5 Ways to Save Money On Your EV Charging

The cost of charging electric vehicles (EVs) has skyrocketed from an average of 0.05 euros/kWh in 2018 to an average of 0.25 euros/kWh in 2022, and this trend isn’t expected to stop moving up. The factors that affect the cost of EV charging can be external— that is, they operate beyond the jurisdiction of the EV driver. These factors include:

• EV market size
• Number of charging points within the area of consideration
• Government policies
• Geopolitical conditions
• National proportions of energy sources
• Environmental impacts
• Network expenditure
• GDP per capita 
• Import heterogeneity

You can also incur extra costs based on internal factors like - driving hours, charging periods, vehicle mileages, personal battery maintenance policies, attentiveness to environmental changes, etc.

In several countries across Europe, EV charging policies and incentives have been set in place to help subsidise charging costs and make life easier for EV users and manufacturers. However, while these incentives provide a rich avenue for EV owners to substantially cut costs on charging, they can be synergised with accompanying actions by EV drivers to further slacken the economics surrounding EV charging.

Save Money using the Hivepower Flexo Smart Charge for EVs

When we introduced the Hivepower Flexo Smart Charge for EVs earlier this year, we spotlit events where the user-friendly technology can be of great technical help to EV owners, fleet managers, grid operators, and EV manufacturers alike. Similarly, the Hivepower Flexo smart charge can assist EV owners in decreasing the economic costs that are associated with EV charging. Again, this is where the vehicle owners chip in as stakeholders in the internal factors that dictate EV charging costs.

Below we detail five ways in which the Hivepower Flexo Smart Charge can be central to helping EV owners save money on EV charging:

1. Off-Peak Demand Hours Charging

The Flexo charge platform collects EV data, analyses energy markets, and determines what charging profile is best for the vehicle. One such way is to schedule EV charging away from peak hours.

Peak hours are periods of the day during which electricity demand is highest. These periods bear a direct relationship with the cost of utility use, and this includes EVs. How?

In perspective, peak electricity demand hours are similar to moments when Uber demand is visibly high. In such moments, you pay a bit higher than you would normally pay because you’re competing with others who, like you, request the services of Uber. Here the laws of supply and demand are syncretic, and they influence the price of utility in demand. Similarly, you tend to pay more when you charge your EV during peak demand hours.

To prevent this adequately, the Hivepower flexo smart charge helps you shed charging expenses by scheduling your EV charging to off-peak demand hours, which typically run from midnight to eight in the morning.

2. Seamlessly Locate the Nearest Charging Points

It’s been said that the Hivepower flexo smart charge platform helps you determine the best charging profile for your EV. This does not exclude locating the nearest charging point options.

As of 2020, the cost to travel a 100km-distance in Germany was 6.27 euros. Imagine having to travel long distances in search of charging points when you can quickly get relevant information regarding this on your flexo charge app. This will not only protect your vehicle’s durability but will also significantly save battery energy & therefore charging outlay.

This advantage isn’t restricted to intra-locational travel. It can also be applied to journeys across multiple geolocational jurisdictions where you might need to charge on the road. With the platform, you’re presented with optimal charging options for your EV.

3. Spend the Energy You Produce

With decentralised energy management systems, prosumers, thanks to the internet of things (IoT) and smart metres, can derive maximum benefits from net metering— that is, they can effectively trade energy with grids. But, of course, this application holds for EVs as well.

Consider this: your vehicle is fully charged, but you aren’t ready to drive. Rather than leave the energy stored in your battery dormant or at the mercy of discharge, you can sell this energy back to the grid. Then, you can get this energy later when you need to drive. That way, you get to save money you would have otherwise spent on charging your EV twice.

Through advanced Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) technologies, the Hivepower flexo smart charge is the mediator between your EV and the grid to make this possible.

4. Get Discounts on the Energy You Consume

The flexo smart charge offers you discounted charging prices in exchange for charging flexibility. By giving unused or excess energy back to the grid, you’re essentially creating a balance that helps build sustainability. The platform rewards this flexibility with sufficient charging discounts that make you spend considerably less than usual.

5. Get Notified of Upcoming Charge Cycles

The platform not only allows you to take absolute control of when your EV gets charged but also notifies you beforehand of the events ahead. This puts you in a position where you decide not only present charge events but also future charge cycles.

To put this in context: the technology creates a charging pattern for you and works with this pattern. This consequently gives it the authority to prepare future charging cycles. In cases where this needs to change and you need to break this pattern to prevent future outlays on needless charging, you can do this.

In Conclusion

The Hivepower Flexo Smart Charge is beneficial in numerous ways to all parties associated with EVs. Earlier this year, some of these benefits have been mentioned and discussed extensively. 

However, the financial burden it lifts off the shoulders of EV owners gives us a peek into its profound and wide-ranging capabilities. The platform stands at the intersection of EV ownership and the economic viability that will help drive the sustainability of EVs and power grids.

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