What EV Charger Do You Have at Home?

SetTheFaqUp on 08/01/2026 - 09:34
Last edited 08/01/2026 - 09:35

Preamble
For the claims that EV is straight forward and more convenient than an ICE (including hybrid), I do not share the same view. Of course, EVs have their merits.
This is based on an experience of owning an Atto 3 as a spare car and having had a rental for a good few days. The list goes from 1. Waiting for a charger, 2. Need to BYO cable, 3. Need to have some sort of charging ability at place of residence, 4. One app for each charging vendor – seriously, I thought credit card have eliminated this non-sense, and 5. The array of non standardised charging options at home.
The FBT exemption makes BEV an attractive option, and the arsenal of BEVs at home is steadily increasing owing to the courtesy of Australian tax payers. Therefore, it is time to instal a 7kws charger at home. It is a rabbit hole.

Vendors
Which ones are reputable from a safety point of view. The key is proper wiring on internal components in which dissemble review of EV chargers online is non-existence. I read a few hobbyist own take part some years ago whilst they commented to an EV charger thread.
So far, a few looks promising

  1. EVNEX – NZ made and owned.
  2. Sevr – Solid cost-effective option with minimal “smart”.
  3. Ocular – looks good and seems to be popular.

Solar integration
My take is that there are two key items:

  1. CT clamp – taps into the wiring so that solar charging is enabled (oppose to charge from grid only).
  2. OCPP – protocol to determine solar energy generated and the ability to charge on solar only, subject to minimal threshold on input from the solar system (e.g. 1.xkws).

Installation
All sparkies, in theory can instal it. Do you go with a vendor installation option or BYO sparky? I see the benefit of a supplied and installed option is the ease on warranty claim. I have no idea how durable EV chargers are (not so much the hardware, but software can take the entire charger down – at one stage, a software update fried an EV charger).
Concern with some random sparky is cabling and able to beautifully hide the wire instead of running conduit to the sun and back.

Would appreciate some input based on the following criteria

  • Charger

    1. Safety– any bad ones to avoid, or good ones to prioritise?
    2. Ability to have solar integration – CT clamp is an absolute requirement, OCPP is a good to have.
    3. Warranty – might be too new of an industry for comments based on long term experience.

  • Electrician

    1. BYO or vendor installation?

Automotive Electric Vehicle Charger

Comments

Search through all the comments in this post.
  • kahn on 08/01/2026 - 09:43
    +10

    What EV charger do you have a home?

    You've got that all screwed up.

    What? EV charger, do you have a home?

    • Wiede on 10/01/2026 - 11:13

      Look at mr fancy pants here with their home ownership

  • Hybroid on 08/01/2026 - 09:53
    +2

    If you're getting a proper wall charger installed, you might as well go the three-phase route and get a 22 kW charger installed for a bit more. Bite the bullet once.

    I'll be doing that once I get the recent VoltX battery system deal installed then utilise the 3-hour free electricity/solar to charge 50 kWh home battery, then use that to charge EVs.

    • SetTheFaqUp on 08/01/2026 - 09:56
      +1

      No dice. Currently single phase from the street.

      • Hybroid on 08/01/2026 - 10:16
        +2

        Unfortunate. For me personally, I don't see value in spending $2,000+ on installing a relatively slow 7 kW single phase charger. I would rather rely on nearby 60c 75-150 kWh Chargefox while Coles shopping, and top up with granny charger where required.

        • aarick on 08/01/2026 - 10:58
          +4

          If you charge for free with excess solar, then this is usually not an issue unless you have a 20+ kw inverter installed. I do have a 22kw ev charger installed but seldom charge at full speed due to wanting to charge with excess solar only. Cost me $699 fully installed as my solar installer installed the charger for me free.

          • SetTheFaqUp on 08/01/2026 - 11:34

            @aarick: Yea. A 7kws panel and 5kws inverter. The 7kws will max it out (will dial it down if needed to). Two years petrol should recoupe the cost.

        • freefall101 on 08/01/2026 - 13:04
          +2

          You can get a charger installed for under $1,500 and upgrading to three-phase is usually additional cost (for those who don't have it in place already). Agree it makes sense if it's not much additional cost.

          Definitely rather have a 7Kw charger rather than use Chargefox though. After 9pm I pay 18c KWh and it'll be charged by 6am, whereas a granny charger would take a full day. Not that I do that often, mostly the excess from the solar goes into it. I don't recall a time I had to have the car charged in 3 hours though (and if I did, I'd just go to a fast charger and have it done much quicker).

          It's also becoming awful charging at shopping centres during busy times. Usually half a dozen EVs sitting around waiting to get a spot.

        • TheFreaK on 09/01/2026 - 13:40

          No clue where you got the $2,000+ figure from

          • Hybroid on 09/01/2026 - 14:25
            +1

            @TheFreaK: Average of $800-1,200+ for the charger unit and $1,000 for installation quoted.

            • freefall101 on 09/01/2026 - 23:50

              @Hybroid: Hand in your OzBargain license. Even Bunnings does an install for $700.

    • dealsucker on 09/01/2026 - 09:02
      +1

      There are very few cars which can do 22kw on AC. Tesla and BYD both are a max of 11kw and that literally 100% of the current EV market covered.

      • us3rnam3tak3n on 09/01/2026 - 12:55

        A bit of future proofing doesn't cost much.

        • eddyah on 09/01/2026 - 23:07
          +1

          What are you future proofing here?

          Even with 22kW charging and an 80kWh battery - do you ever really need to charge it from 0 to 100% in 4 hours?

          Wouldn't it be better to not pay that and goto a super charger once in a while instead?

    • SanguinarySeraph on 09/01/2026 - 17:05

      Depends on your exact setup but you won’t pull 22kw from the solar/battery alone, you’ll be limited by your inverter and then the rest will come from the grid.

      7kw charger for an 8kw inverter makes sense for example.

      If it doesn’t cost much extra you can always throttle it and it gives you options at least, but it will be pointless if your goal is to charge off grid exclusively.

  • stuffandthat on 08/01/2026 - 09:57
    +2

    Evnex E2 Plus. Has been running great, with no issues.

    • CheapandUsed on 08/01/2026 - 10:10

      This comes in more colour options than most new EVs!

    • martyn on 09/01/2026 - 23:23

      I have Evnex E2 Core. Great charger but I wish I had bought the plus for the extra cable length

    • MS Paint on 08/01/2026 - 10:15
      +1

      A home or EV charger? I'm confused

        • Guybrush57 on 09/01/2026 - 22:45
          +1

          You didn't post a question

      • Tommyaka on 09/01/2026 - 16:47

        Yes.

  • Frashal on 08/01/2026 - 10:08

    I've got the Sungrow AC22E-01 charger, but I'm not totally happy with it. My inverter and battery are sungrow, so it made sense to keep it all together in one ecosystem, but the main issue I have with it is lack of control. I have it set to only ever charge off excess solar, which for day to day use is fine. We are with Globird and get free power from 11am to 2pm, but there is currently no way I can schedule it to force charge during that time. I have to go in and manually change it, then set myself a reminder to change it back before 2pm. Before I had it installed and was charging off a GPO with a smart plug I had some great automations setup to control the charging, now it is vastly dumber. The limitation was only 2.4kW charge rate though.

    It comes with this iHomeManager device that currently doesn't easily integrate into home assistant so I can't control it that way. I suspect as time goes on Sungrow will improve their software, and/or people much smarter than me will get that integration easier to setup for idiots like me.

    • dealsucker on 09/01/2026 - 09:03

      If you have a Tesla there are home assistant integration which you can use.

    • kevinroast on 09/01/2026 - 17:51

      Same scenario as Frashal and also unimpressed with the "seamless integration" of Sungrow's AC22E-01 charger within a Sungrow system. Sparky installed it as per the provided instructions and when it didn't work left me to sort it out. Sungrow support also ignored email requesting support.
      To get it working I installed iEnergyCharge on the phone and configured the charger as a stand alone device. I look at iSolarCloud and then set the charge rate in iEnergyCharge to whatever excess solar is being produced. Test and adjust as required. Not ideal, but it works.

      To address your criteria: Safety - Device build is of high quality, I ran it today for over 4 hours in 37 degree heat without issue. RFID cards work. I've had no issues with the Sungrow inverter and battery since install. Solar integration/software/no OEM support is why I wouldn't recommend this charger.
      Electrician: If you know a good one, use them. If not, compare quotes between a vendor and other sparkys.

  • noz on 08/01/2026 - 10:26
    +1

    For solar-aware charging, I wouldn't bother with CT clamps myself. I'd ensure OCPP compatibility. OCPP not only facilitates solar-aware charging, but can also do other variable charging based on a variety of different control factors e.g. controlling charging based on variable electricity rates.
    (In my case I have a Tesla Wall Connector 3 (TWC) with a Tesla vehicle, and using a Tesla BLE with EVCC software. The combo of these allow me to do solar-aware charging with my Tesla EV, and also orchestrates with my Sigenergy battery system.The TWC is a solid charger, however I wouldn't recommend it to anyone that doesn't have a Tesla EV. It is pretty much a dumb charger).

  • mapax on 08/01/2026 - 10:36
    -1

    Uncle Ian said houses with EV chargers are woke shit boxes…

    • DashCam AKA Rolts on 08/01/2026 - 12:28
      +2

      I read that as Uncle Ian said horses with EV chargers are woke shit boxes…

    • JIMB0 on 08/01/2026 - 13:09
      +5

      Uncle Ian’s great-grandfather thought horseless carriages were for weak limp wristed men, and that real men had horses.

      • mapax on 08/01/2026 - 14:21
        +2

        That sounds right.
        I heard that his great-grandfather worked for Cobb and Co repairing stagecoaches and sometimes did mates rates for tobacco and rum. Maybe @pegaxs has some old black and white footage of him somewhere?

      • pegaxs on 08/01/2026 - 17:41
        +2

        horseless carriages were for weak limp wristed men

        I believe he stated; "Why would I go to a gasoline dispenser when I can just let me horse out to eat in the paddock by the house… I also heard they catch on fire for no reason… When was the last time you heard of a horse catching on fire?"

        @mapax I am glad you asked… I was able to go over some of the old footage and see that Great Great Grandpa Ian did have an opinion on horseless carriages…

        • mapax on 08/01/2026 - 17:47

          Gold.
          Hedge creepin shit boxes.

    • noz on 09/01/2026 - 08:40

      Uncle Ian sounds pretty insecure

    • smartazz104 on 09/01/2026 - 13:09

      Uncle Ian can't hide his skeletons much longer.

  • Brick50 on 08/01/2026 - 10:56
    +3

    Tesla w/ Wall Connector Gen 2 and using Home Assistant to do solar aware charging
    https://imgur.com/a/U5oOSQo

    • Phoenixzeus on 09/01/2026 - 11:01

      That looks so nice. Way better than my shitty HA implementation.

    • polarq on 10/01/2026 - 16:02

      That looks very nice and neat. Did you build it yourself or is there an existing application that helped? Keen to build something similar for my own setup and would appreciate any helpful information!

  • Ryanek on 08/01/2026 - 11:02
    +4

    I use a regular 10amp charger between 12am and 6am at 8c per kwh (AGL EV Plan)

    So I'm getting about 13 kWh or around 80km range every night for $1.

    • aimon on 09/01/2026 - 13:34

      Me too. Wife gets free charging at work and i can get about 30% each night just at this rate. If i need to i can go overnight at 30c kwh(ish) or i was in a rush i would just pop down to the supercharger and fill up at 60c kwh(ish)

    • Mrsquigglekey on 10/01/2026 - 17:24

      Same setup and plan.

      Partner does about 100km return a day 4 days a week, so the 6 hours doesn’t fully cover the usage, but including the other 3 days it’s covered in the discounted window.

      Rarely will charge outside that window depending on weekend driving,

  • aarick on 08/01/2026 - 11:03

    Serv x4 (i.e. Teison ac smart mini ev wallbox)

  • Wiadro on 08/01/2026 - 11:06
    -5

    I have petrol station at home.
    But not a EV charger

    • smartazz104 on 09/01/2026 - 13:09
      +1

      Must be leaded.

    • us3rnam3tak3n on 10/01/2026 - 09:59

      Biodiesel?

      • Wiadro on 10/01/2026 - 10:15
        -1

        Yup I make it myself

        • us3rnam3tak3n on 10/01/2026 - 13:07

          Fair enough. I don't know why you're getting down voted. Seems a viable alternative.

  • caboose on 08/01/2026 - 11:29
    +6

    Have had an EV for almost a year, driving about 1200km a month, and have gotten by with a 2kW granny charger off Amazon for $170 - charging with excess solar, during free 3 hours periods, and now overnight if required from a recently installed home battery.

    Have only needed to public DC fast charge twice and that was during overnight trips away from home.

    Effectively has been free to drive for us, even with a not super efficient Mach-E GT (20kWh/100km).

    Recommend trying out a granny charger and seeing if it works for you - it's a low barrier to entry cost wise and is still useful to have if you find you need a 7kW charger installed.

    • SetTheFaqUp on 08/01/2026 - 11:31

      We have with the Atto 3. It will be money well spent for the convenience.

    • Hellfire on 08/01/2026 - 11:43
      +2

      15amp power point is a decent upgrade if you are going the granny charger route (and it supports it).

      • SetTheFaqUp on 08/01/2026 - 14:05

        Will cost a few hundred to run a wire.

        Might as well spend the 2-3k upfront and get it over and done with.

        • sween64 on 09/01/2026 - 08:52
          +1

          A few grand over a few hundres is a lot more.

          How many kms per day do you drive? Do you need a 7kW charger? Would 3.2kW suffice?

        • Mechanist on 09/01/2026 - 11:22
          +2

          I think you are missing the point, Do you need a higher charge rate? Or do you just want one?

          • SetTheFaqUp on 12/01/2026 - 10:20

            @Mechanist: Just a want for the convenience. A small price to pay. I have seen people getting away with Jolt for some years.

            The amount of money saved via FBT exemption is app $5k a year on average + another $2k on running cost. (Not via novated leasing and holding it as company asset for personal use). Then there is no petrol cost which is app $2k/year for the car replaced.

            The car either not get used at all for a week or two, or will just get used daily to 50-100km/day. A granny charger will just work if remembers to plug it in. 2400w gets 1800w after efficiency lose. So app 100km for 10 hours worth of charging via a 10A socket.

            The current granny charger is permanently in the boot as no one is bothered with it. So whatever installed will be a fixture on the wall with ease of access.

            • Mechanist on 12/01/2026 - 14:16

              @SetTheFaqUp: I have a granny charger myself and just plug it in when I get home. Its no different plugging in a granny charger over the 22kw lead I have in the boot. I leave the granny charger plugged into the wall .

              Its up to you what you want to pay for.

    • Matt P on 10/01/2026 - 19:32
      +1

      While i agree with the sentiment of trying a granny charger - i'd encourage not to just "grab one off amazon". Go with something with local RCM approval. I got a DETA brand one for $185 from bunnings.

  • mboy on 08/01/2026 - 11:41
    +2

    Tesla Mobile Connector Gen 2, plugged into a 15A outlet. Bought the cable organiser to fix it to the wall, and I can disconnect it and take it with me for long trips as a backup. I top up about 25 kWh (a bit less than half battery capacity) by charging it overnight from 12 to 8 am.

  • tephra on 08/01/2026 - 12:10
    +2

    Sig 7kw here. Although if SigEnergy had of announced their 50% price reduction of the 12/25kw DC charger earlier, I would have gone that route.

    If you are trying to min/max $$$ with EV, then expect some complexity in setup and perhaps some readjustment of routines/etc.

    On the argument of convenience - One thing I would say is that the Atto has a relatively small battery (~50kw?) compared to most other EV's (80kw), so charging routines are more painful than they otherwise would be.

    • SetTheFaqUp on 08/01/2026 - 13:27

      Atto 3 is one - no one really cares, the car just sits there. A byd seal performance - a new daily (2-3 days a week).

      It will cost money, and have accepted this as a fact.

      • tephra on 08/01/2026 - 13:49
        +1

        cool, I have a SealPerf as well.

        I would estimate I do about 200km a week, so pretty minimal.

        We got by on the included granny charger for nearly a year, decided on the 7kw purely from "in winter we need to be able to maximise the sun" point of view.

        What if any home solar/battery system do you have?

        • SetTheFaqUp on 08/01/2026 - 14:03

          7kws Winaco + 5kws solaredge invertor. No battery (the maths don't add up).

          In my case, a charge hanging on the wall and easy plug in and will charge at a reasonable speed.

          Otherwise the seal will sit there like the atto 3.

          I known a few that use to drive out to Jolts for free charging and use their granny charger. Not my thing as I appreciate my time.

          • tephra on 08/01/2026 - 14:06

            @SetTheFaqUp: are BYD still giving away 7kw chargers?

            If not, I would look at the Solaredge EV charger, it may have some useful integrations with the inverter.

            • SetTheFaqUp on 08/01/2026 - 14:06

              @tephra: No. $3k cash

              And no too. Solaredge charger costs an arm and a leg for what it is, as well only a very niche sparkies will do the job.

  • vorsprung on 08/01/2026 - 12:18
    +1

    I've been using the mobile connector that came with my Model 3 since 2022 on a 15A plug. Does the job for me… don't need anything faster.

    I monitor my solar excess via Home Assistant, and have a (toggleable) automation that updates the charging rate to meet the solar excess.

    Terribly complicated and finnicky thanks to Tesla paywalling their web API and having to rely entirely on the local bluetooth API.

  • TheBooleanOne on 08/01/2026 - 13:07

    Sigenergy 22KW EVAC here. My Audi only does 11KW, but at least it's future proofed.

    Not happy with it for excess solar charging (it doesn't work when solar is curtailed during the day, when it's the best time to charge). But I can dial up/down the KW easily on the app easily enough.

    • downhillmtbr on 08/01/2026 - 17:02

      Have you tried changing the settings from "auto phase switching" to forcing it to operate in single phase mode?

      Seemed to work as a temporary hack for me to get the excess solar usage working properly with the 3 phase/22kw EVAC for me.

      • TheBooleanOne on 08/01/2026 - 17:25

        Yeah I've tried several things; that included. There's been a software update since, so I might do my testing again.

        • downhillmtbr on 08/01/2026 - 17:37

          Yeah it's been kind of infuriating that it hasn't worked as promised.

    • Poor Ass on 09/01/2026 - 12:35

      unless the charger dies first

  • megadeth on 08/01/2026 - 20:34
    +2

    Zappi

    • Corners on 09/01/2026 - 08:49

      Yep, this is what I had installed. Local sparky added it when I first purchased an EV. Works well with battery and directs solar excess as needed. Quality bit of kit, solid app, good reporting - does what I need.

      What you need depends greatly on your home setup, vehicle, and driving/charging times. If my vehicle wasn't home during daylight hours to mop up the solar excess I'd have probably gone a simpler solution.

  • kallico on 09/01/2026 - 07:44
    +1

    We just use power point in garage. Works for us. Only drive 500k per month and charge twice a month. Would never go back to ice car

  • trankillity on 09/01/2026 - 08:21

    Had an EV for 2 years but don't drive a lot so just use a 15A socket in the garage. We've only ever needed to public charge on longer road trips and I tend to prefer/plan for Evie because their fast chargers are more reliable/much faster than ChargeFox. As for solar, check out EVCC. It's some incredible free software that can talk to many inverters and chargers and dynamically adjust charging rates based on your excess solar.

    Some additional gotchas you'll have to be aware of:

    • The Atto 3 only has either 7kW or 11kW onboard AC inverter. Take that into consideration with your choice. And keep in mind that a 15A socket can deliver 3.6kW, so a little over half what a 7kW charger can already do.
    • Related to the above, consider whether you actually need faster charging. You can generally top up 20-25% on most EVs just from a 10A socket from 10pm to 6am.
    • You say you only have 1-phase, so you'll need to see what your maximum inbound amperage is from the street. This will determine whether you can actually support a dedicated EV charger reliably or not. Many townhouses cheaped out on the line into the house (we only have 50A), so we would need a load balancer to install a dedicated charger.
  • Lachy2437 on 09/01/2026 - 08:56
    +1

    I'm approaching 3 years with an EV and just use the mobile charger I got with the car plugged into 240V mains. Next time I have a sparky in my power box I might ask them to put in a 15A socket but 99.99% of the time home charging at 2.4kw is ample and much more convenient than dealing with petrol stations.

    • Poor Ass on 09/01/2026 - 12:35

      go the 32A legality aside

  • knitwear on 09/01/2026 - 09:38

    I got an EV Switch 7kw charger (the one BYD gave for free last year) for about $499, and a separate sparky (who does EV charger install on a daily basis) to install it.

    It's not solar-ready, unfortunately, but honestly considering Melbourne and only 6.6kw panels, I won't see much benefit.

    • ymmf on 11/01/2026 - 03:05

      I thought EV Switch is solar compatible? Maybe check out the Whirlpool Forum where there is an extensive discussion. I myself use the same charger and it's benn great (no solar at home just CT clamp for load balancing).

      • knitwear on 12/01/2026 - 13:08

        It claims to be solar-compatible, but I’m not completely convinced. From what I’ve seen, “solar-compatible” EV charging usually means one of two things:
        1. The charger will happily draw from both solar and the grid, but it’s effectively dumb — it has no awareness of your actual solar generation.
        2. The charger can prioritise or exclusively use solar, with the option to top up from the grid — i.e. genuinely smart charging.

        In my experience, most non-premium, non-branded chargers fall into the first category. That’s why I dislike the term “solar-compatible”: they’re only compatible in the sense that your house wiring is, not because the charger itself is doing anything intelligent.

  • aboza on 09/01/2026 - 09:42

    We have an Ocular Home IQ. It was money well spent. With the house facing north (solar panels on the east & west), we can charge our EV3 any time during daylight hours - usually for free from Oct to April.

  • Ozybargdias on 09/01/2026 - 09:47

    Picked up a ~$250 Ocular Home IQ from that riduclous Bunnings deal (probable price error) in December 2024.

    • Parasite on 09/01/2026 - 10:43

      Ditto. Probably wouldn't have bothered and stuck with the granny charger but now charge for free with OVO currently and have more choice which electricity companies I can churn to with rather than just sticking with those with overnight plans. EV charging is the bulk of our households electricity use. Churning offers has almost offset the install costs this year.

  • SlickMick on 09/01/2026 - 09:50
    +1

    I plug that charger that came with the car into a GPO each night, it recharges what I used during the day, I unplug next morning. Can't see how it could get any easier.

    • Ozybargdias on 09/01/2026 - 09:53
      +6

      And the post office staff are OK with that?

      • SlickMick on 09/01/2026 - 11:29
        +1

        I do it after hours. Who's to know?

  • Darayus on 09/01/2026 - 10:48
    +1

    I have Single phase, so went with 7 KW option 32 AMP, I got my EV charger from Amazon under $ 200, with all bells and whistle and colour screen display. Contacted my friendly sparky and he quoted me $ 300 to do the job. He spend around 3 hours and fixed the charger in my garage.
    I signed up with AGL who gives me 8 cents /KW at night for 6 hours.
    I have IM6 plat so 100KW battery so when battery is around 40% i put the car to charge for the 6 hours on schedule charge and by morning i get top up by 42Kw and spend $ 3.36 and that gives me another 250 km range battery.

    I too have solar and belive that i get 4 cents from AGL instead i pay 8 cents so i offset my income against the spending and i have another advantage of running my aircon at night for cheaper price too.

    EV really save the money if you plan well.

    • Poor Ass on 09/01/2026 - 12:33

      4c FIT hahahahaha

      • eddyah on 09/01/2026 - 23:12

        For smaller solar systems, you don't make enough electricity to feed the car + home on most days throughout the year (especially true in winter).

        The plan is really good if you know how to optimise for it.

  • Leal on 09/01/2026 - 11:29

    +1 for the wall plug option. A 15A power point is a solid upgrade.

    We installed an Autel 7 kW single-phase (32A) unit. It works well. But I usually dial it back to 10 to 15A through the car app to match our solar output.

  • mattyman on 09/01/2026 - 11:42
    +1

    I just use the one that came with the Sealion 7 and trickle charge it when I need to.

    Every now and then I'll spend $25-$30 and take it to a fast charger but it's extremely convenient.

  • trapper on 09/01/2026 - 12:36

    I just use the free granny charger that came with mine.

    Never had an issue with battery not being charged in time, but live quite central so don't have to do too many km each day.

  • JIMB0 on 09/01/2026 - 13:07

    My EV recharges himself in the front paddock.

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