Audi bringing smart charging to homeowners
Audi has given us the details of their latest cooperation with SMA Solar Technology and the Hager Group and they are driving smart charging home. The team wants to enable future Audi e-tron drivers to charge their electric car in a cost effective and sustainable manner.
As Audi is preparing for the launch of their first all-electric model, the e-tron, they are also developing a whole suit of charging applications. The standard charging system for customers is the so-called compact package. It allows charging at 11 kW.
The new connect however, doubles that power to 22 kW with the help of a second charger. Moreover, it connects to the Home Energy Management System (HEMS) that offers smart charging features. And this is where SMA and Hager come into play.
Those electric car drivers opting for HEMS, may then benefit from different electricity tariffs. That is charging the e-tron cheaper at off-peak times for example while taking into account preferences such as the planned departure or the state-of-charge. The connect charging system gets the necessary data either from the HEMS or the customer enters the info into the myAudi portal.
On top, they can charge the Audi e-tron with homemade solar power, given the house has some solar panels installed. In this case, the electric SUV considers forecast hours of sunshine and the current flow of electricity at the home’s connection point to the public grid.
Audi’s first all-electric model, e-tron will hit the road in August this year. It marks the start of the Audi.Vorsprung.2025 strategy. The plan is to sell around 800,000 electric and plug-in hybrids by 2025, generating a profit of 1 billion euros.
Next to the e-tron and the e-tron sportback following in 2019, the Germans have announced their Audi e-tron GT for 2020, as well as an unnamed electric model in the premium vehicle segment.
Overall, Audi will launch more than 20 electrified vehicles, with at least one for each vehicle branding based largely on the MEB platform by Volkswagen, and a vehicle underpinning cooperation with Porsche.
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