Home EV charger advice for Solar PV excess and mobile access etc + Olev

[alitech]

hey guys

I am trying to decide which charger to go for. I want to place an order asap as I now have the VIN and can apply for OLEV grant apparently (still need to figure out how to do that properly).

Anyway, I have a very simple wishlist and from what I can gather from my research there are 2 or maybe 3 EV home chargers that may fit the bill.

First, my wishlist:

1. Needs to work with my existing Solar array (7.48kw) and utilise any excess energy that is being produced
2. Needs to have a mobile app so I can see how much the charger is using at any time, would also like the ability to lock it down completely when not in use.
3. Schedule charging for off-peak charging
4. Looks good
5. Olev approved.

The 2 chargers that I think fit the bill are:

1. Andersen PV
2. Myenergy Zappi

I like the Andersen over Zappi because of how it looks however the details on its Solar array compatibility is weak. I cant find any details anywhere and no one is talking about it on forums or youtube reviews. 12 weeks lead time.

The Zappi will work as it comes with its own hub and CT clamp and lots of information about how to use it with Solar PV online. 16 weeks lead time.

Please help

 

[Obliter8]

There are a great many threads on this. Search for solar and best charger

 

[S.Badger]

If your highest priority requirement is a charger that can divert excess solar then it will limit your choices though there are options. Another option that might work for you is to sell excess solar out to the grid and then buy it back at the same rate overnight. Octopus Energy's Outgoing tariff can provide this.

 

[Mr Miserable]

I believe Rolec have a Rolec Solar but don't know anybody that has one.
The Zappi seems the most popular though

 

[MrBadger]

You will be better off with your larger array but do note that min charge current is iirc 6A so around 1500W. So if you want to charge from excess solar, you need to have at least 1500-1600W of export going on.

You have nearly twice my 4kWp installed capacity and hopefully you don't have any shading like I do, but this was my export for a relatively bright day today. Not a lot of opportunity to charge at 6A from excess Solar for me today. ymmv.

My personal view is that if I want to charge from solar, I'll just stick car on 6A limit and know that I will get a decent charge (for a few extra pennys) rather than not getting a decent charge and having the charge rate chasing the clouds and home usage. This for me will only get worse until mid to late Feb.