Capacity tariff and your EV charger: charging without a high monthly peak

Since 2023, part of your grid costs in Flanders comes through the capacity tariff. If you charge an electric car at home, your charger is usually the device that sets that bill.

How does the capacity tariff work?

• Your digital meter measures, per quarter hour, how much power you draw from the grid on average.
• The highest quarter hour of the month is your monthly peak. You pay for at least 2.5 kW.
• Your bill uses the average of your last twelve monthly peaks, times a rate per kW per year set by your grid operator.
• Only what you draw from the grid counts. Solar power you use yourself and power from your own battery do not.

Why does a charger push your peak so high?

An 11 kW charger running at full power for a quarter hour while the house uses 1 kW sets a monthly peak of 12 kW. One evening is enough. And because your bill uses the average of twelve months, that one evening counts for a whole year.

Usually there is no need for it. A car stands still for hours at night. Charge the same energy more slowly, spread over those hours, and your peak stays much lower while the car is just as full in the morning.

How Novolt keeps your peak low

• You choose a peak limit. Novolt charges the car and the battery so that the house stays under it.
• It knows what the car needs. Say how many kilometres to add and by when, and Novolt spreads that over the hours before. On a dynamic tariff, over the cheapest ones.
• Solar and battery count. What your panels and your battery supply does not come from the grid, so the car can charge faster without raising your peak.
• Fast charging is still possible. Choose Maximum in the app and the car charges straight away, outside your peak limit. As soon as you unplug, the charger returns to the normal mode by itself.
• You see your peaks. The app shows your highest quarter hour for every month.

How high should you set your peak limit?

Going below 2.5 kW makes no sense: you pay for that minimum anyway. Above it, it is a trade-off between how fast the car needs to be full and how much you want to save. That choice stays with you.