If you’re a current or prospective EV owner, finding the best equipment to charge your electric vehicle can be challenging, with many options on the market today.
Since the Level 1 chargers known as ‘trickle chargers’ may be too slow, and Level 3 DC (Direct Current) fast charging stations are impractical for most homes or businesses, many EV owners opt for Level 2 chargers at their home or workplace to increase charging speeds without breaking their budgets.
Level 2 chargers offer a great combination of performance and value, but there are still many options to consider before purchasing—including whether you plan to install a smart EV charger.
What’s a smart EV charger?
A smart EV charger is a physical piece of electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) connected to the internet via Wi-Fi, Ethernet, or another resource. Smart EV charging technology lets EV owners control their equipment remotely using a digital interface that monitors charging status, charging speeds, and battery levels.
Like chargers with brains, smart EV chargers also analyze data to help users optimize their charging schedules for the lowest costs and environmental impact. After charging, a smart EV charger can provide detailed session data to help users accurately gauge their energy costs and continuously make informed charging decisions.
A smart charger’s defining feature is its ability to communicate with other hardware and software. Smart chargers can connect to other components of your home energy system and the electric grid to consistently deliver optimized charging speeds, methods, and schedules.
Smart EV chargers vs. unconnected EV chargers
With remote control, intelligent operating modes, and personalized scheduling recommendations, smart EV chargers enable users to optimize their equipment’s financial and environmental benefits.
In contrast to unconnected EV chargers, smart EV chargers can communicate with the utility grid and the other components of your home energy system. This way, you can always know your charging sessions’ costs and environmental impacts.
Although it’s possible to avoid peak demand energy rates with unconnected chargers, smart chargers can help you automatically maintain the lowest possible charging costs with intuitive scheduling, real-time notifications, and automated session activation and deactivation.
To keep things sustainable, smart products like Enphase IQ EV Charger can also integrate with your solar panels on a deeper level than unconnected EV chargers. With multiple levels of customized charging modes, you can use a smart EV charger to ensure your vehicle is powered by emission-free solar electricity whenever possible.
Benefits of smart charging with Enphase IQ EV Chargers
Beyond the capabilities of unconnected EV chargers, smart chargers deliver several financial, environmental, and lifestyle benefits. Designed for easy home integration, our IQ EV Chargers are intelligent, rugged, and reliable, with an industry-leading 5-year warranty and 24/7 customer service.
Lower charging costs
Using a smart charger to avoid higher electricity rates during peak-demand hours, EV owners can save by charging during cheaper, off-peak periods. Even if a smart charger is more expensive than an unconnected station up-front, the savings may make up the difference quickly.
Solar EV charging
When connected to an Enphase solar energy system, IQ Chargers make it easy to power your EV with renewable power. With intelligent charging in the Enphase App, EV owners can automatically capture the excess energy generated by their solar panels and send it straight into their vehicle’s battery reserve. By powering your vehicle with solar—either directly from the panels, or via home battery storage—you can instantly lower your EV’s total lifetime charging costs and carbon footprint.
Real-time notifications
Connected through the Enphase App, Enphase IQ EV Chargers send users updates and notifications in real-time about their charging status, with complete control to remotely start or stop a session. Instead of waking up to an uncharged EV after a temporary power failure, an IQ Charger allows you always to know the status of your vehicle’s battery, and equips you with the tools necessary to take corrective action whenever necessary.
Driver insights
Enphase IQ EV Chargers collect data from charging sessions and report metrics that provide useful insights on power consumption, charging time, and electricity spending. As a result, you can make informed decisions about how and when to charge, optimizing performance and maximizing savings around your lifestyle. Offering easy control, Enphase IQ EV Chargers have many preset configurations to schedule charging, and intuitive suggestions for cost-effective power based on your unique property variables.
Find your ideal EV charger
Whether it’s a smart charger, an unconnected charger, or another unique piece of electric vehicle supply equipment, Enphase has a solution for you, your EV, and your lifestyle. Using our online portal, you can find an EV charger matched to your vehicle’s make and model for optimized charging performance.
