How to Make Money With a Home Electric Vehicle Charger
Electric vehicles are becoming increasingly common , with 1.6 million such vehicles sold in the US in 2023, up 60% from 2022. that electric vehicles are likely to become even more common.
Meanwhile, however, our charging infrastructure is falling short , despite the current administration’s priorities . This results in difficulty finding a place to charge your EV, or long lines waiting for your EV to open, and then potentially hours of waiting to get a usable charge if you’re stuck with an old Level 1 charger . If you live in an area with relatively few charging stations, you may have decided to install an EV charger in your home. And the good news is that you can turn your electric vehicle charger into a small business if you want to make a little extra money.
DIY charger rental
Installing an EV charger in your home is a significant investment in both time (you’ll have to make sure your home is ready for it, although plug-in chargers that require no wiring are available) and money (which can cost you over $1,000 , although there are state and federal incentives that can significantly reduce these costs). While the immediate benefit of being able to charge your personal EV overnight in your own garage or driveway is pretty obvious, you can get a little more value out of it by renting out an EV charger when you’re not using it.
This could be an informal arrangement: if you have a neighbor or neighbors who own electric cars but for some reason can’t install their own charger, you could offer to charge them at your home for a flat charging fee or a monthly fee. This works especially well if you have a wide driveway or a two- or three-car garage and your neighbor can simply park their car and charge. By placing a power meter in front of your charger, you can monitor your energy consumption and set your rates accordingly.
Sharing apps
If you don’t have neighbors who are comfortable driving electric cars, you can still make a little passive income from your home EV charger by signing up for a car charging sharing platform. Apps like EvMatch , Plugshare , or Plugburb allow you to specify the specifications of your charger on a map and set rates (often including additional fees on top of the cost of electricity) and other rules (such as times when it is unavailable) for its use. When people need a charger, they search the app, find your home listed, drive over, and use your charger. All invoicing and payments are processed by the platform.
These apps make it pretty easy to turn your EV charger into a source of passive income since they manage everything. But just because it’s easy doesn’t mean it doesn’t have its downsides.
Flaws
Charging people to use your EV charger can make you some money, but there are things to consider before you sign up or start advertising your DIY car charging service:
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Income. You won’t get rich by doing this. The average cost per kilowatt-hour (kWh) of electricity in the United States is approximately 17.5 cents . According to EvMatch, the average cost of charging a car on the platform is 21 cents per kWh , so your profit margin isn’t that great. The average electric car requires 30 kWh to travel 100 miles, so if your customer uses 30 kWh per session, you’ll earn a whopping $1.05 each time.
Of course you can earn more. Plug-sharing platforms usually allow you to set your own rates, so you can charge 25 cents, 50 cents, or any other amount per kWh, although this may discourage customers. You can also charge a flat access fee on top of each session, increasing your profits. But whatever you do, this is not a get rich quick scheme. Instead, it’s better to think of it as an easy way to earn some extra pocket money.
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Safety. Renting out an EV charger means strangers will come to your house, park their car in the driveway or garage, and then hang around for (potentially) hours waiting for their cars to charge enough. Platforms like EvMatch require people to leave the area while their car is charging (it’s part of their terms of service), but you’ll have to think about how to enforce this if they ignore it.
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Neighbours. Your neighbors may not like the fact that you have a parade of strange cars in your driveway or that strangers are wandering around the neighborhood killing time while they wait for their cars to charge.
While you may not get rich by renting out an EV charger, there are other benefits: You’ll be helping drive the adoption of electric vehicles while increasing their environmental impact. And if you’ve ever been stuck in an area without a strong charging infrastructure, you know how grateful people will be if they find a charger they can use at a reasonable price, so you’ll be doing your part to make the world a better place. and a friendlier place. And it’s a no-brainer: if you already have the infrastructure installed, any money you get from it will be a bonus.