The Short Version
Night rate EV charging means putting your car's charging inside a cheap overnight electricity window. In 2026 the EV-specific smart tariffs run 5.99c-9.94c/kWh against a standard day rate of around 32c/kWh — roughly a 70-80% discount. For a typical EV doing average mileage, that's the difference between about €216 a year and about €819 a year in charging costs. You need three things: a smart meter, the right tariff, and a charger that charges on a schedule instead of the moment you plug in.
How Night Rates Work in Ireland
Time-of-use tariffs price electricity by when you use it, because overnight demand on the grid is low. There are two generations of these:
- Legacy NightSaver — the old dual-register meter arrangement: a day rate plus a night rate of roughly 14.8c/kWh, running 23:00-08:00 in winter and 00:00-09:00 in summer. Works without a smart meter, but it's now the expensive way to charge overnight.
- EV smart tariffs — a much deeper discount inside a shorter window, available only with a smart meter. This is where the real numbers are.
The 2026 EV Windows and Rates
The EV tariffs we track in our cost calculator, as of May 2026:
| Tariff | EV rate | Window |
|---|---|---|
| Pinergy EV Drive Time | 5.99c/kWh | 02:00-05:00 (3 hours) |
| Bord Gáis Energy EV | 8.45c/kWh | 4-hour overnight window |
| Energia Smart Drive | 8.87c/kWh | 02:00-06:00 (4 hours) |
| Electric Ireland EV Night Boost | 9.94c/kWh | 02:00-04:00 (2 hours) |
Rates and windows change — check the supplier's current terms before switching, and remember each plan pairs its EV window with different day rates and standing charges. The headline EV rate alone doesn't decide the cheapest overall bill.
What the Window Actually Gives You
A 7.4kW home charger delivers about 7.4 kWh per hour. So:
- 2-hour window (Electric Ireland): ~15 kWh ≈ 90-100km of range per night
- 3-hour window (Pinergy): ~22 kWh ≈ 135-145km per night
- 4-hour window (Bord Gáis, Energia): ~30 kWh ≈ 180-195km per night
For an average commute, even the 2-hour window replaces each day's driving comfortably. If you regularly arrive home very low, or there are two EVs sharing one charger, the longer windows matter more than the absolute cheapest rate.
Worked Example: 60 kWh Battery
Charging a 60 kWh battery (Tesla Model 3 RWD, VW ID.3 Pro territory) from 20% to 80% — a 36 kWh session, the realistic weekly top-up pattern:
- At 8.45c/kWh (Bord Gáis EV): €3.04
- At 14.8c/kWh (legacy NightSaver): €5.33
- At 32c/kWh (day rate): €11.52
Per 100km, EV night-rate charging works out at €0.96-€1.59 for a typical 16 kWh/100km car — full breakdown by tariff and car model in our home charging cost guide.
The Setup: Three Pieces
1. A smart meter
Every EV tariff above requires one. ESB Networks installs them free as part of the national rollout — if you don't have one, request it through your supplier. (If you're on an old NightSaver meter, you can still charge at 14.8c overnight today, but you're leaving most of the discount on the table.)
2. The right tariff
Switching is a 15-minute job and doesn't touch your wiring — only the billing. Compare the EV window against your household's daytime usage; a household with high daytime consumption can be better off on a plan with a slightly dearer EV rate but cheaper day units.
3. A smart charger that does the scheduling
This is the piece that makes it effortless. You set the window once in the app, then plug in whenever you get home — the charger waits until 02:00 and starts by itself. The unit we install does this out of the box, and smart functionality is also an SEAI requirement: the €300 grant only applies to chargers on SEAI's Smart Charger Register. Our €1,299 install (€999 after the grant) includes the smart charger, the installation and the grant paperwork.
If You Have Solar
Solar PV and night-rate charging complement each other: surplus solar tops the car up free during daylight (a charger with solar diversion can prioritise this), and the overnight window covers the rest — winter, cloudy days, big charges. See our guide to solar and dynamic load balancing for how the charger manages both.
Bottom Line
Night-rate charging is the single biggest lever on EV running costs in Ireland — a 70-80% discount for setting a schedule once. If you already have an EV and a home charger, fix the tariff this week. If you don't have the charger yet, start the photo assessment and you'll be charging at 2am rates within a few weeks.