CoCharger: Shared EV Charging 4+

Basic but functional

I’ve been a host for a couple of years (you can’t be both a host & chargee as this is a neighbour sharing app, not a destination or travel charging app). I’ve had a few people use my charger in that time but never had a regular neighbourhood chargee. For those few sessions, things have worked pretty smoothly despite the app being a bit basic & old-fashioned. The only thing that I find confusing is setting the correct charging rate whenever my electric rate changes.

Developer Response ,

Thanks for this great feedback! The point about pricing reflects one of the big challenges over the past 18 months since the electricity market went crazy. We've now linked an online rate calculator into the app, which we hope makes things easier. And of course Hosts can adjust their pricing whenever they like. www.co-charger.com/host-calculator/

Great Community Solution to EV owners without off-street parking

While we wait for local councils to get on top of the issue of EV ownership when you don’t have off-street parking facilitating home charging - there’s a great solution already to hand in the Co-Charge App and which will ultimately complement any council offering.

An EV owner with off-street parking can essential AirBnB their charger - the person using the charger gets access to p/KWh rates comparable to daytime home electricity use and invariably cheaper and more secure than slow public charging.

The person offering the charger gets a price which while still competitive to the user invariably makes a sum for them compensating them for initial investment in the charger, time and use of their secure parking location.

The App is simple and straight forward - handling the logistics of booking, notifications and user payment and a very reasonable well structured small commission.

I recommend highly. For the charger provider a great additional income to off-set charger installation cost and as one might only use their charger once or twice a week not burdensome and with many energy providers offering EV off-peak tariffs and many public chargers in excess of home capped rate (p/kWh) the numbers stack up for both parties.

Just Brilliant.

Developer Response ,

Thanks so much for this really comprehensive review! We are working with Cenex and OZEV to support councils with a "share first" approach - allowing public infrastructure efforts to be focused on the areas and use cases where the sharing of private chargers doesn't hit the spot. It's a very collaborative industry to work in!

This app does what it needs.

This is an app for those committed to the EV revolution and, or helping others in their community. It is aimed at expanding EV ownership, not allowing users to travel the country looking for charging points and, for this reason, you are either a Host or Chargee. However, if you are a Chargee, rather than Host (I am a Host), you can charge anywhere there is a Host, in principle. The app could be developed for greater functionality but the aims of the system and the main gains of the app are present in this version, which I have no problem using. This is a useful addition to the world of EV charging within its intended useage parameters.