6 Must-Have EV Charging Software Features

Liang

Mar. 07, 2024

With more than 19 countries passing the 5% tipping point in EV sales, including much of Europe and now the U.S., we are at the threshold of mass EV adoption. Consider Norway. In 2022, eight years after Norway crossed the tipping point, EVs accounted for 79% of new passenger car registrations. Over the same period, Norway’s public EV charging infrastructure grew as well, to the point that today there’s virtually always a charging point nearby.

How can EV charging operators capitalize on the coming exponential growth in EV adoption? According to analysts at Bain & Company, EV charging infrastructure and services represent a huge business opportunity. But, they say, profitability will depend on delivering an excellent customer experience.

Whether you are a new entrant to the field or an existing EV charging provider looking to migrate to a new platform, the EV charging management software you choose will have a significant impact on your success. Here are the key features to look for when making this critical decision.

1.Excellence in EV charging operations management

Operations management provides the tools you need to continuously monitor and manage your EV charging network, including real-time notifications of issues and the ability to fix problems remotely. Advanced features include automated self-healing capabilities, easy-to-use dashboard displays of operational status, and analytics and reports for decision-makers. Future-proofing capabilities include:

Configurability to support changing business processes
API-based support for your existing business management applications, other solutions, or your own custom-developed tools
Vendor-agnostic support for the full range of charger types
Open support for industry protocols and standards, such as OCPP 2.0.1 and ISO 15118

2. EV charging billing and payments management

Providing a simple payment process that lets drivers pay the way they want is critical to EV driver satisfaction. That means you need a billing system that supports multiple payment options and payment gateways as well as multiple business models, including site hosting and partnerships. Advanced features include real-time rating, dynamic cost factoring, tax management, settlements and reconciliations, and analytics that reveal driver patterns and data that can help you optimize your business. International operators will also need support for multiple currencies and tariffs.

3.EV smart charging and energy management

This capability uses data and algorithms to determine when and how an EV plugged into a smart charger will receive power. It weighs factors like the cost of electricity, its availability, the number of cars receiving charging, and driver needs to balance loads, distribute power to chargers, and ensure that all cars are fully charged when the drivers need them. Advanced smart EV charging and energy management features include the ability to:

Manage energy consumption at the site, campus and micro-grid level
Integrate energy from the grid, local renewable sources, and locally stored energy
Optimize use of renewable energy for charging
Future-proof your software investment with support for power utility demand response programs and vehicle-to-grid (V2G) bi-directional energy flows when that technology becomes generally available

4.White-label self-service EV driver tools

Look for a software provider that offers a fully featured, intuitive driver application and online portal that you can brand with your look and feel to increase your drivers’ loyalty and increase satisfaction with your services. The app should provide real-time charger location and availability, detailed information on your billing plans and driver transaction history, and a way for drivers to manage their payment methods. Advanced features include out-of-network charger locations, reserve-ahead capability, and route planning and navigation with points of interest.

5.EV roaming

Support for EV roaming allows your customers to charge at another service provider’s charging station and have the charging transaction seamlessly integrated with their normal method of payment. Although appearing seamless to consumers, delivering electric vehicle roaming services requires negotiated service and clearing agreements among EV charging providers, comprehensive communications standards, various protocols, and support of multiple languages, currencies, tax rates, and regulations. Look for an EV charging management solution that integrates with all roaming platforms and supports one-to-one roaming protocols like OCPI.

6.Rigorous support for security and privacy

Be sure your software provider follows and supports IT security best practices to protect the data flowing between EV chargers, EVs, your management software in the cloud, and the grid. The software itself should support industry standards that address security, including OCPP 2.0.1 and ISO 15118.20. Also, make sure the software complies with all data privacy regulations protecting driver personally identifiable information, or PII, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the EU and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), and the new California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA), and the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards.

Realizing business value

When it comes to managing and growing an EV charging business, the right software platform will enable you to scale seamlessly, optimize operations to reduce TCO, deliver a seamless driver experience, and maximize revenues. Learn more about the Driivz market-leading, end-to-end EV charging and smart energy management software platform that serves as the operating system for the largest EV charging network operators.

Beyond improved control and insight into the process, these connected chargers unlock a series of features that can streamline and improve your charging experience immensely.

Typically, managing these connected features is done through an EV charging app that can be downloaded on your smartphone (or tablet).

But with so many EV charger apps out there and a lot of different brands and developers, it’s hard to pick. So, what are the best features you should be looking for when charging at home and why? In this article, we’ve gathered the 6 most useful features an EV charging app can have.

Different EV charger apps

Before exploring what a charging app can do, it’s helpful to define what it is. In practice, there are different types of charging apps depending on whether they are used for public or home charging.

Public charging apps

Public charging apps – also known as charging station finders – are used to find nearby EV charging stations and generally come with a map that shows available chargers in a given area.

Home charging apps

Home charging apps, on the other hand, are typically provided to work with a given charger and aim to control charging at home with a touch and a swipe on your smartphone’s screen. Sometimes there is some overlap between the two, with some home charging apps being able to find and use a network of public electric car charging stations too.

The 6 best EV charger app features

These are the 6 top features that will help you charge your electric car most optimally.

Further reading:
How many solar panels would be needed to run a home ...
Electric Power Sector Basics | US EPA
5th Grade Science
Who is the world's leading supplier of new energy?
Homeowner's Guide to Going Solar
The 6 Best Car Chargers of 2023 - Tech Gear Lab
Harnessing the sun: The rise of solar roof tiles in Australia

1. Set charging schedules

Perhaps one of the most useful features of a charging app is the ability to schedule charging at convenient times. This way, you can plug in your car when you get home but only set it to start charging when electricity costs are lower or when you have fewer appliances powered on to avoid overloading your electrical circuit.

Moreover, scheduling charging guarantees your EV will be charged when you need it by setting preferences and priorities for the charging session. Finally, an app allows you to adjust the schedule on the go – for example, if your plans change and you need your car charged sooner than expected.

2. Collect data, insights, and statistics

Another significant benefit of a charging app is the possibility to collect data and insights about your electricity usage and charging behavior. This is particularly useful for managing energy costs, allowing you to decide to charge when it is most cost-effective. Next to this, by understanding how often you charge your EV and how much range you add vs. the range you use, you can adjust your charging behavior to your personal needs and even optimize your car’s battery life.

3. Receive notifications and alerts

Using a charging app is a great way to stay up-to-date on your EV’s charging by receiving notifications and alerts relating to the process. For example, you can be notified when your EV is done charging or after it has reached a certain state of charge.

Alerts can be particularly valuable to let drivers know when there is a problem with the charging session. For instance, an app could notify drivers that charging stopped earlier than expected (for example, because of a power cut or if someone unplugged the car) and allow them to react quickly to fix the problem.

4. Manage sustainable energy

Solar power is the second-fastest growing source of renewable energy and is becoming the cheapest (and very sustainable) option to generate electricity in most areas around the world. Given that EV charging is energy-intensive, using solar energy can be highly advantageous to reduce your electricity bill.

However, using solar energy for your EV is not a simple plug-and-play experience, and the electricity generated by your solar panels requires some processing before it can be fed into your car. There are charging app features available to help you manage this by allowing you to easily choose your energy source and schedule charging at times when solar energy production is at its peak. Should you have an external battery storage system, you could even charge your car at night with the energy you’ve generated during the day.

As such, more and more people are installing solar panels, and many are considering using solar energy to charge their EVs.

5. Manage users and chargers

A charging app can also help you streamline having multiple users on a single charging station. Just like your Netflix account, you might want to add and manage multiple users, to keep data separate and keep track of individual users. This is particularly valuable if multiple people use a charger, if you have more than one car, or if you own more than one charging station.

This feature can also be useful for apartment buildings and multi-family homes, where charging stations may be shared between residents. In those cases, a charging app can help attribute energy consumption to a given user, ensuring they pay the right amount for their electricity use.

6. Find available public charging stations

While charging at home is the most popular, you can charge your electric car in a lot of places. Some EV charging apps can help you find EV charging stations on the go as well. Next to your home charger, you can easily access public charging stations in the interface you are familiar with. Generally speaking, public charging app finder functionalities typically show important information such as the type and number of chargers, charging speed, real-time availability, and costs.

As we’ve embraced technological advancements in many aspects of our lives, an EV charging app is a logical and versatile addition to our digital toolkit that will make our lives easier. An EV charging app is a versatile tool that helps drivers control charging sessions and stay up-to-date with data and insights during the process. Of course, as technological developments, well, develop we expect more and different EV charging app features to be introduced or improved in the future.

If you’re considering installing an EV charger at your home and you want to know more about connectivity and existing or upcoming smart charging functionalities, take a look at our smart charging article where we cover that topic in more detail.