EV Charging Knowledge Bank

zappi EV Charger by myenergi

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zappi ev charger

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Overview

Many of our customers have installed an immersion optimiser to divert excess solar PV into their hot water tank.

If you have an electric vehicle (EV), it makes sense to divert excess electricity into the EV battery. In fact if your hot water is heated by gas, oil or biomass, it makes more sense to charge the car than it does to charge the hot water tank. An iBoost is generally displacing fuel costing ~ 5.82p per kWh, and so 1kWh of diverted electricity is worth ~ 5.82p. Charging the EV displaces grid electricity at the ‘full value’ ~ 23.72p per kWh.

Introducing zappi...

zappi v2

zappi is an EV charging point with special eco charging modes to optimise self-consumption of on-site solar PV, wind etc. Specifically it has three charging modes:

  • FAST charge mode – works like an ordinary EV charging station, charging fast (7kW max power with the single phase version or 22kW with the three-phase), just like an ordinary Mode 3 charging point. The actual charge rate depends on the EV's onboard charger and the grid supply voltage. Typically, vehicles have either a 3.3kW or 6.6kW charger. The actual power can be a little different if the grid supply voltage is not exactly 230V.
  • ECO mode – the car will charge at a minimum rate of 1.4kW, fluctuating above this as surplus solar power allows. The minimum charge rate of 1.4kW will always be achieved, and if surplus power falls below 1.4kW, the shortfall will be drawn from the grid.
  • ECO+ mode - This is similar to the ECO mode in so far as the car will charge at the minimum rate of 1.4KW, fluctuating above this as surplus power allows, however charging will be paused if surplus power falls below the Min Green Level. For example, with the Min Green Level set to 50%, charging will be paused if 700W of power is being imported from the grid and will resume when there is 700W of power being exported.

With the Min Green Level set to 10%, charging will be paused if more than 1260W of power is being imported from the grid, and will resume as soon as 140W or more is being exported from solar.

By setting the Min Green Level to 100%, the car will be charged using only surplus renewable power, providing there is sufficient surplus power to do so. 

Note: The EV charging standard does not support charging below 1.4kW.

To supplement the ECO and ECO+ modes, there are various optional boost functions, designed to ensure your car achieves minimum levels of charge whatever the weather.  More on these below.

zappi EV charger versions

The zappi charger is available in either a 7kW single phase or 22kW 3-phase version. You can choose either of these with a tethered Type 2 6.5m cable or untethered, and in a white or black finish.

zappi colours

The single phase 7kW version is suitable for most domestic installations, while the 3-phase is ideal for commercial properties where this electricity supply is available.

It’s worth noting that the myenergi zappi charger complies with the BS7671 18th Edition regulations which came into force in January 2019. Currently it is the only available chargepoint that doesn’t require an earth rod for most installs, which gives rise to a significant installation cost saving relative to other chargepoints.

Installation cost

The average cost of a second generation zappi installed is around £1,395 (including VAT), depending on cabling requirements.

zappi has a friend called eddi...

The eddi is similar to an iBoost or Immersun, in that it diverts excess solar generation to the hot water tank. If you install zappi and eddi, you can choose whether to prioritise zappi or eddi.

eddi

Monitor your myenergi devices

If you have a zappi or eddi, you can remotely control and monitor these devices with inbuilt wifi or ethernet connections. This means you can track your usage of surplus energy going into car charging or heating.

What if I have a battery or an immersion optimiser?

zappi responds quicker than the immersion optimiser, and so the default will be that zappi will be switched on before the optimiser. If you don’t want this to happen, you can set a delay on the zappi to give the optimiser time to turn on.

If you have a DC coupled battery system, the battery will always take priority over the zappi. If you have an AC coupled system (e.g. Tesla Powerwall 2), the battery system is likely to have a similar response time to zappi. Therefore you need to set a delay on the zappi if you want to prioritise charging of your battery over your zappi. If you want to prioritise the zappi over the battery there is a workaround we can install using a CT clamp – this will tell the zappi when the battery is being charged, thus turning on the zappi, subject to sufficient power availability.

Boost functions

To supplement the ECO and ECO+ modes, there are various optional boost functions, designed to ensure your car achieves minimum levels of charge whatever the weather. 

  • Manual boost function - when boosting, the charge rate is set to maximum (just like FAST mode), until a set amount of energy has been stored in the EV's battery. After this, zappi will revert back to ECO or ECO+ mode. This function is useful if you arrive home with an almost flat battery and would like to charge the vehicle immediately to ensure there is enough charge for a short trip if needed.
  • Smart boost - the Smart Boost function will charge the EV with a minimum kWh figure by a set time. Say for example, it’s a sunny Sunday and you wish to ensure there is enough charge in the EV to get to work in the morning (e.g. 15kWh), but in the meantime, you want to use the surplus energy from the PV system to charge the car, so you choose to use ECO+ mode. At sunset there is only 10kWh of charge accumulated. However, because you activated Smart Boost, and set the time you needed to leave for work, zappi automatically boosts the charge in the night to top up the battery to the required 15kWh by 7am.
  • Boost timer - zappi can be programmed to 'boost' the current charge at certain pre-set times. When boosting, the charge rate is set to maximum (just like FAST mode), regardless of the amount of available surplus power. This means that power may be drawn from the mains grid supply during boost times.
  • Economy Tariff boosting - boosting only when economy rate electricity is available.

Conclusion

The zappi’s a great product with all bases covered – just what you need if you drive an EV and you want to optimise the use of your solar.

Learn more about home charging with our free guide:

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