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…

• Ocular LTE
• Ocular LTE Plus
• Ocular IQ Home Solar

The Ocular LTE may suit someone who wants a basic and lower cost EV charger, the Ocular LTE Plus has improved communication capability which allows it to support a phone app, while the IQ Home Solar is mainly for people who want to smart charge their EVs.

Informative Website

Some EV charger sites are only interested in looking flash and taking 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 or LTE Plus – up to 7.4kW
• Single phase IQ Home 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.

Monitoring App

The LTE 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 vehicle 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 that 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 and LTE Plus chargers don’t come with the ability to smart charge, but the IQ Home Solar does. 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 Solar has 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 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.  But if you have a large solar system this may not be an issue, as the larger the solar system, the more surplus power it's likely to produce. 

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 comes with either a hardwired 6m charging cable or just a socket you plug your own cable into. Not having a cable saves $45.  As a good cable normally costs over $200 it usually makes sense to get one.  Buying an EV charger with just a socket can be a good idea if you will need a charging cable longer than 6m.

The Ocular LTE Plus and IQ Home Solar have a 5m hardwired charging cable.

LED Screen

The LTE and LTE Plus have colour LED screens but the IQ Home Solar 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 it out of direct sunlight if possible, as heat is bad for electronics.

The charger has to be located within 15m of the switchboard and the IQ Home Solar must be within 20m of the electricity meter to be smart charging capable. Many EV chargers have similar distance requirements.

Internet Connected

The IQ Home Solar 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. They may derate and provide less than their maximum power output as the temperature approaches their upper limit, but this is normal for EV chargers.

Warranty

Ocular home EV chargers have a short 2 year warranty. This can be extended up to 5 years for an extra $100 to $135 for each additional year.  Hopefully. they will last far longer than their short 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 December 2024 and the prices given at this time for the LTE chargers are:

• Ocular LTE single-phase - $795
• Ocular LTE 3-phase - $895
• Ocular LTE Plus single-phase - $980
• Ocular LTE Plus 3-phase - $1,129

If you get an Ocular LTE without a charging cable the price will be $45 less.

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 Home Solar EV chargers, the prices given are:

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

The installation prices given begin at $1,220 for single-phase ones and $1,370 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 Home Solar 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.