Get ‘smart’ to slash EV charging costs


Smart charging could cut EV running costs by more than £10,000 over seven years, according to EY and Eurelectric.

Smart EV home charging uses connected chargers and dynamic tariffs to automatically charge your vehicle during off-peak hours, reducing costs, easing grid demand and integrating with renewable energy where available.

The study highlights savings from using time-of-use tariffs and selling surplus energy via vehicle-to-grid (V2G) and vehicle-to-home (V2H) systems. Compact EVs could save £700 a year, mid-size models over £1000 and electric SUVs up to £1475.

These systems also help to balance grid capacity.

If fully adopted, EVs could supply up to 24TWh pa back to the grid by 2030 – around 7.5% of current UK electricity demand. However, widespread impact is dependent on infrastructure, driver attitudes, compatible vehicles and user uptake of smart charging systems.


Octopus Energy offers smart home-charging for EVs through its Octopus Electroverse platform and partnerships, as well as through specific tariffs and hardware integrations. Its key offerings include:

·       Intelligent Octopus Go tariff – A time-of-use tariff providing cheaper overnight electricity rates (typically around 7.5p/kWh from 11.30pm to 5.30am) for EV charging. It works best with compatible smart chargers.

·       Charger integrations – Works with smart chargers like Ohme, Wallbox, and Indra. These allow automated charging during off-peak hours, optimising cost and grid efficiency.

·       Octopus Electroverse – Although primarily for public charging, it complements home charging by offering access to a large roaming network of public chargers through one app and RFID card.

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