Smart charging your electric car is a responsible choice – here’s why

Have you ever thought that the way you charge your electric car could also be the most environmentally responsible choice?

One of the hottest topics in the energy debate right now is how household flexibility can be better used to support the electricity system. Instead of investing in new energy storage solutions for homes, such as home batteries, we could make better use of the electric vehicles that already exist — for example by shifting EV charging to quieter hours of the day.

Electric vehicles are often seen in this conversation simply as devices that increase electricity consumption. But when used correctly, they actually have a kind of superpower. In many ways, they are like large home batteries, ready to support the electricity grid when needed.

This superpower comes from one important feature: electric vehicles are connected to the cloud. Because of this, smart services can be built on top of them that automatically start or pause charging based on different signals — without requiring any additional hardware.

One such cloud-enabled service is smart charging. It automatically shifts EV charging to the cheapest hours of the day. Drivers with spot-priced electricity contracts can save up to €300 per year on charging costs. For this reason, smart charging has been especially popular among drivers using spot-priced electricity.

However, more and more drivers with fixed-price electricity contracts are also switching to smart charging — simply because it is a responsible choice. Even when it does not generate direct savings, it still helps support and balance the electricity system.

Smart charging shifts EV charging to hours when overall electricity demand is typically lower. This allows energy resources to be used more efficiently while also reducing the risk of overloading the grid. Such overload could occur if thousands of EV drivers charged their cars at the same time during peak consumption hours — typically on weekday evenings when people return home from work and household electricity use is already at its highest.

However, Synergi recently took smart charging one step further by introducing a rewards system that benefits drivers for smart charging and supporting the grid. This feature is currently available to drivers in Finland with a supported EV and participating electricity retailer.

If you drive an electric car and are not yet using technology that maximizes your car’s positive impact, Synergi gives you the opportunity to start smart charging for free today through the Synergi app.

How do I get started?

Getting started is very easy:

1. Check that Synergi supports your EV brand and model here.
2. Make sure that your electricity company supports rewards if you’re based in Finland.  If it is not yet supported or you are not based in Finland – you can still use and save with smart charging.
3. Download the Synergi app and connect your car to Synergi using your car's login credentials.
   1. Apple App Store
   2. Google Play Store
4. Select in-app by when your car needs to be charged – Synergi takes care of the rest!
5. See how many points you collect and start redeeming rewards!

Need Help?

We're happy to help. Contact us by email: support@synergi.so