Which EV charger?

dharm999

Am about to buy an EV and am looking at chargers, which is a bit of a maze.  I am switching to Octopus for energy, so will be able to switch to one of their suitable tariffs.  Where I am confused is that certain chargers say they are only compatible with certain energy company smart tariffs, which seems crazy to me, why restrict things in that way?  I assume that if I install a charger that is only compatible with a certain energy company’s smart tariffs then if I switched energy company in the future I could lose the option of switching to another company’s smart tariff?

is there anything I should look for when considering chargers?  I have a driveway, so no access issues and it would be tucked away in a corner so not particularly visible.  Strong mobile and Wi-Fi signal where the charger would be placed.  We live in a cul de sac so low risk of someone else using it.

Thanks

NigeWick

Happy with my Myenergi Zappi. My car is garaged so bought "tethered" which means that there is a cable to plug the car in attached to the charger. If I didn't have the garage, I would have chosen untethered so anybody trying to abstract my electricity would need a cable. That said, a friend f mine keeps his car on his drive and has a tethered charger. I'm with Octopus Flux as I also have a battery so I can charge it cheaper and sell when it's more expensive.

Keep_pedalling

The reason different energy companies support different charge points is because it is the energy companies have to integrate their systems with the charge point and the work involved in doing that is substantial. Octopus and other companies also integrate with more cars than they do charge points, but from my experience it works better.

If you have (or plan to have) solar then you can’t really beat a Zappi.

If later on you switch to a supplier that neither your car or charge points are compatible with you can still do it with most of them yo7 will just have to use the timer in the car to make sure it only charges at the cheap rate.

dharm999

Yes, plan to have solar panels at some point and also batteries.

Exiled_Tyke

It's not so much an intended restriction more of a compatibility issue.  The energy company needs to be able to take control of the charger and given how long it takes to onboard a new charger it seems to take a lot of working out and testing.   I guess if a charger can be run by one energy company it should only be a matter of time before others can use it too.  I'm with Octopus and have no intention of changing any time soon so I've not worried about this.  I already had a Zappi as it monitors the PV production and puts excess into the car but I'm sure the Ohm is equally good.   The link up was pretty straightforward - just had to give octopus the login to the charger. 

There should never be a worry about others using your charger. Who would take the risk of being caught helping themselves to £1.75 an hour of leccy.  

Make sure the location and cable length  are handy for wherever the charging port is on the car.  It's easy to place the charger somewhere that makes it a real pain to position the car to charge.  I also went with a tethered charger as connections are pretty standard now and it allows me to keep my charging cable in the car boot for whenever I might need it.   If you've a choice I'd also place it somewhere relatively sheltered. Not that it matters but I prefer it where it doesn't get too much of a battering from the elements.  

Keep_pedalling

Then I would definitely have a Zappi. I am on my second one now (hand the second installed when we moved earlier in the year) works well whether charging on the cheap rate or (in the summer) charging when enough enough energy is being generated from the panels. I don’t tend to do the latter as I get 15p pkWh for export, so I am better off charging at night.

Exiled_Tyke

@Keep_pedalling may have the best strategy.  Getting paid for export can be better than self-use of PV currently and so the Zappi might not be needed.  I'm very happy with mine but I would check out prices and wouldn't be prepared to pay too much more than an Ohm.  I think the amount of 'free' electricity which goes into the car (from the days I'm working at home of course)  won't really cover the extra cost of the Zappi.  

dharm999

I’m 100% work from home, and we can easily load shift as my OH doesn’t work, so moving to a flexible EV charging tariff isn’t a major problem

Keep_pedalling

Are you buying a new EV? Many offer a free charge point.

carly

Another vote here for the Zappi.   Had one for 4 years and has worked well with several different EVs together with Solar panels and battery. Thier tech support is friendly and helpful too.  Intelligent Octopus Go tariff .

Exiled_Tyke

One thing not considered here is that Octopus can integrate with some EV's (mainly VW group cars, BMW, Mini, Jag, and Tesla)  in which case it doesn't matter which charger you get - although you may want to futureproof this by getting a compatible charger anyway.