MG4/Zappi scheduled charging problem

[tsedge]

Can I please check my understanding of how intelligent tariffs work. I've written out the following as a guide and would like some feedback to see if I've got it right - then I'll edit to correct. Thank you.


Intelligent Tariffs allow your energy supplier to decide when your EV charges at times that are convenient to them while maintaining your low off-peak tariff. So your car might charge between 9-11pm and 2-3am but you still pay your cheap rate.

In return for letting your energy supplier decide when your car charges, you gain additional cheap rate hours and lower rates for all your other appliances: for example, Intelligent Octopus offers 6 hours of cheap rate at 7.5p/kWh as opposed to Octopus Go offering 4 hours at 9.5p/kWh.
However, in order to use an intelligent tariff, your energy supplier needs to be able to remotely control when your car charges. There are two ways this can be done:

1. Via your car: if your car is supported, the energy supplier can set a schedule directly on the car (your EVSE is set to dumb mode).

2. Via your EVSE: if yours is supported, the energy supplier can set a schedule on the EVSE to charge your car at the right times (your car has no schedule set).

Intelligent tariffs support a select groups of cars or EVSEs. You need EITHER a supported car OR a supported EVSE. Having both is no advantage. You cannot use an intelligent tariff without support of one kind or other: there is no way for your energy supplier to control the schedule of the charging session.

With a supported car, the car can tell the energy supplier how much charge needs to be added according to the car's current state of charge and the currently set charge level (e.g. 80%).

With a supported EVSE, it cannot know what the current state of the car's charge is, so you need to tell it how much charge to add (i.e. the difference between the current state of charge and the desired), so it knows how long it needs to charge for.

You also need to tell your energy supplier when you need the car charged by, so that the charging will start early enough to give you the desired state of charge by that time.

Once set up, you simply decide how much charge you need by when, plug in your car and it will automatically be scheduled, in a single or multiple sessions according to your energy provider's decisions.

 

[liput]

I don't this is true (with octopus)

"Note that it is ONLY your car that gets a special schedule, all other electricity you use has to have fixed daily hours for the cheap rate."

in the 6hr cheap + any time they schedule the car to charge, all usage is cheap. They can't tell what is using your power, so all power is cheap at those times

 

[tsedge]

I don't this is true (with octopus)

"Note that it is ONLY your car that gets a special schedule, all other electricity you use has to have fixed daily hours for the cheap rate."

in the 6hr cheap + any time they schedule the car to charge, all usage is cheap. They can't tell what is using your power, so all power is cheap at those times

Ok, thanks, but I suppose you don't know when it is going to be cheap outside the normal hours, so presumably taking advantage of that is tricky?

 

[liput]

I'm yet to switch to Octopus Intelligent, but have read up about it a lot. I understand that it tells you in a notification, but it's not easy to access it again etc. So in theory you could try to time it with extra charge slots....but in practice you get them at random times as a little unexpected bonus discount on other usage

But can always set washing machine, immersion,etc for the 6hrs overnight

 

[tsedge]

Thanks, I've removed the incorrect paragraph.

 

[Diggsy]

Thanks, that gives me a good lead I think: the car did not have any scheduled charging set but I have often left the car unlocked until setting everything up and then locking it last. So maybe that is where I have gone wrong. It's slightly counter intuitive because you have to unlock the car before you can open the charging flap so the sequence I have used is: unlock the car, open the flap, plug the car in, set the zappi, lock the car. I won't be able to try locking it first until next week now since my wife is away in the car til then.

My sequence is as follows;

1. Set the schedule in the MyEnergi app
2. Check this has saved - I usually close the app and re-open to confirm that
3. Unlock the car and open the charge door
4. Plug in the cable
5. Lock the car

From that point, the car is also mostly left locked, and all I do to confirm everything is as planned is look at the MyEnergi app, which shows a ‘paused’ symbol on the Zappi.

The light on the Zappi will be pink at this time.

That method has never let me down, not once.

As for the lights on the Zappi itself, this is their meaning:

Pink: connected
Green: charging 100% green
White: charging from grid only
Yellow: charging mix of grid / green
Blue: charge complete
Red: error

 

[AlfC]

My sequence is as follows;

1. Set the schedule in the MyEnergi app
2. Check this has saved - I usually close the app and re-open to confirm that
3. Unlock the car and open the charge door
4. Plug in the cable
5. Lock the car

From that point, the car is also mostly left locked, and all I do to confirm everything is as planned is look at the MyEnergi app, which shows a ‘paused’ symbol on the Zappi.

The light on the Zappi will be pink at this time.

That method has never let me down, not once.

As for the lights on the Zappi itself, this is their meaning:

Pink: connected
Green: charging 100% green
White: charging from grid only
Yellow: charging mix of grid / green
Blue: charge complete
Red: error

Thanks. That is what I think I did but got the Charge Delayed message in the morning and no charge delivered. I must try it again (when my wife brings the car back) and make sure I follow the sequence and that there is no charge schedule set up on the car.
That's a useful summary of the Zappi lights. I think previously I have called the pink light red although I did have a definitely red light once when the Zappi claimed there was an RCD trip - type A. I never got to the bottom of that either.

 

[Diggsy]

Thanks. That is what I think I did but got the Charge Delayed message in the morning and no charge delivered. I must try it again (when my wife brings the car back) and make sure I follow the sequence and that there is no charge schedule set up on the car.
That's a useful summary of the Zappi lights. I think previously I have called the pink light red although I did have a definitely red light once when the Zappi claimed there was an RCD trip - type A. I never got to the bottom of that either.

No problem at all. Hopefully you get to the bottom of it. I’ve found it to be largely faultless. The only issues I’ve faced with it have been the app not saving the schedule, and throwing up an error message. Either restarting my phone or the Zappi has always cured it though.