Sponsored by Z Energy
Charging your EV at home is a more economical and convenient way of extending the vehicle’s usable range. There are no potential queues to sit out like those at public charging stations, and your EV’s battery gets replenished at a time when there is little or no demand for the personal mobility it provides as it usually takes place overnight.
For EV owners who wish to take full advantage of their vehicle’s potential to provide effortless zero-emission driving by installing a home charger, Z Energy has now opened an easy pathway towards turning your garage or driveway into your own personal recharging station.
“We learned from customers that there are several ‘pain points’ when people enter the home charging space and this plan was developed to address these,” says Z Energy Head of Electricity, Chris Durno.
The inhibiting factors include the potentially significant upfront cost for both the charger and its installation, understanding which is the best charging solution for your circumstances, and knowing the full potential of the charger to substantially reduce the running costs of your EV and how selecting a ‘smart’ charger can increase the benefits of home charging, both in terms of lowering charging costs and the ability to source a higher percentage of the electricity used from renewable sources.
“When choosing to adopt our EV at home plan, customers can be confident that they are receiving a New Zealand-made charger that’s been designed to be the best fit with our electrical grid, is solar panel compatible if required, and has been professionally installed for their safety.
“The charger can be controlled via an app on your phone to target the three free hours of power supply that the plan provides between 3am and 6am and recharging during this free time can provide up to 120km of range every day¹.
“Those hours are also the period when power generation is more likely from a higher percentage of renewable sources.”
Until Z Energy entered the home charging space, EV owners may have to pay twice to establish their own charging station – once for the charger itself, and a second separate payment to someone qualified to install it. Under the EV at home plan, the cost of the charger and its simple installation is from $2195 (a 24-month interest-free easy payment plan is available). Early adopters of home charging systems in New Zealand often had to pay a similar cost to this just for a charger imported from offshore, then pay almost as much again for the installation.
The home charger chosen by Z Energy for the plan is the E2 model made by Evnex in Christchurch, which already has earned the endorsement as ‘the preferred home charger for New Zealand’ from many EV manufacturers, including Volkswagen, Polestar, Skoda, LDV, Volvo, and Cupra. Like most home chargers it draws up to 32 amps of current to add a battery-friendly charge of 7.4kWh to your vehicle every hour. This charging speed is up to four times faster than charging the EV from a 10-amp house plug yet is still far less taxing on battery resilience than the more rapid rates of public chargers, which can often accelerate the deterioration of battery performance when used constantly. The charger comes with three metres of heavy-duty electrical cable to connect the house and can be mounted on either the interior wall of a garage, or an outside wall. Additional costs may apply for installations that require longer connection cables and the customer can choose the set-up that best suits them.
The E2 is a new model for Evnex and has more sophisticated software than many home chargers and offers many NZ-first features tailored to Kiwi drivers. There’s built-in house overload protection that will slow the charging rate should the vehicle charging occur at a time when there is a high domestic demand for power from appliances such as heat pumps, induction cookers and spa pools.
The home charging app for the E2 also offers more information and settings than many. It can be used to set up the charger for Solar Export Diversion², an automated charging feature built to maximise the benefits of any solar panels installed to your home (the E2 has a sensor that automatically detects these), prioritise charging from renewable sources such as 100 per cent solar, and minimise the costs of electricity sourced from the national grid.
The app can also be used to view the power generation sources of the electricity that the charger is using, and EV owners can check how much CO2 is being emitted for every kWh that is being added to the vehicle’s battery. This will likely be lower during the earliest hours of the morning during windy weather, which is why Z Energy is offering free power during the 3am-6am period.
Using that timeframe solely for recharging under the EV at home plan will not only lower the CO2 emissions produced by your use of the vehicle, it will also allow free motoring throughout the working week provided the daily commute is less than 120km. For more information go to z.co.nz/power/ev-at-home. Already convinced? Register your interest at z.co.nz/power/join.
Based on using an Evnex 7.4 kW smart charger and achieving 40 km per hour of range equivalent from charging. Actual rates can vary based on your car. Free hours are not available for separately priced controlled meters (such as hot water). Daily charge still applies.
Solar export tariffs are not currently enabled on the EV at home plan but is a work in progress.
