Smarter EV Charging through Weather and Battery Science

Inspiration

Have you ever noticed how hot a car can get when it is parked under the sun? We started wondering whether the weather could also affect an electric vehicle's battery while it charges.

Most EV charging tools focus on electricity prices and charging time. But we wanted to explore another important factor: the environment around the car.

Our project was inspired by a simple question: What if we could use nature to make smarter EV charging decisions?

This idea also connects to the hackathon theme, City Life and Nature Life. City life determines our electricity prices and schedules, while nature affects the temperature around our cars.

What it does

ClimateCharge helps EV drivers explore when, where, and how to charge their cars.

Users can enter their battery level, desired charge, location, and departure time. ClimateCharge then uses weather information, electricity rates when available, and a battery temperature simulation to recommend a charging schedule.

Users can also:

Compare parking in direct sunlight, shade, or a garage.
Explore how cooler nighttime temperatures may affect the battery.
Compare electricity costs and estimated battery temperatures.
Test different charging speeds and situations in our Simulation Lab.

Instead of only finding the cheapest charging time, ClimateCharge helps users understand the trade-offs between cost, convenience, and temperature.

How we built it

We built ClimateCharge as a web application using Next.js, React, and TypeScript.

We connected weather data from Open-Meteo and available electricity rate information to our charging calculations.

We also created a simplified battery temperature model that estimates how the battery may heat up or cool down over time. It considers charging heat, outdoor temperature, sunlight, and cooling.

The application uses these calculations to compare different charging options and explain its recommendations.

Finally, we designed an interactive dashboard with graphs, parking comparisons, and a Simulation Lab so users can understand the results without needing an engineering background.

Challenges we ran into

One of our biggest challenges was connecting different kinds of information, including weather, electricity prices, charging schedules, and battery temperature.

We also discovered that even small calculation errors could affect the results. For example, certain time settings caused our temperature simulation to stop working.

Another challenge was performance. Some detailed simulations took a long time and temporarily made the website unresponsive.

We worked on fixing these problems, moving heavy calculations into background processes, and testing the application across different scenarios and screen sizes.

We also had to be careful about scientific accuracy because our temperature model is a simulation, not a measurement from a real EV.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are proud that we turned a simple observation about sunny parking spaces into a working interactive application.

ClimateCharge does more than calculate charging costs. It connects weather, battery science, and everyday charging decisions in one place.

We are especially proud of our parking comparison, NightCool feature, and Simulation Lab. These features let users explore different situations and see how their choices affect the results.

We also built and tested our own battery temperature simulation rather than relying on fixed or made-up results.

What we learned

This project taught us that building useful technology requires more than writing code.

We learned how weather and electricity prices can influence charging decisions, how to build a basic physics simulation, and how to turn complicated calculations into information that everyday users can understand.

We also learned the importance of teamwork, testing, debugging, and designing a website around real user needs.

Most importantly, we learned that the cheapest option is not always the only factor worth considering.

What's next for ClimateCharge

Our next goal is to make ClimateCharge more accurate and useful for real EV owners.

We want to test our temperature model using real vehicle data, support more electricity providers, and eventually connect with vehicle information to provide more personalized recommendations.

We also hope to improve the mobile experience and make our charging recommendations even easier to understand.

Our long-term vision is simple: help people make better everyday decisions by connecting technology with the natural environment.