Newbie - any home charger recommendations?

[ct4s]

Hi,
I'm likely to buy a 2nd hand CT in the next few days'.
I'll need a home charger which will be installed the outside the house and exposed to the elements - so it needs good waterproofing.
Features I need - smart charger with a decent app that can manage schedules, tethered, up to 7kw, ability to lock / disable the charger when I'm not using it.
I'd welcome your suggestions on the best chargers or those to avoid?

I like the sound of the Andersen A2 - looks good, tidy cable management, ability to lock the charger when I'm not using it. But most reviews slate the app on the iOS store.
Or a Zappi.
https://andersen-ev.com/pages/andersen-a2

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[chidd]

I have the Andersen A2 - installation was slick and it does exactly what it says on the tin. The cable tidy is very helpful and cleans the cable as you wind/unwind it so you don't get your hands dirty. The light in the box is also very useful in the dark. I manage all the charging via the Porsche app, so have only looked at the Konnect+ app out of interest to see how much I'm spending, which it does (although some of the charts are a but difficult to understand). If your charger is very accessible, there's a simple lock function on the app to prevent unauthorised use. Overall, thoroughly recommend.

 

[Porcupine]

I wanted a charger that looked good, because many look like ugly lumps of black plastic to me.

Andersen's product looks good but they went bust briefly last year so I was nervous of trusting their ecosystem (since if their servers go down their chargers are effectively disabled). Andersen's original founders and designers had been forced out of the business well beforehand and already set up a second company, Simpson & Partners, also making a stylish wall box available in a range of colours to match my property. S&P's chargers can operate via Bluetooth to your phone as well as via their servers over WiFi, so if S&P's servers have a glitch or are shut down the box still works. This appeals to me a lot more so I went with that and don't regret it at all.

The only thing the S&P box doesn't have is in-box cable/plug storage, but I plug my Taycan in so often that this would probably be more of a hassle than it's worth.

A downside of Simpson & Partners I've discovered is that it's not yet compatible with Ovo's Anytime cheap EV charging service. I hope it will be soon though.

Hope you're pleased with your Taycan when you get it, OP!

 

[ct4s]

Thanks Porcupine - very helpful.

Spoke with Andersen a few mins ago and they said an improved app is imminent - they're aiming for Feb / Mar.
But until it's live, we have no way of knowing if the key issues have been fixed or if they have introduced any new bugs / features.
They did say that if wifi is down for 5 mins or more, once restored it works as a plug-and-play item and just starts charging, regardless of schedule. This is not user configurable so I've decided this is a deal-breaker for me.

I'll check out S&P tonight.

 

[Porcupine]

Interesting. What Andersen told you may be true of other wallboxes too - maybe they all become completely 'dumb' if they lose internet, which makes S&P's Bluetooth-connected boxes even more appealing.

The S&P box is a lot smaller than the Andersen unit too.

 

[W1NGE]

Hi,
I'm likely to buy a 2nd hand CT in the next few days'.
I'll need a home charger which will be installed the outside the house and exposed to the elements - so it needs good waterproofing.
Features I need - smart charger with a decent app that can manage schedules, tethered, up to 7kw, ability to lock / disable the charger when I'm not using it.
I'd welcome your suggestions on the best chargers or those to avoid?

I like the sound of the Andersen A2 - looks good, tidy cable management, ability to lock the charger when I'm not using it. But most reviews slate the app on the iOS store.
Or a Zappi.
https://andersen-ev.com/pages/andersen-a2

Note that the PCM in the car controls the charging (not the EVSE (charger)) - for Timers and Profiles etc. If you use that supplied with the EVSE (if not the Porsche one you get with the car) you will likely encounter problems / conflicts (copious threads on this forum on this topic). General advice is to set non Porsche EVSE to 'dumb' mode (no timers / profiles / programming) and use the app supplied by Porsche which controls the PCM (or you can configure on PCM or My Porsche Website).

Note also the charger is actually in the car (AC and DC chargers) and so the wallbox whilst labelled a 'charger' in fact isn't - same for all EVs. It just supplies a safe flow of electricity. These are more familiarly labelled EVSEs (Electric Vehicle Structured Equipment).

For smart charging sign up to OVO - Charge Anytime (check requirements) but this will talk directly to the Taycan and will provide 0.07p per unit of charge anytime of day when it decides to charge within the parameters you set. You will need to have a Smart Meter in place also. Other offerings from Octopus.

 

[kurand]

I use an S&P Home7Plus EVSE with OVO Anytime connecting directly to the car. This relies on connectivity between OVO Anytime and Porsche servers and the car. Such connectivity is notorious for being somewhat flakey. I’ve had instances where the car has not charged at all by the required time and other instances where it has charged to 100%. Mostly, it charges to somewhere close to the request % by the desired time.

I spoke with S&P about adding integration with OVO Charge Anytime into their EVSEs last year but they said they had no plans for this. Since then I noticed that they do now have Octopus integration.

Otherwise, the S&P EVSE is nice and small and their app seems good too. They have support for load sharing (which I need for my 60amp fused house) and also solar integration both at additional cost. They are definitely not the cheapest EVSEs on ten market.

 

[Silverback]

I have a Zappi 2. This works well with Intelligent Octopus (i.e. charging at 7.5p on a set scheduled usually overnight), but the Zappi does not work with OVO, (so worth thinking about who you will use and checking the compatibility) It is not as good looking as the Anderson one though. Finding someone who can not only do the Electrics as part of the install, but also has the knowhow on the setup and config of the 'charger' is key.

 

[RGBArgee]

Hi,
I'm likely to buy a 2nd hand CT in the next few days'.
I'll need a home charger which will be installed the outside the house and exposed to the elements - so it needs good waterproofing.
Features I need - smart charger with a decent app that can manage schedules, tethered, up to 7kw, ability to lock / disable the charger when I'm not using it.
I'd welcome your suggestions on the best chargers or those to avoid?

I like the sound of the Andersen A2 - looks good, tidy cable management, ability to lock the charger when I'm not using it. But most reviews slate the app on the iOS store.
Or a Zappi.
https://andersen-ev.com/pages/andersen-a2

I have a Pod Point - had it 2 years and no problems at all.

 

[D00]

I’m on Octopus Intelligent and was in OVO Charge Anytime before that. My advice would be don’t overpay for your charger. You can use the car timer and profile to control everything. I use the Porsche supplied dumb charger with a 32a commando socket, you don’t need any special features. Something well reviewed on Amazon will do the job. Especially if you intend to install and use a charger outside, it’s more important that you use an OZEV registered installer
https://www.gov.uk/electric-vehicle-chargepoint-installers

 

[kurand]

The S&P I have is untethered. However, you can lock the cable to the EVSE via their app. It keeps the lock pin engaged in the EVSE/cable even when the car end of the cable is unplugged or the car is not charging. I think untethered EVSEs are better because you can easily replace the cable when it or the plugs get damaged or you need to lengthen or shorten the cable.

 

[pdavison]

Andersen A2 here and I control the charging via the Octopus app as I'm on the Octopus Intelligent Go tariff. So far so good but I'm only in my first month. Of all the chargers I looked at (and I tend to research way too much), this one offered the neatest solution and if looks are a factor, in my opinion it is the best looking too.

 

[ct4s]

Thanks all - lots to think about tonight.

Had a good session with Porsche Chester today - impressed with the dealer and most importantly loved the CT 4S.
Just need to locate my prefect spec at a price which I think is agreeable.

Must haves:
- Black full leather, rear axle steering, Sport Chrono, folding mirrors, dimming mirrors, 150kw charging, Bose, pano roof, adaptive cruise, surround view; 4+1 seating, 14-way seats (or adaptive), heated wheel. Silver, grey or blue.

Would prefer:
- LED matrix lights, roof rails, bike rack prep, 20inch off road wheels, cooled seats, ambient lighting, electric sound.

 

[Capt Mike]

Note that the PCM in the car controls the charging (not the EVSE (charger)) - for Timers and Profiles etc. If you use that supplied with the EVSE (if not the Porsche one you get with the car) you will likely encounter problems / conflicts (copious threads on this forum on this topic). General advice is to set non Porsche EVSE to 'dumb' mode (no timers / profiles / programming) and use the app supplied by Porsche which controls the PCM (or you can configure on PCM or My Porsche Website).

Note also the charger is actually in the car (AC and DC chargers) and so the wallbox whilst labelled a 'charger' in fact isn't - same for all EVs. It just supplies a safe flow of electricity. These are more familiarly labelled EVSEs (Electric Vehicle Structured Equipment).

For smart charging sign up to OVO - Charge Anytime (check requirements) but this will talk directly to the Taycan and will provide 0.07p per unit of charge anytime of day when it decides to charge within the parameters you set. You will need to have a Smart Meter in place also. Other offerings from Octopus.

Hi,
I'm likely to buy a 2nd hand CT in the next few days'.
I'll need a home charger which will be installed the outside the house and exposed to the elements - so it needs good waterproofing.
Features I need - smart charger with a decent app that can manage schedules, tethered, up to 7kw, ability to lock / disable the charger when I'm not using it.
I'd welcome your suggestions on the best chargers or those to avoid?

I like the sound of the Andersen A2 - looks good, tidy cable management, ability to lock the charger when I'm not using it. But most reviews slate the app on the iOS store.
Or a Zappi.
https://andersen-ev.com/pages/andersen-a2

As a colonial I don’t understand why there is a reticence to just purchase the Porsche home charging unit. I have one and it works flawlessly.

 

[ct4s]

As a colonial I don’t understand why there is a reticence to just purchase the Porsche home charging unit. I have one and it works flawlessly.

I'll take a look tonight

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