If you are considering buying a home EV charger, you will have noticed that there are so many different options to choose from. It is no longer about just having an EV charger on your wall to supply power. Our smart home EV charger is a “smart” charger that offers control, flexibility, and energy savings.
In this blog, we will go through all of the different smart features that you should look for when it comes to choosing the right EV home charger for you. As well as this, we will talk about how a smart EV charger will make your life easier and cheaper.
Why Smart Features Matter?
- Cost savings – A smart charger can help you take advantage of off-peak electricity rates. This means that it will charge your vehicle during off-peak times, saving you as much electricity and money as possible.
- Control – You can decide when to charge your vehicle and how much to charge it, rather than relying on your car or any default settings of a standard EV charger.
- Energy insights – Smart home EV chargers often report data. This can include energy used, the times at which the most energy was being used, and patterns of the charge.
- Load management – If your home has limited capacity, or you have more than one electric vehicle, smart chargers will ensure that your charger doesn’t overload circuits.
- Integration with other home energy systems – If you have solar panels or a home battery, a home EV charger can prioritise gaining energy from your solar panels rather than drawing energy from the grid.
- Remote control – You can monitor the charger remotely via an app, which we offer.
Key Features to look for:
- Smart app control:
- Scheduling – You can choose when you want your vehicle to charge. You can schedule to charge your vehicle overnight during off-peak times to use cheaper electricity.
- Charging status – You can see how much power is being drawn, any voltage or current spikes, or drops and how much time it is expected for your vehicle to receive full charge.
- Notifications – The smart app will notify you for any errors with the charge or any connection problems. As well as notifying you when your vehicle is fully charged and ready to use.
- Remote control – You can start the charge and stop the charge remotely via the app without having to go and unplug the EV charger from your vehicle.
- Updates – Overtime there will be software updates, possibly providing you with new features for your charger via the app.
- Solar integration – If your home already has and uses solar energy, one of the smartest features that a home EV charger has to offer is its ability to prioritise the solar power to charge your vehicle.
- Multiple vehicles and future proofing – The EV charger and the remote smart app will support profiles for two or more electric vehicles. Choosing the best EV charger in the first place will ensure that you do not have to upgrade later down the line, costing you more.
- Security and access control – There are many different security features that you can have to reduce the risks of anyone tampering with or breaking your home EV charger. Things like requiring a pin to start the charge to your vehicle. Having a locking connector which will lock the charger to your vehicle so that nobody can unplug the charger unless it is authorised by the owner of the app. If someone tries to open the charger or access the charger, you should receive a notification via the app.
Features that you Should Prioritise:
- Smart app control and scheduling
- Solar integration
- Load balancing/management
- Security
- Multiple vehicle and future-proofing support
The main feature that I believe you should be looking for is the smart app control. Our smart home EV charger offers the app as well as a lot of the features we have already mentioned. Scheduling via the app is crucial for efficient charging and cost effectiveness. It allows you to schedule your vehicle’s charge during off-peak times.
Tips to Choose the Right Smart Home EV Charger
- Connectivity – Before installation, check your connectivity. Things like Wi-Fi connection and mobile signal. If they are working at a good standard, this allows the remote smart app to connect to the EV charger and work efficiently, allowing you to use all its features.
- Charger adaptability – Ensure that your EV charger can adapt to things like load balancing or multiple electric vehicle support.
- Plan for expansion – Make sure if you are planning on buying another electric vehicle, you plan for this when buying and installing an EV home charger in the first place.
- Security – Make sure that you choose an EV home charger that offers security features.
Conclusion
Overall, there are many smart features that you should look for when it comes to considering buying an EV home charger. The main ones that I believe you should look for are the smart app control and all of the features that are included with that, scheduling charging and being able to monitor how efficiently the charger is working.
Everything that you need in an EV home charger can be found in our 7kW smart home EV charger. We offer all the features that we have discussed in this blog. Our professional installer will ensure that everything is working correctly and efficiently, to make sure that you are happy with your purchase and so that there are no problems in the future.
If you are looking to buy an EV home charger, take into consideration all the things we have discussed in this blog and make the right choice.
If you wish to purchase an EV home charger, please look at our website where you can find all the information you need about our EV home charger.
https://evhomechargeruk.co.uk/product/7kw-smart-home-ev-charger/
Go to the top right menu bar, shop and you can order your charger directly from there.
