Easily share your home charger with other electric drivers and earn extra income.

You can earn up to several hundred euros per year without any additional investment. The app is free to use, and the EV driver pays a small commission. This increases the return on your solar panels while making a positive impact.

How it works

1. Download the free Voltbee app
   Available on Google Play and the Apple App Store.
2. Register your charging station
   Set your own availability and price per kWh. You'll receive a notification when someone requests a booking, which you can confirm with just one tap. You can change your availability and pricing at any time.
3. Start earning
   Once you confirm a booking, the EV driver can charge their car. Your earnings are paid out through Stripe, usually within 2 business days. Your first payout may take longer, up to 14 business days, due to Stripe's risk management procedures. This timeframe is determined by Stripe and cannot be changed by Voltbee.

There are no additional fees, and you can stop sharing your charging station at any time.

On average, a home charger is only used around 5% of the time. If you share your home charger six times a month at €0.35 per kWh, you could earn around €252 per year. This can be significantly more valuable than exporting surplus solar power to the grid and is comparable to the annual return from 10 solar panels.

In a favourable scenario, where you can directly share more of your solar power and your home charger is used once a day, your additional income could rise to more than €1,500 per year. Even then, your home charger would only be used for sharing around 15% of the time, leaving it available for your own use approximately 85% of the time.

Base scenario calculation

Suppose you allow another EV driver to use your home charger six times per month. Each charging session averages 20 kWh, for which you charge €0.35 per kWh. We assume that 30% of the electricity comes directly from your solar panels and 70% from the grid.

Electricity shared: 1,440 kWh per year.
Income from solar power (30% = 432 kWh): 432 × €0.35 = €151 per year.
Income from grid electricity (70% = 1,008 kWh): 1,008 × (€0.35 − €0.25) = €101 per year.

Total additional income: €252 per year.

The actual financial benefit of using your solar power directly depends on local electricity prices, feed-in tariffs, taxes and regulations, which vary between European countries.

Favourable scenario calculation

Suppose you have 16 solar panels of 400 Wp each and facilitate an average of one charging session per day. Charging sessions mainly take place during the daytime, when your solar panels are generating electricity. Each charging session averages 20 kWh, for which you charge €0.35 per kWh. We assume that 43% comes directly from your solar panels and 57% from the grid.

You reduce the charging power of your 11 kW home charger to 5.5 kW and clearly communicate the available charging power in the Voltbee app.

Electricity shared: 7,300 kWh per year.
Income from solar power (43% = 3,139 kWh): 3,139 × €0.35 = €1,099 per year.
Income from grid electricity (57% = 4,161 kWh): 4,161 × (€0.35 − €0.25) = €416 per year.

Total additional income: €1,515 per year.

In this scenario, your home charger is used for sharing only around 15% of the time, meaning it remains available for your own use approximately 85% of the time.

What determines how much you can earn?

Your actual earnings depend on the number of charging sessions, the price you set per kWh, your electricity costs, the type and charging speed of your home charger, your solar generation and any home battery storage.

Electricity prices, feed-in tariffs, taxes and regulations vary across Europe, so your actual earnings may differ by country.

You can share almost any charger, but the best experience comes with a charger that supports OCPP. OCPP is the standard language modern chargers use to communicate. You can easily check in your charger’s (online) manual whether your model supports this standard. OCPP chargers can be connected directly to our app, allowing charging sessions to be recorded automatically. Brands such as Voltime and Zaptec promote an open ecosystem and are therefore especially well suited.

You can remove the OCPP connection at any time, after which your charger will immediately switch back to the manufacturer’s default app. We’ll let you know as soon as this feature goes live.

You always have full control over who you share your charger with, whether that’s everyone or just your neighbours. You can manually approve reservation requests, so you always know who will be charging. In the app, you also set your own rate and availability.

Do you have an OCPP-compatible charger? We’re working on an integration that will allow you to manage your shared charging sessions through Voltbee in the future. This functionality is not yet available.

The integration will always be optional and easy to remove. Once you disconnect the OCPP integration, you can manage your charger through the manufacturer’s standard app again. This way, you always remain in full control of your charger.

Whether you have to pay tax on your Voltbee income depends on the tax rules in the country where you live. The tax treatment is often similar to income earned through other sharing platforms, such as Airbnb.

Income from sharing an EV charger may, for example, be considered occasional income or rental income. Local VAT rules, exemptions or registration thresholds may also apply. These rules vary by country.

You are responsible for correctly reporting your income and complying with the tax rules that apply to you. If in doubt, we recommend contacting your local tax authority or a tax advisor.

Do you need additional features in the app for your specific situation? Please contact us.

You set the rate for your charger yourself. A good rule of thumb is to set your rate around 30% below the rate of public chargers nearby. This keeps your charger attractive to other EV drivers while still giving you a good return.

In practice, a suitable rate is often around €0.35 per kWh. The EV driver pays a 15% commission to Voltbee, bringing the total rate to around €0.40 per kWh.

Example

If a public charger costs €0.50 per kWh, you could set your rate 30% lower at €0.35 per kWh. Including the 15% commission paid by the EV driver to Voltbee, the total rate for the EV driver is €0.40 per kWh. This means the EV driver charges 20% cheaper.

Adjust your rate to your situation

You can adjust your rate based on your location and circumstances. Compare the rates of public chargers in your area. If your rate is too high, your charger may be less attractive. If it is too low, you will earn less. Try different rates to find what works best.

As a home charger host, you may earn additional income through EV charging incentives. Depending on local regulations, these incentives can apply whether you charge your own EV or share your charger with other EV drivers.

Payments vary by country and provider. For illustration, we'll use an estimated €0.05 per kWh charged.

Example calculation

Share your charger 6 times per month, averaging 20 kWh per session? That's 1,440 kWh × €0.05 = €72 extra per year.

Share your charger once a day, averaging 20 kWh per session? That's 7,300 kWh × €0.05 = €365 extra per year. These amounts are on top of your charging income.

How does it work?

Incentives are linked to national schemes supporting the EU's Renewable Energy Directive. Requirements vary by country. You may need a MID-certified meter and registration with an accredited service provider.