Does Choice intend testing the available EV Chargers in Australia? There seems to be a large range of chargers available, mostly from a range of companies I have never heard of.
Welcome to the Community @Rubberknuckle,
The near term (Jan-Feb) products on test by Choice and in collaboration with others are shown here
Because of budgets, expertise and the still relatively small (but important and growing) takeup of EVs it might be something that will be organised by Choice or collaboratively with another organisation.
There appear to be a few commercial sites offering guidance (as well as sales and therefore referral commissions) that may or may not provide good information. One hit is
and their disclosures
https://www.cleanenergyreviews.info/about-us
The Community has a Request A Test category which I will assign your query to, and tag @BrendanMays who might be able to help with Choice future plans.
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Thanks for tagging me @PhilT and thanks for the suggestion @Rubberknuckle. We keep track of the requests we receive to this category and to our website form, so this will make sure it is given consideration for the future. No doubt these type of chargers will become more popular in the future, if anyone has any experiences or reviews with EV chargers, please leave a comment in this thread.
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Finally, at long last.
There is one surprise, although not a surprise perhaps.
- A universal 7kW charge station capable of fully charging any BEV over night at home on a single phase supply might cost AU$1500 plus a couple of hours for a sparkie to install.
- A typical high voltage DC to AC 230v converter (aka solar PV inverter) up to 5kW output can be had for AU$1500-$2500 plus install.
How much might putting both capabilities into a single box cost - fully Australian approved and certified?
$1500+$2500 = $4000 or perhaps a little less?
Unfortunately Australia is at the wrong end of the technology curve, again!
Bidirectional chargers will cost about $10,000, or a bit less than a standard home battery.
JET Charge chief executive officer Tim Washington expects that price will fall by more than half within a few years, as they become more common.
For anyone concerned at the cost the majority of BEVs available in Australia do not have the capability to use the technology. By which time some commonsense and more realistic attitudes from suppliers may have evolved, or not.
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For those who purchase a Ford F-150 Lightning electric pickup.
A special deal on a two way charger that can be used to power the home.
Now Ford has officially launched the âFord Charge Station Pro,â which acts as both a charging station and bi-directional charger.
You canât order it yet as the page shows it as âsold out,â but it reveals the price of the station to be $1,310:
Assume the price is US$. Not necessarily available in Australia. At around AU$1950 allowing extra for gst how close will Ford come assuming there is an Aussie release?
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While the world and automotive industry marches on Qld focuses on another problem assuming it is a real problem. Need to charge your EV and voila, the grid operator turns your charger off because of demand issues. Too bad for you if you cannot go somewhere important, did not plan ahead, and do not have a neighbourhood charger. Some unknown time later back on it comes. Will the proposal stand? Stay tuned.
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In anticipation of a wider adoption by other jurisdictions.
Comment from the following includes the AEMO planning documents produced in 2022 were based on EV charging adding 2kW to daily peak demand.
An alternate assessment suggests it is likely to add far less or around 0.25kW or 1% to peak demand.
The counter response suggests EV owners will charge firstly from rooftop PV and secondly with the lower cost off peak electricity, avoiding high costs in the evening peak demand window. The EVC document raises other concerns relating to the restriction on EV home charger capacity, including homes with solar PV to type 1 charging.
QLD has lagged in EV uptake and led with residential rooftop PV. Why it has been quick to move towards regulating EV charging as suggested, rather than leveraging other solutions?
Not really an answer, just how it is now.
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Solar Quotes provides an introduction to charging your EV.
Note: Whatâs possible or practical at home - prospective Queensland EV owners should note:
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Solarquotes has more advice here:
And a comparison of EV chargers available in Australia here:
The OCPP feature is important as it allows 3rd party apps to control the charging (eg the ChargeHQ app - which requires a subscription). This enables the owner to, say, give charging priority to charging when there is excess PV solar.
My understanding is that, potentially, this would allow electricity providers to remotely ârequestâ that the charger not be used - an alternative to a controlled load system.
But this is a wish-list item!
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My daughter and I have a 6 KW solar panel system, inverter and battery on our 2 y old, sustainably built, all electric house (heat pump HWS, heat pump dryer, heat pump heating for a plunge pool, ceiling fans and 2 RC air cons). Our summer power bills are credits, or close too. The top winter bill was $130 for a month. With a future purchase of an EV in mind, we recently got a quote to install a further 3 KW of panels and inverter that would be connected to the existing system. It was $6000 - because weâre not entitled to subsidies this time. It sounds as if it would take a long time to pay itself off. What do you think?
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Your post has been moved to a current discussion asking questions about home EV chargers.
The lowest cost options for charging an EV from the grid include off peak EV plans offered by some of the electricity retailers. These may or may not be cheaper than using your own rooftop PV. Consider that the offers/plans can over time change leaving one better ir worse off.
Note that charging from a home rooftop PV will be limited to day time when there is good solar output. To avoid paying for grid power one will need a smart connected EV charger that can vary the charging rate to match the home PV surplus, and or low cost of peak power. Itâs also important to consider how often the EV will be plugged into charge (usage pattern).
Charging from an average home PV system can take substantially longer than from the mains/grid connected. Charging from the grid however can be in comparison expensive if charging on a high single rate tariff or ToU tariff in peak times. Itâs usually considered best to maximise use (self consume) oneâs surplus rooftop solar PV rather than export for a low feed-in tariff.
Whether the quoted $6000 for an additional 3kW of rooftop PV is reasonable is also worth asking.
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Do you have three phase connected to your house?
With a 6kW system, it is likely it will be a single phase inverter with a 5kW inverter. In Victoria, some distribution network providers require any systems with export potential greater than 5kW to be connected to three phase.
For your system upgrade it means a new inverter where a quality one is around $2500-3000, panels and additional wiring.
If your house isnât connected to the grid as 3 phase and three phase connection is required, it also means rewiring from the power line on the street, upgrades to the switchboard and a potentially a new smart meter (if the existing meter canât be programmed for three phase).
$6000 for the above seems reasonable (possibly cheap) for a simple upgrade. As your system is a recent install, you wonât get the Victorian government rebates for the upgrade. This compares to a new standalone 3kW system in Victoria for about $4500.
I would confirm if you have three phase to the house, and if you donât and three phase connection is required, the price includes upgrade of the mains connection to three phase.
I would also be asking what the $6000 includes so that there arenât any âunexpectedâ additional costs during installation.
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The connection rules differ between states/territories and within depending on the distributors. Some allow 10kW PV on a single phase providing export is limited to 5kW.
@YVONNE1 hopefully approaches several reputable installers to fully explore all the options. Personal goals for sustainability and independence suggest a number of different solutions, depending on means and budget.
A lower cost alternative to a complex and 3 phase upgrade would be to install the additional solar PV as a stand-alone system. IE only for charging the EV. Assumes the recharging needs for daily use of the EV can be met most of the time by this strategy with occasional top up using the mains.
Itâs unlikely the extra costs of a more complex solution could be met from credits of feeding any surplus to the grid. Although it may be useful to approach oneâs retailer and others for the EV packages they offer. YMMV
Itâs also worth considering the future upgrade options of V2H or V2G.
See my earlier post. We now have a Wallbox Pulsar Max EV charger installed. It is set to automatically charge the car during off-peak times. However I can over-ride this to charge when our PV system is exporting large amounts to the grid. In particular, through the Wallbox app, I can adjust the amperage to be within the available excess solar.
There is a subscription app to do this (ChargerHQ) but for now I am experimenting with the demand for EV charging. It is easy for me to notice when the sun is shining and I can check the grid export and start the Wallbox if there is sufficient PV generation.
BTW - BYD cars come with a V2L adapter that plugs into the carâs charging port. It has a 240VAC outlet for keeping essential appliances going during a blackout, or to run 240V appliances while touring.
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Especially in strata buildings, some home chargers will need to be connected with a smart controller that cuts the charging when other loads (aircond etc) reduce the current available for charging. These smart devices have software. A full review should include a look at the software to ensure that it will keep working into the future and will not fail just because the software company thinks itâs too old to be worth supporting.
Solarquotes has a relevant blog. Evaluating Home EV chargers might be a bit much for Choice expertise and lab equipment as well as budgets, noting they use Solarquotes as a trusted resource.
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Not necessarily all strata properties. Strata schemes cover multiple property types including town houses, gated communities, low and high rise. The first two as well as some examples of low rise unit developments include dedicated LU garaging with power supplied from the unit owners supply and metering. The total permitted electrical load for each property can differ between properties, and local distributor/regulation. Some may be restricted to a nominal single phase 3.5kW charger, although single phase chargers up to 7kW are commonly available.
For the majority of strata properties with allocated shared parking, or becoming more common car stackers, a different challenge. Dedicated fast charging spots or distributed slow charging to all? A cost generally shared by the Strata.
Mark, this is about being under the thrall of software. Why did Canberra ban Huawei switchgear? Because they think the software could be turned off at some inconvenient time in the future after weâve become dependent on it. Likewise, the One Wheel ride-on scooter/thing - if you replace the battery yourself, the machine wonât run. You have to send it back to USA to be re-initialised. Some USA states are starting to insist on a right to repair anything youâve bought; we should do the same. And before too many of us become dependent on our home chargers, organisations like Choice and motoring clubs should press for government action to prevent charger companies turning off a generation of chargers when theyâd like to introduce the next generation.
I know of cases where older devices are no longer supported or no longer get software upgrades. In some cases this freezes vulnerabilities and bugs, so you have to put up with the latest version. There are of course plenty of gadgets (most white goods for example) where the software is never updated at all. This is not âturning offâ though.
Can you point to any instance where software that operates a device (car, TV, whitegoods etc) has been arbitrarily turned off? Who told you that this was a risk?
There are some cases where licenses are paid for a period and expire unless the license is renewed but that is different.
Why did you decide that chargers in particular were vulnerable to this?
Are you aware of the current legal status of such a switch off? I am not. If it is already covered under consumer law there is nothing more to discuss.
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Incidentally, the Wallbox charger that I mention above has a setting for requiring a PIN to activate it. I assume this, and other features, are for shared chargers such as in strata units. Many other chargers may have these features, which enables users to pay for the electricity that they actually use. Solarquotes has info on this.
