Received a new company car â a fully electric one. And so my gas-guzzling days are over once and for all.
The employer even equipped my garage with a 3-phase, 22 kW home charger. The fanciest one you can install in Belgium. The technology was developed by Smappee in Kortrijk, a few kilometers from my house.
Their âsmartâ charging stations dispose of load balancing, solar forecasting etc.
To give a quick idea, âintelligentâ stations preferably charge your car with excess electricity generated by your solar panels that would otherwise be fed into the grid. Or they charge at night when the grid is more ârelaxedâ and electricity tariffs are the lowest, even though you connected the car earlier, during peak hours.
Load balancing means that charging your car never jeopardises the electricity needs of your home. Charging slows down or is delayed when your washing machine gets going, when you cook with an induction plate etc.
I could also tell you that the founder-CEO of Smappee is my cousin but you wouldnât believe me. (He is. Does that make me a relation of the Belgian Elon Musk?)
The overall good news is that, in September 2024, for the first time, more electric cars were sold in Belgium than cars with a polluting combustion engine.
I was given the choice between various models; the shortlist contained a Tesla car. Although I donât doubt the high quality of Tesla EVs, I didnât consider driving around in a creation of the obnoxious muskrat for even half a second.
Personal behavior does matter! Maybe the oligarchs will understand that some dayâŚ













