Hypervolt announced on 24 September 2024 the unrestricted public release of full OVO Charge Anytime support on its Home 3 Pro and Home 3.0 chargers, following a public beta trial that the company says was used by thousands of customers1.
The integration lets an owner connect a compatible Hypervolt charger to an OVO account and charge at 7p per kWh, which Hypervolt describes as around 70 per cent below the UK standard tariff1. OVO's app decides when to charge, usually when the grid is greenest and demand is lower, and sends a command for the vehicle to start charging then, so the timing is handled without the driver intervening1.
Hypervolt cites an August case study in which covering the UK average annual mileage of 7,400 miles would cost £99.81 for a year's charging, equivalent to £3.50 per charge, and states that for the average driver this unlocks over £1,000 of savings each year1. The company also says the running cost of the average car falls by over 90 per cent against petrol when using the combination, a comparison it bases on unleaded petrol at 142.86p per litre, average annual mileage of 7,400 miles and an average UK domestic electricity tariff of 22.36p per kWh1.
Two conditions apply. The household must switch its domestic tariff to OVO, and the charger must be a Home 3.0 or newer1. Hypervolt says integration with Home 2.0 chargers is coming, without giving a date1.
"the unrestricted public release of full OVO Charge Anytime support on Hypervolt Home 3 Pro and Home 3.0 devices"
OVO's Director of EV, Alex Thwaites, said the partnership would extend affordable charging to more customers, calling it good news for EV drivers and part of a wider commitment to helping customers cut costs and carbon1. Hypervolt's Head of Partnerships, David Woodford, said reducing the running cost of the average car by over 90 per cent against petrol went a long way to the company's net-zero mission, and that the teams were excited about what could be achieved into 2025 and beyond1.
Why it matters for households
For a home with an electric vehicle, the charger is the point where a home EV charging setup meets the electricity tariff, and the two have to be able to talk to each other for a smart rate to be applied automatically. This release widens the number of Hypervolt home EV chargers that can take the OVO rate, but only for the Home 3 Pro and Home 3.0, and only where the household has moved its domestic supply to OVO1. A household that keeps its existing supplier, or runs an older Home 2.0 unit, does not get the 7p per kWh figure on the basis reported here.
The practical effect is that a large share of a car's running cost moves onto the home electricity supply and becomes sensitive to the tariff attached to it, rather than to pump prices. Charging is scheduled by the supplier's app rather than by the driver, which shifts control of timing away from the household, and the headline saving depends on the mileage driven and on the comparison figures Hypervolt used1. The 7p per kWh rate is a charging rate under a specific tariff, not a change to the standing charges or the rest of the household's electricity use, and the announcement does not set out how the rate is applied to other consumption in the home1.
What happens next
Hypervolt says integration with Home 2.0 chargers is coming, but no date is given1. No end date for the 7p per kWh rate is stated1.
Sources1 cited
- Hypervolt Goes Live With Full OVO Charge Anytime Launch | Hypervolt, blog.hypervolt.co.uk