BMW Group and E.ON expand Connected Home Charging to include charging with dynamic electricity tariffs – pv magazine Deutschland

September 30, 2024 aeon

The BMW Group and E.ON enable drivers of fully electric BMWs to charge with a dynamic electricity tariff as part of the new Connected Home Charging Package Plus offering. Customers receive access to a seamless ecosystem consisting of the BMW Wallbox Plus including installation and a dynamic E.ON green electricity tariff. The offer started in Germany, other markets will follow gradually.

The Connected Home Charging Package Plus enables electric car drivers to use the additional “optimized charging” charging mode both in the vehicle and in the My BMW app. The departure time and the required range are taken into account and all favorable charging time windows are automatically identified. By charging the vehicle with a dynamic tariff, customers can benefit from current prices on the electricity exchanges if charging the electric vehicle is scheduled during low price times.** Homeowners with a solar system can benefit from charging solar power based on weather forecasts achieve additional savings potential.

State-of-the-art charging mode for fully electric BMW
“In order to respond to the customers’ respective driving and charging behavior, the charging processes are carried out according to an individually calculated charging plan based on the current daily electricity exchange prices.” In Germany, for example, there is a reduction in home charging costs for BMWs of up to 22 percent per year ***, resulting in an overall cost advantage in the household of up to 15 percent per year. Further savings potential arises from the use of a solar system. Only the planned departure time and the desired battery charge level are set in the vehicle or in My BMW. The charging process is automatically controlled according to these specifications by the intelligence in the background,” says Marcus Krieg, Vice President New Services, Business Models at the BMW Group.

“Together with the BMW Group, we are enabling drivers of electric BMWs to have a state-of-the-art charging mode that combines sustainable mobility and the energy system.” If optimized charging has been selected in the app, E.ON sends forecasts such as the expected solar generation and price information from the electricity price exchange development in the background to the BMW Group: The software recognizes the cheapest electricity prices for the next 24 hours and starts charging the electric car accordingly,” explains Davide Villa, CEO of E.ON Drive.

The energy costs consist of a fixed monthly basic price and a variable labor price component tied to the spot market. The monthly cost depends on how much electricity is used and at what spot market price. These prices can be both below and above the prices of fixed-price offers on the market. In addition, there is a fixed cost component for the intelligent measuring device.

Integrated charging ecosystem
In order to use the “optimized charging” mode, BMW Group customers need the My BMW app and the Connected Home Charging Package Plus with the dynamic green electricity tariff from E.ON. The Connected Home Charging Package Plus consists of the smart BMW Wallbox Plus (with 11 kilowatts of power, expandable to 22 kilowatts), installation and setup of the wallbox and the Connected Home Charging Services. Additional control hardware (Smart Energy Module) is required for the “load-optimized charging” function. The prerequisite for installing the package and using the dynamic green electricity tariff is an intelligent measuring system (smart meter) on the house connection. The My BMW and My MINI app are available free of charge in the app stores for iOS and Android.

Solar and load-optimized charging has been available to BMW and MINI customers with fully electric vehicle models and plug-in hybrids as part of Connected Home Charging since spring 2024.

Contribution to the energy system of the future
The aim of the strategic collaboration between E.ON and the BMW Group is to provide a charging ecosystem that intuitively enables customers to intelligently and automatically integrate their BMW electric vehicles into the building’s power generation and consumption, as well as to integrate them into the energy system in the long term. The vehicle thus becomes an elementary part of the sustainable home and contributes to the personal energy transition in mobility and living.

Dynamic tariffs combine ecological and economic advantages. Agora Energiewende summarizes in a study: “With dynamic electricity tariffs, customers who shift their consumption during these times can benefit economically.” On the other hand, they can reduce their consumption in times when electricity from renewable energies is rather scarce compared to demand and electricity is therefore expensive. This helps the entire system because electricity supply and demand are brought together efficiently.”****

The Connected Home Charging Package Plus can be selected in the vehicle configurator when purchasing the vehicle. Interested parties are then forwarded to E.ON in the process and can complete the order in an online shop designed specifically for BMW customers. After installing and setting up the wallbox, the “optimized charging” charging mode is activated in the vehicle itself or in the My BMW app after first linking it to the dynamic green electricity tariff from E.ON. A remote software update is available for existing customers and drivers of compatible BMW electric vehicles, which transfers the charging mode to the vehicle. The service is free for two years and is then integrated into a subscription model.

Further links:

“How to use cost-optimized charging”: