Zappi charge points

blingrhino · 02-07-2022 1:19pm

Where do i find the 2 registration numbers to pair my charger with phone app,

i have stnxxxxxxxx number but also need another,

the booklet says these are on page 2 - is that on the charger (as the booklet starts at page 3 !)

KildareP · 02-07-2022 3:09pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119280029#Comment_119280029

Yep. Installed just this week. The latest firmware version for my unit seems to be v4.122 though, although I am still running v4.107 out of the box (once my meddly fingers get bored I'll update!)

Anything you want to know/ask shout and I'll do my best!

comerla · 08-07-2022 7:35pm

Can anyone recommend a Zappi installer in Cork?

ECO_Mental · 09-07-2022 12:41pm

epower https://www.epower.ie/

Got a zappi installed a couple of weeks ago off them. Although it was KN Circet who did the installation. €1450 installed but I had a lot if the work done before hand as I planned for it. After the survey paid the invoice and it was fitted within 2 days. I got a black Zappi and he said they had them in stock. You might have to wait 2 weeks maybe if you want the white one.

Edit..

That price was excluding the grant of €600

Bitten & Hisses · 11-07-2022 11:44am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119310483#Comment_119310483

We're not in Cork, but the crowd who did our Zappi install are a Cork based company:

www.energywiseireland.ie

We were very happy with the service

Bioscaller · 11-07-2022 10:18pm

Anyway lads, whatever charger you choose dont get a tethered one. Couple of home charger cables in the neighborhood were cut off over night. Guess its the copper they wanna cash in on.

KCross · 11-07-2022 11:01pm

I’d say BS on that one. The amount of copper in a few cables isn’t worth that much and your untethered charge point is going to have a cable hanging off it for hours on end as well so can just as easily be cut off.

Tethered all the way.

If you don’t like the look of the cable buy one that can hide the cable via an internal wraparound. There are a few that have that now.

Messing with a wet cable on a cold winters morning isn’t for me, but each to their own.

Bioscaller · 12-07-2022 9:41am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119324164#Comment_119324164

Its much more common in the UK even though its mostly public fast chargers that get their cables ripped off but its slowly starting here it seems. I have a tethered myself but house is gated. No idea why people take the cables, was just an assumption but with the current economy climate, no surprise people steal whatever they can to make a few bob.

Thumper Long · 14-07-2022 2:06pm

Folks todays stupid question, will the Zappi work with the mobile app without a hub? I.e. just needing a new Zappi to control and monitor remotely? Zappi would be installed well within range of WiFI network.

championc · 14-07-2022 2:20pm

No. The latest models of Zappi have an in-built hub though

Thumper Long · 14-07-2022 2:27pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119336771#Comment_119336771

Thanks that’s what I thought from the literature, but there are so many confusing articles re hubs and their own site wasn’t hectic. So if I understand I need to get a Zappi 2.1 installed?

Bioscaller · 15-07-2022 9:03am

Just got mine installed yesterday and the EV is coming tomorrow. I can see a 0.2kw going from the grid to the house. I guess thats my rough current consumption in the house? It defo changes when I switch the lights on etc.

the_amazing_raisin · 15-07-2022 10:01pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119340005#Comment_119340005

That's exactly it, you're seeing what the house is consuming

Gumbo · 15-07-2022 11:05pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119340005#Comment_119340005

Yes. Sounds about right for a typical house with a fridge running, a few lamps and maybe a tv.

Im currently at 260w base load with rear garden lights on and cctv system.

ACAandCTA · 17-07-2022 12:44pm

I have a vw ID3, which doesn't have in app/in car timer yet. I installed a zappi in July last year, with the plan to get solar PV panels in the next few years - don't have any as of yet - and don't have a hub.

I had been using the eco boost setting as a way of acting like a timer, so that the charge kicked in after midnight for the night rate.

It worked well until recently, when now it only charges at 1kwh when it kicks in. If I unplug and then restart, it does charge at the 7kwh. Don't think anything has changed since it worked previously.

I have a Harvi and CT clamp, but nothing else is on at midnight that would make me think any load balancing is needed at that time.

Any suggestions?

in the meantime, I can just plug it in as Fast and turn the charge on in the app when going to bed

the_amazing_raisin · 17-07-2022 1:07pm

I've had this issue too with the ID.4, I've noticed that a message was flashing up on the screen in the car saying something like "Emergency charging only"

The light on the charging port was also alternating green and red

I think the issue is that if the plug isn't all the way in the car gets paranoid and will reduce the charging power to minimum. This is easy to do as the lock seems to engage when the plug is partway in if you aren't quick enough

The fix is to reseat the plug as you saw

Lately when I'm plugging in, I make sure to push the plug in all the way before the lock engages, and haven't had any issues since

Black_Knight · 23-07-2022 10:27am

What's a zappi install costing these days? Lots of talk of solar being installed in our house, but I've only a dumb charger.

Trying to weigh up the benefits of:

solar panels only
Solar plus zappi
Solar plus battery
Solar plus battery plus zappi

I think the zappi or battery options are about equal in terms of payback.

davidod1 · 23-07-2022 1:09pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119375881#Comment_119375881

My experience of panels with a Zappi and Niro PHEV, and since February of this year, an e-Niro, is that, provided you can install about eight panels or more then it would be worth the expense.

I have had six X 300W panels since 2018. However, because the e-Niro, and I don't know if it is the same for all EVs, requires a minimum of 1.4KWs to start charging. You will find that with the draw from the house, the number of times that the car will even start to charge are few and far between.

I find that the house seems to draw about 300W fairly constantly. That would be fridge, freezer, PC and other minor items. Then occasional items like a water heating and water pressure pump can bump up that significantly. This means that you will need about 1.7KWs just to get the charging started. Even on a sunny day, passing clouds can drop the output from the panels to 700/900W and frequently even less.

What I find is that my surplus power tends to just go straight back in to the grid rather than starting to charge the car. I do have the Zappi set to pull from the grid when the green level falls below 60%, but even this is rarely enough to give the car any meaningful charge.

I think eight panels might be enough to get over this hurdle, but 10 would be a safer number in my opinion

I have been trying to get someone to even come and discuss adding another 2 - 4 panels to my system, but so far not found anyone interested to even talk. So my advice would be, if you are hoping to charge your car, then put in a decent number of panels from the start.

championc · 23-07-2022 4:51pm

I have 3.9kWp. I started with 2.7kWp and as @davidod1 said, charging opportunities were few and far between. After the increase, a can get a charge far more often, but it's still low numbers. I might, if very lucky, get 1.5kW for 4 hours - which totals 6kW, which, instead of charging at night, therefore saves me 60c - wow !!! Up until last week, I pretty much got that in 35 mins in my local Lidl.

So in my opinion, getting a charge into the car is a small bonus, but I don't see the point in plastering a roof for maybe 40 good days a year.

I concentrate my efforts on charging my batteries, which means I can pretty much use zero expensive daytime units all year round

slave1 · 24-07-2022 12:55pm

Depends, I've put close to 4,000kms into the EV the last 4.5 months with a 6kWp system. Just waiting on hooking up a second 6kWp system and forecasting around 10,000kms into the EV via the Zappi next year.

If you have a small system then not worth it, if you can push into an oversized 6kWp system then worth it I think...

All the above after house load and hot water

the_amazing_raisin · 24-07-2022 4:08pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119375881#Comment_119375881

So I got the Zappi installed alongside the EO Mini when we got the ID.4, handy having 2 chargers especially when the cars take different plugs

Cost was 3 hours labour plus a new RCBO because the old one was right on the limit, total €200

Probably twice that nowadays 😬

If you're doing a straight up swap, then tbh you could probably do it yourself, it's not much more difficult than wiring a plug (don't set the RECI police on me).

So the main cost is the Zappi, which I think cost around €1k these days. You might also need a Harvi if you don't want to run a CT clamps wire back to your meter box

Tbh, in terms of payoff, solar PV plus battery is probably better economics. You can use the house battery to shift all the house consumption to either free solar, or night rate. On the other hand you're already charging the car at night, so the savings are smaller

Remember to remove the car's consumption from your house usage when calculating the battery size, unless you want t on buy a 100kWh house battery 😉

A Zappi also works best when there's a car plugged in during the day. Works great if you're WFH but might not work out well otherwise

Might also be worth looking at an Eddi, probably a better payback period than the Zappi

Black_Knight · 24-07-2022 5:52pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119380787#Comment_119380787

Cheers.

No tank, so no Eddi.

I do WFH mostly, so that is an option to fill up as I'm there. And the unit would be right beside our meter box, so CT clamps would be a doddle.

I had theorised that I could charge the car on reduced amps from solar, with the battery as cover for any cloud during the day. That would only be charging at 2kW though, so it'd add little range, and plenty of anxiety that I'm charging on the day rate. And a 5kW inverter wouldn't allow me to charge at 7kW.

I've tried to use at much factual data as I can. I utilised the boards solar PV generation Google Doc, and based possible generation from a similar sized array as we'd be getting. I think 4 months of the year the battery charged at night would subsidise my day usage when solar production is low. About 4 months of the year I think I'd be able to drive for "free". Obviously a zappi would help that, and maybe extend that to 5-6 months.

Battery is about twice the price, or more, of adding a zappi.

kris_2021 · 24-07-2022 6:22pm

Price for zappi plus installation now is 1.4-1.5k before grant?

the_amazing_raisin · 24-07-2022 7:59pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119381355#Comment_119381355

Yeah, batteries are expensive beasts. You could get something modular like Pylontech so you can add more later. Or go the DIY route and get some cells from China

The advantage of having a battery is that you don't need to stress much about wasting excess solar and trying to time you appliances to the sunshine

The Zappi gives you a similar advantage but the value gain is lower because you're offsetting electricity which is already cheap (night rate)

The good thing is that you can always add bits later. Covering the roof with panels is probably the most labour intensive bit so personally I'd max that out initially and then see what you can add later as money permits

Then again my electricity consumption is fairly outrageous (11,000kWh per year) so it's an easier payback for me to go for broke on solar

the_amazing_raisin · 24-07-2022 8:00pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119381469#Comment_119381469

That's assuming a fresh install, a swap out of an existing charger is much easier

Black_Knight · 24-07-2022 8:07pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119381929#Comment_119381929

We're only about half that. 6000kWh I'd say. 4000 night, 2000 day. Roof space is limited, so 10-11 panels is about all I can hope for.

Our base load is 300W, so I'm thinking with solar alone we can knock 1000W off our day usage. Maybe switch 500 night units to solar too. After that it's back to the grid or little bits a bobs here and there.

I think with a battery I can get day usage down to 300W, if I charge the battery over night during winter months. And I'd have less "losses" back to the grid too with a battery. I did the math (rough) on the FIT but with the increased night rate it's about on par with getting a battery.

Zappi is certainly the easier thing to retrofit, so that looks like the route we'll take

KCross · 24-07-2022 8:34pm

I did the math (rough) on the FIT but with the increased night rate it's about on par with getting a battery.

The battery and significantly more expensive hybrid inverter will need to be replaced so you need to factor BOTH of those costs into your calculations. Most people don't.

On the other hand the grid will be there forever and costs you nothing in terms of new capital.... batteries don't make sense and even less so since the grant was removed for them and probably even less again once FiT is up and running. The only exception is possibly the DiY battery route.

the_amazing_raisin · 24-07-2022 9:14pm

I'd definitely recommend getting a hybrid inverter from the outset, gives you the option later to add a battery if you go that route

Basically the one thing to avoid is painting yourself into a corner, try to leave room for add-ons later

KCross · 24-07-2022 9:55pm

I'd definitely recommend getting a hybrid inverter from the outset

id disagree. Paying for something you might never use.

If you need it later you can always put the latest and greatest in and sell on the old one.

Black_Knight · 24-07-2022 10:19pm

Well this hasn't helped my decision making.

On one hand, you're totally right. The battery is quite expensive. But on the other hand, I can only see a good FIT being subverted by a higher grid kWh cost. Hard to make a decision given the unknowns of the FIT. I'm guessing SSE Airtricities Smart meter rates are the rates you'll get if getting a FIT? 100% need a zappi if I go the FIT route.

Zappi charge points

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