Getting home EV charger & solar installation right first time

· Updated

There’s always a learning curve when trying something new. But when the new thing requires a significant amount of time and financial investment, such as setting up home EV charging and solar panels, you’d rather avoid a “the first one’s always a throwaway” scenario.

Don’t worry, it is possible.

In this guide, we’ve brought together real-life stories and lessons learned from people who’ve been on this exact journey — so you can enjoy a stress-free installation.

1. The questions that weren’t asked

One day, shopping for solar panels and EV chargers may be as simple as choosing your new washing machine. 

For now, however, it remains a challenging experience for most of us. If not at first, then definitely later, when we discover that: 

  • It takes longer than expected to charge the EV
  • Your charger doesn’t work well with the new EV model
  • You need to install a new chargepoint because the one you have doesn’t work with solar 

Here’s a story you may have heard before.

A first-time EV owner participates in a reverse auction co-run by their district council. 

His EV charger and solar panels are selected and installed based on pricing, minimum quality criteria, and so on. Like many others, he receives an individual estimate for the work to be done.

He trusts the process, accepts the estimate, transfers a deposit payment. A surveyor then comes over to measure and confirm the location of the inverter, the battery, the EV charger, and the number of solar panels to be installed.

An installation date is set and a thrilling wait begins.

The curious thing — neither the make, nor the model, nor potential future implications are discussed.

The homeowner answers questions about requirements like:

But he doesn’t get to consider if he wants an EV charger that can:

  • Work together with an energy management system (EMS)
  • Monitor and manage impact on the environment
  • Automate actions like charging time scheduling
  • Use AI for advanced analytics 

His new home chargepoint can accomplish the essentials, such as charging and using excess solar power generated. But that’s it.

2. The (almost) DIY installation

Here’s what happened to a colleague of ours. (Let’s call him Pete.)

Pete had decided to install both solar panels and a home EV chargepoint. 

One team came to do roof fixings, set up bird protection, install the panels, and so on. They did not, however, connect the wires or install any other equipment. 

Later, another team of electricians arrived. They installed home batteries, the inverter, EV charger, and a new consumer unit, then connected the solar panels into all the equipment. 

That’s where the troubles began.

First, the electricians struggled to connect the EV charger to Pete’s wifi. He ended up completing the setup himself: 

  • Connecting the EV charger to wifi
  • Installing EV charging app on his phone
  • Getting it to communicate with the charger

After the electricians left, Pete realised he had no means of viewing or controlling his solar and battery setup. Nor could he figure out why.

He got in touch with the installers, but it turned out they didn’t know how that worked either. Pete was asked to contact the installer’s head office.

Long story short, Pete ended up fixing this part of the setup himself, too. He managed to connect the inverter to wifi, which allowed the system to update itself and function properly.

But wait, there’s more…

Upon installing the mobile app for solar panels, Pete realised he hadn’t been given login details. 

Without access to his account, he had no way of seeing: 

  • How full the home battery charge was
  • How much energy his solar panels were generating
  • How much energy was left unused and exported to the grid

It took weeks — and several chases — before the installer had finally sent him his login details. 

With a Computer Science degree and a career in software under his belt, Pete is what you’d call a tech-savvy guy. He was lucky to have the skill set and experience to figure it all out for himself.

But what if he wasn’t? 

3. EV charger maintenance mistakes

You’ve got your EV. You’ve set up a home EV chargepoint, perhaps solar panels, too.

A few months later though, you’re getting tired of the time it takes to monitor and manage them all.

There’s one app for the charger, another for solar panels, and a third for the car itself.

Most of the time, you can just plug in the EV cable and not worry about anything. The charger will automatically use solar energy.

But — if you accidentally leave it plugged in overnight, the charger will start to drain your home batteries and draw power from the grid instead. That makes EV charging more expensive. 

What’s more, if your home batteries are drained charging the car, other appliances will start using electricity from the grid, too. That’s double the expense.

So, to keep it all under control, you’re: 

  • Checking the weather and available energy supply
  • Jumping between multiple apps to understand what’s happening
  • Manually switching charging on or off, depending on weather and time of day

You’re wishing you had one app to rule them all.

On top of that, you’re researching electricity providers and tariffs to make sure you’re using low cost energy to charge the EV and home batteries when the winter comes.

Not the best use of your time. Or the convenient, sustainable lifestyle you were looking for.

About Powerverse

We’re industry experts in home energy management. Our easy-to-use app is built for your future electric home. It will effortlessly sync your solar, battery, heat pump, EV charger and more, helping you cut costs and your carbon footprint on your way to becoming energy-independent. Curious to know more? Talk to one of our experts. 

Also, if you’re considering installing solar panels, we’d be more than happy to recommend several trusted partners who can provide and install them for you.