4 Reasons EV Charger Sharing is Awesome
As written for The Safe Driver.
The concept of EV charger sharing, also known as community charging or peer-to-peer charging, is an idea that’s been around for many years now. In brief, owners of residential home EV chargers offer their chargepoint to other motorists to charge their electric vehicles in exchange for a fixed sum. Ultimately, it’s about EV owners helping each other out, and there are numerous reasons why this concept could become the new normal very shortly.
EV Charger Sharing Process
A charger sharing session is booked and paid for using apps like Joosup. Everything is practically automated, apart from driving to the location and plugging in your car. The app oversees everything, from sourcing a nearby host, to reserving an appropriate charging time, to taking payment.Both parties need to have the app installed.
And the superb benefit of Joosup is you can be both a host and driver using a single account. So you can rent out your wallbox to other Jo osup members to make some extra cash, whilst charging your own car at other Joosup destinations during your travels. It’s the ideal back scratching arrangement in the EV world.
Charger sharing apps like this are ideal for people who have nowhere to park and no way to charge.It’s al so brilliant for motorists who travel often and go to locations where the public charging availability is simply insufficient.If the world is g oing to switch to electric, this is the solution to many stumbling blocks.
Great Reasons to EV Charger Share
There’s a whole range of reasons to share your charger with other EV drivers. Some are pretty obvious and simple to understand. But there’s a few more perks that may make you stop in your tracks:
- End Range Anxiety
That annoying phrase ‘range anxiety’ always seems to always crop up when trying to assure gasoline or diesel drivers to transition to electric. What if my car breaks down due to a low battery and I can’t juice up anywhere nearby? The problem is, the more locations there are to charge electric vehicles, the more likely drivers will make the switch.
If every resident in the UK shared their EV charge-point, the gap in public infrastructure could be rectified practically overnight. Just imagine being able to drive virtually anywhere, grab a charging session at any destination, and literally show up with your electrified parking bay ready and waiting for you?
- Extra Cash
Hiring out your EV charger means making a living. You choose exactly how much you want to make per hour to cover your costs and make a profit. So you have total oversight to ensure you cover your electricity fees, even when energy tariffs are seemingly skyrocketing.
And if you’re happy to allow EV drivers to park and charge on your drive unattended, sharing your charger involves practically zero effort. So you make some cash without having to lift a finger – apart from setting up the app of course!
- Pay Off Your Charger
Having an EV charger installed isn’t cheap. Many of the latest EV chargers can cost up to £1000.00 or more. Add installation costs on top and you could easily be investing more than £1500.00 before you’ve even completed your first ever charge!
By renting out your home EV charger, you can claw back costs of the charger far quicker. Sticking to charging just your cars once or twice a week means it will take much longer to recoup that investment.
- Sharing is Caring
Most electric car owners made the switch because they wanted to help eradicate emissions and live a cleaner life. But for some, making the transition might not be quite so easy. Not every house has parking to fit an EV charger.
So there’s scores of motorists out there who undoubtedly want to make the switch, but have no facility to charge at home. Sharing your charger can help those who live close to you make the switch to EV with greater confidence.
The Scary Bit
Whilst the idea of charger sharing does seem very appealing, there are a few issues to keep in mind. Without doubt the benefits outweigh the minuses. But before you choose to move ahead, make sure you’re aware of a few potential risks.
Equipment Damage
Although this is rarely heard of, potential damage to your EV charger through accidental misuse or wear and tear is plausible. Your charger cables could get damaged, the plug could get snapped or the unit could come dislodged from the wall. These are all possible, but as mentioned, quite rare.
If damage does transpire, there’s the question of who’s accountable? And does home insurance cover any damages? An untethered EV charger would help decrease this concern, as EV owners would need to supply their own cable. But if your charger’s tethered, you need customers to use it responsibly.
Selling to Strangers
Whilst most people are decent law abiding citizens, there’s always a few dodgy folks. Renting your charger means allowing all walks of life to park at your house. And if you prefer to be in attendance during charging, you’ll have to deal with them directly. So if you’re nervous about this idea, it’s possible charger sharing is not suited to you.
Driveway Sharing
Renting your charger means having strangers parked on your driveway, potentially for many hours at a stretch. So make sure you’re relaxed about the idea of virtually anybody parking their car at your home and using your charger. Also, check if your neighbours know you’re charger sharing.
You don’t want them calling the police when they see a stranger’s vehicle charging on your driveway!
Conclusion
Charger sharing is the ultimate win-win situation for all in the EV gang. If you own a charger, you can pay it off faster and make a sizable income from hiring it out. As a driver, having a wider choice of locations to park and charge is everyone’s wish.
The fact is, driving and refueling an EV is nothing compared to a petrol or diesel vehicle. So if the big switch to electric is going to happen, we’re going to need to rethink and realign the way we drive and charge our cars. By altering our thought processes to point-to-point top up destination charging, we can make it happen.
It’s an adjustment, but fundamentally, a quick and simple one to make. Charger sharing is the future and with apps like Joosup, we can make it a reality.