can gain complete control when their charging starts, finishes and the maximum charge level. This schedule can be changed at any times to adjust to a busy life and changed plans.

Optimisation of sustainable energy usage:

Running an electric vehicle on solar power is every environmentalist dream. The feature of session scheduling makes this even easier. For workplaces or residential sites with renewable energy installed, the user can optimise the use of this through the scheduling feature. When solar power generation is at its peak, ensure your workplace fleet chargers are taking the most energy. Optimisation also applies to those with home solar systems and charging stations who will charge in peak generation times. Reduce your carbon footprint and costs by powering your home or fleet EV chargers without the grid!

Save on electricity costs:

Saving money on charging your electric vehicle is not limited to those with solar power or other renewable energy systems installed. Thanks to the great feature of scheduling, you can benefit from saving on energy costs. With the help of in-app statistics, the user is able gain information on charging behaviour and energy usage of the charger and EV. In combination with individual energy rates, users can create a charging plan on when it is most cost-effective such as to schedule their charging in off-peak periods and set a maximum charge level.

Receive charging updates:

Smart charging allows the user to have access to live charge updates in the app. The user will be able to track when the charging session has started and stopped. This is valuable to those who plug and leave their cars in an out of sight area. For example, you will immediately know when your car has been unplugged and be able fix this.  No more morning surprises of uncharged cars, finally have peace of mind.

If you are considering installing an EV charger for home, public, fleet, or heavy commercial, you will find the right charger in our range of AC and DC EV chargers. You can speak to us or look through our website for more information.

For a deeper understanding of all the features of a smart charging app, we made a YouTube video.