Ocular EV Charger Reviews

About Ocular

To me, the name Ocular suggests the company wants you to cop an eyeful of their EV chargers. Their website blurb says the Ocular vision is, “...to create top-notch electric vehicle (EV) charging solutions with an Aussie touch.” But the amount of Aussie touching may not be as much as you’d like because, while they may be designed in Australia, they’re made overseas.

Ocular has EV chargers for residential and commercial use, but I’ll stick to describing the ones suitable for homes. In order of increasing features and cost, they are…

• LTE Universal
• LTE Plus
• IQ Home
• IQ Solar

The LTE Universal Home Charging Station may suit someone who wants a basic and lower cost EV charger while the IQ Home and IQ Solar are mainly for people who want to solar smart charge their EVs.

Informative Website

Some EV charger sites only seem interested in looking flash and trying to take your money.  But on the Ocular site you can find useful information on how EV chargers work and their limitations if you read the brochures and FAQs.  This includes EV charger limitations most manufacturers prefer not to mention.  So I congratulate Ocular for making an effort to educate their customers.

Australian Office

While their website has some good information, what it doesn’t do is give their office address. But EVSE, which sells Ocular EV chargers, is part of the same business and they have offices in Sydney and Melbourne.

Power

Ocular residential EV chargers come in single-phase and 3-phase versions. This determines how many kilowatts (kW) of power they can supply under normal circumstances:

• Single-phase LTE – up to 7.4kW
• Single phase IQ Home or IQ Solar – up to 7.2kW
• All 3-phase versions – up to 22kW

Homes with single-phase power can only use single-phase EV chargers, while those with 3-phase power can choose between the two. A 3-phase charger can provide up to 22kW but few EVs can accept that much, with most charging at only 11kW or less. If you want to solar smart charge you may be better off with a single-phase charger.

Monitoring App

The LTE Universal Home Charging Station is Ocular's most basic model and can’t support a smartphone monitoring app.  The others can all be monitored through a free phone app that can allow those on a time-of-use tariff to set a charging schedule to take advantage of off-peak electricity.

Solar Smart Charging

An EV charger can solar smart charge if it can supply a car with only surplus power from rooftop solar. As this power usually only receives a low feed-in tariff it’s normally the cheapest way to charge a car. However, the financial benefit is greatly reduced if your area has time-of-use tariffs with a low daytime rate. These are becoming more common and will likely soon be available throughout Australia.

Note all EV chargers will first use surplus power from rooftop solar if any is available. So, if you don't have smart charging capacity you're not stuck with only using grid electricity to charge.

Ocular’s LTE chargers don’t come with the ability to smart charge, but the IQ Home and IQ Solar do. They are both equally effective at it, even though only one has the word “solar” in its name. Unlike many EV chargers that claim to be able to smart charge, Ocular IQ chargers are among the few that come with everything needed and don’t require any additional and potentially expensive hardware.

Smart Charging Modes

The IQ Home and IQ Solar have three charging modes:

• Fast – The charger will supply either its maximum power output or as much as the EV can accept. Surplus solar power is used first but any difference will come from the grid.
• Solar Assist – This supplies surplus solar power to a vehicle but, with a single-phase charger, if the amount of surplus solar power drops below 1.6kW any difference will come from the grid. With a 3-phase charger, if the amount of surplus solar power drops below 4.6kW the rest will come from the grid.
• Solar Only – Only surplus solar is used to charge the vehicle but, with single-phase charger, charging will stop entirely if the amount available falls below 1.6kW.  With a 3-phase charger it will stop if surplus solar power falls below 4.6kW.

Because a single-phase charger is only able to solar only smart charge when there 1.6kW or more of surplus solar power is available, you may want to use a single-phase charger even if you have 3-phase power, as the 3-phase charger requires a much higher 4.6kW or more of surplus power to solar only smart charge.

Having a large solar system is a big help as the larger it is, the more often it will produce sufficient power.

Nearly all EV chargers that can smart charge have similar limitations, but there are a few 3-phase chargers that can switch to single-phase charging if surplus solar power drops below 4.6 kilowatts, allowing them to always solar only smart charge if there is 1.6kW or more of surplus solar. Unfortunately, Ocular IQ chargers aren’t capable of this.

Charging Cable

The Ocular LTE EV chargers come with either a hardwired 6m charging cable or just a socket you plug your own cable into. Going without a cable will save you $80 to $100.

The Ocular IQ Home has a 5m hardwired charging cable and the Ocular IQ Solar come with either a 5m hardwired cable or a socket. Getting one of these without a cable saves $70.

Buying an EV charger with just a socket can be a good idea if you need a charging cable longer than the one it would otherwise come with.

LED Screen

The LTE and IQ Solar chargers have colour LED screens but the IQ Home doesn’t. While EV chargers don’t require screens, it’s still a nice feature to have.

Location

Ocular home EV chargers all have an Ingress Protection rating of 55. An IP55 rating means they are able to resist rain and be installed outside. While not a requirement, it’s a good idea to place electronic equipment out of direct sunlight when possible.

The charger must be located within 15m of the switchboard and, to be smart charging capable, within 20m of the electricity meter. Most EV chargers have similar distance requirements.

Internet Connected

The IQ EV chargers need to be connected to the internet. They can use wireless but it is recommended to plug them into your router with an ethernet cable for a more reliable connection. If you want to use a wireless connection and have trouble getting a signal you may need to use a booster or move your modem.

Operating Temperature

The operating temperature range depends on which EV charger you have:

• Ocular IQ Home -30 to 50 degrees
• Ocular IQ Solar -30 to 55 degrees

As no capital has hit 50 degrees yet, they all have a good temperature range for Australia. Note that EV chargers will normally derate and provide less than their maximum power output as the temperature approaches their operating maximum.

Warranty

Ocular home EV chargers only have a short 2 year warranty. Hopefully, in practice, they will last far longer than their warranty suggests they will. Unlike many EV chargers, the warranty will only apply if it’s installed by someone who has received training from Ocular.

While the warranty is short, you also have additional protections provided by Australian Consumer Guarantees. These can apply even after the warranty period has ended.

Price

You can find prices for Ocular home EV chargers on the EVSE site. I’m writing this in June 2024 and the prices given at this time for the LTE chargers are:

• Ocular LTE Universal single-phase - $980
• Ocular LTE Plus 3-phase - $1,180
• Ocular LTE Universal 3-phase - $1,200
• Ocular LTE Plus 3-phase - $1,329

If you get them without a charging cable the price will be reduced by $80 for single-phase and $100 for 3-phase.

The EVSE site also gives installation prices, which begin at $970 for single-phase and $1,120 for 3-phase. As you can see, installation adds a significant amount to the total cost.

For the Ocular IQ EV chargers, the prices given are:

• Single-phase Ocular IQ Home - $1,399
• 3-phase Ocular IQ Solar - $1,549
• Single-phase Ocular IQ Solar - $1,769
• 3-phase Ocular IQ Solar - $1,989

Getting an IQ Solar without a charging cable will reduce the price by $70.

The installation prices given begin at $1,220 for single-phase ones and $1,320 for 3-phase.

Because the warranty will only apply if Ocular EV chargers are installed by those with specific training, it may be difficult to get them installed for less.

Recommendation

The Ocular LTE Universal may appeal to those who want a lower cost EV charger without bells and whistles - apart from an LED screen. If you want that plus a phone monitoring app, the LTE Plus is a couple hundred dollars extra. For those who want an EV charger that comes fully capable of smart charging, the IQ versions may appeal. Unfortunately, all the Ocular EV chargers only come with a two-year warranty and their business model means you may not be able to get a low-cost installation.