Do you have Solar Panels & Charge Anytime? We’d love to hear your thoughts

Hey ​@Janm12, 

Thanks for reaching out, i’ve sent you a private message! 

Hi

I have Hypervolt 3pro, Nissan Ariya ev and solar panels. I would be happy to take part in this survey/trial. My issue and may be my failure to understand the app properly, but I can’t charge the car on solar only because the app defaults to charging in smart mode. Hypervolt functions are disabled by OVO app. Simon

Hey ​@simon63,

Check your inbox for a private message! 

Just something to note actually - Hypervolt suggests that you let the Charger do its own thing when integrated with Charge Anytime in terms of what sources it pulls from. It usually knows what’s best for itself!

But if you can’t get it to pull from Solar, make sure both the CT Clamps are set up correctly!

Hi, 

I would be interested in being involved in the survey/trial. 

I was just about to accept a quote for Ovo solar installation, and had been advised I can still charge my Tesla using the Ovo Charge Anytime tariff. After reading this forum, it appear I cannot do this as I use a granny charger. I won't be proceeding with my order until the tariff is available with solar. 

Thanks, 

Hi ​@Khay 

Tricky situation with a low power or “granny” charger. It might be possible to use Charge Anytime with one of those if your car is compatible with CA. It will be on the list of compatible cars.

However, you can't integrate solar power with that arrangement. For that you will need a compatible charge point like a Zappi as an example and control the CP and not the car.

Peter

Just a heads up - if you plan to use OVO Charge Anytime and Solar at the same time, you’ll need to use either an Indra or Hypervolt charger such as the ones OVO sells. You don’t have to buy the Charger via OVO (although you can if you want to) but you must use one of the ones listed on https://www.ovoenergy.com/electric-cars/smart-charger as being Solar Compatible if you want to have CA as well.

Almost all Tesla vehicles right back to 2012 are CA compatible, but not if you have Solar.

Thank you for the advice Peter and Blastoise. Seems I have an additional cost consideration in buying a compatible CA charger, to consider!

Indeed. Personally, I’d suggest leaning towards Hypervolt because we’ve seen they have better customer support, a more reliable product, better Charge Anytime integration and ultimately a better overall experience. This is based on the feedback we’ve seen on the Forum.

But you should also do your own research...

Buying a compatible charge point is a significant cost and it depends on the economics of doing that regarding the mileage you do etc. Research is really important. Also CPs have a finite life as they spend all their time out in all weathers. I would expect one to last between 5 and 10 years but they have been known to fail just outside of the warranty period as well.

One of the other routes is to get an E7 tariff with a cheap, dumb CP and export whatever solar you don’t use. It is very hard if not impossible to find the best combination of EV charging, solar (use and/or export), battery (if you do that) if they are all interactive. EV charging from solar has been tried by many people but it really doesn’t work that well.

A good forum for information on what has been tried is SpeakEV.

Peter