tado°, the Munich-based home energy management company, launched tado° Smart Charging on 31 August 2023, an app for home charging stations that schedules electric vehicle charging to times when electricity exchange prices are low1. The company said households can save an average of €300, or 30%, on annual charging costs for electric vehicles1. The app is free and available in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store1.
Alongside Smart Charging, tado° said it had introduced a new heat pump control, the tado° Heat Pump Connector, and announced the launch of the hourly dynamic energy tariff aWATTar HOURLY1. No price, contract length or availability date for the aWATTar HOURLY tariff is given in the announcement, and no technical specification or price for the Heat Pump Connector is stated1.
The app connects to a car through the vehicle user account, and an algorithm schedules charging based on electricity prices over the next 24 hours, with charging typically taking 45 minutes once it starts1. Users can set a minimum charge level that is filled regardless of price1. tado° said the app works with most major brands, including Tesla, Volkswagen, Mercedes, BMW, Skoda, Seat and Land Rover, and that for some brands, such as Mercedes, Peugeot or Kia, a compatible smart wallbox from Zaptec, Wallbox or Easee must also be installed1. The company said the app reveals its full savings potential in combination with the aWATTar HOURLY tariff or hourly dynamic tariffs from other providers1.
The app is available in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the UK, the Netherlands, France, Italy and Spain, in German or English, with more languages to follow1. tado° said three quarters of electric car charging is done at home compared with one quarter on the road1.
"Besides the smart charging solution for electric vehicles, tado° has introduced a new heat pump control, the tado° Heat Pump Connector, and announced the launch of the hourly dynamic energy tariff aWATTar HOURLY"
Why it matters for households
The three products point at the two largest slices of a home's energy use. tado° states that in most households, 80 to 90% of energy consumption is for space heating and charging electric cars1. Shifting either load to cheaper hours is the mechanism the company is selling, and it depends on a household being on an Agile and Dynamic Half-Hourly Electricity Tariffs or similar hourly dynamic supply arrangement, where prices are passed through from the European Energy Exchange1. tado° notes that surplus green electricity in sunny and windy hours can produce negative prices1.
For a household already running a heat pump, the value of a connector of this kind rests on whether the heating can be moved without losing comfort, which is the question set out in our guide to whether a dynamic tariff with a heat pump can save money. For electric vehicle owners, the saving depends on the car being plugged in and the app being able to talk to it, and for some brands on a compatible wallbox being present1. The €300 average figure is tado°'s own and is stated in euros; no pound sterling equivalent is given1.
The announcement does not say what the Heat Pump Connector costs, when the aWATTar HOURLY tariff opens to UK households, or what its unit rates and standing charges are1. Those details have not been reported.
What happens next
The Smart Charging app is available now in the UK and seven other markets1. No launch date has been given for the tado° Heat Pump Connector or for the aWATTar HOURLY tariff1.