Australian clean energy tech start-up Bow Charging is searching for Sydney beta testers for it’s online service that connects electric car drivers with no home charging (like me!) to nearby rooftop solar homes for a cheap and clean charge.
Charging hosts are required to have rooftop solar, accessible parking and ideally they are located in convenient locations near business hubs, commuter parking or other day time amenities.
It is recommended that hosts have a Level 2 EV charger (min 7kW) for a reasonable charge rate. Testing is currently limited to residents of Sydney but will roll out nationwide in the near future.
EV adoption in Australia is growing rapidly however as buyers are becoming more mainstream many new EV owners don’t have off street parking.
Others live in apartments or are renters where electrical upgrades to their parking space can be significantly expensive.
Fast charging suits some drivers but often it is either full or expensive to charge.
At the same time Australia is a world leader in rooftop solar however this self-generated clean energy continues to be devalued by the energy system with solar feed in tariffs now averaging around 5c/kWh.
Home batteries have not come down in cost as expected and many households are now waiting to use that cash towards the purchase of an EV.
Founder and CEO of Bow Charging, Nick Bradley, commented
“Electric vehicles present such a great opportunity to soak up all the excess rooftop solar in the grid which is now regularly the largest source of day time generation in the NEM”
“Our cars are parked still for most of the day, ICE cars can’t add any value in this time but EVs allow drivers to charge from excess renewables and very soon will be able to send that power back to their home or the grid delivering even more value”.
Bow Charging via its website allows solar Hosts to list their charge point, set availability and pricing and facilitates payment whilst EV Drivers can search for suitable charge points convenient to their day time parking routine.
Initially energy usage will be metered on a time based metric with future product iterations to have software integrations with the EV or EV charger for kWh energy metering. It’s free to sign up and Bow Charging takes a small marketplace fee to facilitate this connection.
Bow Charging claims that their estimate is charging hosts can offset their electricity bill 100% with just 2 x charging sessions per week. They will be releasing a calculator shortly so Hosts can create individual earning estimates.
Interested Hosts and Drivers can visit www.bowcharging.com to sign up to the waitlist.
techAU doesn’t provide legal or tax advice but suggests readers consider the ATO implications of earning money from their home charger as well as whether your home and contents insurance covers you for any damage/liability issues.
