Top 5 Tips To Save / Earn Money From EV Charging

Modern practices allow electric car owners to not only charge their cars at a time when the electricity rates are cheaper but also to earn some money by lending the power back to the grid.

The automotive world has reached a point where it is no longer a question of whether the EVs are the future or not, but where people are devising ways to save and even earn money from EV charging. EV adoption is at an all-time high and the signs look promising going forward.

Almost all legacy carmakers have announced ambitious plans to ensure carbon neutrality in the coming years and eliminate internal combustion engines from their lineup. In addition, new players have emerged that are manufacturing electric vehicles exclusively. Consequently, the charging infrastructure is also being developed in tandem. Here are some ways to save or earn money by charging your EV in a particular way.

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Top 5 Ways to Save / Earn Money from EV Charging

Complimentary EV Charging

There are a lot of modern EV markers that are offering some free complimentary EV charging when you purchase a new electric car. Sure, there are not many models on which this offer is valid. Nonetheless, this is something that you need to keep an eye out for. The most prevalent EVs include Hyundai IONIQ 5 and VW ID.4. They offer 2 years and 3 years of complimentary DC charging (certain kWh per month) respectively.

Charging During Off-Peak Hours

Yet another common way to save a lot of money while charging your electric car is the time when you charge it. You must know that charging at home using an AC charger is anyway cheaper than charging at a DC power station. However, if you charge at home during non-peak hours, generally from 8 PM to 6 AM, you might be able to charge at an even lower price. So, plan your charging cycles accordingly.

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Solar Energy to Power Your Home / EV

There are many parts of the world, where solar is gaining momentum. People are installing solar panels in their homes to power their entire household. Needless to mention, this is particularly beneficial in those parts that are mostly sunny. Hence, if you install solar panels at your home and charge the EV using that source, the charging costs are bound to be extremely low.

Selling Power to the Grid

Another increasing trend around which startups are evolving is selling the surplus power back to the grid. We have already discussed how you should ideally charge your EVs during off-peak hours. During these times, you are paying the least amount of money to buy power. However, when you are not using your EV, you could sell it back to the grid at a time when the electricity rates are much higher, i.e., during peak hours. In this way, a symbiotic association could take place where you are using the grid to get power and also selling power to the grid to generate some profit.

EV Charger Tax Credit & EV-Specific Electricity Rates

Now, these are slightly nuanced measures that might be limited to only a couple of countries at the moment. But we are sure that more governments around the world could adopt it. The US government offers up to $1,000 in tax credit if you wish to install a charging station at your home. That is a necessity for EV owners and you could save some bucks in the form of tax credit. Similarly, the UK-based OVO Energy is a company that gives specific discounts for users to charge their EVs. The prices are exclusively designed for electric car charging allowing you to save some money.

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Learn Electric Cars Says

Despite the exponential growth of the EV industry in the last couple of years, we are still at a nascent stage of this promising EV revolution. Hence, this is the right time to take advantage of the massive benefits and incentives being offered by the carmakers, the governments and charging players to promote mass adoption. We are certain that such measures will become more common in more nations as we go forward. This is a great window to switch from traditional ICE-powered cars to EVs.

Also, we understand that these practices might not work in every country at the moment. But the aim of this blog post is to make you aware of the kinds of possibilities that exist. This would also prompt you to keep an eye out for any such new method you might come across that will help you save or earn money using your electric car.