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EV Home Charger Image credits: wallbox.com ; evbox.com ; Ohme EV
Smart electric vehicle chargers are quickly transitioning from a luxury convenience to mainstream adoption. These connected chargers tap into home Wi-Fi networks unlocking an expansive suite of remote monitoring, control and optimisation features not possible with traditional EVSE (Electric vehicle supply equipment) units. Growth has rapidly followed consumer appetite. Globally, over half a million smart home EV chargers were deployed last year as adoption accelerates.
In a smart charger system, the wall-mounted charging station links to your home internet router enabling cloud connectivity. This powers real-time charger access, notifications, and data visibility from anywhere via smartphone apps. You can immediately know your EV’s exact state of charge, view live charging metrics, control charging schedules, and much more.
The core benefits of smart chargers are wide-ranging – from exceptional charging convenience and customisation to potential electricity cost savings compared to dumb chargers. Smart EV chargers also future-proof garages with two-way vehicle-to-grid capability. This allows EV batteries to stabilise an intermittent renewable electricity grid by holding a charge and sending it back during peak demand.
In this blog post, we’ll highlight the main upsides Wi-Fi-enabled EV chargers unlock for Irish homeowners. You’ll discover how smart connectivity can power remote charging control right from your smartphone. Smart chargers also enable you can set the desired cabin heating or cooling settings via the app and the vehicle will maintain that temperature while connected to the charger. Warm the interior on winter days or cool it down in summer heat without draining your car’s battery. Smart apps detect when charging completes and then stop climate settings so the cabin is ideal upon departure. We’ll explore how integrating automation unlocks an intelligent and optimised charging experience brimming with potential convenience.
EV Home Charger – Charging Convenience Through Connectivity
The foremost reason to upgrade to a Wi-Fi-equipped EV charger is the unmatched convenience afforded through connectivity. With a link to your home internet router, the charger taps into intelligent features managed right from your phone. Those few feet of signal wirelessly transform static equipment into an interactive hub that can do so much more than just deliver electrons.
You now have instant anywhere access to your precise battery status, live charging metrics, and usage history, plus extensive remote controls like scheduling sessions or activating cabin heating. Custom push alerts for interruptions, completion, targets reached and more connect you closer to the charging process. Also, if plans unexpectedly change mid-charge, start/stop is also just taps on an app away instead of a trip outside to your charger.
With the ability to preheat your car on bitterly cold winter mornings or precool it ahead of scorching summer afternoons – all before exiting the house – smart chargers offer unprecedented flexibility. Soon managing charging, the car’s cabin climate, and departure readiness becomes an automated process improving daily life.
In terms of receiving charger notifications and alerts, connectivity enables serious improvements over basic systems. Get notified immediately if charging stops unexpectedly due to a power interruption or unit fault. Alerts confirming charge completion bring peace of mind your EV will be ready for the morning commute. Custom notifications for reaching target charge levels also help household energy optimisation. Also reviewing notification and alert history provides the user with helpful charger usage insights.
Interacting remotely also gives unprecedented charging session control flexibility. Start or stop an active charging session on demand if plans change. Ensure charging pauses overnight if target battery percentages are hit. Set and adjust charging schedules, speeds and power levels to best fit the dynamic needs of your household’s energy ecosystem.
With streaming visibility into live usage data plus extensive remote configuration possible, Wi-Fi-equipped EV chargers deliver effortless management and control for maximum charging convenience.
Smart EV Home Charger – Controlling Charging Patterns
Smart connectivity truly unlocks customisation and control of home EV charging. Networked units enable configuring a suite of automated scheduling capabilities tuned to your household’s energy needs.
Manually planning optimal charging around varying electricity rate periods can prove difficult and annoying. But wi-fi linked chargers allow setting templates to automatically schedule low-rate overnight charging and then pause during peak afternoon energy demand periods when prices spike highest. Your charger orchestrates seamless charging based on minimising costs.
Other customisable controls include setting target charge levels aligned to planned departure times. Arriving home at 6pm but leaving at 8am? Set an 80% target state of charge by 7am so you’re guaranteed a full “tank” each morning. Additional targets throughout the week further optimise for the lowest electricity rates.
App connectivity means if an unexpected trip arises requiring quicker charging, simply command your charger remotely to resume charging immediately as needed instead of having to go fiddle with equipment in person. Likewise, you can conveniently pause a session if delayed at the office or elsewhere. This responsive flexibility improves life.
For households with solar panels or home battery storage, smart EVSEs intelligently prioritise using self-generated clean energy for charging when possible based on supply, then rely on grid electricity once internal renewable sources deplete. This efficiency automation maximises savings.
Built-in electrical load sharing also ensures that your home’s electrical capacity never gets overloaded. Networked panels dynamically balance power across devices as needed without your involvement. Avoiding dangerous, bothersome trips due to overtaxed circuits becomes a thing of the past.
By allowing convenient customisation aligned with your living patterns plus built-in smart home energy optimisations, app-connected EV chargers offer the ultimate charging experience.
Smart EV Home Charger – Tracking Usage and Savings
Insightful usage tracking proves another major smart charger benefit. Historical and live usage reporting provides unprecedented electricity spending visibility delivering money savings opportunities like never before possible.
Monitoring your exact charging consumption in detail allows full transparency into the associated costs. Review trends over days, weeks or monthly to understand developing patterns then configure charging automation around the insights uncovered. See which session settings prove the most economical.
Some chargers take personalisation even further with generated customised analytics reports tailored exactly to your usage profile. Have weekly or monthly reports delivered by email analysing mileages covered relative to charging costs with annotations highlighting discoveries. Leverage this invaluable perspective to tweak settings chasing even greater energy efficiency.
Get automatically notified of unusual charging incidents or anomalies which exceed your typical usage baselines through exception tracking alerts. Having this extra layer of awareness helps identify potential developing electrical issues early or reminds you of unnecessary sessions accidentally left running.
Smart EV Home Chargers – Product Comparison
With smart connectivity transforming static equipment into versatile intelligent systems, significant differentiation still exists across available products regarding capabilities. Three leading connected home EV charger options include:
Wallbox Pulsar – WiFi-enabled unit offering an appealing balance of technology and price. Provides the core essential features like schedules, usage charts, and notifications in a reliable attractive package.
EVBox Elvi – Premium model focuses maximum emphasis on future-minded energy capabilities. Pairs power metering with automatic solar prioritisation and vehicle-to-grid discharge when useful. Top app experience.
Ohme Technologies – Emphasises supreme user experience fusing home energy ecosystem visibility and control with EV charging optimisation into one dashboard. Also uniquely suits renters.
Along with overall charging speed and power outputs, models differ based on WiFi versus 4G LTE cellular connectivity types – the latter proving beneficial when home internet reliability concerns exist given dependency.
Additionally consider connector types, cable reach, operating temperatures and weather resistance, integrated cable lengths, sizes of bundled installation boxes, and more when comparing options. What mix of attributes best match your home setup and budget?
Integrating smart connectivity and WiFi/cellular capabilities unlocks an array of tailored conveniences and custom controls that enhance home EV charging substantially. Key benefits such as unparalleled remote access, charging automation, usage insights, and potential energy optimisations prove that these systems provide more than just faster charging – they offer smarter charging.
Assess your household priorities and usage plans when reviewing the mix of outstanding connected EV charger products available from these renowned brands mentioned above. While upfront prices run higher, the premium functionality, future readiness and grid support strengths often prove well worth the investment. Contact the experts at Electric Car Charger Ireland to explore your options!
Ever wondered about the SEAI Grant for Car Chargers ….Check out our latest blog post for details.
