Time-of-Use Tariffs: Charge Your EV for Less
By EV Charger Directory Editorial Team
Independent EV charging research desk
Our editors research grants, hardware and installation practice across the UK, Germany and the Netherlands. We don't sell chargers or take installer commissions — the guides are funded by advertising, so the advice stays independent.
Updated: 27 June 2026
A kWh of electricity at 2am is the same kWh as one at 6pm — but on the right tariff it can cost a quarter of the price. That's the whole idea behind time-of-use charging, and for an EV owner with a driveway it's the closest thing to free money in the energy market. The trick is setting it up so the car drinks cheap power while you sleep, and nothing else does.
What a time-of-use tariff actually is
A flat tariff charges one price per kWh all day. A time-of-use (ToU) tariff splits the day into windows — typically a cheap overnight block and a pricier daytime rate. Dedicated EV tariffs push this to extremes, offering a deep off-peak window aimed squarely at overnight charging.
In the UK these come in two broad flavours:
- Fixed off-peak windows. A set cheap block, often something like 00:30–05:30, at a low flat rate (think single-digit pence per kWh). You charge inside the window and pay the premium rate outside it.
- Smart, car-aware tariffs. The supplier talks to your car or charger, works out when to charge to hit your target by morning, and bills the cheap rate even if the actual charging spills slightly outside the headline window. Octopus's Intelligent-style products are the best-known example, but they're not the only one.
Germany and the Netherlands take a different route, which we'll come to.
The numbers that make it worth it
Here's the contrast for a UK driver needing 222 kWh of billed energy in a month:
| Tariff | Off-peak price | Monthly charging cost |
|---|---|---|
| Standard flat rate | 25p | £55.50 |
| Fixed off-peak EV tariff | 8p | £17.76 |
| Smart EV tariff | 7p | £15.54 |
Moving from a flat rate to an off-peak EV tariff saves around £38 a month on this profile — close to £460 a year — for charging you were going to do anyway. That's the figure that makes a home wallbox pay back so quickly.
Smart scheduling: the part that does the work
The tariff only saves money if your charging genuinely lands in the cheap window. Three ways to make sure it does:
- Charger-side scheduling. Almost every smart wallbox lets you set a charging window in its app. Set it to match your off-peak block and forget it.
- Car-side scheduling. Most EVs have a departure or charging timer built in. Useful, but if both the car and charger have timers, set one and leave the other open — duelling schedules are a classic reason a car mysteriously doesn't charge.
- Supplier-controlled (smart tariff). On car-aware tariffs you just plug in and set a target in the app; the supplier optimises the timing for you and guarantees the cheap rate.
One caution: a fixed off-peak window can be tight. If your car needs six hours and the cheap block is five, it'll finish at the day rate unless the charger is smart enough to stop. Check the maths against your typical top-up.
How payback stacks up
Say a home charger costs you £1,000 installed and saves £40 a month versus charging on a flat rate. That's a payback of around 25 months on the tariff saving alone — and that ignores the much larger saving versus public charging, which is where the real case lives. Drive more, or come off public rapids, and the wallbox can pay for itself inside a year.
How it works in Germany and the Netherlands
The principle travels; the products differ.
- Germany is moving toward dynamic and time-variable tariffs (dynamische / zeitvariable Tarife). Since 2025, suppliers must offer dynamic options that pass through hourly exchange prices, so charging when wholesale power is cheap — often overnight or on windy, sunny days — cuts the bill. A smart meter (intelligentes Messsystem) is the enabler.
- The Netherlands has well-established dynamic contracts (dynamische contracten) that price electricity by the hour against the day-ahead market. EV owners schedule charging into the cheapest hours, and many smart chargers can read the price feed and start automatically when power is at its cheapest — sometimes even when prices go negative.
In both countries the win is the same: shift the load, pay less. The names and mechanics change, the saving doesn't.
Worth doing?
If you have a home charger and predictable overnight access, a time-of-use or dynamic tariff is one of the highest-return changes you can make — bigger than fussing over which wallbox brand to buy. Get the tariff and the scheduling right first. And if you've yet to install, our directory lists certified local installers who fit smart, tariff-ready chargers as standard.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a time-of-use EV tariff?
- It's an electricity tariff that charges different prices at different times, with a cheap overnight window aimed at EV charging. You charge the car during the off-peak block — often single-digit pence per kWh in the UK — and pay a higher rate the rest of the day.
- How much can a time-of-use tariff save?
- For a typical 222 kWh month, moving from a 25p flat rate to an 8p off-peak EV rate saves around £38 a month, or close to £460 a year. The exact figure depends on your mileage and how much of your charging lands inside the cheap window.
- Do I schedule charging on the car or the charger?
- Either works, but pick one. Set a window in your smart charger's app or use the car's departure timer, not both — conflicting schedules are a common reason a car fails to charge. On smart, car-aware tariffs you just plug in and the supplier handles the timing.
- How do time-of-use tariffs work in Germany and the Netherlands?
- Germany is rolling out dynamic and time-variable tariffs that pass through hourly market prices, enabled by a smart meter. The Netherlands has established dynamic contracts priced hourly against the day-ahead market. In both, you charge when wholesale power is cheapest to cut the bill.