Rolec vs Ohme

[CPhoenix]

Hi all,

Looking for a bit of help on this one and apologies in advance as charging regularly comes up on here.

I'm planning on getting my charging point set up soon and the idea was to have a Ohme wall-unit since I'm planning to move to Octopus Agile (already Octopus member). My local electrician has recommended a Rolec unit as that's what he has experience with and is accredited for. Side note that he's said that he's okay with sending off for accreditation for Ohme installs however still recommends Rolec.

Looking other posts on here, there seems to have been problems getting the Rolec to recognise the Octopus Agile tariff (because it uses the EV.Energy app???). Has anyone had any experience of this and is the Rolec actually any better than the Ohme?

Cheers

CP

 

[NastyNick83]

I've not got the Rolec or Ohme installed (EO Mini Pro). To me it sounds like your installer is pushing the one he knows.

You would use the Rolec as a 'dumb' charger and then use EV.Energy app to control when to charge (taking into account Agile rates).

The Ohme is smart already and links to your Agile tarrif without needing a 3rd party app. So if the prices were similar, I'd personally opt for the Ohme.

Just my 2p

Nick

 

[barbs]

I was chatting to a local installer earlier this week and he mentioned getting certified for chargers is a bit of a faff as it's for each individual charger.

I'd agree with Nick, sounds like he is pushing the one he knows.

I'd be interested to know if anyone has any issues with the setup described (EV Energy app and Agile) as I was planning to use this combination.

 

[GRiLLA]

I've tried EV.Energy twice and it just seemed to stop my car sleeping, maybe its conflicting with TeslaFi.

To get Octopus discount on Ohme wouldn't you need to get a Commando fitted then order the cable, in which case certification isn't required for the installer? Octopus Energy

 

[Medved_77]

I'd be interested to know if anyone has any issues with the setup described (EV Energy app and Agile) as I was planning to use this combination.

I've been using the ev.energy app with agile for a while. I think it's brilliantly clever and love that it keeps giving me amazon vouchers just for using it.

A lot of people have reported a finicky setup experience whilst I've had no issues. Not sure what the variances are but its always worked well for me. Think it may be related to the car going to sleep but I have sentry mode on all the time so that doesn't bother me.

There's a referral code in my profile if you wish to use it. Think it gives you enough points for a £5 Amazon voucher.

 

[barbs]

Interesting, cheers. When thetthe car arrives I'll test it out with and without sentry mode. Worst case is having to write a small script/Node Red flow to trigger the charging but I've read if the car is asleep that it can be hard to wake up from the REST API...

@CPhoenix which charger do you think you'll go with?

 

[CPhoenix]

@CPhoenix which charger do you think you'll go with?

Probably the Ohme as it seems to have more people giving better feedback.

 

[Asterix187]

You can also get the relic and use an Ohme charger cable in it. If your with octopus you get the cable for £199 but can also take the cable out on travels and use the scheduling functionality even if it’s not connected to an octopus supply.

 

[Adopado]

Interesting, cheers. When thetthe car arrives I'll test it out with and without sentry mode. Worst case is having to write a small script/Node Red flow to trigger the charging but I've read if the car is asleep that it can be hard to wake up from the REST API...

The issue that led to people using Sentry mode to keep the car awake has been resolved by a software update. It should no longer make any difference.

 

[s88ats]

The issue that led to people using Sentry mode to keep the car awake has been resolved by a software update. It should no longer make any difference.

That's useful to know even though I probably will have sentry on all the time. I ordered the ohme smart cable from octopus but haven't committed to buying it. I may just stick with the umc + 32a commando adapter with the EV.energy app. I'm guessing if it's always plugged in the app would work with the agile rates, and not continuously charge?

 

[Jason71]

That's useful to know even though I probably will have sentry on all the time. I ordered the ohme smart cable from octopus but haven't committed to buying it. I may just stick with the umc + 32a commando adapter with the EV.energy app. I'm guessing if it's always plugged in the app would work with the agile rates, and not continuously charge?

The car can be told when to stop and start charging but if plugged in it will always draw any power needed for other things like prehead straight from the mains so if you are going to have it on sentry mode most of the power needed will be at day rates which will equate to hundreds of pounds over the course of the year.

 

[s88ats]

The car can be told when to stop and start charging but if plugged in it will always draw any power needed for other things like prehead straight from the mains so if you are going to have it on sentry mode most of the power needed will be at day rates which will equate to hundreds of pounds over the course of the year.

Would there not be a way to stop it from charging during the day and only during the plunge rates?
I'm assuming that's where the app comes into play?

 

[Adopado]

Would there not be a way to stop it from charging during the day and only during the plunge rates?
I'm assuming that's where the app comes into play?

You can define when it charges but you cannot easily stop the car taking power for non-charging purposes. If your car is plugged in during the day then it will take "shore power" to save your battery level from dropping unnecessarily. These things would include any pre-heating of the car, any pre-cooling of the car, keeping the inside of the car below 40c on hot days (if you have that feature switched on), Sentry Mode (if you have that feature switched on), other computing and downloading/updating. Someone running Teslafi or Teslamate should have data that shows what that actually adds up to in practice. It may not be much in total kWh but if each of those kWh is priced at 3 times what you pay when charging then it's worth paying some attention to it (If you are going to run Sentry mode all day every day for instance). The most effective way would be to set the charger itself to switch off when not needed.

 

[s88ats]

You can define when it charges but you cannot easily stop the car taking power for non-charging purposes. If your car is plugged in during the day then it will take "shore power" to save your battery level from dropping unnecessarily. These things would include any pre-heating of the car, any pre-cooling of the car, keeping the inside of the car below 40c on hot days (if you have that feature switched on), Sentry Mode (if you have that feature switched on), other computing and downloading/updating. Someone running Teslafi or Teslamate should have data that shows what that actually adds up to in practice. It may not be much in total kWh but if each of those kWh is priced at 3 times what you pay when charging then it's worth paying some attention to it (If you are going to run Sentry mode all day every day for instance). The most effective way would be to set the charger itself to switch off when not needed.

Noted, thank you. I'm assuming these features can be turned off via car or app?

To summerise regardless of which app you use with a commando charger and the umc, the only way to prevent any power being drawn is by unplugging it?

Perhaps I should commit to the ohme smart cable as that would convert the commando to a smart charger whereby I could just leave it on without worrying about power being drawn.

 

[Adopado]

Perhaps I should commit to the ohme smart cable as that would convert the commando to a smart charger whereby I could just leave it on without worrying about power being drawn.

Depends on the charge point whether it can totally shut off or not. Obviously if the car is needing to run services of some sort it's going to use some power ... and if from the battery then you're going to need a bit more charging overall. Most of us regard this "shore power" aspect a benefit rather than a problem! For example, there's nothing better than getting into a warm car on a freezing winter morning!

 

[s88ats]

Depends on the charge point whether it can totally shut off or not. Obviously if the car is needing to run services of some sort it's going to use some power ... and if from the battery then you're going to need a bit more charging overall. Most of us regard this "shore power" aspect a benefit rather than a problem! For example, there's nothing better than getting into a warm car on a freezing winter morning!

100% agreed on it being a benefit, however, if the cars just sitting on the drive and I don't need to go anywhere (because of the pandemic), there must be an option to turn it off?

I'll see how I get on with the commando and tesla's UMC and monitor how much energy it uses unnecessarily. If it warrants a change I guess I could always reorder the ohme smart cable to make it smart and restrict the power.

 

[MrBadger]

if the cars just sitting on the drive and I don't need to go anywhere (because of the pandemic), there must be an option to turn it off?

Nope. Battery loss around 1%/day would seem typical - potentially much worse if using other features such as sentry.