The Hidden Savings in EV Charging

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Last Updated on: 26th March 2025, 10:19 pm

By William Goldsmith, Director Market Intelligence at ev.energy

Most people don’t know that they could be saving hundreds each year on their EV charging. Electric vehicles (EVs) are surging in popularity, but most drivers are unknowingly missing out on substantial savings when it comes to charging. Many utilities offer programs that pay EV drivers to charge at grid-friendly times, yet these incentives remain underpublicized and underutilized. EV drivers all across the US and Europe can unlock savings and incentives.

Enter ev.energy, a revolutionary service designed to maximize charging savings effortlessly. EV drivers can unlock personalized incentives, optimize their charging schedule using the app, and dramatically cut their energy costs with minimal effort — just by inputting their zip code. Once set up, ev.energy ensures your car automatically charges when electricity is cheapest and greenest. And for people with solar panels, the app even optimizes charging to sync with home solar generation, making the entire process seamless.

Why are Utilities Paying EV Drivers to Charge Smarter?

Many EV drivers simply plug in and charge whenever they need to, without considering time-of-use rates or utility incentives. But charging at the wrong time — typically during peak demand hours — can cost significantly more and increase strain on the grid.

To keep our lights on and power flowing, utilities have the challenging task of balancing the grid. This means for every second of the day, ensuring the amount of electricity generated (supply) matches what is being consumed (demand).

As a result, the “real” price of electricity is different for every hour of the day. With the increase of solar and wind energy, this is becoming even more dynamic, requiring a smarter solution than static time-of-use rates. For example, on a hot cloudy evening, households have the AC turned up and the lights are on. Power from solar and wind is limited, so expensive gas power stations ramp up to supply the increase in demand, causing prices to spike. At other times, real-time electricity prices can go negative and you can even get paid to soak up renewable energy. This could be on a “surf” day, when the sun is out, wind is up, and demand is down as people head to the beach. Another time this commonly occurs is overnight when there is lots of power coming from wind.

Utilities have realized that electric vehicle charging increases demand during peak hours if left uncoordinated, driving up infrastructure costs and reliance on fossil-fuel power plants. However, by coordinating charging intelligently through EV programs, the batteries sitting on our driveways can become part of a virtual power plant by aligning charging times to when electricity is cheapest and greenest. Many utilities offer special rates, rebates, and cash-back programs for EV drivers, but without an easy way to track them and automate charge scheduling, drivers often miss out on hundreds of dollars in potential savings.

“The app has been great in that it actually is making me focus to charge at night because you can see the difference between daytime charging and nighttime charging when you get the tariff change, so that’s been very helpful.” — National Grid MA customer, Brad, Topsfield MA

How to Optimize Your EV Charging

More than 200,000 EV drivers have already started using a simpler, smarter way to manage their EV charging. Using ev.energy to align their charging schedule with grid-friendly programs, this community of drivers has saved over $6m, reduced their carbon emissions, and taken advantage of available incentives. But how does it work?

ev.energy partners with utilities, helping them manage flexible energy demand and reduce the cost of providing electricity to customers. These savings fund a free-to-use smart charging service that delivers incentives and savings back to participating EV drivers.

If you enter your zip code into ev.energy’s savings calculator, you will discover eligible utility programs and cash incentives tailored to your location. This easy search can save you as much as $1,000 per year depending on your utility.

By connecting your EV and energy tariff, the smart charging app automatically schedules your charging when electricity is cheapest and greenest, helping you cut costs effortlessly and take advantage of incentives in your area. This type of charging reduces strain on the grid and takes advantage of surplus renewable energy. Unlike many vehicle apps, you can track all your charging in one place with a clear dashboard of your charging stats, showing your energy usage, costs, and savings. In some locations, it will even alert you prior to a potential grid blackout to help you prepare and get fully charged!

“Every single month we were pretty much getting $10 because we charge mainly during renewable energy periods. I was like ‘why not?’ It’s free money on the table.” — MCE Sync customer, Eduardo, San Rafael CA

Charging on Sunshine

For EV drivers with solar, knowing whether it’s best to charge during the day or at night can be challenging. You want to take advantage of energy from your solar panels. However, this might not give you a full charge and grid electricity is often cheaper at night.

To solve this problem, ev.energy has worked with drivers to develop two solar EV charging modes that make it easy to soak up the sun.

Solar Only delivers a zero-cost, zero-carbon charge by matching charging speed with your self-generated solar output. With this solution, you don’t use energy from the grid. If you need more charge than your panels produce, Solar Smart mode will start with solar charging when the sun is shining and then top-up your car with the cheapest, greenest grid energy when a full charge is required.

“The decision about when to charge the car can be challenging and confusing, especially when you have solar. It’s a tough one to kind of wrap your brain around. So if the app is taking care of it, just set it and forget it, and I know the app is doing its job.” — Silicon Valley Clean Energy customer, Wiliam, Sunnyvale CA

Charge Smarter, Drive Greener

If you’re an EV driver, you’re already ahead of the curve in reducing emissions and cutting fuel costs. But are you charging as smart as you could be?

With ev.energy, you don’t just plug in — you plug into savings, efficiency, and sustainability. Ready to charge smarter and save more?

Find out how much you could save and start making every charge count.

This article was sponsored by ev.energy.