Home smart charger

[Dobbin]

Hello everyone new to the forum
I've recently taken delivery of MG 5 from Vanarama got the free Indra charger not going to call it smart because it's not. We have had nothing but trouble with the charger since day one had it about a month now and it's only managed to charge correctly once,
Indra have admitted today that there charger as issues with some EVs they are trying one last fix tonight I'm not going to hold my breath.
Charged EV want to know what I want if the fix doesn't work. So I'm asking advice on what works with Octopus Go tariff and is solar compatible. Thanks

 

[Jomarkh]

Hi, I had the Ohme from Octopus but now have a Zappi as it works great with solar and a battery.

 

[akendall1966]

I went zappi as installing solar pv soon.

 

[Harry 17]

From a lot of advice from this forum, I went Zappi………not even got an EV yet!! LOL….but I did use it to charge a Loan EV a few weeks back and worked a treat.

and as above, I also went Zappi, as I want to install Solar…once I have finished paying for my EV

 

[mourneuk]

Zappi also here. Make sure it's a version 2 with the integrated hub.

 

[Groober]

I have a tethered zappi and Octopus Go. Schedule charging through the Myenergie (Zappi) app between 00:30 and 04:30. Works fine and easy once set up. Might get solar panels one day.

 

[Dobbin]

That's what I've just asked for, I think that there should be set rules for what companies claim is a smart charger if the user doesn't have full control of the unit and can't set up a timed charging schedule on their own without the manufacturer doing it for them then that's not smart at all. You can set a start time and it asks for a time you would like your ready for but if your car isn't fully charged by say 04.30 it will carry on charging what's smart about that.

 

[BarryH]

I got a PodPoint Solo which was included in the MG first 1000 ZS EV deal and there was a lot of misunderstanding at the time about what was meant by "Smart Charger". Technically the difference between Smart Charger which was supported by Government subsidy and Dumb Chargers which were not, so has nothing to do with "Customer" ie your control of the charging time. Since the ZS 1 Gen has not timed control you are pretty much stuffed when it comes to any time-of-day tariff. So what does Smart mean you ask? Smart home chargers are "network connected" so that the local DNO can manage the load on the local Grid by shutting off car charging, ie. load shedding, if at times of high demand the grid can't cope. However, MG and dealers when I bought my car thought it meant there would be an App to set up scheduled charging times. After many months and high-level discussions, the PodPoint App got updated to provide scheduling. it's a bit naff though and before that happened I hacked my PodPoint and added a homebrew WiFi relay to control when the PodPoint "thinks" the car is connected and therefore I can override the PoDpoint system

 

[Dobbin]

I've been on the phone to Indra this morning they think it's interference from a TP link WiFi range extender that I have in the house, my charger is connected with a WiFi dongle as the 4g one the connection was unstable, will turn it off tonight and see.
With reference to what constitutes a smart charger the government recently set out guidelines as all new build houses have to have a smart charger fitted and it states the user must have full control of the unit to set times to charge. Having to ring the manufacturer of charger and ask them to do it, to me by those guidelines means that the Indra charger is not a smart charger
Why you can set the start time but not the stop time is crazy

 

[sparrow]

Have the Hypervolt its great scheduled with app and with Octopus go.

 

[Daffyd]

I've just replaced a non-smart EO charger with a Easee One which allows me to set the duration and time of charge for my MG 5 which doesn't have this function built into the car. I swapped the charger myself, which wasn't too difficult given the line was already there and have found the app really easy to use.

 

[Gomev]

That's what I've just asked for, I think that there should be set rules for what companies claim is a smart charger if the user doesn't have full control of the unit and can't set up a timed charging schedule on their own without the manufacturer doing it for them then that's not smart at all. You can set a start time and it asks for a time you would like your ready for but if your car isn't fully charged by say 04.30 it will carry on charging what's smart about that.

On my Rolec, the 'time when ready' is the stop time when it stops charging.

 

[BarryH]

I've been on the phone to Indra this morning they think it's interference from a TP link WiFi range extender that I have in the house, my charger is connected with a WiFi dongle as the 4g one the connection was unstable, will turn it off tonight and see.
With reference to what constitutes a smart charger the government recently set out guidelines as all new build houses have to have a smart charger fitted and it states the user must have full control of the unit to set times to charge. Having to ring the manufacturer of charger and ask them to do it, to me by those guidelines means that the Indra charger is not a smart charger
Why you can set the start time but not the stop time is crazy

Ah! the forums are awash with problems with "Range Extenders" both WiFi Range extenders and those "Power-Line" extenders which work over the mains. Power-Line seem to be most often commented upon. It doesn't seem to be any particular brand of Extender or home charger wall box.

Possibly the problem with Power-line is that they are stuffing data over the ring main wires which were never intended for such and filling the wiring in your home with all kinds of electrical noise and this caused interference which is fed into the home charger circuit board. Probably the home chargers could be made to better screen out this junk but that would cost money. Better that they just tell you it's your fault for using a power-line extender for Sky-Box (it's always the Sky box they blame).

Personally, I've not had an issue with my WiFi Mesh and I suspect this may be down to the difference in the way "Mesh" systems work compared to WiFi Extenders. Mesh create a single network of WiFi whereas, Extenders create lots of individual bubbles of WiFi using different channels so can clutter up the home with lots of competing sources in relatively close proximity to each other and signals being repeated. Mesh "Nodes" will often be linked on different frequencies to WiFi channels and your node closest to your device communicates over WiFi so creating less interference and noise on the WiFi channels. As I say it works for me and my PodPoint Smart Charger and D-Link Mesh

 

[Deep purple]

Totally agree. Power line extenders were a nightmare and then I threw them away and installed a Deco Mesh. Total transformation. Have also used a Mesh in a large old house with lots of very thick internal walls and 4 storeys. Had to use 5 Mesh hubs but it is seamless and bullet proof, one login and then you automatically go from one hub to another as you move about.

 

[Dobbin]

Well I've tried turning everything off or unplugging anything that could be causing interference but no charge again last night again, still waiting for a response from Vanarama and Charged EV

 

[BugEyed]

With reference to what constitutes a smart charger the government recently set out guidelines as all new build houses have to have a smart charger fitted and it states the user must have full control of the unit to set times to charge.

The Civil Service keep changing the definition of "smart charger", so it means different things to different people. The original meaning related to data sharing of usage, now it includes scheduling, central control and randomisation.

Having to ring the manufacturer of charger and ask them to do it

Isn't acceptable.

Why you can set the start time but not the stop time is crazy

Agreed. It's not as if time of use tariffs are a new thing. Which software App are you using?

In general you seem to be stuck between many people with nobody taking responsibility for sorting out your legitimate issue. If you cannot program an end time then I agree that the Indra is unsuitable for the MG, and Vanarama/ChargedEV have provided something unsuitable. A Zappi is a lot more expensive so you may not get one, but they offer other suitable charge points that will meet your needs.

 

[Dobbin]

The Civil Service keep changing the definition of "smart charger", so it means different things to different people. The original meaning related to data sharing of usage, now it includes scheduling, central control and randomisation.



Isn't acceptable.



Agreed. It's not as if time of use tariffs are a new thing. Which software App are you using?

In general you seem to be stuck between many people with nobody taking responsibility for sorting out your legitimate issue. If you cannot program an end time then I agree that the Indra is unsuitable for the MG, and Vanarama/ChargedEV have provided something unsuitable. A Zappi is a lot more expensive so you may not get one, but they offer other suitable charge points that will meet your needs.

It's the Kaluza app but it actually say's Indra on the start up.

 

[BugEyed]

That explains a lot - Indra "just" supplies the hardware. The software is the choice of ChargedEV and is from a company owned by OVO, which points to the issue. No surprise that Indra sell the hardware with different software otherwise.
As a minor aside, I believe that Indra also recommend direct connection to your intranet or router.

 

[Dobbin]

Update, yesterday Charged EV sent their engineer to wire the unit directly into the router, made no difference no charge again last night I spoke with Indra yesterday and they say that they are developing their own app that should be released in a couple of months. Not much use to me now though.

 

[BarryH]

Update, yesterday Charged EV sent their engineer to wire the unit directly into the router, made no difference no charge again last night I spoke with Indra yesterday and they say that they are developing their own app that should be released in a couple of months. Not much use to me now though.

That's not far off what PodPoint told me at the beginning of 2020 it was apparently of the highest priority for their development team to give PodPoint Solo a time of day function. It took about a year so don't hod your breath on that one. If you were specifically told that you would be able to have time of day control then they have failed to meet a contracted obligation give them a reasonable time to fix the problem or get refund or replacement with something which is capable of giving you what you contracted them to deliver. Sale of Goods act is very good in situations like this.