Smart charging with a dynamic energy contract: how to charge your car at the cheapest times

With a dynamic energy contract, you pay a different price for electricity every fifteen minutes. Electricity is cheap at night and on sunny afternoons, and most expensive in the early evening. For the washing machine, that makes a few cents. With your electric car, it matters more: it uses about as much electricity in a year as the rest of your household combined, yet it still sits idle on the driveway for hours.

Smart charging means you plug it in whenever it suits you, and the charging station, your car, or an app shifts the charging to the cheapest hours. Below you can read what that gets you, what you need, and when a dynamic contract can be a disappointment. This autumn too, now that electricity is much more expensive than a year ago.

Table of Contents

• How does a dynamic energy contract work?
• What the price per kWh consists of
• What does smart charging get you? A calculation example
• What do you need?
• Three ways to charge smartly
• Which charging stations work with it?
• Smart charging and solar panels
• When it is a disappointment
• What changes from 2029
• How to set it up
• Frequently asked questions

How does a dynamic energy contract work?

With a fixed or variable contract, you pay the same rate for every kWh, whether you charge at three in the morning or six in the evening. With a dynamic contract, you follow the market price. It is determined every day around noon for the entire following day, and since October 2025, every fifteen minutes. So around 1:00 p.m. you know what electricity will cost tomorrow. Not every supplier bills every fifteen minutes, by the way; some stick to one price per hour.

The price follows supply and demand. If it is very windy or the sun is shining, there is plenty of electricity and it is cheap. When everyone gets home, turns on the oven, and there is no wind, gas-fired power plants have to step in and the price shoots up. In summer, the afternoon hours are often the cheapest, in autumn and winter usually the night.

Among electric drivers, a dynamic contract is now very common. The National Charging Study 2026 by RVO, ElaadNL, and the Association of Electric Drivers shows that 47 percent of people who charge at home have one. In an average household, that is about 8 percent.

What the price per kWh consists of

The market price you see in your supplier's app is not what you pay. Three things are added to it:

• A surcharge from your supplier, also known as a procurement fee. Usually between 1.5 and 3 cents per kWh.
• Energy tax: in 2026 over 9 cents per kWh, or 11.1 cents including VAT.
• 21 percent VAT on the total.

That energy tax is the same every fifteen minutes. Because of this, even at the cheapest moment you still pay around 13 to 14 cents per kWh, even if the market price is at zero. If the market price drops below zero, electricity becomes very cheap, but you usually do not get money back.

In addition, just like with any other contract, you pay fixed monthly delivery costs and grid management costs. The market price itself is the same with every supplier. Dynamic suppliers differ mainly in their fixed monthly costs and the surcharge per kWh, so that is what you compare them on.

What does smart charging get you? A calculation example

The market price this autumn is much higher than last year. In October 2026, electricity on the market has cost an average of 16.1 cents per kWh so far, compared to 8.2 cents a year earlier. This is exactly when you can see how big the difference can be within a single day.

Take Wednesday, October 28, 2026. You want to charge 30 kWh, enough for about 165 kilometres. With a surcharge of 2 cents, energy tax, and VAT, that costs:

Average market prices (EPEX SPOT, via Selectra): 34.2 cents between 5 and 8 p.m., 23.4 cents between 2 and 5 a.m., and 18.5 cents between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. All-in = (market price + 2 cents surcharge + 9.16 cents energy tax) × 1.21. Fixed annual contracts you sign up for now usually cost 30 to 35 cents per kWh.

On one evening, smart charging saves €4 to €6 here. What also stands out: on an expensive autumn day like this, a fixed contract of 33 cents is still cheaper. In spring and summer, the opposite is true. Then the market price on sunny afternoons regularly drops to around zero or below, and you pay around 11 cents per kWh all-in.

Over a full year, a car that drives 12,000 kilometres charges about 2,200 kWh. If the difference between charging upon returning home and charging during the cheapest hours averages 10 to 18 cents per kWh, smart charging saves you €220 to €400 per year. You can also see amounts of €700 or more online. That is possible, but then you drive considerably more kilometres or compare it with an expensive fixed contract.

Whether a dynamic contract is cheaper than a fixed contract over the whole year depends on the market price, and no one can predict that. What is certain: if you have a dynamic contract, do not charge as soon as you get home. Then you pay top price every day.

What do you need?

• A smart meter that is read remotely. Without one, your supplier cannot bill you every fifteen minutes.
• A dynamic energy contract. Among others, Tibber, Frank Energie, Zonneplan, ANWB Energie, and EnergyZero offer them.
• Something that schedules the charging. That can be your charging station's app, your energy supplier's app (linked to your charging station or your car), or an energy management system such as Homey or Home Assistant.
• Load balancing, if you do not have it yet. More about that below.

A special charging station is not always necessary. Many cars can also charge smartly via your energy supplier's app. A charging station that can do it itself, or that your supplier supports, does work with every car you connect, including a second car or your partner's lease car.

Three ways to charge smartly

1. Via your charging station's app

The easiest route. You set in the app when the car needs to be full, and the charging station chooses the cheapest hours itself. At Zaptec, this is called Eco Mode: you enter your departure time and how many kilometres you need. Other apps work with a fixed charging schedule, for example every night from 1 to 6 a.m. That is less precise, but it gets you a long way in autumn and winter. In summer, however, you miss out on the cheap afternoons.

2. Via your energy supplier's app

Tibber, Frank Energie, Zonneplan, and ANWB Energie have their own smart charging function. You link your charging station or your car to their app, indicate when you need to leave, and the app schedules the charging for the cheapest fifteen-minute slots. Some apps also take the electricity from your solar panels into account.

If you link via the car, it works with every charging station and the app can also see how full your battery is. Not every car brand supports that. If you link via the charging station, it works with every car, but only if your supplier supports your charging station.

3. Via an energy management system

For those who like to set everything up themselves. With Homey, Home Assistant, or evcc, you control the charging station based on the electricity price, your solar panels, and possibly your home battery at the same time. That requires some research, but you are not tied to any single supplier. A Peblar can be used well for this, because you control it via your own network, without going through the cloud.

Which charging stations work with it?

Of the charging stations in our assortment:

Suppliers regularly expand their connections. Check the app of your energy supplier to see which charging stations and cars are currently listed.

When choosing, also pay attention to the power. The faster you charge, the better you can make use of the cheapest hours. With 11 kW on a 3-phase connection, you charge about 30 kWh in three hours. At 1-phase with 3.7 kW, you need well over eight hours for that, and you automatically shift into more expensive fifteen-minute slots. What suits your connection can be read in how do you choose the right charging station.

Smart charging and solar panels

If you have solar panels, you can combine smart charging and charging on the sun. During the day, the car charges on your surplus, and whatever is still missing, it tops up at night during the cheapest hours.

It is striking that solar panels alone change very little about the time when people charge. Joulo compared the charging sessions of over 23,000 households from the summer of 2026 side by side. Households with solar panels but without a dynamic contract charged just as often in the evening peak as households without panels. Only with a dynamic contract did the charging shift to the afternoon. It makes sense too: as long as you can offset, the time makes little difference for your wallet.

That changes on January 1, 2027, when the offsetting scheme stops. With a dynamic contract, you will then get the market price of that moment for returned electricity, and that is often almost nothing on sunny afternoons. So you better put that electricity in your car. How that works and which meter you need for that can be read in our article about charging on your own solar electricity after 2027.

When it is a disappointment

A dynamic contract is not the cheapest choice for everyone. Be especially careful if:

• You still always charge as soon as you get home. According to the figures from Joulo, households without a dynamic contract charge most at 5:00 p.m. If you do that with a dynamic contract, you are charging at the most expensive time of the day.
• You want certainty this winter. Dynamic prices move directly with the market, and the market price this autumn is almost twice as high as last year. With a fixed contract, you know where you stand. With a dynamic contract, you immediately notice every increase.
• You have a lease car and your employer reimburses the rate of your own contract. If you charge smartly and therefore cheaper, your reimbursement drops with it and you have little left yourself. If you get a fixed amount per kWh, smart charging will actually save you something. So first look at how your reimbursement works.
• You use a lot of electricity that you cannot shift, such as a heat pump on a cold winter evening. You will pay for that consumption at peak prices.

Are you in doubt? With some fixed contracts with a dual tariff, the low tariff at night and on the weekend is a few cents lower. Check that on your contract, because with other suppliers there is no difference.

What changes from 2029

Now you pay a fixed amount for your connection in grid management costs, no matter how much and when you use electricity. That is going to change. According to the draft decision that the ACM presented in October 2026, from January 1, 2029, two-thirds of your transport tariff will depend on how much electricity you take and at what time.

In winter, from October through March, taking electricity between 6 and 10 p.m. will become the most expensive. In summer, between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m., you will pay no transport tariff for every kWh. In addition to the electricity price, there is therefore a second reason not to charge your car in the early evening.

According to the ACM, more than half of households will benefit financially. A detached house with a heat pump and an electric car will pay more. The ACM will only determine the exact rates by the end of 2028. Anyone who already charges smartly will not have to change anything.

How to set it up

• ✔ Check if you have a smart meter that is read remotely.
• ✔ Compare dynamic suppliers on their fixed monthly costs and storage fees per kWh, and check whether they support your charging station or car.
• ✔ Do you have a lease car? First ask how your charging costs are reimbursed.
• ✔ Choose one system to schedule charging, and disable schedules in other apps.
• ✔ Set a departure time. If your app supports it, also set a minimum amount that always charges immediately, in case you have to leave unexpectedly.
• ✔ Ensure load balancing so that your main fuse holds up when everything is running at the same time.
• ✔ Check the app for the first few weeks to see if the car really charges during the cheapest hours.

Frequently asked questions about smart charging with a dynamic contract

Sources

• Solar Magazine – National Charging Study 2026: almost half of home chargers have a dynamic electricity contract
• Joulo – Who really charges smartly at home? Charging sessions summer 2026 (English)
• Selectra – Electricity price per hour (EPEX SPOT day-ahead)
• Energievergelijk.nl – Electricity prices for fixed contracts, October 2026
• ANWB – Energy tax rates 2026
• Solar Magazine – ACM draft decision on time-dependent grid tariffs from 2029
• ANWB – Zaptec Go review (Eco Mode)
• Zaptec – Connecting Tibber to your Zaptec charging station (English)
• Peblar – Integration with the Tibber and Frank Energie apps (English)
• ANWB – Alfen charging station review (Eve Connect app)