What Home EV Charger Unit Should I Buy?

Noblejoker on 21/05/2025 - 19:50

Hello friends and EV enthusiast - after many months of considering the good old FBT has driven me to get an EV
Goodbye Kluger - hello BYD Sea Lion 7

I know very little about EV and charging and currently 'doing my own research'
Any hints for a complete novice with their first EV are most welcome

First specific question - what Home Charger unit should I buy
I don't think I have 3 phase and I think it will be expensive to upgrade (?)
So probably limited to a 7kw - not the full 11kw that byd can do

Dealer recommended Ocular brand charger - would you agree?
Would you pay extra for the LTE functionality - I presume so I can access charging details on my phone
(My solar controller just accesses home wifi, shouldn't the ev charger, does it need lte?)

Please let me know what charger you would recommend and why
Thank You friends

Automotive Electric Vehicle Charger

Comments

  • Brick50 on 21/05/2025 - 20:04
    +1

    What brand is your solar inverter and do you have a consumption monitor as well or does your app just monitor generation?
    Also post a pic of your switchboard

  • Carussell on 21/05/2025 - 20:25

    If it was me…
    The BYD Sealion 7 supports vehicle-to-home (V2H) technology.
    It has an 82kw battery, according to specs online.
    I would investigate a bi-directional charger.
    When not using your car, you could utilise the the car battery to power your home …

    • bargaino on 21/05/2025 - 20:29

      I would investigate a bi-directional charger.

      Last I looked, there was no such thing approved in Australia. Anyone know if that has changed?
      I'm not always by-the book, but if home is connected the grid, you want it kosher.

      • mantra on 21/05/2025 - 20:46

        our solar guy definitely by the book few months ago sent a quote with this

        • rong on 26/06/2025 - 07:53

          Interesting, don't know how much to include that?

      • tenpercent on 21/05/2025 - 20:58
        -3

        you want it kosher

        Not halal?

      • Carussell on 21/05/2025 - 21:26
        +2

        JET Charge Bi-Directional (available and approved in South Australia) or WALLBOX Bi-Directional (soon to be released).
        The issue at present is that only South Australia has approved Vehicle to Home / Vehicle to Grid.
        The power regulators in the other states are indicating approvals by end of 2025 in all states.
        Take a look at this link..
        https://www.cleanenergyreviews.info/blog/bidirectional-ev-ch…

    • Bigboomboom on 27/05/2025 - 14:28

      They are still pricey at the moment, I'm getting Sigenstor battery installed after 1st of July first. The DC Bidirectional charger can be added any time as an add-on module to the battery stack, but it costs like $8k-$10k to install (two versions, 12.5kW and 25kW), alone.

      The cool thing though because it's DC charger, you can get 25kW charging speed regardless of the onboard AC charger.

      • rong on 26/06/2025 - 07:54

        First time hear about this, thanks for sharing, could you pm installer contact and quote you got for home battery? Thanks. Will be looking doing the same.

        • Bigboomboom on 26/06/2025 - 16:47

          PM you.

          Mind you though you cannot get the DC charger without battery stack. It's modular so you need to get 1 inverter (for the battery), at least 1 battery (to supplement the grid to get 25kW charging) and the DC module itself. Each battery has built in DC charger and support charging 1/2 of the capacity (8kWh module can charge DC 4kW), the rest come from grid if you don't have 50kWh battery. It's bi-directional so you can use your EV as battery for the house, they tested a whole bunch of different brands including Tesla and BYD (Atto 3) for V2G. In Europe there are also commercial limited run now (trials) for BYD Dolphin with similar DC Bidirectional charger.'

          I think in their test the Atto 3 was able to supply 7kW to the grid. This is higher than the car's own V2L functionality.

          • rong on 27/07/2025 - 11:38

            @Bigboomboom: Thanks for sharing. Unfortunately I bought a Geely EX5 before seeing this. Got to look out for v2g for my next car.

            • Bigboomboom on 27/07/2025 - 16:01

              @rong: Technically all EV support DC bi-directional. This is because the charger tricks the EV to discharge direct from the battery, it is different from AC V2G which requires the EV hardware support.

  • oscargamer on 21/05/2025 - 22:41

    Who says you need a home charger?

    What is your usual driving routine? How many km per day, and on what roads?

    How many km when not commuting to work?

    I have an EV and only the granny charger that came with it. It suits my usage.

    • Noblejoker on 22/05/2025 - 09:19

      Upvote from me - yes I did consider and I will trickle charge for first week
      But I think for $1500 - $2K I would rather install a charger
      Range anxiety might kick in - and I am using the savings from petrol anyway right?

      • oscargamer on 22/05/2025 - 10:45
        +1

        Range anxiety is a thing until you own an EV. Try it on the granny charger, until it actually applies to you. Your LFP battery can be charged to 100% all the time, not like to 80% for an NMC battery.

      • p1 ama on 22/05/2025 - 15:59

        Range anxiety might kick in - and I am using the savings from petrol anyway right?

        Go onto PlugShare and look at where all of the public DC fast charging stations are.

        They are literally everywhere. If you live in a major metropolitan area, there will likely be one within 15 mins of where you live.

        There are also plenty of places that have "slow" chargers (e.g. supermarkets) that will be able to do 11kW, so you'll get around 70km of charge per hour.

        If you never got range anxiety with a petrol vehicle, why start now? You have more charging options than you did on petrol.

  • p1 ama on 22/05/2025 - 01:41
    +6

    Basic principles you need to know about charging:

    1. Charging is limited by two things (i) the AC to DC conversion on the car, and (ii) the amount of current that can be supplied (which is determined by how the charger is connected to your house). Generally speaking, the actual charger is just a breaker with some basic "intelligence" to communicate with the car. All of the actual charging (i.e. the AC to DC rectification) and management of the charging occurs on the vehicle. Since you only have single phase, you don't have to worry about the car's charging capacity.

    2. Generally, chargers will either be rated by their current output or power output, P = I * V, with voltage in Australia always being ~240V (as you only have single phase), so you can always convert between the two - I generally refer to amperage, not power, as your switchboard will generally be rated for amperage.

    3. Since you have single phase, you basically have three options - a 32A (i.e. 7.6kW) charger, which will either need to be wired directly into your switchboard or through an industrial 3-pin or 5-pin connector, a 15A (i.e. 3.6kW) charger, which will need to use a 15A socket that has a thicker ground pin, and a 10A (i.e. 2.4kW) charger, which can be plugged into a regular three-pin power socket.

    4. Mobile chargers (e.g. the Tesla one) will come with both 15A and 10A tails, that you can use depending on whether you have 15A sockets. If you already have a power socket in your garage, then you will definitely be able to charge at 10A, unless you have other things on the same circuit that will trip the breaker. If you can charge at 10A, then it is likely that it can also support 15A with just a simple changeover to a 15A socket (call out a sparky).

    5. If you want 32A charging, then usually most people will go with installing a home charger. This will enable you to charge faster (approx ~4x faster than a regular socket, around ~2x faster than a 15A socket). If you charge overnight every night, it doesn't matter. However, if you have a limited amount of time to charge (e.g. when you have free electricity with solar) and you need to get as much charge as possible during that window, then the investment in a home charger might be worth it for you. Home chargers also have smart features such as scheduling and usage tracking that mobile chargers usually do not have.

    6. If you just want the 32A charging, but do not want the other home charger features, one possible solution is to get a 32A tail for your mobile charger, which will allow you to plug the charger into a 32A industrial (5 pin or 3 pin) socket. You will still need to get a sparky out to install this, but it will allow you to use a mobile charger instead (e.g. if you already have one). Reality is that most people would like to carry a mobile charger around, so having a 32A tail means you can also use it to charge at the full 7.6kW at home without needing to buy another home charger, and also carry the charger around when you're out and about (e.g. on a road trip).

    7. Your best bet, in general, is to start with a mobile charger, since you'll likely want to carry one around anyway. See how that works for you, and you can always put in a 32A home charger later.

    8. Don't forget that you also have access to public charging infrastructure, and many DC fast chargers can charge from 20% to 80% in less than 30 mins. I lived in an apartment block when I got my first EV, and relied completely on a local fast charger which was attached to a nearby Coles. It was fantastic - I could charge whilst I did a quick shop, and it was even better than refuelling at a petrol station.

    9. Depending on how much you drive, you may wish to be strategic about how you charge - in general, using public charging infrastructure only will get you to around half the cost of a similar car on petrol, charging at home on a standard tarriff will be around a quarter of the cost of petrol, and charging with solar will be free.

    Hope this helps!

    Dealer recommended Ocular brand charger - would you agree?

    To be honest, all chargers are the same, as mentioned above, they're just a breaker with some electronics. The most common home charger is the Tesla one which is around $800 (plus installation) and works with all EVs, not just Teslas.

    Even if you prefer to not use Tesla products, the $800 is a good reference point, so the Ocular one seems fine. Some people swear by the Zappi brand, which is a more premium charger. Apparently it has more smart features. That being said, I personally don't see how it can be any good.

  • Caped Baldy on 22/05/2025 - 09:00

    Car should come with a standard wall outlet plug and charge up to 2.4kW/10A.

  • rambutann on 22/05/2025 - 09:44

    If you can do V2H then do whatever is capable of that.

    If not, i'd personally recommend the regular Tesla charger. I have a Polestar 2 with a similar battery size.
    Easily charges overnight if you need it to (have only done this twice in 15,000km), but generally im charging between 11am-2pm because its free (thanks ovo).

    I found that whilst other charges come with some better tech, the Tesla charger has the core tech, and is reliable, and is cheap.

  • stuffandthat on 22/05/2025 - 10:05

    I just put in an Evnex E2 Plus. Pretty happy with it.

  • busyra on 23/05/2025 - 16:14

    On a similar boat as well as getting our first ev soon. We have sungrow inverter for solar but they have not released an ev charger yet.

    Is there a charger that is capable to communicate with any inverter or meter to maximize solar?

  • boretentsu on 27/05/2025 - 09:22

    If you drive daily then consider it.

    If you only drive small amounts at a time then consider sticking with the granny. If you have solar and you want to maximise it, you are likely to overdraw with a 7kw single phase charger. This is my situation and I'm considering installing a 15a plug which will be faster than a 10a granny but help soak up excess solar while leaving some for the home.

    • Eivad on 30/06/2025 - 14:49

      This is my situation as well, but I'm considering getting a solar charger that draws only from excess solar. Otherwise the standard 7kw charger will end up drawing most of its power directly from the grid. Tossing up between the Evnex E2 and the Ocular Pulsar.

  • smartinet on 07/07/2025 - 11:29

    I would not recommend the Tesla charger, it lacks basic functionality like OCPP which will future-proof the investment.

    OCPP will allow you to configure your charger to run on surplus solar, interact with VPPs like Amber or services like ChargeHQ to optimise charging rates based on wholesale energy. Tesla were supposed to implement it but have had years and it's still not present in their chargers.

    V2G is still a while away and what is around now is VERY expensive (like the Sigenergy option mentioned earlier).

    If you need a charger now, going with one that supports OCPP would be wise. In the future, when V2G becomes more established, it should be relatively easy for a sparky to swap out to a new charger using existing cabling and circuit already installed.

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