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Electric driving is becoming increasingly popular across Europe, but public charging on the go is not always affordable or easily accessible. At the same time, many home chargers remain unused for much of the day.
Voltbee brings these two worlds together. With Voltbee, you can charge at someone else’s home charger nearby. This is often more affordable, gives you access to more charging options and provides greater certainty and flexibility when charging.
1. More affordable and transparent charging
Charging at a public charger can be expensive, and prices can vary considerably between countries, regions, charging networks and locations. It is also not always clear in advance how much you will ultimately pay. Rates can vary depending on the charging point and charging provider, and additional session or time-based fees may apply.
With Voltbee, home charger owners set their own charging rate. Before making a reservation, you can clearly see how much charging will cost. This makes it easy to compare home chargers and rates and choose an option that works for you.
Charging through Voltbee can often be more affordable than using a public charging point, while giving you full transparency about the rate before you reserve.
2. More charging options nearby
Finding an available EV charger near you is not always easy. Especially in busy residential areas or places with limited public charging infrastructure, it can be difficult to find an available charging spot when you need one.
At the same time, many home chargers in these areas remain unused for a large part of the day. Voltbee connects EV drivers with people nearby who make their home chargers available when they don’t need them themselves. This gives you access to more charging options without having to rely solely on public charging infrastructure.
In the Voltbee app, you can see available home chargers, check the price upfront and reserve a time slot that suits your plans. By making existing home chargers accessible to others, Voltbee helps create a larger and more flexible local charging network.
3. Reserve your charging session in advance
Many public chargers cannot be reserved. They operate on a first-come, first-served basis, which means you cannot always be sure that a charging spot will be available when you arrive.
With Voltbee, you can reserve a charging session in advance at an available home charger. Simply choose a charging point and select when you want to charge. This way, you know in advance where and when you can charge and can easily fit your charging session around your route and schedule.
Many charger hosts are also flexible and provide their contact details. In consultation with the host, it may sometimes be possible to start your reservation earlier or later. This gives you additional flexibility if your plans change. Useful if an appointment runs late or you decide to stay somewhere a little longer. Can’t make your reserved time after all? You can cancel free of charge up to one hour in advance.
4. More flexibility when parking
Public charging points often have rules about how long you can stay in a charging spot. Some councils may even take action against ‘charger hogging’, where a car remains parked at a public charging point after it has finished charging. Dover District Council, for example, requires drivers to move their vehicle once it has finished charging and may issue a Penalty Charge Notice if a vehicle occupies an EV charging bay without charging.
With a Voltbee charger, you reserve a time slot in advance. This means you know how long the charger is available to you and can plan your charging and parking time accordingly. This is especially useful if you don’t have your own private parking space and rely on charging nearby. Voltbee can also be a practical alternative for home EV charging without a driveway.
Need a little more time? You can often contact the charger host and ask whether it’s possible to stay a bit longer. This gives you more flexibility than at many public charging points.
5. More sustainable and more social charging
Charging with Voltbee helps increase the use of green, locally generated electricity. On sunny days, households with solar panels sometimes generate more electricity than they use. A nearby EV can use this electricity at exactly the right moment. This keeps energy local and helps reduce pressure on the electricity grid.
Voltbee also makes smarter use of chargers that already exist. Many home chargers are only used for a small part of the day. By choosing to share your EV charger when you don’t need it yourself, we make better use of existing infrastructure and can reduce the need for additional chargers, cables and space.
Community charging also brings people together. While charging, you might even connect with someone from your neighbourhood. The charger host receives part of the revenue, keeping more value within the local community instead of going to a large energy company. Together, we make EV charging more local, smarter and more sustainable.
