As we all know, owning an electric vehicle provides many people with gas savings.
But some may want a way to save even more money.
Have you realized how much you are spending on electricity bills with your EV?
You might be shocked how much higher your electric bill is due to your EV’s energy consumption.
If this is a common problem you face in using your EV daily, we have the perfect solution.
An app called Optiwatt, designed to optimize your EV’s battery efficiency, can save you energy and money.
What Is Optiwatt?
Optiwatt is an app you can download from the App Store or Google Play that allows for EV energy management.
When you register your EV with Optiwatt, the app will automatically schedule when your EV charges.
You will also be able to see a graph of electricity rates in your area, plan for trips, track your savings, monitor utility plan changes, and more.
Their goal with all of this is to help save the planet by reducing emissions and grid load.
How Does Optiwatt Work?
Optiwatt will automatically manage your electric vehicle’s charging and battery efficiency.
It does this by utilizing your utility plan and local electricity rates to set your EV to charge when electricity costs are at their lowest.
You can have even more control by setting a departure time and battery level.
Optiwatt will automatically determine the best hours to charge to meet these target goals.
Once your car is ready to fall asleep, Optiwatt will stop requesting data, allowing it to sleep during its normal cycle.
Optiwatt also has a feature called Preconditioning.
If enabled, the app will automatically warm the battery pack for your departure to reduce the effects of cold weather on your EV.
It also provides additional benefits such as regenerative braking, more power available from the motors, and a longer range.
You might be wondering how Optiwatt makes money from this business model.
The Optwatt team works with utility companies to reduce peak-load demand with automatic scheduling.
This saves utility companies money, reducing the need for additional “peaker” power plants to be turned on.
How Does Optiwatt Help the Earth?
As we mentioned before, Optiwatt works with utility companies to improve energy efficiency.
When those “peaker” power plants are turned on, they release emissions that are damaging to the environment.
Charging your car during off-peak hours reduces the need for these coal-based power plants to be active.
What Can Optiwatt Do for You?
Optiwatt can save you money, automatically schedule your EV to charge, help reduce emissions, and do much more.
Users of Optiwatt save an average of 70% when charging their EV.
Here is what the cost of charging could look like using the app:
- On A Tesla Model 3, it costs around $2.29 to get to full charge.
- On A Tesla Model Y, it costs around $4.44 to get a full charge.
- On A Tesla Model X and S, it costs around $4.58 to get to a full charge on both models.
Optiwatt also gives control over every aspect of your EV’s charging.
You can set the desired battery target and departure time to optimize your EV’s electricity usage.
Optiwatt takes this further by automatically loading your electricity rate schedule based on your utility provider and address.
You can also set cost limits, which Optiwatt will try to meet using your electricity rates, target goals, and driving habits.
Optiwatt also automatically monitors utility plan changes over seasons, holidays, and weekends to save you even more money.
Optiwatt makes it easy to track all of these savings on costs and energy.
The app breaks down charge costs, gas savings, and battery efficiency in easy-to-understand graphs across any period of time.
With this electricity management, Optiwatt can reduce your carbon footprint during charges.
Reducing emissions helps the environment to be healthier and lowers your environmental impact.
Is Optiwatt Only for Tesla?
Optiwatt supports a host of electric vehicles from different companies.
While they do not support every EV yet, they do update their compatibility regularly.
Supported Makes and Models
Currently, Optiwatt supports every Tesla model, so no matter which one you have, it will be compatible with the app.
They also support other makes and models from different companies, including:
- The Ford Mach-E
- The Volkswagen ID. 4
- The Volkswagen e-Golf
- The Hyundai Ioniq Plug-in Hybrid
- The Ford Focus Electric
- The BMW I3
These are just some of the models currently supported by Optiwatt, with more being added as the team works on the app.
What Kinds of Chargers Can You Use?
Currently, you can use a charger that is compatible with the electric vehicle you own.
The stock charger that came with your EV should work fine.
You can also use Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment(EVSEs) or various Tesla-to-J1772 adapters.
How Do You Use Optiwatt?
To use Optiwatt, all you need to do is download the app to your iPhone or Android, sign up, and input your necessary personal information.
From there you can set your cost limits, charge schedule, and vehicle.
How Much Does Optiwatt Cost?
Optiwatt is completely free to use, with no paid upgrades or plans available.
They plan to keep this model forever as well.
If you want to support them, they have a Patreon for donations.
Is Optiwatt Safe?
Optiwatt is 100% safe and secure to use.
The app can only control the charging of your EV.
It also does not store your data on Optiwatt servers.
For logins, they use an authorization token to secure your credentials that automatically discard sensitive data.
Is Optiwatt Worth It?
In our opinion, if you have an electric vehicle that Optiwatt currently supports, it is worth trying out.
The app is 100% free, so you do not lose anything by trying it.
It has many features that will save you money and electricity.
Pros of the Optiwatt App
- Saves costs on electricity
- Reduces carbon emissions
- Increases energy efficiency
- It gives you more control over your EV’s battery and charging.
Cons of the Optiwatt App
- Sometimes your EV will stop charging when you want it to charge.
- It does not support every EV model yet.
Conclusion: Is Optiwatt Worth It?
In our opinion, if you have an electric vehicle that Optiwatt currently supports, it is worth trying out.
The app is 100% free, so you do not lose anything by trying it.
It has many features that will save you money and electricity.
How To Sign Up for Optiwatt
Signing up for Optiwatt is a fairly simple process.
To start, once you get to the Optiwatt homepage, click the sign-up link.
You will be asked to input your name, email address, and password.
Once your account is created, you will have to enter your account credentials( this depends on the model you are trying to connect to) with Smartcar.
You will add your home address, utility provider, and utility plan.
Once all the necessary information has been entered, you will be free to create your charging schedule for your EV.
Wrapping Up
Optiwatt has turned out to be a very intuitive and engaging application.
It saves you money, gives you control, and is free to boot.
If you own an electric vehicle, this might be the perfect app for you.
Comment down below if you have any questions we did not cover here.
Meta: Electric vehicle making your electric bill skyrocket? Optiwatt might be the solution! Find out what it is, how it works, and if it’s right for you.
