How do I smart charge with EV Optimise?

EV Optimise manages your home EV charging automatically, so you can benefit from greener, cheaper energy¹without the need to set timers or schedules yourself.

Two smartphone screens showing EV Optimise charging settings. The left screen displays ‘Set your charging preferences’ with an 8:00 AM ready‑by time, an 80% charge target, and an information box explaining how EV Optimise works best. The right screen shows the ‘Set your charge target’ menu with selectable percentages from 100% to 40%, with 80% marked as recommended.

What should I expect when I plug in at home?

When you plug your car in at home, EV Optimise uses your charging preferences (“ready by” time and charge target) to create a smart charging session.
You do not need to start a session manually. EV Optimise detects when your car is plugged in and automatically begins charging at the best times, based on grid demand and carbon intensity.
It can take up to 20 mins from plugging your car in at home for your smart charging session to start and you may see the EV Optimise dashboard reflect this as "Initialising".

You can change your preferences at any time in the EV Optimise dashboard in the ScottishPower app. These preferences will be used as your default for future sessions.

How will I know when my car is smart charging?

With app notifications enabled, you’ll be alerted when a charging session starts, finishes, and if any unexpected issues arise. You can also monitor the status of your charging progress on the EV Optimise dashboard - “Charging” and “Waiting for next green slot to continue charging” messages both mean a session is in progress. Once a session finishes, you can see a detailed breakdown of energy delivered, cost, and savings.

Notifications are the easiest way to keep track of your smart charging sessions and savings. Make sure you have notifications enabled for the ScottishPower app.

When will my car be charged?

Two smartphone screens displaying the EV Optimise app. Both show a Volkswagen ID.4 GTX charging status at 76%. The left screen shows ‘Charging,’ while the right shows ‘Waiting for next green slot to continue charging.’ Each screen also displays the last updated time and the vehicle’s range.

There are no restrictions on when you can smart charge – you can get the cheaper rate for when you smart charge anytime, day or night. EV Optimise doesn’t use fixed off-peak hours. Instead, it charges your car at the greenest and cheapest times.¹

How charging works:

Set your charging preferences (ready-by time and charge target) in the ScottishPower app.
Plug your car in at home.
EV Optimise will automatically manage your charging sessions based on your preferences.

EV Optimise will charge your car to the target you set in the ScottishPower app. However, if you have set a maximum charge limit in your car app, we can only charge your vehicle up to that amount. To charge beyond this, you’ll need to update that limit in your car app or infotainment system.

As long as there’s enough time between plugging in and your “ready by” time, the system will meet your charge target. If not, it will charge as much as possible and notify you when the session begins. You’ll also see a message on the EV Optimise dashboard.

It’s normal for charging to start and stop during a session. This simply means EV Optimise is waiting for the next optimal charging window. If you see messages like “Waiting for next green slot to continue charging” in the app, this means a charging session is active but temporarily paused until the next optimal time.

The longer your car is plugged in at home, the more flexibility EV Optimise has to choose the greenest¹charging slots for you, so please keep your car plugged in as long as possible.

EV Optimise will not affect your battery any more than regular charging. Electric vehicle batteries are designed to handle this “start and stop” smart charging pattern and should also be covered under your vehicle’s warranty.

Can I use EV Optimise alongside my regular car charging app?

While you can continue to use your car or charger manufacturer’s app for other useful features, it’s important to disable charging schedules, timers, or settings in those apps when you sign up to EV Optimise. Other schedules can interfere with the EV Optimise algorithm and impact your savings. Don’t worry – you can still use your manufacturer’s app for everything else.

You should not sign up to other third-party EV smart charging services at the same time, as this may interfere with EV Optimise and your savings.

If you normally have to unlock your EV charger before a charging session, you will need to do the same for EV Optimise to work. Or you can deactivate this setting on your charger (plug and charge mode) – this is available on most chargers but the name varies depending on model.

Frequently asked questions

Yes, please remove any existing charging schedules, timers, or settings from your car manufacturer app, charger app, or any other smart charging service before starting with EV Optimise. Other schedules can interfere with the EV Optimise algorithm and affect your savings.

Instructions for removing your existing smart charging settings can differ depending on the brand. If you’re unsure, please refer to the manufacturer’s website, app or manual for more details.

Depending on your car brand, you may notice random schedules appearing on your car app after a smart charging session starts. Some car manufacturers use this method to prevent unwanted charging. To avoid interfering with you smart charging session, you should not try to manually delete these schedules – they will disappear on their own once the session ends.

Some car and charger manufacturer apps send a notification every time charging starts or stops. This can happen frequently with smart charging, as charging can be paused while waiting for the next green slot and restart multiple times within a smart charging session.

You can manage notification preferences in your manufacturer’s app to reduce distractions. EV Optimise will only send you notifications at the start and end of each smart charging sessions.

Troubleshooting

Smart charging is new technology that requires multiple systems to work together, so occasionally things don’t work as expected. Below you’ll find solutions to the most common issues customers experience with EV Optimise, along with practical steps to help you get back on track.

If you have signed up for EV Optimise but your car is not charging, please follow these troubleshooting steps:

Check that smart charging is enabled in the ScottishPower app, your car is plugged in at home, and that you have set your charging preferences.
If you see a message like “initialising” on the EV Optimise dashboard, this usually means EV Optimise is calculating the optimal charging times. This process can take up to 20 minutes and occasionally longer depending on your car brand. If this takes much longer, please contact our Support team.
If your car remains idle for a long time, some brands may pause data updates to preserve battery life. Try unlocking your car or starting the engine to force an update. You can see if there has been a recent data update by checking the “last updated” time on the EV Optimise dashboard.

EV Optimise relies on up-to-date information from your car (e.g. whether it’s plugged in at home, battery level, and charge limits) shared securely via your car manufacturer’s online services. Sometimes, this data can become “stale” (not updated for a few hours), often to preserve your car’s battery life when it’s idle, or due to occasional service outages or technical limitations.

You can see if there has been a recent data update by checking the “last updated” time on the EV Optimise dashboard.

If the EV Optimise dashboard hasn’t updated recently:

Unlock your car or start the engine to force a data refresh from your vehicle.
Check your car app – if the information there is up to date, but EV Optimise is not, there may be a technical issue on our side. Otherwise, stale data is more likely due to an issue with the car or the manufacturer’s online services.
Contact our Support team if the problem persists. Please include screenshots from both the EV Optimise dashboard and your manufacturer’s app to help us investigate further.

We may lose connection to your car for various reasons:

Your car may be in a location with no internet connection, e.g. underground car park.
Some cars pause data updates to preserve battery life, especially when idle for long periods.
Occasional service outages or technical issues with the car or manufacturer’s online services can also interrupt the connection.

If the EV Optimise dashboard shows we have lost connection with your car:

Try to force a data update by unlocking your car or starting the engine. This may prompt your car to refresh its data and reconnect if the loss of connection is due to a battery preserving feature in your car.
If the manufacturer’s app shows up-to-date information but EV Optimise does not, there may be a temporary technical issue on our side. Otherwise, connection loss is more likely due to an issue with the car manufacturer’s online services.
If the problem persists, contact our Support team for assistance.

* **Check your maximum charge limit**: Make sure the maximum charge limit set in your car app or infotainment systems is not lower than the charge target you set in the EV Optimise app. We cannot smart charge your car above this limit. * **Allow enough time**: Most home chargers deliver up to 7kWh, which is usually enough to fully charge the average EV overnight. However, the actual time needed depends on your battery size and how much charge you need to add. We recommend leaving your car plugged in for as long as possible to give EV Optimise more flexibility to charge at the greenest times.<sup>1</sup>If there isn’t enough time to reach your target, EV Optimise will charge as much as possible and notify you via the app when the session starts. You’ll also see a message on the EV Optimise dashboard. * **Small Discrepancies** (within 5% of your target) are possible and not a cause for concern * **If something goes wrong** during a session (e.g. if we lose connection to your car), EV Optimise will try to restart the session and charge as much as possible in the remaining time. * **Linking a home charger** can make smart charging more reliable and reduce interruptions. You can link a charger during sign-up, or add one later in the EV Optimise dashboard under Settings > Add charger.

Still having trouble? If these steps don’t solve the problem, please contact our Support team.

You can change your preferences (ready-by time, charge target) at any time in the ScottishPower app. Just select “Edit preferences” on the EV Optimise dashboard.

Can’t see the “Edit preferences” option? Check the following:

Smart charging may be disabled or blocked due to an action required on your car. Follow any instructions shown in the EV Optimise dashboard to enable smart charging, then “Edit preferences” should appear.
If a smart charging session is “initialising” (EV Optimise is calculating optimal charging times), the option will be hidden, but should reappear once initialisation is complete.
If you haven’t set your preferences yet, you’ll see an action to “Set preferences” instead.

If you tried to set your preferences for the first time but got an error your car is unplugged despite it being plugged in at home, this is usually because of “stale” car data. Try the following troubleshooting steps:

Try to force a data update: Unlock your car or start the engine.
Check your car app: If the information there is up to date, but the EV Optimise is not, there may be a technical issue on our side. Otherwise, stale data is more likely due to an issue with the car or the manufacturer’s online services.
Contact our Support team if the problem persists.

EV Optimise currently supports only one EV per account, so you cannot add a second car.

If you want to change the car you use with EV Optimise, you’ll need to cancel your current EV Optimise setup and sign up again with your new car.

To cancel EV Optimise:

Go to the EV Optimise dashboard in the app.
Select Settings > Cancel EV Optimise and follow the on-screen prompts.
Once cancellation is complete, tap the EV Optimise tile on the app home screen and sign up again, this time linking your new car.

Please note:

Cancelling EV Optimise will remove access to your smart charging history, so make sure to save any details you need before cancelling.
Any outstanding smart charging credit will appear on your next bill automatically - no action required.

We apologise for the inconvenience and are working to improve this process. If you need help at any stage, please contact our Support team.

Need to charge immediately?

If you need your car charged sooner than expected, you can edit your preferences from the EV Optimise dashboard to set an earlier ready-by time. EV Optimise will start a new charging session and you will get a notification to confirm if we can reach your new target.

Alternatively, you can disable smart charging from the EV Optimise Settings screen and charge manually using your car or charger app. Your car will then charge at your standard tariff rate, and you won’t receive smart charging credits for that session. You can enable smart charging again at anytime via the EV Optimise dashboard in the ScottishPower App.

Find out more about billing and smart charging credits.

The greenest times of day will be when carbon intensity of the electricity requested to charge your EV is at its lowest. This will vary each day depending on a number of factors including weather conditions, renewable energy generation and demand on the grid.

All electricity will be charged at your normal unit rate based on your ScottishPower tariff. The credit for your EV smart charging session will appear as a credit on your bill. Find out more about billing in our support article and further details in our Terms & Conditions.

Last updated: 20 February 2026