Zappi charge points

KCross

FiT should be fully known in another month or two. Some providers have shown their hand already so the others won’t be long. They have to.

unkel

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119382535#Comment_119382535

It's quite the opposite. If you're going the FIT route, you don't need a zappi, or an eddi (immersion diverter) or a battery 😂

Personally I am going in the opposite direction and I expect a FIT to be only available on a smart meter package with super high tariffs. But we will see what happens, paying close attention.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119382826#Comment_119382826

I've thought about solar PV but not without a decent FIT, no point dumping energy into things I don't need like endless hot water or just putting an immersion in the Stream just to avoid giving away free energy 😁

I'm not expecting anywhere near what My German Outlaws get which is a very generous FIT which they use to run the storage heaters in Winter + now they have EV and they can generate over 70 Kwh per day in the brighter months with their I think it is 14 Kw/p array on the roof.

A battery is a solution but adds to the cost but I suppose in Winter it could be charged from the night rate which for me now is 12 C/Kwh though I'm still using the free electricity VW gave me when I got the ID3 though that will probably be gone in the next bill, not sure how much is left but that was 8 months worth of free leccy + of course I get substantial free leccy from the work charge points.

As I type this the consumption of the house is 370 Watts. So not much point having 2 Kw/p and more on the roof.

slave1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119382826#Comment_119382826

I'd even go further and will remain on the fence with FIT because of the Smart Meter, they reel us is with an okay package for a year or so and then really start gouging with peak rates, plus with a smart meter they are closer to restricting our usage in any energy crisis times.

Another advantage of the battery route is a level of independence with critical load backup from battery in the case of a power cut

the_amazing_raisin

I guess it's also worth noting that all government policy to date has been to encourage self consumption over exporting to the grid. FIT is only there to make the initial payback a bit better, it'll be hard to make any real money unless you've got a very large PV system

Personally I kind of think that meeting the house loads using solar is the main priority. It's easier to manage when the car consumes power than the house

Whether you need a battery or not to do this kind of depends on your situation and how much time and effort you're willing to spend managing things. Personally I'm lazy, so battery is the way forward for me

After that, you decide what to do with excess, if any, whether divert or sell to the grid

At the moment it looks like SSE will give you 14c/kWh for export, whereas their smart meter night rate seems to be 12.62c/kWh

So it's weighted slightly in favour of export, but your aren't going to make a fortune on the difference, might be able to afford a cheap coffee after a year

ECO_Mental

Got my EV on Friday evening (ID4) and I have a Zappi installed and today was the first day I got to test the Eco+ mode....and it works as described 👌

I only had to put in 2-3 kWh into the car but as you can see its works perfectly. Its a cloudy day here in Cork but there was a bit of sunshine around midday. The red line is my solar PV power (6.1kWp), the green is my ESB incomer and the blue is the Zappi. When the green is below the line I am exporting. I have it set to 50% green level so kicks in at 700w export. As you can see I had practically no export in the hour I was charging, but its good to see how good it works. Need to be keeping an eye on the the weather better and charging less at night maybe....

I think the Zappi works best if you have a big enough PV system, as even on a cloudy overcast day I could be outputting 1kW. Onwards and upwards

KCross

I guess it's also worth noting that all government policy to date has been to encourage self consumption over exporting to the grid. FIT is only there to make the initial payback a bit better, it'll be hard to make any real money unless you've got a very large PV system

And so it should be. FiT should not be about making a profit (at others expense) even though we'd all love that. It should be about maximising consumption onsite to reduce your own bill.

At the moment it looks like SSE will give you 14c/kWh for export, whereas their smart meter night rate seems to be 12.62c/kWh

FYI:

The smart and non-smart rates (with 33% disc) I see from SSE are

Smart: 23.24(day)/16.17(night)/22.74(peak)

Non-Smart: 23.23/12.62

No difference on normal day rate, night rate is the issue with smart tariffs. Smart meter standing charge is €70 less than d/n meter so that needs to be accounted for too (equivalent to 200 night units).

So it's weighted slightly in favour of export, but your aren't going to make a fortune on the difference, might be able to afford a cheap coffee after a year

Why do you compare the difference between FiT and night rate? What's your theory of doing that?

the_amazing_raisin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119385640#Comment_119385640

I still can't figure out the new quoting system, so I'll have to answer in order 😁

I agree that self consumption makes the most sense, it's really a question of how best to use your hard won solar power.

Personally my philosophy is to reduce the house consumption since it's easier to manage when the car needs charging, and the house tends to use expensive day rates

For the SSE rates I quoted, I got those from bonkers. So apparently their rates are incorrect, I stand corrected 😉

For comparing the night rate to the FIT, it's one way to see whether a Zappi makes sense. Basically without a Zappi, you'll be charging the car at night rates and exporting any excess solar during the day for the FIT

So if night rate is high and FIT is low, then a Zappi is a good investment

Flip it around, high FIT and cheap night rate, then it's better to skip the Zappi and export any excess

At the moment there isn't a huge amount in the difference, so it's hard to make the case for a Zappi

cannco253

https://www.current-news.co.uk/news/myenergi-puts-out-call-for-ev-drivers-to-take-part-in-demand-side-response-trial

“EV drivers with a zappi charger that choose to take part will allow the company to make minor adjustments to how and when they charge their vehicles, to help reduce stress on the electricity grid.”

the_amazing_raisin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119410177#Comment_119410177

Doesn't mention any incentive for the customer. I'd be happy to sign up for some grid balancing if I got some cashola or cheap electricity out of the deal

stimpson

Does anyone know where I can source a 7kW type 2 cable locally? I'm getting an eNiro next week and I'd like to be ready to upgrade the Zappi. Buying from the UK looks to be a Brexit minefield.

championc

Surely the e-Niro comes with a charging type 2 cable ???

stimpson

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119453355#Comment_119453355

Sorry - it's tethered, so I need to replace the cable.

Black_Knight

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119453385#Comment_119453385

Is there much work involved in replacing the cable? Can an untethered cable to used to make a tendered cable? (Asking because I've a zappi coming that will just reach our charge port, but I've also an existing 10m untethered cable

stimpson

It’s a bit more complicated than wiring a plug. It’s just securing the strain relief and connecting the cables to 3 terminals.

I was wondering myself if I can canabalise my type 1 to type 2 cable. However I did find one in Poland for €160 delivered which seems reasonable.

stimpson

@Black_Knight does that mean you have a 5m type 2 going spare?

slave1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119453701#Comment_119453701

There is also a communication wire in a Zappi tethered cable as I found out when one of my communication wires failed and they sent me out a new one to self replace

slave1

Pik

stimpson

Hmm. There is no sign of that on the MK1 wiring diagram:

https://myenergi.nl/wiki/zappi-v1-wip/installation-5/

slave1

I've the Zappi2

Black_Knight

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119453713#Comment_119453713

Not really. Car came with a 5m 32a 3 phase cable, so I'm keeping that for 11kW public charging the rare times that happens.

Then I've a 10m type 2 32 amp single phase cable I got off @Krame@Kramer a couple of years back for home charging.

stimpson

I thought you meant you were swapping the 5m from the Zappi with a 10m.

looking online it seems the mk2 has that extra lead that the MK1 doesn’t have. I think I’ll be buying one from MyEnergi.

UID0

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119454361#Comment_119454361

The communication cable has to be on the Mk1 Zappi. It's how the car knows what current it can draw, and the charger knows that there is a car connected in order to turn on the contactor. The connections are L,N,E (or L1,L2,L3,N,E for 3 phase), PP (a resistor to allow the EVSE and the car to determine the current rating of the cable) and CP (Control Pilot, which is used to specify the maximum current the car is allowed to pull and also allows the car to tell the EVSE that it can only be charged if the area is ventilated). The tethered Zappi doesn't connect the PP connection internally, it uses a resistor on the PCB, but it does have the CP connected.

The wiring diagram above is for connecting the Zappi to the supply, not for connecting the tethered cable, so doesn't include the CP cable. The tethered connections are only shown to make it easier to recognise the terminals for the AC supply.

lfc200

I’m hoping this isn’t too stupid of a question but I have a Zappi charger which is run from my meter box.

I currently have a smart meter but want to change over to a day/night meter, will this cause any problems or difficulties?

Cheers

stimpson

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119454496#Comment_119454496

Thanks for that. Seems I’m getting a genuine Zappi cable. Is it just a like for like swap then?

slave1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119456412#Comment_119456412

No problems, if you want to time your EV charge to night rate you just have to do this in the settings of either the Zappi or the car

UID0

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119456444#Comment_119456444

It should be just a straight swap. Usual caveats apply that you knock off the power before opening the case and if you're not sure what you're doing, get someone out to do it.

stimpson

Ah, I’m well able to manage that. Just wanted to check it was a straight swap.

unkel

We changed the 5m tethered cable of our second hand zappi for a 15m cable. Was straight swap, just connect the 3 AC cables plus 2 pilot cables

machinedoctor

I have a query about the myenergi app and I am hoping someone here can clarify it.

I will need to install a charger for a company car that I am getting having been given the option of an EV (order likely going in next month so who knows how long it will take). I am also in the middle of a self build so I am getting ready to order a solar kit too. As I will be charging the car mostly in the evening/overnight I am thinking of adding a battery to the order to get the most out of it. The company I work for have indicated that they will cover any charging costs for business mileage as long as I can provide accurate data.

Is it possible to get a breakdown of KWH hours for a particular car being charged from the myenergi app? if so can it be exported to an excel/pdf format?

If not are there any alternatives to the Zappi that can do what I am looking for?

Thanks in advance