Now that electric driving is becoming a prominent part of our society and sales of electric cars are increasing rapidly, motorists are asking for efficient and user-friendly charging stations for their homes.
Smart charging is a technology that improves the user experience by analyzing information about charging behavior and energy consumption. In other words: with smart charging you keep control over the charging process. It can also help you make better decisions about when and how to charge, saving you costs.
But what exactly does smart charging do to achieve all these benefits? In this article, we discuss the top five benefits of smart charging and explore how they can help improve efficiency, convenience and cost-effectiveness.
Is smart charging beneficial?
In general, charging stations are not cheap, and buying a smart charging station is usually the more expensive choice. You will therefore probably wonder whether the extra price is really worth it. As we'll see below, the answer is generally yes.
Because a smart charging station is connected to the internet, you can view and manage the charging process of your car. This way you can make sure it adapts to your charging needs. You can also lower your energy bill by smart charging . There are even more advantages to a smart charging station.
Let's take a closer look at the top five benefits of smart charging.
What are the benefits of smart charging?
The connectivity enabled by a smart charging station offers a range of benefits, ranging from insight into the charging process to automatically balancing energy consumption and, in the future, even electricity storage. Below we pay extensive attention to all functions of smart charging.
1. Connectivity of charging stations
Although smart charging stations can have different functions, they all have one thing in common: the ability to make a wireless connection between the charging station and the electric car. This is made possible by the software built into the charging station. In general, there is also an internet connection that allows the user to control the charging station with a mobile app .
This connectivity offers the possibility to optimize the charging process. Let's explore how.
Collect data from the charging process
Thanks to the ev charging software, a smart charging station can collect data. In this way it gives you useful insights into your charging sessions and energy consumption. For example, you can see how often you charge your car, how much energy you use at home and at what times, so that you can make an informed decision about when and how best to charge.
Determine when you charge your car
Scheduled charging is very important when you consider that on average a car is parked 96 percent of the time . Of course you can just plug it in and charge it when you get home, but that's detrimental to both your wallet and your car's battery.
Many energy suppliers offer cheaper off-peak rates at times when the demand for electricity is low, such as at night or during the weekend. By charging at these times, you will save considerably in the long run.
In addition, it can be harmful to the battery to leave the car at the charging station for too long . Like all lithium-ion batteries, your electric car battery ages with each charge cycle. As a result, they lose part of their capacity. By setting the start time and the charge level with smart charging, you ensure that the life of your battery is maximized.
Automatic updates
Another advantage of smart charging is that the ev charging software can often be updated remotely, thanks to the built-in internet connection. This allows new functions to be added to your smart charging station and existing functions to be improved. And because your charging station has the latest security software, your data will always remain safe.
Solve problems remotely
The ability to monitor a charging station remotely is always useful, but it is particularly beneficial when something goes wrong. Thanks to the connectivity, you are immediately notified of problems, after which you can take steps to have them resolved remotely.
The moment your charging station needs to be repaired, the manufacturer or installer can therefore also remotely diagnose what the problem is, so that the necessary preparations for the repair can be made in time. And when the problem is in the ev charging software, it can often even be solved completely remotely, without the need for an appointment.
You will understand that remote troubleshooting is beneficial for both the driver and the installer, as it can save a significant amount of time and money.
2. Balance your electricity demand
Charging an electric car puts a significant strain on your home's electrical circuit. If not managed properly, the circuit can become overloaded and the power goes out.
Dynamic load balancing is a smart charging function that constantly monitors the load on the circuit and distributes the available capacity to prevent overload. In this way, an electric car can be charged safely, even if other devices that demand a lot of power are also switched on.
In those cases, dynamic load balancing can automatically lower the power consumption of your electric car to free up capacity for other devices. Once these are turned off, the charging power returns to normal. If you own more than one electric car, dynamic load balancing allows you to prioritize one car so that it is charged first.
3. Utilize battery capacity
While the battery of your electric car is currently only intended for driving, it can also supply energy back to the grid in the future. This technology is called vehicle-to-grid (V2G) and refers to bidirectional currents between an electric car and the power grid.
Vehicle-to-home (V2H) is a form of V2G that uses an electric car as a power source for your home. With V2H, you can temporarily reduce the amount of power you draw from the grid, relying instead on power from your car's battery.
This way you can use the power from your car when the demand for electricity is high, so you don't have to use expensive power from the grid. You can then recharge the battery of your electric car during off-peak hours, when prices are lower.
V2H is especially useful for people who want to install a battery in their home to store the self-generated power. Instead of having to buy an expensive special battery and pay for installation, they can simply use their car's existing battery.
4. Optimizing sustainable energy consumption
A frequently heard consideration for people with an electric car who also generate their own energy is whether they can also use that electricity to charge their car. Smart charging stations can help to optimize the use of locally generated electricity, because you can easily determine where the energy that is used for charging comes from.
A sloping roof of a modern house with a series of solar panels which are producing energy on a sunny day.
If you have solar panels, you can charge your electric car in the afternoon, because then there is often a high solar energy production. At that moment you know that the electricity used for charging has been generated sustainably. In addition to reducing your carbon footprint, using self-generated energy can also help you save costs because you have to buy less electricity from the grid.
5. Save on electricity costs
Although installing a smart charging station requires a certain investment, its features can result in significant cost savings . By providing insight into the charging process and energy consumption, a smart charging station can optimize electricity consumption and thus save costs.
Charging during off-peak hours
During off-peak hours you can often charge at a reduced rate. Off-peak tariffs are used to encourage consumers to shift their energy demand to quieter times, when there is less pressure on the grid. Usually this is at night and on weekends. The exact off-peak rates depend on your location, energy supplier and contract. Charging during these quiet times can result in significant savings.
Prevent upgrades of meter boxes
Because dynamic load balancing adjusts the power consumption of the charging station to the available power, a more powerful meter box and power circuit is not required. This prevents the high purchase costs of a new meter cupboard and expensive installation work by an electrician. You can also avoid the higher monthly connection costs of your energy supplier.
Save energy
Finally, V2G will save you a lot of future costs because your car's battery can feed power back to the grid or, in the case of vehicle-to-grid, to your home. Currently V2G and V2H are still under development . But connectivity means that smart charging stations can be updated later to support these new features, even if they're not there today.
Smart home charging is an attractive tool for easily managing the charging of your electric car and keeping energy consumption under control.
If you want to learn more about the different smart charging features, check out our in-depth blog on the subject. Or view our blog about the cost-saving potential of smart charging stations to discover how you can charge your electric car as cost-efficiently as possible.
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