BMW Group and E.ON expand "Connected Home Charging" to include cost-optimised charging with dynamic electricity tariff.

Munich. The BMW Group and E.ON are enabling drivers of all-electric BMWs to benefit from cost-optimised charging as part of the new "Connected Home Charging Package Plus". Customers gain access to a seamless ecosystem consisting of the BMW Wall-box Plus including installation and a dynamic E.ON green electricity tariff. The offer starts in Germany, with other markets to follow successively.

The “Connected Home Charging” Package Plus allows drivers of electric vehicles to use the new "Optimised Charging" mode both in the vehicle and via the My BMW app. The time of departure and the required range are taken into account and the most favourable charging times are automatically identified. With cost-optimised charging based on the dynamic tariff, customers can benefit from daily updated prices on the electricity exchanges if they plan to charge their electric vehicle during low-price periods**. For homeowners with a solar power system, additional savings can be achieved through the use of weather forecasts for the charging of solar power.

Reduction of home charging costs by up to 22 percent per year***
"In order to respond to the customer's driving and charging habits, the charging process is carried out according to an individually calculated charging plan based on the current daily prices at the electricity exchange. In Germany, for example, the cost of charging a BMW at home can be reduced by up to 22% per year***, resulting in an overall cost advantage for the household of up to 15% per year. Further potential savings can be achieved by using a solar system. All you have to do is set the planned departure time and the desired battery charge level in the vehicle or in My BMW. The charging process is then automatically controlled by the intelligence in the background according to these specifications," says Marcus Krieg, Vice President new services, business models at BMW Group.  

State-of-the-art charging modes for drivers of electric BMWs
"Together with the BMW Group, we are enabling drivers of electric BMWs to use state-of-the-art charging modes that combine sustainable mobility and the energy sys-tem. When optimised charging is selected in the app, E.ON sends forecasts such as expected solar generation and price information from the electricity price exchange to the BMW Group in the background: The software identifies the cheapest electricity prices within the next 24 hours and starts charging the electric car accordingly," explains Davide Villa, CEO of E.ON Drive.

The energy costs are made up of a fixed monthly basic price and a variable spot-market-linked labour price component. The monthly cost depends on how much electricity is used and at what spot market price. These prices can be higher or lower than fixed price offers on the market. There is also a fixed cost component for the smart meter.

Integrated charging ecosystem
To use the "Optimised Charging" mode, BMW Group customers need the My BMW app and "Connected Home Charging Package Plus" with E.ON's dynamic green elec-tricity tariff. Connected Home Charging Package Plus consists of the smart BMW Wallbox Plus (with 11 kW output, expandable to 22 kW), installation and setup of the wallbox and the Connected Home Charging Services. Additional control hardware is required for the "load-optimised charging" function (Smart Energy Module). The installation of the package and the use of the dynamic green electricity tariff require a smart meter system at the house connection. The My BMW and My MINI apps are available free of charge in the app stores for iOS and Android.

Solar and load-optimised charging has already been available to BMW and MINI customers with all-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 cooperation between E.ON and the BMW Group is to provide a charging ecosystem that intuitively enables customers to integrate their electric BMW vehicles intelligently and automatically into the building's power generation and consumption of the building and, in the long term, into the energy system.  The vehicle thus becomes an elementary component of the sustainable home and contributes to the personal energy revolution in mobility and living.

Dynamic tariffs combine ecological and economic benefits. Agora Energiewende summarises in a study: "With dynamic electricity tariffs, customers who shift their consumption to these times can benefit from this economically. Conversely, they can reduce their consumption at times when renewable energy tends to be in short supply relative to demand and electricity is therefore expensive. This helps the overall system by efficiently matching electricity supply and demand. "****

The Connected Home Charging Package Plus can be selected in the vehicle configurator when purchasing a vehicle. The customer is then directed to E.ON and can complete the order in an online shop specially designed for BMW customers. Once the wallbox has been installed and set up, the "optimised charging" mode is activated in the vehicle itself or in the My BMW app after it has been linked to E.ON's dynamic green electricity tariff. For existing customers and drivers of compatible electric BMW vehicles, a remote software update is available to transfer the charging mode to the vehicle. The service is free of charge for two years and will then be integrated into a subscription model.   

Further links:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUxKDPtVUeA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFU3miTtQVQ

* Electricity is generated from renewable energy sources according to your needs and fed into the grid. Proof is provided by cancelling certificates of origin at the Federal Environment Agency.

** Information on the possible price risks when concluding the tariff: Prices for the following day are generally available on My E.ON from 06:00 pm. They may change hourly and again for the following day as they depend on spot market prices. Spot market prices may be lower than the prices of fixed price offers in the market, but they may also be significantly higher. In the latter case, there is no protection for the customer against the price level of comparable fixed price contracts.

** Savings by taking advantage of favourable charging times, compared to a fixed electricity tariff with an operating price of € 0.34/kWh and a basic price of € 219.10/year, with an average consumption of a private household of 5,900 kWh per year. Given period: 12/2023-5/2024. Assumption: approx. 15,000 km annual mileage, proportion of charging at home approx. 80 percent. Prerequisite is an intelligent electricity meter, a so-called smart meter.

****Agora Energiewende and Research Centre for Energy Economics e. V. (2023): Utilise household-related flexibilities. How electric vehicles, heat pumps and the like can reduce electricity costs for everyone.