Flexible Energy Tariffs: The Future of EV Charging

Looking for a way to power your electric vehicle without breaking the bank? Flexible electricity pricing integrated into your wallbox might be just the right solution. 

After reading this article, you will know how flexible electricity pricing works and why they make your EV charging cheaper and more eco-friendly.

An electric vehicle energy tariff is a special price for electricity used to charge electric cars. It is usually offered by an electricity provider, and is designed to provide EV owners with a lower rate for charging their vehicles under certain conditions (e.g. during specific time slots). 

We want to draw a full picture of electricity pricing for you. Let’s start with checking out the most common conditions offered by electricity providers.

• Fixed (flat-rate) energy tariff

A flat-rate energy tariff has a consistent monthly fee and additional charges based on kilowatt-hours used. As usage increases, the total costs also rise constantly. In other words, the flat-rate tariff involves a set monthly charge, with extra charges for any additional energy used beyond the specified amount. 

• Night tariff

Electricity is produced continuously. However, since demand is lower at night, there is excess capacity. To compensate for energy losses, electricity providers therefore offer cheaper night-time electricity tariffs.

• Flexible/dynamic energy tariff

Flexible electricity tariffs are linked to the electricity price index and therefore pass on price fluctuations on the electricity exchange directly to customers. The price of electricity is therefore constantly changing. A smart wallbox is able to track these prices and charge when the electricity is cheapest.
By timing your electricity usage to peak-off hours, you can avoid paying a premium price for every kilowatt-hour and instead bask in the glory of lower, more cost-effective tariffs.

That's why you need a smart wallbox like the go-e Charger to benefit from this type of pricing. On the bright side, the flexible tariff normally offers significantly cheaper energy during off-peak hours. You can also set the maximum price you want to pay per kWh. Once it reaches this limit, the charging process stops.

Each option has pros and cons. But the more flexibility you have, the easier it is to save money while charging your electric car. If your EV charger is able to track the prices set by your energy provider, it can have an extremely positive impact on your electricity bill. How? We are about to tell you.  

Going electric is clearly a green decision. But as they say, there is no rose without thorns. As more people switch to electric vehicles, the demand for electricity also goes up. 

One common scenario is that car owners arrive home in the evening, plug in their wallbox, and begin charging their vehicle. 

Now imagine that thousands of people across your country are doing the same thing at approximately the same time. This puts a massive strain on the power grid. 

How can a flexible energy tariff change the situation? Easily! 

Flexible energy tariffs offer to charge your vehicle when the total electricity consumption in a region or a whole country is very low. A charging station with integrated electricity suppliers in its app is constantly tracking real-time prices for energy and starts charging when they are the lowest. As the price is constantly changing, the tariff can also be called “dynamic”.

What do we have as a result? Right, by charging your electric vehicle during the off-peak hours you:

• reduce the strain on the power grid
• make the energy consumption more financially beneficial for you

Normally, charging prices are low when there is less demand for electricity - during the so-called off-peak hours. The hours may vary depending on your electricity provider and location, but usually it’s during night (e.g. between 11pm and 6am). While you dream the night away, your car effortlessly recharges in the garage, requiring no time sacrifice from you and ensuring it's ready for any exciting journey ahead.

Dynamic electricity pricing is like buying Christmas decorations: expensive during the pre-holiday season, when lots of people buy them, and offered at a 50% discount on 2 January, when no one needs them anymore.

Basically, dynamic time-of-use tariffs work similarly to a smart charging scheduler that activates charging when the time for this is perfect. Except you don’t need to guess when electricity is offered at the lower price - the charger already knows it. Think of it as having a personal energy assistant, always working behind the scenes to ensure you never pay a cent more than you have to.

Dynamic electricity pricing can offer substantial savings. For instance, while 1 kWh of energy at 8pm can cost around 15.50 cents, its price can be as low as 0.50 cents at midnight (as of 12/2022; Source: aWWatar). 

If you have an electricity contract based on flexible energy tariffs, check in the go-e app under Mode functionality whether your energy tariff is already integrated. Select the country you live in, your energy provider and the tariff you have signed up for with your energy provider.

Then activate ECO Mode or Planned Charge in the go-e app and set a price, time or kWh limit for your selected charging mode, at which your go-e Charger should start charging.

"ECO mode" means that you set a price limit per kWh for charging. As soon as the electricity rate dips below your designated threshold, your charger will kick into action, fueling your vehicle with electric power for the adventures ahead. 

“Planned Charge” allows you to set a time and amount of kWh for your car to be charged without a price limit. The charger automatically selects the cheapest hours to charge according to your electricity tariff until the specified amount of kWh within the set time limit is reached. If you prefer, you can continue charging in ECO mode, where you set the price limit for charging manually.

Keep an eye on upcoming electricity prices for your tariff in the Charging tab of the app, where a visual representation of the data awaits in the data section.

More than one thousand electricity tariffs from hundreds of energy providers in 19 European countries are already integrated in the go-e app for the go-e Chargers of the Gemini series and HOME series (V3). Your flexible electricity tariff is not among them? Then write to us and we will check whether it can be integrated.

Check out the options that are already available and pick the relevant one according to your country and electricity provider.

Offering dynamic electricity pricing is a rising trend. And we already have quite a few examples to give you an idea of what exactly it’s all about. 

The suppliers listed below offer flexible pricing for energy, constantly informing the user about the cost per kWh. However, you don’t need to check this information yourself if you use an intelligent charging station - set the price limit for your EV charging, and the wallbox will respond to dynamic price signals for you.

This energy supplier comes with an electricity tracker called Pulse. With Tibber and a smart charger you can easily shift significant amounts of electricity usage to the cheapest hours which is often between 11pm and 3am.

The provider aWATTar offers extremely detailed info on its electricity prices, including the volume of daytime and nighttime production and supply of electricity. This makes it easy to make EV charging sustainable by performing it in the periods of the lowest demand. 

Let's wrap it up. Why do you need flexible electricity pricing in your EV charger? 

• Save a pretty penny when charging: Dynamic rates and load-balancing can help you charge your car at the lowest possible prices, letting you save big on charging costs.
• Go greener: Dynamic charging is one of the most eco-friendly ways to charge your electric vehicle as it decreases the pressure on the power grid. A suffering power grid leads to blackouts, which is obviously the opposite to sustainability. With real-time tariffs, you can protect the planet by adjusting a few settings in your EV charger app. 
• Charge with peace of mind: Smart charging with dynamic prices ensures you can relax and enjoy the ride, knowing that your car will always be charged in the most cost-effective way possible, without any high energy bills to worry about.
• Overload protection for safe charging: Dynamic power tariffs allow you to charge your car without any risk of overloading the electricity supply.