Andersen scraps WiFi?

[dst87]

The charger we were pretty set on buying, the Andersen A2 Tethered, has suddenly become much less appealing.

According to their website, as of July 2019 WiFi is no longer a supported way to connect the charger to the network - only ethernet is supported.

We’ve just had our house installed by ethernet (an enterprise-level UniFi network) and could certainly have arranged for a ethernet to be installed close by if we’d known. What we did do was have a wireless access point installed right at the front of the house to ensure our car and charge point would have a strong, reliable connection to our home network.

I’m a bit miffed by this. I can understand them recommending a wired connection as many consumers will have low-powered WiFi equipment that might not reach their driveway. I don’t see the harm in continuing to offer WiFi for those for whom the connection would work.

I guess I’m venting, as I think this is a bad decision on Andersen’s part. We’re struggling to find an alternative that we’d be happy with. We may end up having our network guy back to run another cable from our network switch but it’s quite disruptive.

 

[Talllbloke]

Out of interest, what’s better about this charger versus a standard Tesla one?

 

[dst87]

Out of interest, what’s better about this charger versus a standard Tesla one?

The big one is that it’s a tethered charger where the cable is concealed inside the unit. It makes the unit larger, but much tidier on the wall.

I believe the Tesla charger also required earth rods as it doesn’t have the necessary safety stuff required since January.

The Andersen model is also included in the OLEV and EST grant schemes, whereas the Tesla model isn’t because it doesn’t have the necessary smart features (I think that’s why, anyway). That said, the Tesla Charger won’t cost that much more than the Andersen even after the £800 of grants. It will still cost more though.

 

[Roy W.]

I would imagine this will cost them sales.

WiFi is ubiquitous these days, and although I use Ethernet too most people do not.

 

[dst87]

I would imagine this will cost them sales.

WiFi is ubiquitous these days, and although I use Ethernet too most people do not.

They’ve said the performance isn’t good enough. It makes me wonder if they just had really terrible wireless equipment in the charger.

I’m also not sure if they’re turning off that feature for existing customers. If so, I’ve lost a lot of faith in the company.

I’m going to call them tomorrow to see if there’s a way to continue using WiFi even though it’s not officially supported anymore.

 

[Alexmac10]

Thanks for posting this, I was about to place a order with them as well. May need to look at a plan B now.

 

[interbear]

Interesting. I’ve ordered an Andersen unit, getting installed end of August. It was to have been earlier but they had a quality issue with a supplier so all orders were delayed. Wonder it that was a Wi-fi component issue?

I’ve paid my not inconsiderable sum to Andersen already and will be a tad miffed if they change the spec between me paying for it and them installing it.

 

[MrBadger]

Wireless bridge ?

 

[dst87]

Interesting. I’ve ordered an Andersen unit, getting installed end of August. It was to have been earlier but they had a quality issue with a supplier so all orders were delayed. Wonder it that was a Wi-fi component issue?

I’ve paid my not inconsiderable sum to Andersen already and will be a tad miffed if they change the spec between me paying for it and them installing it.

It might be worth contacting them to find out. I’d be curious to know their reply!

I think we might end up using a power line in this case if we do go ahead with it. I can’t imagine the charger has huge bandwidth requirements (at least I hope it doesn’t!)

 

[interbear]

It might be worth contacting them to find out. I’d be curious to know their reply!

I think we might end up using a power line in this case if we do go ahead with it. I can’t imagine the charger has huge bandwidth requirements (at least I hope it doesn’t!)

I will definitely contact them. I have no intention of extending wired Ethernet to the external location of the charger.

 

[WannabeOwner]

whereas the Tesla model isn’t because it doesn’t have the necessary smart features (I think that’s why, anyway)

Pretty sure that Tesla Charger has never been OLEV grant approved in the UK .

Tesla charger supports 3-Phase (unlikely to be of interest to UK Domestic installations), load-balancing (when you have multiple Tesla that all want to charge at once other chargers have that ability too) and a button you can press to unlock the charger - there are other ways to achieve that, but they are generally somewhat less convenient than just pressing the button on the "wand", more particularly to stop-and-release when you want to remove the wand. Stick-on-3rd-party-buttons (after a fashion) also available.

OLEV installs seem to be £50-100 more expensive than non-OLEV ... and about match the charger cost. Tesla Charger is £450-ish, so works out about £400 more expensive compared to an OLEV install.

All very-broad-brush numbers.

WiFi is no longer a supported way to connect the charger to the network

What can you do with the network connection to charger? (I'm curious what it does that is handy, so to speak)

 

[pjuk]

Wireless bridge ?

This... with UniFi access points you can easily use a WiFi uplink and run ethernet from the AP. I’ve got some dotted around the house where certain devices need a hardwired connection and I don’t have the time to route cables through walls and floors.

 

[dst87]

...a button you can press to unlock the charger...

This is definitely the big selling point of the Tesla charger IMO. That, and it looks pretty cool.

Tesla Charger is £450-ish, so works out about £400 more expensive compared to an OLEV install.

I’m not following the numbers here. Tesla connector is £450, but my understanding is that the installation is likely to be another £400.

Something like a PodPoint is about £59 installed with the grants, and the Andersen would work out at £595 with the grants. Either option significantly cheaper than Tesla Wall Connector + Installation. Bear in mind I’m in Scotland so get a further £300 on top of the OLEV grant from the Energy Savings Trust.

AFAIK the Tesla option also requires earth rod installation, whereas the Andersen and PodPoint options do not.

What can you do with the network connection to charger? (I'm curious what it does that is handy, so to speak)

I think part of it is monitoring energy use and when charging takes place. Of course the Tesla does all of this itself, so the charger doesn’t have to. On the Andersen charger the little cubby hole where the cable and connector are stowed is locked and can be opened with the app. All of this required a connection.

This... with UniFi access points you can easily use a WiFi uplink and run ethernet from the AP. I’ve got some dotted around the house where certain devices need a hardwired connection and I don’t have the time to route cables through walls and floors.

I think if I was going to go down that route I’d just use a PowerLine type device. Cheaper, plenty of bandwidth for the application, and doesn’t add an additional unnecessary AP to our environment.

 

[WannabeOwner]

Tesla connector is £450, but my understanding is that the installation is likely to be another £400
the Andersen would work out at £595 with the grants.

Sorry, I wasn't very clear. My meaning was that I think "the grant covers the charger" (more or less) in which case the Andersen would be £400 after grant too (just the "install" bit) ... but typically OLEV-installs are £50-£100 above that - £195 in your example although a £400 install is probably the least you might pay where it was very straightforward / short cable runs). There has been the suggestion that OLEV installs are more expensive for either Red Tape or Profit.

I think part of it is monitoring energy use and when charging takes place. Of course the Tesla does all of this itself, so the charger doesn’t have to.

APPs like TeslaFi might be preferable - a wealth of data logged but whilst kWh supplied, (compared to charged-into-battery) is provided by TeslaFi I assume it must be estimated (car can't know that ) so that might be worthwhile from Charger itself

the little cubby hole where the cable and connector are stowed is locked and can be opened with the app

Useful if someone might "borrow" a charge. I wonder if that is likely? (Could have isolator switch in the house, although not exactly convenient when you are going out ...)

 

[WannabeOwner]

P.S. Whilst I am a fan of Data it is worth getting into perspective. The cost of Electricity (Off peak) (£0.02-0.03p per mile) compared to Petrol is so significantly different that chasing after some extra saving may not be all that worthwhile.

 

[ewoodrick]

I dare say that they were sick and tired of people complaining that the device couldn't connect to the Wi-Fi, mainly because most people's Wi-Fi sucks in the garage. Easier to let people who know how to solve the problem do it for $20 and make those who don't do it the guaranteed way.

 

[Roy W.]

I think part of it is monitoring energy use and when charging takes place.

You’re spot on there. One of the conditions of the £500 OLEV grant is that you allow them to monitor your charging habits, for at least 3 years, in order to shape future policy. When I had my Rolec installed in 2015 this was achieved by installing a dedicated smart meter next to the charger, with its own SIM, to allow the setup to feed charging stats back to OLEV. I assume this was also one of the things that pushed up the OLEV install price.

With a smart connected charger, the charger itself can achieve this, easier all around.

 

[leewillis77]

I ordered an Andersen A2 in May, with an original install date of the 25th June.

On the 18th June they wrote to me about the WiFi issue:

We are emailing you to inform you about the ethernet connectivity of our chargers. On the day of your install, your charger can be wired directly to your router by our engineers using an ethernet cable. This provides an uninterrupted connection to your app and a reliable connection for the life of your charger. All our engineers carry home plugs and the necessary equipment to do this (at no extra cost) and we believe this will give you the best connectivity and overall long-term experience.

The alternative is to choose to connect your charger via your home wi-fi. We believe that this often gives you an interrupted service connection when using your app (both on mobile and desktop). Disconnections are actually the number one issue that annoys our customers. Disconnections arise because your charger will struggle to connect to the cloud because of weak and unstable signal strength. Your charge point will disappear from your app and you won’t have access to your desktop console. These issues are compounded due to distance, weather and interference and even simple things like changing your router settings.

If you wish to connect using wi-fi then we cannot offer this ability on the day of your install, an engineer will need to revisit you in a few weeks to enable this feature.
​

I wrote back to them and (given I knew my model 3 wasn't imminent) and said:

The location of my charger means that wiring directly to my router isn’t practical or desirable (it’s the opposite side of the house through several walls.)

I do have strong WiFi signal in place via range extenders. There is a relatively close extender (~3m away from the install site) which the A2 could be wired into. However, I wouldn’t be happy with a solution that is reliant on a wired in solution as that doesn’t give me the flexibility of moving access points as required without re-wiring work.

If you don’t believe that a WiFi only install will work acceptably then please can you cancel my order entirely and refund any monies paid.

If you do think that the A2 will support WiFi connectivity as-sold, but you’re not able to provide a WiFi installation on my current install date (25th June), please could you re-arrange for a date where that can be done all in one visit.
​

I didn't get a specific reply to this, but I did get the generic "your order has been delayed due to quality issue" email, and then a further email with a re-arranged appointment for w/c 15th July. I asked them to confirm whether this install would be WiFi capable, and they confirmed (via email):

During your installation week, you will be able to get a wifi installation set up for the connectivity.
​

My install is booked in for Friday this week (the unit* itself arrived by courier last Friday) and I'm based on my email exchanges so far, I'm expecting to have it wired in to my access point, but also be connected to my WiFi.

I'd suggest dropping them an email, or a call with your queries - they've been really helpful and responsive every time I've had any sort of exchange with them (live chat / email etc.).

* For those that are interested it actually comes in several bits - internals, front plate, side plates & cable.

 

[Jellus]

Anyone know if the charger has a user-accessible RJ45 connector? Or is the cable hardwired into the unit?

 

[dst87]

Thanks @leewillis77 that’s very informative.

If you’re able, would you let us know how your installation goes on Friday?

I plan to contact them today if I can, or will do so tomorrow.