[IX3 KING]

What is the best EV charger in the UK. As I am looking for one for my home.

Want one that connects to the Internet and has a app.

[ggla]

I wouldn’t know which is “best” but I read a lot of good things about the zappi 2 and that is what I bought. Seems to work well, the installer said it was good quality and it doesn’t need an earthing rod.

It also has an app and can link directly in to solar. It has a lot of smart features.

[GDEvans]

Originally Posted by IX3 KING

What is the best EV charger in the UK. As I am looking for one for my home.

Want one that connects to the Internet and has a app.

A bit like asking "how long is a piece of string?".

Any of the chargers that qualify for the installation grant are smart chargers. So that is probably a good starting point. However, you are unlikely to be able to take advantage of the grant now.

Very few people have experience with more than one type of charger - they tend to have a single charger installed at home. So they will either recommend or criticise the only charger they have. Difficult to get a balanced view.

My neighbour and I discussed it at length. He had two houses, with different chargers at each. In his second house, he had solar panels installed. He opted for the Zappi as it is known to work well with the panels. But it is more expensive than some other chargers.

I went for the slightly cheaper Wallbox Pulsar Plus. It is a much smaller unit - about 200mm x 200mm. So is quite discrete on the wall. It works very well, and charges every time. The app is simple to use. With the initial setup it pairs the phone via bluetooth, so you have to be standing next to it to unlock it with your phone. However, I realised that I can setup the charger on my wifi network. Now I can pair with it from anywhere; currently sitting in my office and I can see the status, and unlock it remotely. It can be configured in the app to be left unlocked permanently, or as I have it, lock automatically after a period of non use, hence preventing unauthorised use.

[Spiderstu]

Originally Posted by GDEvans

A bit like asking "how long is a piece of string?".

Any of the chargers that qualify for the installation grant are smart chargers. So that is probably a good starting point. However, you are unlikely to be able to take advantage of the grant now.

Very few people have experience with more than one type of charger - they tend to have a single charger installed at home. So they will either recommend or criticise the only charger they have. Difficult to get a balanced view.

My neighbour and I discussed it at length. He had two houses, with different chargers at each. In his second house, he had solar panels installed. He opted for the Zappi as it is known to work well with the panels. But it is more expensive than some other chargers.

I went for the slightly cheaper Wallbox Pulsar Plus. It is a much smaller unit - about 200mm x 200mm. So is quite discrete on the wall. It works very well, and charges every time. The app is simple to use. With the initial setup it pairs the phone via bluetooth, so you have to be standing next to it to unlock it with your phone. However, I realised that I can setup the charger on my wifi network. Now I can pair with it from anywhere; currently sitting in my office and I can see the status, and unlock it remotely. It can be configured in the app to be left unlocked permanently, or as I have it, lock automatically after a period of non use, hence preventing unauthorised use.

I have a Pod Point, and that doesn’t have the ability to lock it with the app which is a shame. I think the best I could do it schedule it to charge only at certain times (like a tiny time window). I opted to buy a lock that was installed on the charge point when it was fitted, but that cost extra.

[Hud78]

Originally Posted by Spiderstu

I have a Pod Point, and that doesn’t have the ability to lock it with the app which is a shame. I think the best I could do it schedule it to charge only at certain times (like a tiny time window). I opted to buy a lock that was installed on the charge point when it was fitted, but that cost extra.

I'm not too worried about locking - the chance of someone having the nerve to park on my drive for 5 hours to steal about £5 worth of electriticy is small. Cable theft would be a more realistic concern, but fortunately not heard of that happening too much (yet!).

[GDEvans]

Originally Posted by Hud78

I'm not too worried about locking - the chance of someone having the nerve to park on my drive for 5 hours to steal about £5 worth of electriticy is small. Cable theft would be a more realistic concern, but fortunately not heard of that happening too much (yet!).

It will be £30 worth of electricity by this time next year!

[The shadow]

I have a Hypervolt fitted (in anthracite)and can’t fault it, app is easy to use as well and although a gimmick, party mode is pretty impressive

[hollpe]

I've got the Ohme home charger and it's been faultless so far. Really pleased with it.

[supersebbo]

PodPoint here also. App is limited and a bit clunky but it does the job, allows scheduling of charges and tracks exact usage and costs (can even be configured to support on-peak/off-peak tariffs).

One great (but AFAIK not officially supported) feature is that I've discovered you can allow multiple users to add the charger to their PodPoint account. This way I allow my neighbour to use my charger and know exactly how much to bill him for it each month (which he always rounds up and adds a bottle of wine, as he is blown away with getting 5p/kWh!)