EV charging station for use with solar panels.
Discussion
Look at this
https://myenergi.com/product/zappi/
Specifically designed to make best use of solar panels to charge car.
https://myenergi.com/product/zappi/
Specifically designed to make best use of solar panels to charge car.
As above, Zappi - been using one for 18 months now with a 7kw PV set up and it does what it says on the tin.
The charging protocol has a minimum level of 1.2kw (? could be 1.5kw) so it has two settings - either to stop when ever below this, or the alternative of top up from the grid to keep the charge flowing.
Went the whole summer without requiring any grid elec to run the car, just leave it hooked up when ever parked at home.
Will see if I can find a picture from the summer showing the power usage verses the power generated on a charging day, it was quite impressive how closely it matched.
Cheers,
Phil
The charging protocol has a minimum level of 1.2kw (? could be 1.5kw) so it has two settings - either to stop when ever below this, or the alternative of top up from the grid to keep the charge flowing.
Went the whole summer without requiring any grid elec to run the car, just leave it hooked up when ever parked at home.
Will see if I can find a picture from the summer showing the power usage verses the power generated on a charging day, it was quite impressive how closely it matched.
Cheers,
Phil
kent_phil said:
And completely agree on the summer verses winter difference - my setup maxed out at 52kwh in the summer, got 1.3kwh one day last week...
Makes me feel not too bad about the max 3.4kWh we had on Wednesday .Edited by kent_phil on Saturday 16th November 10:45
I'm hoping in the summer solar will make a bigger impact, though right now we're putting in just short of 0.6KW into the PowerWall after house use, so may 'break even' with solar contributing enough to day time consumption today.
Forget Zappi's or equivalents.
If you switch to Octopus Energy and charge overnight with their Go tariff, look at the Outgoing option too.
Any unused PV which is exported is paid at 5.5p for each kWh, when you charge you buy it back at 5p.
It's a virtual battery, capturing all exported PV and you buy it back cheaper.
Effectively they pay you to charge your car.
Look at Octopus via my referral and get £50 credit if you join
https://share.octopus.energy/ivory-snail-551
If you switch to Octopus Energy and charge overnight with their Go tariff, look at the Outgoing option too.
Any unused PV which is exported is paid at 5.5p for each kWh, when you charge you buy it back at 5p.
It's a virtual battery, capturing all exported PV and you buy it back cheaper.
Effectively they pay you to charge your car.
Look at Octopus via my referral and get £50 credit if you join
https://share.octopus.energy/ivory-snail-551
Don't you also loss the government 50% assumed export payments on the Octopus scheme?
It looks good if you have a massive array and over produce, but if you have a small 4KW setup with an EV +/- battery storage your unlikely to export much if anything. So actually your likely loss money versus staying with the government scheme of assumed 50% export paymentsm
They do talk about 'selling' back to the grid at peak hours, but as far as I can tell there is no way to control battery like the PowerWall to tell it to discharge back to the grid at a set time?
'Smart' grids with peer to peer electricity sharing sounds interesting but its going to need alot of clever tech to make financial sense.
Where as good old fashioned E7 just work the numbers very predictably, last 12 days we used 1 kWh of peak rate electricity at 15p per kWh, and 288 kWh of off peak at 8 per kWh.
I might actually be able to move to Octopus Go with the 4hrs of 5p per kWh, the PowerWall does seem every reliable at only charging during off peak, will generate a saving of £15/month for me versus standard E7, if I can keep to only using 5p per kWh rates.
It looks good if you have a massive array and over produce, but if you have a small 4KW setup with an EV +/- battery storage your unlikely to export much if anything. So actually your likely loss money versus staying with the government scheme of assumed 50% export paymentsm
They do talk about 'selling' back to the grid at peak hours, but as far as I can tell there is no way to control battery like the PowerWall to tell it to discharge back to the grid at a set time?
'Smart' grids with peer to peer electricity sharing sounds interesting but its going to need alot of clever tech to make financial sense.
Where as good old fashioned E7 just work the numbers very predictably, last 12 days we used 1 kWh of peak rate electricity at 15p per kWh, and 288 kWh of off peak at 8 per kWh.
I might actually be able to move to Octopus Go with the 4hrs of 5p per kWh, the PowerWall does seem every reliable at only charging during off peak, will generate a saving of £15/month for me versus standard E7, if I can keep to only using 5p per kWh rates.
jh001 said:
No not a Taycan, a e-hybrid Cayenne with a 7.2kw onboard charger.
Oh, in that case don't bother with spending £700+ on a charger/installation. Just use the 3 pin plug when its sunny. The battery is so small going to a proper smart (expensive) home charger like the Zappi is a waste of time and effort!AnotherUsername said:
I’ve just installed a 35kw system on my roof. I’ve had a few days of 50kwh and some as low as 15.
Reference the octopus, you can’t have the octopus outgoing solar payments AND the cheap night EV tariff together as far as I’m aware.
35kW is a huge system? What do you do with all the energy? Can't export that much on a domestic single phase connection surely or do you have 3 phase?Reference the octopus, you can’t have the octopus outgoing solar payments AND the cheap night EV tariff together as far as I’m aware.
Yes, it’s 3 phase. I’ve just installed a second GSHP and the plan is to run the heating off of the solar and store the energy produced in the slab. Will change to an export tariff during spring.
Having such a whopper system is the only way of making anything like a dent in the winter demand of 100+kwh per day.
Having such a whopper system is the only way of making anything like a dent in the winter demand of 100+kwh per day.
I am on Octopus Go and Outgoing, why don't you think you can both?
My PV array was installed this year so I have no FIT payments, so can't comment on the associated costs.
A zappi solution has an achilles heel, your car must be at home during the day.
With Octopus, day time PV is exported (and paid to you), you get it back at a cheaper rate during the night when your car is at home.
My PV array was installed this year so I have no FIT payments, so can't comment on the associated costs.
A zappi solution has an achilles heel, your car must be at home during the day.
With Octopus, day time PV is exported (and paid to you), you get it back at a cheaper rate during the night when your car is at home.
superpp said:
I am on Octopus Go and Outgoing, why don't you think you can both?
My PV array was installed this year so I have no FIT payments, so can't comment on the associated costs.
A zappi solution has an achilles heel, your car must be at home during the day.
With Octopus, day time PV is exported (and paid to you), you get it back at a cheaper rate during the night when your car is at home.
That’s brilliant news! It states on their website that having both may not work, or it did. Cheers!My PV array was installed this year so I have no FIT payments, so can't comment on the associated costs.
A zappi solution has an achilles heel, your car must be at home during the day.
With Octopus, day time PV is exported (and paid to you), you get it back at a cheaper rate during the night when your car is at home.
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