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Recommended EV chargers in UK ?

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Hi mates, I’m scheduled to buy a Tesla in the coming months. I live in the UK (Newcastle) and wanted to know what most of you Tesla owners are using for your chargers.

Do you have any suggestions as to which is better in terms of cost, reliability, custom service etc & how I can get started with installing them (electricians help?)
 
Do you have solar or expect to get solar any time soon?

If yes, get a solar compatible charger, if no then basically anything will do the job.

Prices vary widely as do design and looks.

Tesla have their own charger, it’s fine. It’s main advantage is that it has the little button that opens the charge port flap or releases the cable when charging is complete. It’s main disadvantage is that it costs more to install because it doesn’t have earth fault detection built in and requires a separate device or earth rod. A lot of chargers are building it in these days.

I have a Hypervolt, it’s fine, decent design, solar compatible and has all the safety features built in but the software is still developing.

Zappi is probably the market leader for a whole home solution, it just looks a bit fisher price but well worth checking out.

There are loads of cheaper, more basic chargers out there though that will do the job fine. It’s as much about buying something you like the look of and fits in with your house as anything else.

In short, it doesn’t really matter, I’d only recommend getting a tethered charger where the cable is permanently attached. Other than that it doesn’t really matter.

Most charger providers will be able to point you in the direction of an installer in your area. There are a few websites that do this job as well.
 
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Welcome!
There’s a pinned thread for recommended charge point installers. See if there’s any installers recommended near you (you can search the thread, it just takes a while to work out the search settings).
The installer may have a preferred supplier.

Personally I have just had a Zappi installed. It’s not the cheapest but is the go-to option if you have solar panels installed, as you can charge using only solar.
 
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Do you have solar or expect to get solar any time soon?

If yes, get a solar compatible charger, if no then basically anything will do the job.

Prices vary widely as do design and looks.

Tesla have their own charger, it’s fine. It’s main advantage is that it has the little button that opens the charge port flap or releases the cable when charging is complete. It’s main disadvantage is that it costs more to install because it doesn’t have earth fault detection built in and requires a separate device or earth rod. A lot of chargers are building it in these days.

I have a Hypervolt, it’s fine, decent design, solar compatible and has all the safety features built in but the software is still developing.

Zappi is probably the market leader for a whole home solution, it just looks a bit fisher price but well worth checking out.

There are loads of cheaper, more basic chargers out there though that will do the job fine. It’s as much about buying something you like the look of and fits in with your house as anything else.

In short, it doesn’t really matter, I’d only recommend getting a tethered charger where the cable is permanently attached. Other than that it doesn’t really matter.

Most charger providers will be able to point you in the direction of an installer in your area. There are a few websites that do this job as well.
Thanks @qwickshot for the detailed explanation.

I dont have a solar source as of now but i would like to keep my options open if I plan to get solar in the future.

For me cost or design is less of a concern, it should provide as many safety features, app controlled features and future proof features. What would you recommend if this is the case ?
 
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I've been looking around at a number of options and deciding between the Easee and the Zappi. A family member has the Easee and has mentioned the app is really good but like the option of future proofing for solar through the Zappi. Will look to make my decision soon but there doesn't seem to really be much in it. I also like the tethered option for both chargers as don't really like the idea of having to move the charge cable back and forth even if its on the rare occasion.
 
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I've been considering a Zappi, but we only have a small (2.7kW) array, so I'm not sure it's worth it as even if charging at 6 amps I'm not sure I'd get much use of the solar, especially if teamed with an overnight tariff.

Also, how well does Zappi play with Intelligent Octopus? Would it override scheduling settings set via IO?

Any thoughts?
 
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I've been considering a Zappi, but we only have a small (2.7kW) array, so I'm not sure it's worth it as even if charging at 6 amps I'm not sure I'd get much use of the solar, especially if teamed with an overnight tariff.

Also, how well does Zappi play with Intelligent Octopus? Would it override scheduling settings set via IO?

Any thoughts?
The Zappi works perfectly with IO as long as it is set to Fast mode prior to plugging in. It's never caused an issue for me (7 months so far).

It will charge the car with solar whenever there is 1.4kWh surplus generation so even at 2.7kW there will probably be many occasions where it is better to charge the car than export to grid.
 
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The Zappi works perfectly with IO as long as it is set to Fast mode prior to plugging in. It's never caused an issue for me (7 months so far).

It will charge the car with solar whenever there is 1.4kWh surplus generation so even at 2.7kW there will probably be many occasions where it is better to charge the car than export to grid.
If I understand correctly, this means that I would need to switch to eco mode during the day and fast mode over night. Is that correct?
 
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For me cost or design is less of a concern, it should provide as many safety features, app controlled features and future proof features. What would you recommend if this is the case ?
So all installations have to have the same safety features, if the charger is missing something then the electrician will add it.

As for other features, imho you won't need them as the car is the better place to go to control charging one schedules etc. You want it to be reliable as there is nothing worse than a fancy complex charger throwing it's toys out of the pram and not charging that night.
 
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The EO Mini Pro 2 works great for me. If you're happy with untethered (using your own cable), it is the cleanest looking one in my opinion - very discreet design.
Unfortunately the EO Mini Pro 2 is now discontinued (and AFAIK they never made it compliant with the Smart Charge Point Regulations, so no chance of picking up old stock). If you want EO you have to wait for the EO Mini Pro 3 (they say "available from September 2022").
 
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If I understand correctly, this means that I would need to switch to eco mode during the day and fast mode over night. Is that correct?
Yes but we leave the Zappi on Eco+ most of the time (not Eco for solar or if scheduling via the car & not via IO). I only set the Zappi to Fast mode just prior to plugging in for an IO charge and then switch back to Eco+ afterwards.

It's not as much hassle as it sounds because between March-end September the car charges mostly from solar, with occasional use of IO and whenever we charge our other EV, that's via a Zappi Schedule using Eco+ so that is our default setting.

(In my case, Eco is only occasionally used for forcing the car to top-up between 1.4kWh & 3.6kWh...the inverter maximum).
 
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Thanks @qwickshot for the detailed explanation.

I dont have a solar source as of now but i would like to keep my options open if I plan to get solar in the future.

For me cost or design is less of a concern, it should provide as many safety features, app controlled features and future proof features. What would you recommend if this is the case ?

There isn’t anything that ticks all the boxes so you do have to compromise somewhere in either cost, atheistic, or features.

Either:

A tesla charger for that unplugging convenience

a tethered Zappi for a fully featured home energy solution

or a hypervolt for something that is sorlar ready, reasonably ‘stylish and doesn’t break the bank (it’s not as fully featured as the Zappi).

or an Anderson for if style if your thing and cost isn’t an issue.

When you install it make sure you get the version with a long enough cable in case you change your car and the charge port is on the other side of the car, or worse, on the front wing.

I’d avoid anything that relies on mobile data like the plague, you don’t need a subscription for a charge point and they all need one after a few of years to maintain the functionality. The charge point could well be a multi decade investment.

I’d also avoid anything that doesn’t have its own cable permanently attached, this is 100% for convenience but frankly I don’t want to have to coil up a soaking wet cable in the cold rain to take it with me.

I know some charge points can permanently lock the cable to the charger but that defeats the point of untethered and it looks rubbish. You’ll need to buy a another cable to do that anyway as you’ll want to take your type 2 with you. The day you need it will be the day you don’t bring it.
 
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I was planning to install an EO Mini Pro 2 but as others have said it is no longer available as it doesn't comply with the recent Reg changes. Ultimately I went for a Sync EV Charger which is tiny and does comply with the Regs. It has worked flawlessly for the last few weeks so maybe one to consider but everyone makes their own choice.
 
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I was planning to install an EO Mini Pro 2 but as others have said it is no longer available as it doesn't comply with the recent Reg changes. Ultimately I went for a Sync EV Charger which is tiny and does comply with the Regs. It has worked flawlessly for the last few weeks so maybe one to consider but everyone makes their own choice.

I also use a Sync EV charger. Super compact and seems to work well. My only complaint is that you can't disable the LED ring which goes blue when the charger is idle, only dim it.
 
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I have a slight concern about long term support for smart chargers. They all need a back end system, and an app/web page. Some of the smaller guys may not be around to provide continuity of this infrastructure - which would potentially make your charge point useless. I have an EO Mini 2 and wonder whether it’ll be working in 5 years time.
 
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I’ve just installed an Easee charger. Very happy with it. Really like that it’s very small and that you can lock the charging cable into it via the app. Means you can effectively have the best of tethered or non-tethered depending on how you feel. I plan to leave the cable locked into it most the time and then take the cable out when going on holiday etc.
 
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I have two Zappi’s but I also have almost 11KW of solar.
less than a 4kW array isn’t going to meaningfully charge on solar alone. They need a minimum 1.8kW plus house load.
On a wall to wall sunshine day, I can pull in 65kWh. But on a dull winter day, just 100Wh!
They are however quite competent at off peak charging as well
 
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