Did you know there’s a free, easy, automated way to help out the grid while often saving money when charging your EV at home? Depending on where you live you might also qualify for a cash rebate.
Many utilities in the U.S. have entered into agreements with an energy tracking and savings company named Opitwatt to share data about charging habits and how those habits will impact the grid as the nation transitions to EVs.
Optiwatt has come up with an umbrella app that allows users and utilities to track energy use, while saving utility customers money at the same time. For example, here in Jacksonville, FL my local utility, JEA, is recruiting 400 EV owners to take part in a one-year study. If they qualify the EV owners earn a credit of $7 a month, per EV. That comes out to $84 over the course of a year.
If you have two EVs that qualify that one year total jumps to $168.
Signing up is easy. All you have to do is download the Optiwatt app, select your EV and your utility, then apply for whatever incentive program your utility is offering.
Even if your utility isn’t offering any direct incentives you’ll still want to take Optiwatt for a spin since it provides a strong, visual snapshot into your energy usage. If a rebate program becomes available in your community Optiwatt can automatically enroll you.
Some utilities have different rates for different time periods, which is commonly referred to as off-peak charging. You could save up to 70% of your EV’s home fueling cost per month by following Optiwatt’s charging recommendations, depending on where you live.
If you’ve got a smart thermostat you can also track your electric heat and air conditioning energy usage along with getting helpful suggestions on how to set up your thermostat right from the app to save on energy costs.
The other nice thing about Optiwatt is it can cut down on app clutter. If your EV and thermostat are supported you can use just one app as opposed to two or more to program charging times and home temperatures.
You can download Optiwatt from Google Play or the Apple App Store or scan the QR in this post if you’re reading this on a tablet or home computer.
Optiwatt supports the majority of EV models sold in the U.S. and many smart thermostats. This EV Rider advertorial has been sponsored by Optiwatt.