Zappi Eco smart v2

[JonathanP]

Hi

Does anyone have this EV charger at home? https://chargepointev.co.uk/shop/zappi?gad=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw-7OlBhB8EiwAnoOEk0OhoT-44ep2gnp7fzAX8d2mb3FaDt5Y_9XMu5yek0aFlV5FXpukFRoCJD8QAvD_BwE

I'm interested as I do have solar panels at home (installed by a shade greener years ago) and interested in a charger that's able to utilise the electric from the solar panels effectively.

[JonathanP]

Also tethered or untethered?

[dab1054]

Yes, I have a Zappi charger, although it is an earlier version. Works very well with my solar panels in the ECO+ mode. Charges the car only when there is excess solar (but you will need 1.4kW at least- might struggle depending on your solar PV output). I have the tethered version - the cable winds neatly around the Zappi charger and it has a decent length of cable to reach your car in garage or driveway. You can also initiate timed charging for cheap rate at night in the Zappi. Make sure you choose a good installer - correct cable rating is very important as is the setting up of various communications with your consumer unit and solar PV system.

[ChrisON]

I have a tethered Zappi 2: works well my solar system (6kW of PV + GivEnergy 9.5kW  Battery and hybrid inverter.) and the bz4x seems to get on with it. Although it took me some time to work out that the electricians who installed the Zappi fitted the Zappi's grid CT clamp facing in the wrong direction; it was pointing at the meter when it should have been pointing at the consumer unit. In ECO+ mode the Zappi would just sit there 'Waiting for surplus' when there was 3kW or better being exported to the grid. Once I'd worked out what the problem was it took me about 30s to correct it: unclip it, turn it round and close the clip again  - something l shouldn't have needed to do. Ho Hum. However it's all working as it should now. Since l corrected the CT clamp it's cost me almost nothing to top up the bz4x's batteries; l usually keep it at about 75% charged unless I need to make a longer journey.

One annoying feature is the bz4x/MyT app sends out a 'Charging Interrupted' messages every time the available surplus drops below the 1.4kW threshold when the Zappi is in ECO+ mode; that can happen a lot if there is intermittent cloud cover.

I'd recommend the Zappi 2.

Chris

[Mister Mike]

I have this charger, untethered, but no solar panels I'm afraid. I also got hold of their "harvi" gadget for my consumer unit, which tells the zappi how much power the house is consuming, independently of how much the charger is using. This looks quite neat on the Zappi app. The harvi just clamps around the incoming mains cable and gets its minimal power draw by induction, so no messy wiring involved.

[JonathanP]

Is anyone using this with the Octopus Intelligent tariff ?

https://chargepointev.co.uk/hot-sale

They claim it works, but Octopus website only lists the Ohme charger as being compatible

[JonathanP]

On 7/15/2023 at 8:35 PM, Mister Mike said:

I have this charger, untethered, but no solar panels I'm afraid. I also got hold of their "harvi" gadget for my consumer unit, which tells the zappi how much power the house is consuming, independently of how much the charger is using. This looks quite neat on the Zappi app. The harvi just clamps around the incoming mains cable and gets its minimal power draw by induction, so no messy wiring involved.

Is the Harvi something that can be fitted afterwards by myself?

Other than Myenergi I can't see any other installer's who include it. Seems that is the default option when selecting solar on the company website, but they are quoting around £400 more which doesn't add up when the Harvi is only £55

[dab1054]

13 hours ago, JonathanP said:

Is the Harvi something that can be fitted afterwards by myself?

Other than Myenergi I can't see any other installer's who include it. Seems that is the default option when selecting solar on the company website, but they are quoting around £400 more which doesn't add up when the Harvi is only £55

The Zappi will come with one wired CT (current transformer) which should be fitted by your installer to the main grid connection to the house. The Harvi is simply a CT which can operate wirelessly- needed for example if your Zappi is located a long way from your mains consumer unit. The Zappi control of solar charging will not function properly unless the CT is installed. You might also want a CT to monitor solar power in the Myenergi app. I'd suggest getting a few quotes and try to select a competent installer who has some experience with setting up Zappis with solar. As a guideline, mine cost £1200 for installation of a tethered Zappi unit with one Harvi and some additional wiring in house and garage (June 2022).

Regarding Octopus Intelligent tariff- this is not yet available for the Zappi nor for the bZ4X. Rumours are that the Zappi is soon to go on beta testing - but this has been said for the last year so don't hold your breath...

[Mister Mike]

16 hours ago, JonathanP said:

Is the Harvi something that can be fitted afterwards by myself?

Other than Myenergi I can't see any other installer's who include it. Seems that is the default option when selecting solar on the company website, but they are quoting around £400 more which doesn't add up when the Harvi is only £55

Yes, you can add Harvi yourself very easily. I did it myself. Stick it on the wall near your consumer unit and click the monitoring clamp into place around your incoming mains cable. You can either wire up the signal cable to your Zappi or – much simpler – just use its inbuilt bluetooth capability to connect to the Zappi. My Zappi is about 8 metres away from the Harvi and it connects just fine.

The user interface on the Zappi isn’t the most intuitive in the world, but after a quick phone call to Zappi, I had it set up in no time.

[JonathanP]

Thank you for all the input guys, I've decided on the Zappi (did look at the Indra Smart Lux) with a local electrician.
I went with someone local as the amount of pictures and legwork that a lot of the online installers wanted was crazy.
The local electrican was also the only one who advised of the option of replacing the consumer unit instead of simply installing an additional RCD.
Went with untethered in the end, as I can always buy a longer cable if I need rather than being stuck with one which is a little short
 

[JonathanP]

On 7/12/2023 at 7:50 AM, ChrisON said:

I have a tethered Zappi 2: works well my solar system (6kW of PV + GivEnergy 9.5kW  battery and hybrid inverter.) and the bz4x seems to get on with it. Although it took me some time to work out that the electricians who installed the Zappi fitted the Zappi's grid CT clamp facing in the wrong direction; it was pointing at the meter when it should have been pointing at the consumer unit. In ECO+ mode the Zappi would just sit there 'Waiting for surplus' when there was 3kW or better being exported to the grid. Once I'd worked out what the problem was it took me about 30s to correct it: unclip it, turn it round and close the clip again  - something l shouldn't have needed to do. Ho Hum. However it's all working as it should now. Since l corrected the CT clamp it's cost me almost nothing to top up the bz4x's batteries; l usually keep it at about 75% charged unless I need to make a longer journey.

One annoying feature is the bz4x/MyT app sends out a 'Charging Interrupted' messages every time the available surplus drops below the 1.4kW threshold when the Zappi is in ECO+ mode; that can happen a lot if there is intermittent cloud cover.

I'd recommend the Zappi 2.

Chris

Hi Chris

I'm not sure if my CT clamp is set correctly or not. Out of interest even without a CT clamp attached to the solar panel feed do you see data in the export information of the app?
I have the same issue with the Zappi sat 'awaiting surplus' but the house itself even during the day when appliances are on generally only shows a draw of about 0.4KwH which I'm not sure is correct as it will show the same in the evening too.
I've tried a couple of different positions for the CT clamp but then it generally will show 'export' and no household use.