Solar for an at home EV charger Are there any deals when you need a sparky?

Brizett on 01/05/2025 - 21:30

Hi all,

This community has been great at helping me find an EV in the current market.

Salesman where I purchased a Polestar 2 has recommended NZ company EVNEX for a charger

The charging unit seems to be $2100 including installation but this company also do Solar panel nstallations.

I've got a garage for the car/charger and a decent sized roof (120sqm) for the solar, as my neighbours have solar so I'm thinking it's doable?

Anyone done something similar? Can't see any deals through the usual energy providers ( of course it's not in their interests to sell solar right?)

General Discussion

Comments

  • Alan6984 on 02/05/2025 - 00:00
    +1

    Not a deal for installation as such, but some of the banks were doing loans at low interest rates for this type of thing (I think).

    Not sure if they still are though.

  • FarOut on 02/05/2025 - 07:29
    +2
    • Alan6984 is right. Ask your mortgage provider what they offer. Some might even give you a grant.
    • I don't know much about wall chargers. However, the price seems a bit high to me. Others will be able to give you a more definite answer.
    • shop around for your PV system (solar) AND definitely compare the panels, inverters and their warranties plus the one on workmanship. Look at the panels' efficiency, too.
    • I have 10 years warranty on the FRONIUS inverters, which are supposed(!) to last for 20. The panels have a 25 year warranty and that includes a maximum decline in production of 0.5%/year. Workmanship is 20 years (that is only if company still exists by then obviously).
    • also ask your electricity provider if you are allowed a system with more than 10 kW before installing it. Some don't…..for whatever reason.
      The 10 kW refer to the combined wattage of the inverters. My two FRONIUS inverters of 10kW combined (I have two phases coming into the house) can have a load of 13.3kW max.
    • an electrician will be needed afterwards for the compliance check. Some solar companies cover their cost of probably around $250 while others don't.
    • last but not least, check for the best electricity provider for your specific needs. Compare their prices as well as how much they will pay you per kW sold by you into the network. A good solar company should be able to help you with that.
      In the first year you should see how much you produce, what percentage of that you use for yourself and what you sell plus how much you buy off your electricity provider. Optimise your provider and plan on those figures then.
    • AleBeerenhoff on 02/05/2025 - 07:45
      +1

      We are West Auckland based and are only allowed 5kW export rate where we are; so yeah something to be aware of…but given what you are talking about it sounds like you are wanting the solar to purely be a feed for the charger so its probably not going to be a massive installation. We just try to burn through the power that we can by shifting loads and the Evnex charger helps with that as it can take the excess you are generating and pour it into the car.

  • AleBeerenhoff on 02/05/2025 - 07:36
    +1

    We have an Evnex charger (they are great btw), and we have solar, however didn't get both installed by the same installer. In fact the installer who did the charger was considerably more expensive than the installer we used for solar. There are so many installers out there - when I looked (in the last few months), there was up to 50% difference in cost for the solar solution (and everyone was quoting on the same thing; albeit their own brands/etc).
    TLDR - shop around and get the best deal for each or both.

    • Brizett on 02/05/2025 - 10:29

      Thank you, out of interest, who did go with for solar?

      • AleBeerenhoff on 02/05/2025 - 10:30
        +1

        We ended up using our local electrician - "Laser Electrical Rosebank" - when we started out I didn't even realise they did it, but was speaking to them about something else, and they were totally on point not only with inspections before, but updates, and insight along the way.

  • ace310 on 02/05/2025 - 10:12
    +1

    Congrats on the EV.

    Look at Tesla Gen 3 chargers as well. They are $800 + installation and can be used with any cars, not just Tesla. There are differences between both Tesla & Evnex, so do more research, for eg. reddit(reddit.com). Both are good chargers and good at what they do. Highly recommend Tesla charger, if you don't need Load balancing, else Evnex.

    Along with Solar panels you need to think that do you need batteries or not ?

    • Brizett on 02/05/2025 - 10:26

      Cheers and thanks for your input along the way. Will look into the Tesla battery ( I wasn't allowed a Tesla due to a family objection but maybe I can get a Charger + powerwall)…

      I'd love solar and a battery as the car will rarely be plugged in during daylight hours, but the expense is pretty wild!

      • AleBeerenhoff on 02/05/2025 - 10:28

        but the expense is pretty wild!

        Yeah this ^ I loved what the PW offered in terms of the functionality/smarts/etc, but damn I just couldn't justify it right now

      • ace310 on 02/05/2025 - 10:49

        Yes. The cost is crazy and so I have been holding off on both. I plan to get solar & batteries(mostly powerwall) probably next year. As mentioned above, you can absolutely talk to your bank for zero/low interest loan as many offer green energy loan upto $80k I believe.

  • eion on 02/05/2025 - 10:50
    +2

    Since this is cheapies….
    Have you thought about saving money and not getting an installed charger, and just using the slow plug-in wall charger instead?
    Charging slowly with the boring old plug-in one could help the car battery last longer too.

    (also if you're looking for cheap solar install options, check out Harrisons which is who we got ours through. They often have deals)

    • ace310 on 02/05/2025 - 11:00
      +4

      There is no evidence that battery would last longer between normal plugin charger & wall charger. They both are slow charger. You are confusing it with public fast chargers which are 50kwh+ speed. Even so, there are conflicting results even for fast chargers, but yes any charger with speed lower than 50kwh is fine.

      • LupinS on 03/05/2025 - 09:17
        -1

        Faster charging causes more heat. More heat degrades the battery.

        Not sure where you are getting your "no evidence" from. Cause that's normal battery stuff.yhstvwe've been well aware of (and attempting to prevent) for a long time.

    • Brizett on 02/05/2025 - 11:32

      Thanks Eion, this may well work fine for my daily use ( which in all honesty won't exceed 40km per day), i'll keep an eye on consumption in the first few months, appreciate your comment

  • chris3 on 02/05/2025 - 11:22

    I bought a BYD Dolphin last month, 45Kw battery, and I typically drive less than 5000 kms per year. For me, recharging from a 3-pin plug (1.5Kw/hour of recharging) works fine. 24 hours of recharging = 36Kw added to my battery. My range is about 350kms.

    • Brizett on 02/05/2025 - 11:30

      Good to know. My energy provider (Genesis) offers half price btw 9pm-7am which is when most (including me) would charge. I haven't got the vehicle yet but wonder whether i'd get enough juice with a 3 point plug in that 10 hour window? Be good to test it out though as it may well be good enough for day-to-day?, nice one, cheers Chris

  • enervit on 02/05/2025 - 12:08

    I use jolt - free 7kw per day, takes about 20 minutes. There are several chagers in Auck and Chc.

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