Electric car owners could save £15 per charge with small change

With the cost of living crisis gripping the nation, most Britons are keeping a watchful eye on their energy usage and general costs. Eligible electric car owners could be set to benefit massively as new research has shown that drivers could save around £15 per charge.Smart Home Charge has found that those charging their EVs at home could be saving approximately £15 per charge and nearly £600 annually just by switching to a more economical energy tariff. The data was 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.The tool calculated the cost of charging the top three best-selling EVs sold in the UK during 2021, using energy prices from October 2022.Results found that charging during off-peak periods – such as overnight – could save EV owners around £15 per charge and circa £600 annually.READ MORE: Drivers issued with urgent E10 winter warning as cars risk damage Electric car owners could save £15 per charge simply by switching their tariff. (Image: Getty) Drivers could also save £15 per charge. (Image: Getty)A Tesla Model 3 could cost as little as £5.30 for a single charge on the most competitive EV-friendly tariff.This can be compared to the average UK electricity unit price, which would result in a single charge costing £18.02, a saving of £12.72 per charge.Even larger savings can be seen for another popular EV, the Kia e-Niro, which would save drivers £16.32 per charge when charging off-peak on an EV-friendly tariff.Annual savings can be calculated based on an average of 10,400 miles per year (200 miles per week).DON’T MISSHighway Code can ‘create more danger’ on the roads with rules disliked [INSIGHT]UK motorists warned of driving law changes in November [WARNING]Carrying fireworks in the car may lead to £300 fine and licence points [SHOCKING] UK new car registrations by type. (Image: Express)The off-peak periods are typically overnight, which could be fulfilled by swapping to one of the UK’s most competitive tariffs, Intelligent Octopus.Currently, the cheapest off-peak rate with the most off-peak hours is between 11:30pm and 5:30am.Mr Morgan added: ‘With up to £20 per charge saved just by charging off-peak and switching to a better energy tariff through our Smart Home Charge EV Energy Tariff Comparison tool, making that around £600 annually.’Our advice for EV owners continues to be: find an energy tariff designed for electric car charging at home, helping them to further reduce the running costs of their EV.’For those consumers who are worried that they cannot switch because there aren’t any better deals or feel like they’re not accepting new customers, there are options. ‘EV drivers are the exception to this with some retailers like Octopus Energy accepting EV drivers as new customers on their EV friendly tariffs, like Intelligent Octopus, so long as they qualify (by having an EV).’