How to Charge an EV During Victoria's Free 11am–2pm Power Window

The Midday Power Saver is a Victorian electricity initiative that provides eligible households with a free electricity usage period from 11am to 2pm every day.

Instead, it changes the electricity tariff arrangement for eligible residential customers using the grid at home.

EVs have one major advantage over many household appliances: charging can usually be scheduled.

You don't have to charge the vehicle at exactly the moment you arrive home. If you return home at 10:30am, for example, you may be able to schedule charging to start at 11am. If you work from home, the vehicle may already be parked in the garage. If you have a second household vehicle, you can potentially use the free period for one vehicle while managing other loads around it.

This depends on your EV and charger. The three-hour window does not mean every EV can simply receive 24 kWh. Your charging rate matters.

*Simple theoretical calculation assuming continuous charging at the stated power for the entire three hours. Actual delivered energy can be lower because of vehicle/charger limits, charging losses, installation constraints and the program's applicable usage limit.

The Midday Power Saver itself provides up to 24 kWh of free usage per day during the 11am–2pm window. So a 7 kW home charger could theoretically deliver around:

during the three-hour period. That is already a substantial amount of energy for many daily driving routines.

This depends heavily on the vehicle. A simple illustration: suppose an EV consumes around 16 kWh per 100 km. Then:

But this is only an illustration. Real-world consumption varies according to:

So don't use a generic range figure when calculating your own charging requirements. Instead, check your vehicle's actual energy consumption.

You don't necessarily need to recharge your entire EV battery every day.

Suppose you drive 40 km per day and your vehicle averages 16 kWh/100 km. Your approximate daily energy requirement is:

That means you may only need around 6–7 kWh to replace that day's driving energy, before accounting for charging losses. If your vehicle is home during the 11am–2pm window, a relatively modest charging session could cover the energy used that day.

This is one of the simplest situations. Your EV is sitting at home.

You don't necessarily need to leave the vehicle connected until 2pm. The correct charging duration depends on how much energy your vehicle needs.

This is different. If you leave home at 7:30am and return at 6pm, your EV isn't available during the free window. You can't charge a vehicle that isn't connected to your home charger.

That means the Midday Power Saver may be more useful for other household loads during 11am–2pm. You could potentially schedule:

Now the calculation becomes more interesting. Imagine your Melbourne home has rooftop solar, an EV, a smart EV charger, and the Midday Power Saver. Your solar panels may already be generating electricity during the middle of the day.

So you have two potential electricity sources:

The right charging strategy depends on your circumstances. For example, if your solar system is generating strongly and your home is using little electricity, charging the EV from available solar can increase your solar self-consumption. But if your solar generation is low because of weather, shading or system limitations, the free grid period provides another charging opportunity.

Solar EV Charging vs Free Grid Charging

The two are not necessarily competitors. A smart system may use both.

This is where home energy management becomes much more important. Your home may have three major energy assets:

And now there is another factor: Midday Power Saver — changes the cost of grid electricity between 11am and 2pm.

A typical strategy could look like:

This is why EV charging should be designed as part of the overall home energy system.

This is one of the most important practical points. Imagine your home has:

If several systems operate simultaneously, the home's electrical demand can rise quickly. The Victorian Government recommends staggering high-energy appliances, including EV charging and battery charging, during the Midday Power Saver period. This can help avoid excessive household electrical loads and reduce the risk of circuit breakers tripping.

The actual schedule should be designed around your equipment.

Faster is not automatically better. For a typical home, the useful charger size depends on how long your vehicle is normally parked and how much energy you need to replace.

7 kW vs 11 kW vs 22 kW Home Charging

These are theoretical maximums, not guaranteed delivered energy. Your EV's onboard AC charger determines how much AC power it can actually accept.

Yes, but the way it works depends on your solar system and EV charger. A basic setup might be:

Your EV can use electricity generated by the solar system when the timing and power output align. A smarter solar-aware charger can potentially adjust charging according to available solar generation. That can help reduce the amount of grid electricity used for charging.

However, the Midday Power Saver adds another variable. You may want the system to decide whether to:

based on the current operating conditions.

This is where smart energy management becomes useful.

A large EV battery does not mean you need a large home charger. For example, a vehicle may have a 70 kWh battery but you may only drive 35 km per day. If your vehicle consumes approximately 16 kWh/100 km, your daily driving energy requirement is only around:

You may therefore need only a small amount of energy added each day. This is why EV charging should be based on:

rather than simply:

The program allows up to 24 kWh of free usage during the 11am–2pm period each day. That matters if your household has several major electrical loads.

For example:

could collectively consume more than 24 kWh. That doesn't mean your appliances stop working. It means you should understand how the program's free usage component interacts with the rest of your electricity consumption and retailer tariff.

Consider a household in Point Cook with 10.5 kW solar, a home battery, an EV, heat-pump hot water, and air conditioning. Instead of switching everything on at 11am, the household could stagger the loads.

The exact strategy depends on the equipment and household consumption. If solar is generating strongly, the energy source may also shift during the day.

You can still charge your EV using the Midday Power Saver. You don't need rooftop solar to participate in the tariff. Your home simply needs to meet the program's eligibility requirements and have a suitable electricity retailer offer. The Victorian Government advises eligible households to contact their retailer from 1 October 2026 and compare offers using Victorian Energy Compare.

However, if you're buying an EV and considering solar at the same time, this is the right moment to look at the complete picture. An EV can materially increase your household electricity consumption. That additional demand can affect the solar system size that makes sense for your property.

Potentially. But don't simply add a fixed number of panels because you have an EV.

Calculate:

Then compare this against:

For a household adding an EV, the correct solar system may therefore be different from the system that would have been appropriate before the EV purchase.

The Midday Power Saver is a home electricity tariff. It does not mean public EV chargers become free between 11am and 2pm. Public charging networks have their own pricing and operating arrangements.

If you primarily use shopping-centre chargers, workplace chargers, highway fast chargers, or public charging networks, the Midday Power Saver may not directly reduce those charging costs.

Home Charging vs Public Charging

For many EV owners, home charging becomes the main opportunity to manage charging around household electricity costs.

If you are installing an EV charger in Melbourne, look beyond charging speed. Useful features can include:

Before installing an EV charger, don't overlook the switchboard. A home with older wiring, electric hot water, air conditioning, induction cooking, solar, battery, and EV charging may have considerably more electrical equipment than the home was originally designed around.

Your electrician should assess the installation requirements and available capacity. This becomes even more important if you want to run EV charging, battery charging and other high-energy appliances during the same three-hour period.

At Samsun Energy, EV charging should not be treated as a standalone wall-mounted box. It should be considered alongside your home's existing and future energy requirements.

A technically perfect EV charging plan is useless if it doesn't match your routine.

• If you leave home at 7am every day, a midday charging strategy may not be practical.
• If you work from home and the car sits in the driveway every day, the 11am–2pm window may be much easier to use.
• If your EV is used mainly on weekends, your weekday charging requirements will be different again.

The free electricity window is only one part of your electricity plan. After 2pm, electricity is no longer free under the Midday Power Saver.

For the initial 2026–27 period, the regulated tariff has different time periods and charges, including peak, off-peak and solar-soak periods. The applicable maximum rates vary by distribution zone. Your actual retail offer may differ.

The electricity drawn from your home is not necessarily identical to the energy ultimately stored in the EV battery. There are charging losses.

For example, if the vehicle needs approximately 10 kWh stored in its battery, the home may need to supply somewhat more electricity. The exact amount varies with:

So calculations based purely on battery capacity should always be treated as estimates.

Suppose:

Estimated driving energy:

Add charging losses and the actual electricity required from the home will be somewhat higher. If the vehicle is home during 11am–2pm, a suitable home charger could potentially replenish much of that daily energy during the free period.

Victoria's 11am–2pm free electricity window creates a new opportunity for EV owners. But the biggest benefit may not come from simply plugging your EV in at 11am every day.

It comes from shifting flexible electricity use into the right part of the day.

• Victorian Government — Midday Power Saver
• Victorian Energy Compare
• Solar Victoria — Solar Homes Program
• Energy Safe Victoria — Electrical Safety Requirements