[DigitalToday reporter Yoonseo Lee] Drivers who use an electric vehicle (EV) for work and charge it at home may wonder how to track charging costs. On March 23, EV outlet Electrek introduced three ways to manage charging costs efficiently when combining home charging with business driving.

First is using a smart charger. The latest smart chargers connected to 5G or Wi-Fi automatically record electricity use in kilowatt-hours each time you charge, letting you check actual charging costs with relatively high accuracy. Some products also show time-of-use rates and energy-use patterns, helping manage home charging costs.

Second is using a vehicle-linked application, or app. That works even without a smart charger. Using a manufacturer app or a vehicle telematics service lets you check charging status and control when charging starts and stops. For example, Hyundai's MyHyundai app offers remote charging control, and Kia's app also supports checking battery charging status and controlling charging in the EV tab. Using these functions helps manage home charging history by letting you check charging time periods and battery status together.

Third is sorting out business use through driving logs and mileage. If it is hard to split charging costs by purpose each time, it may be more practical to record only business mileage separately and calculate costs that way. Separating work-related driving such as client visits and business trips from commuting or personal travel in a driving log can set clearer standards for cost settlement. Organising monthly charging history and electricity-bill details together can improve the accuracy of cost estimates and help with internal settlement and managing supporting documents.

As business use of EVs increases, how systematically home charging costs are recorded and managed is emerging as the key to practical cost control. Smart chargers, vehicle-linked apps and driving logs differ in approach, but they are meaningful in that they help clarify charging costs. The industry sees a need for charging-cost management systems to become more sophisticated to improve the efficiency of EV operations.