Home Assistant EV Charger: Smart Charging That Actually Saves You Money

Real savings example: A typical EV driver in the Netherlands charges about 3,000 kWh per year. At an average price of 0.30 EUR/kWh, that is 900 EUR. With solar surplus charging covering 40% and off-peak rates cutting the rest by 50%, annual charging costs drop to around 270 EUR. That is 630 EUR saved per year, just from smart scheduling.

OpenEVSE is the gold standard for HA integration. It connects over MQTT and HTTP with zero cloud dependency. You get full amperage control, energy metering, temperature monitoring, and a built-in solar divert mode. The hardware is open source, so you can flash custom firmware and tweak everything.

Easee is extremely popular in Europe, especially Scandinavia and the Netherlands. The official Home Assistant integration connects through the Easee cloud API. You get start/stop control, amperage adjustment, energy readings, and charger status. The downside: it requires internet. If Easee's servers go down, HA loses control. A HACS local integration exists but is community-maintained.

Wallbox has an official Home Assistant integration via their cloud API. The Pulsar Max also supports local API access through a HACS integration, which is a big win for reliability. Energy metering, charging control, and scheduling all work well. The Eco-Smart feature handles basic solar surplus charging through their own app, but for full control, use HA automations instead.

The go-e Charger has a well-documented local HTTP API that works without any cloud connection. The Home Assistant integration (via HACS) gives you full control: start, stop, set amperage, read energy, and check status. All locally. Austrian-made, solid build quality, and the Gemini Flex variant is portable for those who want to take it on the road.

If you drive a Tesla, you control charging through the car itself rather than the charger. The Tesla integration in Home Assistant gives you start/stop, charge limit, amperage control, and battery level. The Wall Connector itself does not have a direct HA integration, but the car-level control means you do not need one. Works with the Tesla Fleet API (you will need to set up your own app credentials since 2024).

Zaptec is growing fast in the European market. A HACS integration connects through their cloud API, giving you start/stop control, energy readings, and status monitoring. The Pro model supports built-in load balancing across multiple chargers, making it popular for apartment buildings. The Go model is the residential option with a compact, weatherproof design.

Our pick: If you want maximum control and local operation, go with OpenEVSE or go-e Charger. If you want something your electrician already knows how to install and you do not mind a cloud connection, Easee or Wallbox are solid choices.

What You Need

1. Solar inverter in HA providing a power production sensor (SolarEdge, Enphase, Fronius, Huawei, etc.)
2. Grid power sensor showing import/export (P1 smart meter, CT clamp, or inverter meter)
3. HA-compatible EV charger with amperage control
4. A template sensor calculating available surplus: solar_production - grid_export gives you the excess

# Solar surplus EV charging automation
automation:
  - alias: "EV Solar Surplus Charging"
    trigger:
      - platform: time_pattern
        minutes: "/5"
    condition:
      - condition: state
        entity_id: binary_sensor.ev_connected
        state: "on"
      - condition: numeric_state
        entity_id: sensor.ev_battery_level
        below: 80
    action:
      - variables:
          surplus_watts: >-
            {{ states('sensor.solar_power') | float(0)
               - states('sensor.house_consumption') | float(0)}}
          min_watts: 1400
          max_amps: 16
          amps_needed: >-
            {{ ((surplus_watts / 230) | round(0)) | int}}
      - choose:
          - conditions:
              - condition: template
                value_template: "{{ surplus_watts > min_watts}}"
            sequence:
              - service: number.set_value
                target:
                  entity_id: number.ev_charger_amperage
                data:
                  value: >-
                    {{ [6, [amps_needed, max_amps] | min] | max}}
              - condition: state
                entity_id: switch.ev_charger
                state: "off"
              - service: switch.turn_on
                target:
                  entity_id: switch.ev_charger
        default:
          - condition: state
            entity_id: switch.ev_charger
            state: "on"
          - service: switch.turn_off
            target:
              entity_id: switch.ev_charger

1. Off-Peak Night Charging

Start charging when rates drop, stop before peak pricing kicks in. Works with dynamic tariffs (Tibber, Octopus) or fixed off-peak windows.

automation:
  - alias: "EV Off-Peak Charging"
    trigger:
      - platform: time
        at: "23:00:00"
    condition:
      - condition: state
        entity_id: binary_sensor.ev_connected
        state: "on"
      - condition: numeric_state
        entity_id: sensor.ev_battery_level
        below: 80
    action:
      - service: switch.turn_on
        target:
          entity_id: switch.ev_charger
  - alias: "EV Stop Before Peak"
    trigger:
      - platform: time
        at: "07:00:00"
    action:
      - service: switch.turn_off
        target:
          entity_id: switch.ev_charger

2. Dynamic Load Balancing

Prevent breaker trips by adjusting charger amperage based on household load. Essential if your electrical connection is limited.

automation:
  - alias: "EV Load Balancing"
    trigger:
      - platform: time_pattern
        seconds: "/30"
    condition:
      - condition: state
        entity_id: switch.ev_charger
        state: "on"
    action:
      - variables:
          main_fuse_amps: 25
          headroom: 2
          house_amps: >-
            {{ states('sensor.grid_current') | float(0)}}
          available: >-
            {{ main_fuse_amps - headroom - house_amps}}
      - service: number.set_value
        target:
          entity_id: number.ev_charger_amperage
        data:
          value: "{{ [6, [available | int, 16] | min] | max}}"

3. Smart Charge Limit (Battery Health)

Stop charging at 80% for daily use (extends battery life), but allow charging to 100% before long trips. Uses an input boolean you flip when planning a road trip.

automation:
  - alias: "EV Stop at Charge Limit"
    trigger:
      - platform: numeric_state
        entity_id: sensor.ev_battery_level
        above: 79
    condition:
      - condition: state
        entity_id: input_boolean.ev_trip_mode
        state: "off"
    action:
      - service: switch.turn_off
        target:
          entity_id: switch.ev_charger
      - service: notify.mobile_app
        data:
          message: "EV charged to 80%. Stopping for battery health."

4. Forgot to Plug In Reminder

If you arrive home with a low battery and do not plug in within 30 minutes, get a reminder. Uses presence detection and car battery level.

automation:
  - alias: "EV Forgot to Plug In"
    trigger:
      - platform: state
        entity_id: person.your_name
        to: "home"
        for: "00:30:00"
    condition:
      - condition: numeric_state
        entity_id: sensor.ev_battery_level
        below: 30
      - condition: state
        entity_id: binary_sensor.ev_connected
        state: "off"
    action:
      - service: notify.mobile_app
        data:
          message: "Your EV battery is at {{ states('sensor.ev_battery_level')}}%. Don't forget to plug in!"

5. Monthly Charging Cost Report

Get a monthly summary of how much energy your EV consumed and what it cost, broken down by solar vs grid.

automation:
  - alias: "EV Monthly Charging Report"
    trigger:
      - platform: time
        at: "09:00:00"
    condition:
      - condition: template
        value_template: "{{ now().day == 1}}"
    action:
      - service: notify.mobile_app
        data:
          title: "EV Charging Report"
          message: >-
            Last month: {{ states('sensor.ev_charger_energy_monthly')}} kWh
            Cost: €{{ (states('sensor.ev_charger_energy_monthly') | float * 0.25) | round(2)}}
            Solar share: {{ states('sensor.ev_solar_charging_percentage')}}%