Good question! When an EV driver comes over to your house, they have signed up with the Buzze app, so we can meter the charge through the app’s connection to their car through the Smartcar API.

Through Smartcar, the Buzze app knows their location and their battery level when they arrive, as well as how many kilowatts they consume while connected to your charger. We set the rates for every state based on the state’s average kWh cost, typically adding 10 cents to the state average. In almost every case, hosts should be making money on every charge.

There's two ways to check the rates being charged in your state:
1) See current rate sheet here.
2) Go to the profile page in the app and select Buzze Rates at the bottom of the screen.

If for some reason the driver cannot connect to Smartcar, you will still be paid for the charge based on the amount of time the driver booked at your charger. We use the industry standard of 9 kWh that is typical output of a level 2 charger.

In your profile tab on the app, you can always see your Buzze balance in the Income section (blue tab at the top of the page). The “Balance” tab shows your current earnings (not paid out yet) and “This Year” tab shows what has already been paid to you this year. Your earnings will accrue in the balance section until banking information is added & verified.

To enable payouts, you provide your banking information in the app, which is verified through Stripe. After account verification, your earnings will be deposited directly into your bank account on the 3rd of each month.

No. Drivers only see the distance to you (in list view) or a general location (in map view). They cannot zoom into map view to get to a specific house. Drivers only get access to your address and helpful photos once their booking is complete and they have paid for the charge. 

The only way a Buzze driver would have your address is if they have booked and paid for a charge. If they have connected through Smartcar, and they return to your house and plug in, the app will check for a charging reservation and shut down their ability to charge at your house if there is no reservation.

Regardless, anyone who shows up at your house and just starts charging without your permission is trespassing and breaking the law. A useful example is a garden hose. If you came home, and someone was filling a 200 gallon jug of water at your house without your permission, you would likely call the police and they would be arrested. Someone illegally plugging into your EV charger is the exact same situation. While we get this question a lot, we have not seen any issues with this since the launch of the app.

Yes! If you don’t feel comfortable with someone coming into your garage or having your garage open while someone is charging, we have various options for you.  Most of our hosts leave the charging cord coiled up just outside of the closed garage in a Buzze canvas bag. We also can help you purchase a 21 foot extension cord for your charger for just $99. Reach out to our team at (602) 855-9021 or email janice@buzze.biz and we can help you find the right solution for you. 

You have complete control over your charger schedule. In the app, you can block times that you don’t want people using your charger. Once you have times blocked, they will not be able to book your charger during that time. However, the more availability you have, the more money you can make. 

This really depends on your location. We have seen hosts in locations near apartment buildings or other high traffic areas have one to two drivers who charge a few times a week. We allow drivers to block charge windows for up to 12 hours (assuming that does not conflict with times that you have blocked out), so we don’t expect back to back charging sessions for most hosts.

Everyone and every situation is different. Some people will charge for 2 hours and others will charge for 6. It all depends on their current battery level, how full they want their battery, etc. On average, people generally charge for 4-6 hours. Many chargers have been booking evening spots and picking up their car in the morning.

Using the helpful photos section allows you to let drivers know exactly where to park when they arrive. This should eliminate any issues. However, if there is an issue, please call us at (602) 855-9021 and we will contact the driver.