MG 4 charging

[FiferMG4]

It should not make any difference if you get the solar panels installed sometime later as the solar is obviously connected to/through the meter box.
If your Zappi is already in place it is using power anyway like everything else in the home and the total power cost will then be reduced by the solar panels once installed.

Thank you Wiz. That’s good to know. Again, as I’m new to the world of electric vehicles and solar panels, do solar panels make electricity through the heat from the sun or is it purely the strength (brightness?) of the light or a combination of both? I remember studying about photosynthesis in plant leaves, but I’ve no idea how solar panels work. I live in the east of Scotland, so I’m not expecting much power from November to March, but for the rest of the year it would be great to be more self sufficient.

 

[tsedge]

Thank you Wiz. That’s good to know. Again, as I’m new to the world of electric vehicles and solar panels, do solar panels make electricity through the heat from the sun or is it purely the strength (brightness?) of the light or a combination of both? I remember studying about photosynthesis in plant leaves, but I’ve no idea how solar panels work. I live in the east of Scotland, so I’m not expecting much power from November to March, but for the rest of the year it would be great to be more self sufficient.

Photovoltaic (PV) technology converts incident solar light to electrical energy, typically in wavelengths between 400nm and 1000nm, which covers the visible spectrum and near infra-red. So the answer is both, although most of the energy typically comes from visible light.

 

[Ian Key]

@Les burrows Hope you don’t mind me picking your brains. I’m thinking about getting a tethered Zappi installed and was wondering if you use a cover to protect it from the elements?

I don’t have solar panels installed at present, but it’s definitely something I’m considering. If I get the Zappi first and at a later date the solar panels, do you know if it’s a simple matter to connect the two?

One last question. About how long from ordering the Zappi, having it installed to using it did it take? I’m not expecting my car until January, but it might be worth getting the Zappi installed first.

Get someone to survey the proposed instillation ASAP in case you hit an unexpected problem.
I'm going through the process of getting a charger installed but unfortunately it turns out my meter and supply are attached to an asbestos backing board. I've had to pay for an asbestos certificate to show what type of asbestos it is and now I'm waiting for the asbestos instillation team and the National Grid, who have to work together, to sort themselves out to get back to me.

 

[DrAndyPerry]

I've obliterated had my MG4 a week but done 1000 miles in it (2 UK holidays). It seems to be that the estimated range is based of previous driving efficiency.

When I had a good motorway run at speed, I charged it up to 100% and got 197 miles predicted (previous drive, low efficiency around 3.6 miles/ kWh) then when I'd been driving it round the IoW for a week (at 5miles / kWh) charging it up to full gave 220 miles predicted.

Some cars do this... My i3 gave a prediction based on usage and changed from 95 miles to 160! . My model 3 used a fixed value so always gave the same number when charged to full.

Just my 2p

 

[FiferMG4]

Photovoltaic (PV) technology converts incident solar light to electrical energy, typically in wavelengths between 400nm and 1000nm, which covers the visible spectrum and near infra-red. So the answer is both, although most of the energy typically comes from visible light.

Thank you. That’s very interesting. I’m learning so much on this forum.

 

[FiferMG4]

Get someone to survey the proposed instillation ASAP in case you hit an unexpected problem.
I'm going through the process of getting a charger installed but unfortunately it turns out my meter and supply are attached to an asbestos backing board. I've had to pay for an asbestos certificate to show what type of asbestos it is and now I'm waiting for the asbestos instillation team and the National Grid, who have to work together, to sort themselves out to get back to me.

Sorry to hear that you’ve uncovered some problems relating to asbestos. Yeah, that’ll need to be handled safely. Fortunately, my house is a new build, so I shouldn’t have an issue with asbestos, but like you say it won’t hurt to get an early survey before I take delivery of the car.

 

[Les burrows]

Thank you very much Les! That was very helpful. I will mention to the installer about my plans to get solar panels at a later date.

When you charge your car with the Zappi, do you operate it with the Zappi itself, a Zappi app, or with the car or with the MG iSmart app? There seem to be many options, but which do you find simplest for scheduled charging?

One more thing, I read that you get a pin code for the Zappi. Is it easy to see this when entering it on a dark and stormy night?

That’s interesting that you had the Zappi put inside your garage. Does that mean you always charge the car inside? If your car is parked outside on the driveway, do you keep the garage door open or if it’s closed have you had a hole (with hatch?) put into the garage door to run the charger through?

Hi again can I start from your last point and work up hope that’s ok
My car is parked on the drive way in front of the garage door. the Zappi in on the wall just inside the garage door so the cable just comes under the up and over garage door and plugs into which ever car needs to be charged, the tethered cable that comes with the Zappi is around 6 meters long but I only unwind it about 3/4 meters and that’s enough for me I think you can have a longer cable if needed for a small extra cost of course.

So pin code, you can put a pin code in if you want to in fact if your Zappi is being mounted on the outside wall I would recommend you do so no one else can use it while your away from home for example, but the screen on unit itself lights up when you give it a light tap so you can see what code you are tapping in never used it myself as mine is in the garage as I’ve said, so that’s easy enough I think, the other thing you could if you want is to get your installer to fit you an isolation switch indoors so only you can use it.

You can set the charge time on the unit itself or in the app not you used ISMART as I have only had a car with it on for about a week and not used the ismart yet but I’m sure you can but to do that I think the Zappi would need to be switched on and then the car will start charging and drawing currant at what ever time you have told it to.i don’t think the car can turn on the Zappi.
Hop you can understand what I’m writing here.
Les

 

[Ian Key]

It's interesting on whether a pin code is necessary. Most chargers are controlled by an app on your phone so you can turn it on and off as needed.
And who's going to park on someone else's drive to steel their electricity over several hours?

 

[FiferMG4]

Hi again can I start from your last point and work up hope that’s ok
My car is parked on the drive way in front of the garage door. the Zappi in on the wall just inside the garage door so the cable just comes under the up and over garage door and plugs into which ever car needs to be charged, the tethered cable that comes with the Zappi is around 6 meters long but I only unwind it about 3/4 meters and that’s enough for me I think you can have a longer cable if needed for a small extra cost of course.

So pin code, you can put a pin code in if you want to in fact if your Zappi is being mounted on the outside wall I would recommend you do so no one else can use it while your away from home for example, but the screen on unit itself lights up when you give it a light tap so you can see what code you are tapping in never used it myself as mine is in the garage as I’ve said, so that’s easy enough I think, the other thing you could if you want is to get your installer to fit you an isolation switch indoors so only you can use it.

You can set the charge time on the unit itself or in the app not you used ISMART as I have only had a car with it on for about a week and not used the ismart yet but I’m sure you can but to do that I think the Zappi would need to be switched on and then the car will start charging and drawing currant at what ever time you have told it to.i don’t think the car can turn on the Zappi.
Hop you can understand what I’m writing here.
Les

Thanks again Les for answering all of my questions. I feel more confident about approaching an installer now.

 

[FiferMG4]

It's interesting on whether a pin code is necessary. Most chargers are controlled by an app on your phone so you can turn it on and off as needed.
And who's going to park on someone else's drive to steel their electricity over several hours?

Yeah, as I’m thinking of getting a 7kw/h charger, it wouldn’t really be worth anyone’s time to steal electricity, unless prices suddenly skyrocket.

 

[Hot Red 5]

The Zappi lights up when you touch it so it does not matter if it is dark.
The code an be changed by you but as there are only four buttons on the Zappi it is a combination the numbers 1 to 4.

 

[Nigelleics]

Thank you Wiz. That’s good to know. Again, as I’m new to the world of electric vehicles and solar panels, do solar panels make electricity through the heat from the sun or is it purely the strength (brightness?) of the light or a combination of both? I remember studying about photosynthesis in plant leaves, but I’ve no idea how solar panels work. I live in the east of Scotland, so I’m not expecting much power from November to March, but for the rest of the year it would be great to be more self sufficient.

The strength of the sun determines the energy provided, and for that the 2 main factors are aspect and inclination.

This being my first year with solar (fitted in March) I'm taking a close interest in how they perform during late autumn/winter. Using an app like 'Daff moon' can tell you the max height of the sun on any given day and time for your location. I've noticed my 4.2kwh setup was peaking at 4kwh on Sept 21st (equinox or near enough) with the sun at 38°, 2.5kwh today with the sun at 24°, and I'll be surprised if I get much more than 1kwh on Dec 21st when the sun peaks here at 14° (and that will not be for more than a few hours max by then). There's doubtless calculators out there, but the principle is the lower the sun, the far more atmosphere and pollution there is in the way, and at very oblique angles most of the light fails (except the red bit).

I'm currently waiting for my system to be doubled to 8kwh, which should easily be able to cope with my house and vehicle needs.

 

[Sloucher]

The Zappi lights up when you touch it so it does not matter if it is dark.
The code an be changed by you but as there are only four buttons on the Zappi it is a combination the numbers 1 to 4.

Of course, you don't HAVE to have a pin code. You can turn the option off should you want, but as has been mentioned, it's not a particularly onerous task to tap in a code.

 

[FiferMG4]

The strength of the sun determines the energy provided, and for that the 2 main factors are aspect and inclination.

This being my first year with solar (fitted in March) I'm taking a close interest in how they perform during late autumn/winter. Using an app like 'Daff moon' can tell you the max height of the sun on any given day and time for your location. I've noticed my 4.2kwh setup was peaking at 4kwh on Sept 21st (equinox or near enough) with the sun at 38°, 2.5kwh today with the sun at 24°, and I'll be surprised if I get much more than 1kwh on Dec 21st when the sun peaks here at 14° (and that will not be for more than a few hours max by then). There's doubtless calculators out there, but the principle is the lower the sun, the far more atmosphere and pollution there is in the way, and at very oblique angles most of the light fails (except the red bit).

I'm currently waiting for my system to be doubled to 8kwh, which should easily be able to cope with my house and vehicle needs.

8kWh sounds like it would be more than adequate. Can I ask if you’re thinking of adding a battery storage system? I’m hoping to get a few panels on my east facing roof, but there’s much more space on the south and west facing sides. If I can get as many kWh as your system when doubled, I’ll be very happy.

 

[Nigelleics]

8kWh sounds like it would be more than adequate. Can I ask if you’re thinking of adding a battery storage system? I’m hoping to get a few panels on my east facing roof, but there’s much more space on the south and west facing sides. If I can get as many kWh as your system when doubled, I’ll be very happy.

No plans for a battery although I'll be watching out for pricing on the Libbi. I'd rather have more solar than I need rather than less, as not only will I know I'll be able to keep the car charged but I'll be able to charge at the 7kwh speed much of the time, easily putting 100-200 miles in during most decent days.

So far my 4kwh system looks like it'll produce over 4000kw this year, which would normally be enough for 14-18k miles in the car, so more than enough. It's just the speed aspect that would be improved plus being able to handle big stuff like the electric shower.

 

[Nigelleics]

8kWh sounds like it would be more than adequate. Can I ask if you’re thinking of adding a battery storage system? I’m hoping to get a few panels on my east facing roof, but there’s much more space on the south and west facing sides. If I can get as many kWh as your system when doubled, I’ll be very happy.

The aspect doesn't matter quite as much. If I remember correctly, a purely East or West facing roof only loses 20% compared to that produced on a South facing roof. My bungalow has a simple ridge dividing between N and S, so I can just fill up the one side.

 

[CraigMcKMG4]

The strength of the sun determines the energy provided, and for that the 2 main factors are aspect and inclination.

This being my first year with solar (fitted in March) I'm taking a close interest in how they perform during late autumn/winter. Using an app like 'Daff moon' can tell you the max height of the sun on any given day and time for your location. I've noticed my 4.2kwh setup was peaking at 4kwh on Sept 21st (equinox or near enough) with the sun at 38°, 2.5kwh today with the sun at 24°, and I'll be surprised if I get much more than 1kwh on Dec 21st when the sun peaks here at 14° (and that will not be for more than a few hours max by then). There's doubtless calculators out there, but the principle is the lower the sun, the far more atmosphere and pollution there is in the way, and at very oblique angles most of the light fails (except the red bit).

I'm currently waiting for my system to be doubled to 8kwh, which should easily be able to cope with my house and vehicle needs.

Have you managed to get approval from the DNO to go up to 8kw?
I thought they got a bit funny above 4

 

[FiferMG4]

No plans for a battery although I'll be watching out for pricing on the Libbi. I'd rather have more solar than I need rather than less, as not only will I know I'll be able to keep the car charged but I'll be able to charge at the 7kwh speed much of the time, easily putting 100-200 miles in during most decent days.

So far my 4kwh system looks like it'll produce over 4000kw this year, which would normally be enough for 14-18k miles in the car, so more than enough. It's just the speed aspect that would be improved plus being able to handle big stuff like the electric shower.

That sounds really good. My own plans for solar other than charging the car are to wean myself off gas for the central heating, hob and shower. The drastic rise in energy costs, this and next year have done wonders at focusing my mind.

 

[Nigelleics]

Have you managed to get approval from the DNO to go up to 8kw?
I thought they got a bit funny above 4

A G99 or 98 is being applied for via the installer. I think the plan is to use an invertor where the export can be limited to keep the grid people happy.

 

[Big Al]

I have a Zappi, outside in the rain, no problem. I use the Zappi app to schedule cheap rate charging from 1am - 8am. And set the max charge in the Ismart app to either 80% or 100%, depending on the next days requirements. So the Zappi just opens a charging window of 7 hours and the car decides how long to charge for.