Owners of electric cars too often miss opportunities to charge cheaper. For example, more than 40 percent of the respondents do not have their own charging point. This is apparent from a study by energy consultant Delta-Ee in eight European countries. We therefore give five tips to charge your car cheaper.
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1. Choose a home charger
A charging station in your home is still the cheapest way to charge your car. Its installation costs on average 1,500 euros, but in the long run it will be cheaper than a public charging station. It also remains a lot cheaper than fast charging. That is generally three times more expensive than a charging station at your home. The difference is of course very dependent on the electricity price and the efficiency of your car. But assume that it costs about 6 euros per 100 kilometers to charge at home, and 17 euros per 100 kilometers to go to the fast charger with the same car.
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Don’t have a place to install a home charger because you live in an apartment? Then you can always consult with the owner of the building to provide a charging point. It is not possible to refuse the installation of a charging point or to veto a private charging station.
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2. Charge during off-peak hours
Try to charge your electric car during off-peak hours. The rates are lowest from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. During that period, far fewer people use electricity, making it cheaper. According to Delta-Ee’s research, only half of people would do this.
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3. Choose a subscription
Do you often charge your car at a public charging station? Then take out a subscription. That is usually cheaper. At least, if you look at the price per individual fill-up. Because in the longer term you also have to charge your subscription costs (12 to 18 euros per month is current), and divide by what you have ‘fueled’ in total. It is therefore important that you take a good look at this tip yourself whether the subscription is worth it for you, and whether you are getting enough profit from it.
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4. Use a smart charging station
Only 13 percent of electric car owners use a smart charging station. Such a charging station adapts to the circumstances. Suppose you hang your car at your own charging station at six o’clock in the evening and that it takes eight hours to charge the battery pack. With a normal charging station, the battery would be full at 2 a.m. A smart charging station knows that you can charge at the off-peak rate between ten o’clock in the evening and seven o’clock in the morning and that there is then just enough time to fully charge the battery again. This saves you on energy costs. If you have solar panels, there is also an additional advantage: you can draw excess power to the electric car via the charging station. This will allow you to achieve significant savings again.
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A smart charging station easily costs about 1,000 more than a regular charging station. You pay 2,000 to 2,500 euros for it, including delivery, installation and inspection. If you have the charging station installed now, you can deduct 45 percent of the total cost, with a maximum of 1,500 euros, from your personal tax. That comes down to a premium of 675 euros for those who install a charging station this year.
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5. Charge for free
Better than charging cheaper is of course free charging. In various European countries there are shops, car parks, hotels and museums where you can charge your car for free. This is the case, for example, at the Lidl supermarket. You don’t even have to use a pass there. Just plug in, go shopping and after half an hour your car is fully charged. Other chains such as Delhaize and Ikea are also increasingly investing in free charging points for their customers.
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Also read:
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Why you shouldn’t park in long grass when it’s hot: our car expert explains
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