I’m new to Amber for EVs can you recommend me some settings?

Amber for EVs can be set up in a few different ways depending on how (and how often) you charge. Below are two recommended starting points you can use and then tweak over time.

These are general recommendations. The “best” settings depend on your EV, charging speed, your typical plug-in times, and what you’re trying to optimise (cost, convenience, or emissions).

Profile 1 — Work from home / low EV usage

Best for: people who do short trips, can usually charge during the day, and don’t need the car ready at a specific time every day.

Goals

• Keep it simple
• Capture cheap / green periods when they occur
• Avoid over-optimising when you don’t drive much

Recommended starting settings

• Charging mode: Optimise for cost (set-and-forget)
• Recovery Charge: 30–40%
  • Helps ensure you’ve got enough range if you need to leave unexpectedly. Set high - perhaps 30c
• Opportunity Charging
  • Set this kind of low but not unrealistic - remember your EV will still charge if the actual price is lower than your opportunity. You can see live prices in your Amber app under general usage (green circle) and make a decision from there. You can always revisit. 5c-10c recommendation for during the day and 10-15c overnight.
• Manual Control: Use only when you need to top up quickly (rare)
• Excess Solar Charging Enabled (if applicable): Use this to charge your EV when you are home and the solar is out.

How to use it day-to-day

• Plug in whenever you’re home for the evening.
• If you don’t drive much, it’s fine if the car doesn’t charge every night - Amber will wait for good conditions.
• If your battery is already above your minimum, don’t worry if it pauses charging. It will need to hit the conditions of your rules to charge

Profile 2 - Heavy EV user (frequent driving)

Best for: people who drive most days, need the car reliably charged, and may do longer trips or regular commuting.

Goals

• Reliability first (you need the range)
• Still capture savings where possible
• Make sure the car is ready when you need it

Recommended starting settings

• Charging mode: Optimise for cost, but with stronger guardrails for readiness
• Recovery charge: 50–60%
  • Helps keep range available and reduces “low battery stress”.
• Opportunity Cost:
  • There may not be many opportunities for low prices in the evenings but a recommendation is 15c.
• “Ready by” / Scheduled: On
  • Set the time you typically need the car (e.g. 8am each day).
  • Set the percentage you need to be at the above time.
  • This tells Amber to prioritise getting you to the target by that time.
  • You will be shown an estimate of cost here but the automation will do this as cheap as possible for you.

How to use it day-to-day

• Plug in whenever you’re parked at home.
• If you need more certainty, increase your minimum charge buffer first (before changing anything else).
• Before a long trip, temporarily increase your target (or use a one-off boost) rather than running a higher target every day.

Quick decision guide

• You drive a few times a week and can be flexible → start with Profile 1
• You drive most days and need consistent range → start with Profile 2