Which EV charger and where to install

Big Lar · 21-02-2022 5:02pm #1

Need a bit of guidance here lads please.

Am going to install an EV charger and I am nothing short of addled looking at all the info have a few questions.

Have solar here at home so looking at the zappi but with the hub and everything it just seems to be over complicated to me.

I just really need something that would charge the car using excess solar and I could set the time on it that I could use the night rate

The preferred install location would be the front of the house where I could install it beside the meter box, however the main board and the inverter is at the back where the charger could also be installed but the front is preferred.

Tree · 21-02-2022 5:22pm

So we started with the EV charger and got the solar after. Similar layout with the meter at the front and the fuseboard at the back.

EV charger was installed off the meter and then the house fuseboard became a secondary.

When solar got installed, the trunking had to be run all the way to the EV charger, so that was kinda sloppy. But had we installed the EV charger off the main fuseboard that would also have required a load of trunking, so either way, if you're charging at the front, someone's gonna run trunking.

Have a Wallbox Pulsar Plus which should do energy export, but whatever way it's connected it's not detecting export. Waiting on feedback from the EV installer. Definitely better to get your EV charger installed by the solar installer, so you only have one group of ppl to nag. The main advantage to the wallbox though is it comes w/ a 7.5m tether, as a 5m would have been too awkard.

Zappi si probably the handiest if you already have an Eddi, but they also max out at 5m cables AFAIK

Big Lar · 21-02-2022 5:54pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118668558#Comment_118668558

I am wondering why you need the trunking back to the board, I thought it was a current sensor clamped onto the feed in and as soon as current as going back to the grid the charger would kick in.

Jonathan · 21-02-2022 6:06pm

Zappi + PV here. No complaints.

You can take Zappi feed from the meter box and wire the grid CT on the tails into the Zappi. As @Tree says the existing Consumer Unit then becomes a sub board.

No reason why you need to have trunking between the two of them though. Mine is rather neat as the Zappi is beside the meter box.

21-02-2022 6:19pm

Got the hypervolt ..it can do solar but I'm still waiting on my car so have neither solar or car at the moment.

Big Lar · 21-02-2022 6:52pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118668747#Comment_118668747

Do I need the hub with the zappi or will the unit connect to the wifi ?

Jonathan · 21-02-2022 7:03pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118668939#Comment_118668939

Hub only required if you want remote control or firmware updates. Solar divert will work with just the CT afaik.

ec_pc · 21-02-2022 8:56pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118668939#Comment_118668939

It's worth getting the hub in my experience. Offers full control etc from your phone, no need to be fiddling around with settings at the zappi. I bought mine directly from myenergi and configured it in about 3 minutes. Saved a few euro, installers tend to add a bit of a markup on it.

shanec1928 · 21-02-2022 9:10pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118668800#Comment_118668800

Did you get the hypervolt through your spark or did you purchase yourself?

Big Lar · 21-02-2022 9:14pm

OK we are going good here, like earlier I dunno about the zappi as I think its over complicated with the addition of the hub an all. Also I have a hub already in the house with the lightwave gear and I read on some sites that the Myenergi hub has had some conflicts

EO Mini Pro 2 was looking good but the reviewer was saying that it will draw min of 6A on solar whether there is excess or not

Am thinking Wallbox Pulsar seems to be simpler device all round ?

21-02-2022 9:26pm

Got the hypervolt from electrician

rx8 · 22-02-2022 11:39pm

Don't forget that in nearly all cases, you will have to have 1.4kw excess production,over and above any base load,for the car to start charging from the solar panels.

ec_pc · 23-02-2022 10:00pm

You also need to consider the excellent support that exists for the Zappi from Myenergi, I have heard first hand stories of no quibble replacements and goodwill gestures for items out of warranty. I cant imagine too many manufacturers doing that.

Big Lar · 24-02-2022 1:57pm

OK, thanks to everyone for the input.

I sat back and had a think about this over the past few days.

The Zappi will cost around €1k(or more) plus fitting whereas everything else seems to around half of that and would I really have that much excess solar to justify the bigger spend as I am sure that the car would not be plugged in every day at all, perhaps once or twice a week and then the excess may be around 10-15Kw over the whole day.
Would I be not better off to put the excess funds towards a second set of batteries and where I could use the excess solar all the time.

KCross · 24-02-2022 2:59pm

Do you have other high energy devices like electric shower or heat pump?

if you do, you will likely need a priority switch installed alongside the charge point (if it’s not built-in to the charge point). That is often the trade off of buying a cheaper unit. By the time you factor in the priority switch there isn’t much in the difference.

the more expensive units tend to have it built in by default so check that out first.

Alkers · 24-02-2022 3:29pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058234084/which-ev-charger-and-where-to-install

How big of a sollar array do you have? Is there car typically home during daylight hours to soak up excess electricity?

You might find that the additonal cost of the smart charger will never be recouperated through solar excess goind to the car.

You can get a dumb charger for 300e plus intall, come in under the SEAI grant and leave the car to do all the scheduling etc for night rate.

Big Lar · 24-02-2022 3:48pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118685381#Comment_118685381

No, none of those things

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118685665#Comment_118685665

That's what I'm thinking

4.8Kw at the moment but will probably add another 2Kw or so to catch the winter sun along the way, see the car will be at home the odd day but then we only every get sun every other odd day so all the planets would want to line up for the smart charger to be of value.

KCross · 24-02-2022 4:15pm

If you dont want app support and you dont need a priority switch and you dont care about diverting to the EV (since the car is away too often).... go the dumb charge point route and save yourself the money.

JASCOTT · 16-03-2024 5:12pm

We have Solar Pannels but with no Battery and instead give back to the grid.

Our EV will likely be charged at night or on demand during the day.

Any recommendation on which supplier (Dublin/Meath area) to use?

AmpMan · 16-03-2024 8:02pm

You don't need the myeneri hub anymore.

It's built into the current gen of zappi/eddi

jkforde · 17-03-2024 12:22am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118686041#Comment_118686041

yep, with feed-in export payment, if I was starting out now, I would just go with a dumb charger and export all surplus and charge batteries (house, EV) at night. I like the Zappi but at this stage I'm not using it to its design.

bunderoon · 17-03-2024 10:08am

I'm getting an EV.

Bought the EDDI second hand with the plan to install a myenergi system at home, coupled with a harvi and zappi etc. Solar was on the cards this year but will most likely be next year and may just be a ~4Kw DIY job.

Seriously thinking to resell the eddi and just use the time clock for immersion (Night or EV Rate). And then just buy a dumb or basic EV charger. Car will be parked at home about 3-4 days a week so overall, even installing enough solar to have surplus to charge an EV wouldn't be cost effective. Use night / EV rate to charge at home instead.

So what chargers are people recommending?

For cheap/dumb or semi smart chargers, I see these two:

https://midsummer.ie/buy/clearance-ev/eo-mini

https://midsummer.ie/buy/Ohme/OhmeePod

slave1 · 17-03-2024 10:16am

Cheapest solution is a 32amp commando socket if your EV can handle it

bunderoon · 17-03-2024 10:48am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121904417#Comment_121904417

Nissan Leaf. Any recommendations for a cheap charger with a DCL socket?

paulbok · 20-03-2024 6:27pm

do all car chargers (esp a Zappi) support reverse charging?

e,g, V2G

graememk · 20-03-2024 6:43pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121918682#Comment_121918682

None do*

*That are generally available on the market

pah · 02-04-2024 11:01pm

Currently in the market for solar, getting quotes and thinking about EV charger install (No EV yet). Recommendation from the first surveyor was sell your solar back as much as you can and charge EV at night rate (He suggested not bothering with a battery either). Dumb charger for the win then.

jkforde · 03-04-2024 7:05am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121967873#Comment_121967873

I agree, dumb but with scheduler and app

slave1 · 03-04-2024 10:25am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121968265#Comment_121968265

Car can schedule

ColemanY2K · 03-04-2024 10:46am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121967873#Comment_121967873

first surveyor was spot on if you're night rate is lower than FIT. run washing machine, dishwasher etc and charge everything up at night, then during the day export all excess power generated. this is what i'm doing at the moment minus the EV which is on the shopping list. the winter bill since install in January is 60% lower than it would have been without solar.

allinthehead · 03-04-2024 10:59am

Just remember that it was wasn't that long ago nobody was suggesting to dump all the pv production to the grid as we had no CEG. Things change quickly, Pv is a 15-20 year game. Do we honestly see cheap night rate being so much less than the CEG long term? Flexible tariffs will be introduced soon enough, and there will eventually be times where we will be penalised for export.

As things stand, the best payback is to let everything you produce go to the grid, but I would at the very least install a battery ready inverter.

Which EV charger and where to install

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