Difficulty deciding - Andersen or Zappi

[Bootneckshuffl]

Hi all

Home charger shortlist now stands as the above, no exceptions (otherwise it’s never gonna happen)

I’ve looked into both heavily, very difficult to separate the 2 in terms of quality, build, etc. Obviously the A2 wins hands down for design, don’t think anyone can debate that.

Am I correct in thinking, that’s what it comes down to between the 2 choices, aesthetics?

 

[TheEVadvisor]

Zappi more advanced

 

[Dilly]

Zappi more advanced

I agree. I have two. One in the garage, one on the side of the house. Customer support (if needed) is outstanding.

 

[BushtrimmmerJr]

We went for the Andersen and it’s been great, no problems with it at all and the app is really useful (tells you how much you’ve charged and at what cost etc.).

We wanted ours to blend in as much as possible and I don’t think most people walking by would even notice it. It looks really smart though.

I’ve just had a look at the features list on the Zappi website and I don’t think there’s much of a difference between the two. I think Zappi has different charging modes (eco, eco+ and fast) which I don’t think the Andersen has (although I don’t think I’d use different ones).

 

[Epico]

If you don't have solar I don't think it makes much of a difference so looks may swing it...zappi works with solar though in my opinion the quality of the unit and in particular the plastic housing seems a bit cheap after being installed for almost a year...

 

[Durzel]

If you have solar (or are planning to) then the Zappi seems like a no brainer, as it lets you charge using pure PV.. As great as the Andersen is, it’s pretty dumb in the sense of being a smart charger. There’s an app, you can set schedules, that’s about it.

Andersen (A2) is easily the best looking charger on the market though, in my opinion. That matters to some people.

You do pay a kings ransom for that premium aesthetics though.

The above said, I have an A2 and it’s been faultless, even with the Model 3, and looks great (or at least not conspicuous) on the front of the house, which was important to me. If it’s going in a garage or at the side then it might not matter so much.

 

[Gatsojon]

Happy Zappi 2 owner here. I have PV so works well with that. As noted above, good technical support and active forum too.

I do like the look of the Anderson and without PV, would probably have just got that.

 

[MidhurstNigel]

I've got a Zappi 2 and solar. Zappi works well and now that Tesla seemed to had cured the 'wake up to charge on solar' problem (touch wood) I can mop up surplus solar. That said as long as I can get all the juice that I (personally) need at 5p a unit via Octopus Go the saving I get from solar is pretty marginal. I don't really like the eco++ mode since the charger keeps switching charging on and off as load in the house changes (switch on the kettle/washing machine/tumble drier/oven etc and charging is stopped) Somewhere in the charger/car there are relays that open and close each time and I'd rather not burn them out sooner that necessary. If you use eco+ mode you get over this issue but at the cost of using full price electricity to suplement the solar which quickly eats into any cost saving. Also with my Green hat on I'd rather any surplus I have from the PV is put back in the grid in the late afternoon (our PV faces SW) to cut down peak demand on the generation capacity and then use overnight surplus to charge. Really bought the Zappi as an insurance against cheap overnight tariffs disappearing.

One point in favour of Zappi - their customer support is A1. Customer service staff are available on the phone and are real experts on their products and happy to spend time talking you through things like software updates.

 

[Bootneckshuffl]

Thanks all

Am I right in saying that the A2 now also has solar capability? I’m sure I was just reading this the other day.

We don’t actually have Solar at the moment, it could be a possibility in the future though.

I too have looked through the tech specs of both units and it’s very difficult to separate the 2 specs wise, yes the Zappi has the 3 different charging modes and load balancing.

 

[Avendit]

I think the electricals are the same in both, that's why neither need spikes. Bit hearsayish tho.

Looking at my Andersen install instructions, there is an optional solar CT sensor cable and a dynamic fuse CT sensor, which sound like they would enable zappi like features.

Support is equally pleasent, nice low pressure install (the guy was only doing my one simple install on my day so it was unrushed, he had time to chat etc which was nice) and the units are lovely. I think the look is most of the difference, and the reason I chose the Andersen.

Only down side for me was the installer driving from Newcastle to Edinburgh to do the install in a diesel van. There goes my first 3 months of carbon savings :-(

 

[Rooster6655]

Am I right in saying that the A2 now also has solar capability? I’m sure I was just reading this the other day.

There is an add-on you can purchase at the order stage but you can't add the solar bit on once installed.

 

[Drew57]

For me it wasn't just the fact that I already had solar PV - I was about to purchase either a Pod Point or EO mini smart home.

My neighbour recommended a Zappi, the local EV installer recommended a Zappi (reliability/no earth rod), these led me to online reviews, the Fully Charged video impressed me & the smart feature set matched my charging needs.

As others have mentioned, customer service is simply outstanding & I'm very happy to be supporting a small, relatively new UK business.

 

[Chanser]

Zappi here because of solar.

 

[roadcred]

Started with Rolec - burnt out after 6 months. recently got solar & PW2, ZAppi really is a no brainer! Great supportb on the phone!

 

[MadScientist]

Andersen. It looks a million times better and can also do solar. Customer support is also outstanding.

 

[Epico]

Am I the only person on here who has had shoddy customer service from my energi (zappi)

The Zappi has been. Having a problem since it was installed whereby it would reset itself constantly when it was due to start charging...finally been identified after much hassle and back and forth that it was an issue with a batch they made last year. To which they will allegedly sent me a temporary replacement mother board while they fix my one. This has been after much chasing, emails going unanswered and the final one today when I have had to chase up where this replacement board is I get a reply from the tech support telling to contact customer services quoting the ticket number he gave me...how about do that yourself as it's your companies issue...why am I having to seperately email someone else within your company...sorry to go off on one but it hasn't exactly been a great service from them so far...thankfully from what is mentioned here I appear to be a minority.

 

[CMc1]

Am I the only person on here who has had shoddy customer service from my energi (zappi)

The Zappi has been. Having a problem since it was installed whereby it would reset itself constantly when it was due to start charging...finally been identified after much hassle and back and forth that it was an issue with a batch they made last year. To which they will allegedly sent me a temporary replacement mother board while they fix my one. This has been after much chasing, emails going unanswered and the final one today when I have had to chase up where this replacement board is I get a reply from the tech support telling to contact customer services quoting the ticket number he gave me...how about do that yourself as it's your companies issue...why am I having to seperately email someone else within your company...sorry to go off on one but it hasn't exactly been a great service from them so far...thankfully from what is mentioned here I appear to be a minority.

Exact same issue here. Initial batch of Zappis. Took a few attempts due to poorly packaged chip/board which resulted in screen damage, followed by antenna snapped in the next mail. Got there in the end. But they always replied to my service ticket

 

[ShaunJ]

Andersen came and installed the charger today as arranged. The advance survey was completed by sending them photos of the meter and consumer unit. Had the wire put under a suspended floor. This was a standard install charge.

Need a bit of paint on the conduit to make it match.

All good so far, just waiting for the Tesla M3 to turn up in the 4 September.

 

[Epico]

Andersen came and installed the charger today as arranged. The advance survey was completed by sending them photos of the meter and consumer unit. Had the wire put under a suspended floor. This was a standard install charge.

Need a bit of paint on the conduit to make it match.

View attachment 577434 All good so far, just waiting for the Tesla M3 to turn up in the 4 September.

They did it sideways!

 

[LongRanger]

Electricity flows better that way. Less uphill.