Smart Home Charge advises electric vehicle (EV) drivers to switch to an EV-only tariff in March, amidst Government winter utility rebate ending and Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem) confirming utility bills will rise from 1 April 2023*.

Ofgem confirmed yesterday (27 February) that household utility bills will rise again from 1 April 2023, despite the price cap being reduced to £3,280 (for a dual fuel household paying by direct debit based on typical consumption) as it falls short from the mandated Energy Price Guarantee of £3,000. For EV owning households, who will also stop seeing savings from the UK-wide, one-off £400 / £66 per month winter-related Government rebate ending** (in April 2023), there are positive findings from Smart Home Charge.

Despite the projected price hike increase on electric bills, the data shows that, for EV owners, savings can be made today. According to research by the UK’s leading EV home charging supplier and installer, Smart Home Charge, those charging their EVs at home could currently be saving nearly £600 a year just by switching to a more economical energy tariff.

The data has been compiled by Smart Home Charge’s EV Energy Tariff Comparison tool, which compares the most and least cost-effective energy tariffs for a range of EV makes and models via its website, and calculated the cost of charging the top three best-selling EVs sold in the UK during 2022*** using energy prices from February 2023. Results found that charging during off-peak periods, i.e. at night, could, at the time of writing, save EV owners around £20 per charge and over £600 per year, which totals around £50 per month for the average EV home charge user, and that Octopus Energy’s Intelligent Octopus tariff is the current leader and most competitive.

Danny Morgan, Editor and Marketing Manager at Smart Home Charge commented on the current electricity cost landscape: “The rising price of energy means the cost of running an EV is not as cheap as it was 18 months ago, however electric car drivers can still make huge savings on home car charging by switching to an EV friendly electricity tariff.

“EV-friendly tariffs offer a much cheaper electricity price, typically overnight, helping reduce the cost of a single charge, but our previous research has found as many as 50 per cent of EV owners were not taking advantage of these cheaper rates.

“Although we could see prices rise on all tariffs, including EV friendly ones, the off-peak price is always likely to be much more favourable than a typical standard tariff, so it’s a simple way to immediately reduce the cost to charge an EV. Plus, you can even reduce the cost of using your washing machine or dishwasher by setting a delay so they operate when the off-peak price kicks in.

“My advice? Switch to an EV friendly tariff and save for the whole household. From an EV charger to a washing machine, the savings can be realised right now, across an entire electricity bill as an EV-only tariff is applicable across the entire household’s electricity usage.

“With research showing that public charging costs rise in line with energy price increases, it does make sense for those who can charge at home to do so, as highlighted by our findings. As a business, we’re seeing an increase in enquiries to install a smart EV charger at home due to the savings that can be realised at home vs the public infrastructure, too. I think that it’s partially due to home energy tariff savings and the increase in price to charge on the public network.”

Smart Home Charge’s EV Energy Tariff Comparison tool is designed to help drivers compare home charging costs and find the best electricity tariff for them and their EVs.

To realise these impressive savings through Octopus Energy’s Intelligent Octopus tariff requires an eligible vehicle or installation and charging via the Ohme Home Pro home charge point, which can cost as little as £29.21 a month, or from £1,006 if paid in full, via Smart Home Charge.