With thanks to EVolution Australia, get $100 off your next purchase. Valid until July 31 202, simply use code CHRIS100. More info: www.evolutionaustralia.com.au
You should probably never charge your EV off your home battery except in an emergency. The home battery should be for offsetting grid power - store it when it's cheap, use it when it's expensive.
Zappi has been recommended to me by my Solar/Battery installer. I'm a little way off needing one, but glad to see a decent length review of it from an Aussie.
got a Zappi , Eddi , Harvi and hub . Great system , easy to use app. Can dump PV to car , hot water and Eddi has second output that i send to a heater. All fully configurable.
@Sɛnˈseɪ Sīfù Shreder don't have a home battery, just hot water and EVs . My PV is a Solaredge 3.25kw system at the moment but I'm adding more if I can.
Chris, thank you. A very good run down. I am still learning about my solar system and in Melbourne with winter, limited roof and battery not here yet, I am simply using the Zappi to charge the MG ZS EV for two and a half hours at a time on rapid (6.8 kwh) and bouncing the battery between 100 km and 200 km range. But it is nice being able to charge up the car in a matter of a few hours. I do not have the wi fi capability but I will see how much control I get when I have the Tesla Powerwall installed. The electrician who installed the Zappi put a sensor up to the mains wire and I suppose that will give me control to avoid using grid power but I do not want to be drawing power from the Powerwall to charge the car. Ideally I would like to charge around noon using solar topped up with grid.
Hi Chris, doing some googling on the Zappi V2, and I saw there a V2.1 that has the Hub /wifi/bluetooth built in to unit as all-in-one. but having found who supplies them in OZ . ? did you see this too.
Hi Chris, interested in how the Zappi deals with the car charging not draining your Powerwall in the middle of the night. My powerwalls power my house during the evening and early morning. It would be counterproductive to use the powerwalls to charge my cars.
@@chrisvanderstock Hi, I checked out there site and I feel there are trying to sell you old stock , have looked in UK for the V2.1 but there 6 to 10 week wait . still same price with postage added for unit . regards Alex
@@chrisvanderstock They don't have an Australian version of V2.1 yet, not even an 'outlook' on when it might come here, and it's now 5 months down the track from when the UK and Europe got it! Come on Zappi...!
Hi great video. I have used Zappi for 3 years now. Our new home has Zappi 2 with solar generation and a Tesla Powerwall. I’m interested to know when you charge your cars in ECO+ does the Zappi take energy from you Powerwall?
I’ve had the zappi v1 charger for almost 3 years now, and only 3kw solar system and a tesla model 3 sr+ . I love my zappi. Working from home I don’t do a heap of kms regularly, so even my little 3kw solar and zappi keeps my tesla charged, except in the deepest depths of winter when I have to put it occasionally on eco mode where it mixes in up to 6 amps from grid. Love my zappi!!! And yes I bought it direct from evolution Australia, the day I picked up my tesla I went straight to them to get the zappi and a type 2 bring your own cable cable…. I’ve used the cable about 3 times in 3 years… I use the zappi every day
It's how the electrician installed it or programmed it. I could (if I knew how) go back in and change that setting, but its a small battery relative to the cars battery, so better used in the house.
Hi Chris, unfortunately my step dad's zappi is too far from the router so we can't schedule via the app, however he's got the MG app which has scheduled charging on the app,but I tried it and it Said "failed" do you know what I'm doing wrong? My step dad has the same setup as you MG EV ZS , solar & batteries,but his zappi has the hub etc built in, hence the router issue, any suggestions welcome, thank you 👍✌️
Thank you for the information. I have a Off-Grid system 8kw inverter, 10kw sola panels, 20kwh battery and am wondering how the Zappi could work for me. Henny
Great review! One of your main complaints has been addressed by the Zappi 2.1, which has been released in the UK and this integrates wifi into the Zappi. The new version also renders the Havi obsolete. My energy stated it should be released in Australia in the next few months. I'm going to wait till it is released.
Hi Chris. Hope you don't mind a question. The use case I am looking at is that car charges fir 4 hours overnight on cheap tariff (7kw) I am in UK btw and just uses any solar after my house batteries are full. Ie solar only goes to house batteries and house consumption unless there is excess solar that would go to the grid if I didn't have a Zappi. I have a 7kwh array. Is that possible? Ie any excess solar.. Second part.. my fuse box where power comes in to the house is 15m away from my consumer unit.. as I have a sub main between the two. And the zappi will be 20m away from the fuse box and 12 m away from the consumer unit. Just for info my Internet hub is 8m away from where the zappi will be located and 12m away from the fuse box and 12 m in the other direction from the consumer unit. A bit complicated I know. Will the Zappi dwork as I want. Not really getting great answers from potential installers. Thanks in advance. Andy
I'm not sure how solar operates in the UK (bit more north than the sweet spot), but at 7kW system the question and answer is something like, "do you get more than 1.2 / 1.3 kWh from your solar? If so, yes the Zapee will charge your car,. Anything above that and it will balance demand / supply between the battery, home requirements, etc. Its very clever. I've asked the MyEnergi group to help put some data together for a long term video as the info I get from it is a bit basic for a good juicy video.
Hi Chris, does the Zappi allow for a cat 5 connection direct to your router (avoid the wifi) and what sort of cable is required for the CT clamp connection in the power board. Can it be say standard electrical switch wire or does it require twisted pair?
Hi Chris. I think there is a reason boost is separate. If I want 20kWh in the car to give me reasonable range for what I normally use, having it on eco or eco plus will give me the boost but also utilise any surplus solar after the boost. No solar today (it is a UK designed product!), no problem, the boost will have made sure of you minimum, but also the utilised any solar. You may not have such unreliable weather!
doesn't a tesla ( or for that matter a number of other EV BUT not an MG!) allow you do do much of what your describe from the cars controls? if yes how do you optimise a Zappi for , say, a tesla?
Definetly, most EVs have schedule and limits on charging. The Zappi does the hard work around managing energy feeds - solar, battery, and/or wind. Almost all fast chargers don't do this - they use whatever they're given.
Hi Chris, thank you very much for that very informative video about the charger. I’m planning on getting solar and a battery soon, and the company has recommended I get the very same charger that you demonstrated, so I was very interested to get your thoughts on it. Thanks again
Even the fastest AC charging isn’t harming the battery. These speeds are still far too slow to have any impact on battery life. Fast AC charging has lower charging losses. The overhead of the car managing the charge is large, and when you charge the car at slow speeds, a significant portion of the power doesn’t actually reach the battery. Most people aren’t aware of this. It is actually easy to measure with an OBD scanner.
Hi Chris, Many thanks for a most informative video. I'm currently contemplating the purchase of my first EV. I also have 5.3Mw of PV panels and a 12KWh battery (both from Solax) which currently provides almost all the electricity I need to power my house. I am weighing up the relative advantages of the Zappi compared with the Solax EV Charger (which integrates quite well into my PV system but has some disadvantages I feel). Thinking about the integration of a charger into my PV system, I think it would be nice if, at times, I could have the car charge under the following conditions. Do you believe the Zappi is capable of this: a) Use solar only when I am exporting power (i.e. panels are generating and my battery is full). b) If necessary, top this up with (cheap) overnight power from the Grid. I assume this might also be integaretd with teh ability to tell Zappi what is my required state of charge to be achieved by a particular time. I appreciate this is quite a complex algorithm but would be interested to know, from your experience, whether the Zappi could handle this. Cheers, Geoff
For this you need to have someway to control your battery. It's central to power distribution and can do what you need it to; the only issue being how and with what software. I'm looking to "Home Assistant" for us, and staying with Amber electric. Their "smartshift" tech isn't good, and we've done better manually doing what you describe above - but it takes a lot of work.
Great review. Here in the UK we have an electricity supplier called Octopus, those guys take control of the system, which gets me a cheap rate of night time charging, but restricts solar charging, so it dumbs down the zappi charger. Not a total disaster, but a shame nonetheless.
My guess about the communication between the Zappi and the inhouse unit is that it simply goes via the electricity wires. And you may find it a problem that you need an extra unit in house, but think about those who'd have a zappi somewhere in their garden and the wifi of that zappi wouldnt be able to reach the wifi of the house, simply cause the distance is too long. So yes, a drawback, but for some other a relief ;-)
Great video thx. I was recommended the zappi smart charger and was very interested until I saw the Hub which is a deal breaker for me. I also didn’t like the menu system on the panel. If I was to get one I too would only use the app. Very informative video with relevant content.
![Electric Chris [Chris Vanderstock]](http://yt3.ggpht.com/CCLFhV_pz9KAJw7gowmTp6BFzqx5YzTWE8dBMZFSkk9OA8alBg7jdkSUixdit-SB-_vTl-OF7FU=s48-c-k-c0x00ffffff-no-rj)
With thanks to EVolution Australia, get $100 off your next purchase. Valid until July 31 202, simply use code CHRIS100. More info: www.evolutionaustralia.com.au
Missed out by 1 day 😞
I missed out too 😔. Please ask them for another code 🙏
You should probably never charge your EV off your home battery except in an emergency. The home battery should be for offsetting grid power - store it when it's cheap, use it when it's expensive.
Educating the public one video at a time. Well done.
Got my Zappi installed last week. Thanks for this review Chrisso. It proved super helpful.
Great detailed review, been looking a while for a proper aus review. Thanks!
Helpful review. I understand that v 2.1 now has WiFi integrated.
Zappi has been recommended to me by my Solar/Battery installer. I'm a little way off needing one, but glad to see a decent length review of it from an Aussie.
got a Zappi , Eddi , Harvi and hub . Great system , easy to use app. Can dump PV to car , hot water and Eddi has second output that i send to a heater. All fully configurable.
@Sɛnˈseɪ Sīfù Shreder don't have a home battery, just hot water and EVs . My PV is a Solaredge 3.25kw system at the moment but I'm adding more if I can.
Wish we had your Aussie solar power here in the UK mate. Mostly grey skys for many months unfortunately. Great video Chris
Great review, I believe the Zappi 2.1 now has Wifi integrated, so no need for the hub.
Chris, thank you. A very good run down. I am still learning about my solar system and in Melbourne with winter, limited roof and battery not here yet, I am simply using the Zappi to charge the MG ZS EV for two and a half hours at a time on rapid (6.8 kwh) and bouncing the battery between 100 km and 200 km range. But it is nice being able to charge up the car in a matter of a few hours. I do not have the wi fi capability but I will see how much control I get when I have the Tesla Powerwall installed. The electrician who installed the Zappi put a sensor up to the mains wire and I suppose that will give me control to avoid using grid power but I do not want to be drawing power from the Powerwall to charge the car. Ideally I would like to charge around noon using solar topped up with grid.
You have the setup everyone wants who knows the go. Well done! :-)
An excellent explanation of the Zappi. Thank you.
Just had a 2H zappi installed. No WiFi . Car arriving in 2 days. Does it still work without the connection
Hi Chris, doing some googling on the Zappi V2, and I saw there a V2.1 that has the Hub /wifi/bluetooth built in to unit as all-in-one. but having found who supplies them in OZ .
? did you see this too.
No, didn't see that sorry. Have you checked with the guys EVolution Australia? #notsponsored!
Hi Chris, Just to add model numbers with a H at the end are Ethernet/Wifi enabled
Hi Chris, interested in how the Zappi deals with the car charging not draining your Powerwall in the middle of the night. My powerwalls power my house during the evening and early morning. It would be counterproductive to use the powerwalls to charge my cars.
@@chrisvanderstock Hi, I checked out there site and I feel there are trying to sell you old stock , have looked in UK for the V2.1 but there 6 to 10 week wait . still same price with postage added for unit . regards Alex
@@chrisvanderstock They don't have an Australian version of V2.1 yet, not even an 'outlook' on when it might come here, and it's now 5 months down the track from when the UK and Europe got it! Come on Zappi...!
Hi great video.
I have used Zappi for 3 years now. Our new home has Zappi 2 with solar generation and a Tesla Powerwall. I’m interested to know when you charge your cars in ECO+ does the Zappi take energy from you Powerwall?
Thanks for the excellent trio of charging vids Chris 😉
Glad you like them!
I’ve had the zappi v1 charger for almost 3 years now, and only 3kw solar system and a tesla model 3 sr+ . I love my zappi. Working from home I don’t do a heap of kms regularly, so even my little 3kw solar and zappi keeps my tesla charged, except in the deepest depths of winter when I have to put it occasionally on eco mode where it mixes in up to 6 amps from grid. Love my zappi!!! And yes I bought it direct from evolution Australia, the day I picked up my tesla I went straight to them to get the zappi and a type 2 bring your own cable cable…. I’ve used the cable about 3 times in 3 years… I use the zappi every day
Can you attach the Tesla mobile charger cable to it and have the button still work? Thanks.
How did you stop the car taking power from battery? Whenever we plug car in it drains solar battery.
It's how the electrician installed it or programmed it. I could (if I knew how) go back in and change that setting, but its a small battery relative to the cars battery, so better used in the house.
How does the charger know when solar is being generated?
Hi Chris, unfortunately my step dad's zappi is too far from the router so we can't schedule via the app, however he's got the MG app which has scheduled charging on the app,but I tried it and it Said "failed" do you know what I'm doing wrong? My step dad has the same setup as you MG EV ZS , solar & batteries,but his zappi has the hub etc built in, hence the router issue, any suggestions welcome, thank you 👍✌️
Thank you for the information. I have a Off-Grid system 8kw inverter, 10kw sola panels, 20kwh battery and am wondering how the Zappi could work for me. Henny
Oh goodness yes! That's an impressive system. You'll do really well with the Zappi.
Nice review. Will the charger lock in the socket when I lock my MG ZS EV, so that it does not get accidentally disconnected?
Hey Chris can you use the Zappi as a monitor instead of buying a seperate solar monitor to monitor your energy consumption?
Great review! One of your main complaints has been addressed by the Zappi 2.1, which has been released in the UK and this integrates wifi into the Zappi. The new version also renders the Havi obsolete. My energy stated it should be released in Australia in the next few months. I'm going to wait till it is released.
Thanks Chris, just got ours Zappi charger on Tuesday this month May
Great video and help
Still learning but thank you
Martin
Ireland
Hi Chris. Hope you don't mind a question. The use case I am looking at is that car charges fir 4 hours overnight on cheap tariff (7kw) I am in UK btw and just uses any solar after my house batteries are full.
Ie solar only goes to house batteries and house consumption unless there is excess solar that would go to the grid if I didn't have a Zappi.
I have a 7kwh array.
Is that possible? Ie any excess solar..
Second part.. my fuse box where power comes in to the house is 15m away from my consumer unit.. as I have a sub main between the two. And the zappi will be 20m away from the fuse box and 12 m away from the consumer unit.
Just for info my Internet hub is 8m away from where the zappi will be located and 12m away from the fuse box and 12 m in the other direction from the consumer unit.
A bit complicated I know.
Will the Zappi dwork as I want. Not really getting great answers from potential installers. Thanks in advance. Andy
I'm not sure how solar operates in the UK (bit more north than the sweet spot), but at 7kW system the question and answer is something like, "do you get more than 1.2 / 1.3 kWh from your solar? If so, yes the Zapee will charge your car,. Anything above that and it will balance demand / supply between the battery, home requirements, etc. Its very clever. I've asked the MyEnergi group to help put some data together for a long term video as the info I get from it is a bit basic for a good juicy video.
Hi Chris, does the Zappi allow for a cat 5 connection direct to your router (avoid the wifi) and what sort of cable is required for the CT clamp connection in the power board. Can it be say standard electrical switch wire or does it require twisted pair?
From what I saw, yes - but I believe the newer ones being sold now have wifi built in, so no need for the hub.
Hi Chris. I think there is a reason boost is separate. If I want 20kWh in the car to give me reasonable range for what I normally use, having it on eco or eco plus will give me the boost but also utilise any surplus solar after the boost. No solar today (it is a UK designed product!), no problem, the boost will have made sure of you minimum, but also the utilised any solar. You may not have such unreliable weather!
doesn't a tesla ( or for that matter a number of other EV BUT not an MG!) allow you do do much of what your describe from the cars controls?
if yes how do you optimise a Zappi for , say, a tesla?
Definetly, most EVs have schedule and limits on charging. The Zappi does the hard work around managing energy feeds - solar, battery, and/or wind. Almost all fast chargers don't do this - they use whatever they're given.
Hi Chris, thank you very much for that very informative video about the charger. I’m planning on getting solar and a battery soon, and the company has recommended I get the very same charger that you demonstrated, so I was very interested to get your thoughts on it. Thanks again
Glad it was helpful!
Very informative and pleasant. Thanks
Not so Crappy Zappi___Fully Charged recommended this too!
Even the fastest AC charging isn’t harming the battery. These speeds are still far too slow to have any impact on battery life. Fast AC charging has lower charging losses. The overhead of the car managing the charge is large, and when you charge the car at slow speeds, a significant portion of the power doesn’t actually reach the battery. Most people aren’t aware of this. It is actually easy to measure with an OBD scanner.
Hi Chris,
Many thanks for a most informative video. I'm currently contemplating the purchase of my first EV. I also have 5.3Mw of PV panels and a 12KWh battery (both from Solax) which currently provides almost all the electricity I need to power my house. I am weighing up the relative advantages of the Zappi compared with the Solax EV Charger (which integrates quite well into my PV system but has some disadvantages I feel).
Thinking about the integration of a charger into my PV system, I think it would be nice if, at times, I could have the car charge under the following conditions. Do you believe the Zappi is capable of this:
a) Use solar only when I am exporting power (i.e. panels are generating and my battery is full).
b) If necessary, top this up with (cheap) overnight power from the Grid.
I assume this might also be integaretd with teh ability to tell Zappi what is my required state of charge to be achieved by a particular time.
I appreciate this is quite a complex algorithm but would be interested to know, from your experience, whether the Zappi could handle this.
Cheers, Geoff
For this you need to have someway to control your battery. It's central to power distribution and can do what you need it to; the only issue being how and with what software. I'm looking to "Home Assistant" for us, and staying with Amber electric. Their "smartshift" tech isn't good, and we've done better manually doing what you describe above - but it takes a lot of work.
Great review. Here in the UK we have an electricity supplier called Octopus, those guys take control of the system, which gets me a cheap rate of night time charging, but restricts solar charging, so it dumbs down the zappi charger. Not a total disaster, but a shame nonetheless.
How much does it restrict the solar? I'm with Octopus and will be getting an EV, I have solar and a battery and was considering Intelligent Octopus.
My guess about the communication between the Zappi and the inhouse unit is that it simply goes via the electricity wires. And you may find it a problem that you need an extra unit in house, but think about those who'd have a zappi somewhere in their garden and the wifi of that zappi wouldnt be able to reach the wifi of the house, simply cause the distance is too long. So yes, a drawback, but for some other a relief ;-)
It doesn't. It's connected either via a lan cable or wifi to the hub.
@@mondotv4216 thanks for the extra info. Missed opportunity if you ask me ;)
Great video thx. I was recommended the zappi smart charger and was very interested until I saw the Hub which is a deal breaker for me. I also didn’t like the menu system on the panel. If I was to get one I too would only use the app.
Very informative video with relevant content.
Thank you for this comprehensive review, that has answered most of my questions about the solar integration!
Very helpful, thank you.
Thanks Chris
Great video? I just use a 32 amp “dumb” socket!!
The Zappi v2 is fantastic along with the hub. I just need my Atto 3 to arrive. Hopefully within the next 2 weeks
Has your ATTO 3 arrived yet? How is the zappi and ATTO 3 integration? You happy?
MG are terrible brand cars. Disgusting