Charger Specialist

Guide

What to ask your local installer about solar and EV charging

If you already have rooftop solar, you can charge your EV mostly for free during the day. The trick is choosing a charger that only pulls power when your panels have excess to spare.

Solar-diverting chargers

Zappi (myenergi) is the best-known solar-diverting charger in Australia — it can charge only from surplus solar, or top up from the grid when needed.

Fronius Wattpilot pairs cleanly with Fronius inverters and gives similar solar-priority behaviour.

Catch Power Solar Relay works with any charger, using a CT clamp to route excess solar to the EV.

The maths (rough numbers)

Feed-in tariffs across Australia have collapsed to 3–7 c/kWh in most states. Grid electricity is often 30 c/kWh+.

Every kWh you send to the EV instead of the grid is worth roughly 25 cents to you.

Charging 30 kWh from midday solar instead of exporting it: ~$7.50 saved per session, or ~$1,500 a year for a daily-driven EV.

Making it work with a small system

A 6.6 kW solar system can happily run a 7 kW charger at reduced output during the day.

If you have a home battery, decide whether solar goes to the battery or the car first — most systems let you set that priority.

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