What does rising energy costs mean for electric vehicle charging?

The recent influx of price rises across all markets has seen concern in all areas including energy for powering homes and charging electric vehicles. The main issues come from the uncertainties of where our future power may be produced or imported. There is currently cost rises of around £200 a year for average households. However, making the move to electric from internal combustion (ICE) petrol and diesel vehicles will certainly still save you money per mile. In the general scheme of things, oil costs for crude oil have been greatly impacted more as these are generally imported. The energy sector is looking to take back some steps into becoming more independent in its challenge for powering the grid efficiently. This includes starting on projects for 'mini-nuclear' power stations, with interest of companies such as Rolls Royce set to take on the role of designing and planning these mini reactors.

There is also a proposed push on fusion power, that would generate electricity by using heat from nuclear fusion reactions. Another step to become more self sufficient on powering our homes efficiently. In the fusion process, two lighter atomic nuclei come together to form a heavier nucleus, while releasing energy. This energy is then used to power the grid. This has been a recent interest for the energy sector due to its record breaking results produced by European scientists across research labs. However the reality of the commercialisation is said to be in around 20 years before we will see this used in the grid network.

What can you do about rising costs?

You can take further steps to sustain from the rises of energy costs by taking advantage of 'off-peak' electricity rates with times set by your energy provider for charging your EV. Your energy supplier may even hold a dedicated 'EV Tariff', this is designed specifically for electric vehicle owners to allow 'off-peak' charging productively and effectively. So, it is worth checking to see if this is available. Alternatively you can set up your EV charger to take advantage of off-peak energy rates by setting up either a timer on your electric vehicle should it support this or EV charge point respectively. 

If you are looking at renewing your energy tariff it may be worth looking at a comparison site, this can be adjusted to find some of the best peak and off-peak prices. Some of the lowest currently are Octopus and EDF energy who primarily use renewable energy giving you peace of mind. So factoring in these costs, choosing to go electric and taking ownership of an EV looks to be certainly more viable currently and in the long-term. Energy companies are constantly looking for ways to reduce overall price rises and foresee any issues with supply/ demand generation along the way.

There is also the option to install panels into your property to help with self efficiency of power by photovoltaic generation (converting light into electricity by semi conductive materials). You can also consider solar panels to help power your home that can be any form of collected energy from the sun which includes, thermal energy transfer. This can be done respectively and include an inverter to directly use any energy harvested for your home. Taking advantage of export 'feed' tariffs you may also want energy excess to feed back to the grid. You can then benefit of rates paid back from energy companies though these rates can vary with each provider.

So, as much as you can brace these rising costs. There is certainly ways going forward to help sustain and find the best tariffs available from suppliers accordingly. Using our easy energy tool calculator, you can find some of the best providers currently and there rates.

For more information on energy usage when charging your EV check out our energy price calculator here.