EV Charger Recommendations From A Solar Installer

This seasoned Australian solar installer has branched out into EV chargers. Find out what he’s installing, the cost involved and other electric car charging recommendations for solar owners.

Transcript begins —

Finn: Now to our installer of the month, Sasha Stella, a solar installer who has jumped into EVs in a big way, setting up a dedicated EV charging business in preparation for the EV future.

Sasha: Thanks Finn for having me today. My name is Sasha from EV Charge Australia. We’ve just started up, earlier this year, specialising in electric vehicle charging points.

So today we’ve just installed the MyEnergy Zappi, which is a solar smart charger. We started up about 15 years ago in the solar industry. It’s about finding ways to utilize your solar energy. And one of the ways is to charge your electric vehicle.

With that, we’ve come across a few different products that utilize the solar. And this is why we’ve got into the electric vehicle charging. It’s perfect for soaking up that residual solar. In the commercial market we’re offering the Evnex, which allows charger management. So, for apartment buildings, fleet management, it allows us to manage who’s charging what vehicle at what time.

There is a big issue with solar sponging in Australia. We’ve got so much renewable energy that we need to use during the day. And EVs are going to be the answer for sure.

We’ve got 25 kilowatts onsite here. We export a lot of energy, which at the current feed in tariff is barely worthwhile. So, when you look at the feasibility against running a combustion engine against an EV, it definitely works out in our favor.

I don’t believe that my children will drive a combustion engine. They’re five years away and, we’ll push them towards the electric vehicle; whether it be a small runabout or a Tesla.

EV Charging Considerations

Regarding costs for charging your electric vehicle, education is the best key. And a lot of people are going to get their electricity bill after three months and probably fall over because they haven’t been spending that $60 a week in fuel, but instead it’s gone towards their electricity accounts.

So education at the start is very important.

Solar offsetting your EV home charging is definitely going to help with your electricity costs of running the vehicle. Looking at the capacity of your solar system is going to be the next thing. A majority of the systems out there will be slightly undersized.

So, the cost for installing a smart charger, you’re typically looking at around $2,000 to $3,000. If you’ve got a three-phase supply its going to be slightly higher due to the hardware that’s required.

Again, you want to look at what your onboard charger is on the vehicle, because some situations where you’ve got a 22 kilowatts system available, if your charger can’t handle it, then there’s no point in putting a 22 kilowatt charger in.

We love everything about this industry. We believe that electric vehicles are going to be the next big thing.

Added note: The MyEnergy Zappi charging solution has attracted a lot of positive attention. For further details on the device, read this MyZappi EV charger review.

You can discover everything you should know about EVs in Episode 10 of SolarQuotes TV: The Ultimate Guide To Electric Vehicles. For other episodes of SQTV and more videos on all things solar energy-related, visit and subscribe to the SolarQuotes Youtube channel.

Also check out SQ’s new electric vehicle section, where you can compare EV chargers, read Finn’s EV charging 101 guide and the Home Owner’s Guide To Solar And Electric Cars, and more!