Survey: Wallbox Recommendation

[naltatis]

"Which EV charger should I buy?" That's a question we get a lot. We don't have an easy answer to this. That's why we want to get structured input for evcc users. What product would you recommend to your friends? We may compile an EV charger buying guide based on these responses in our documentation later.

If you have a charger you can recommend, please let us know why: The Survey 👈

Here is the list of all responses so far.

[musbach]

@naltatis Vielen Dank für das Survey. Das ist eine gute Idee!
Wie kann ich meinen Eintrag nachträglich noch editieren? Gibt es dafür eine Möglichkeit?

[naltatis]

Editieren des eigenen Eintrags geht leider nicht. Trag einfach neu ein und ich lösch den anderen.

[schweiger2]

Vielleicht kann man eine gleichartige Survey auch für Batteriesysteme (getrennt nach AC- und DC-Kopplung) starten ?

Ich könnte mir vorstellen, dass mancher noch auf der Suche nach einem Batteriesystem ist, doch das Nachlesen in den Discussions unterscheidet kaum zwischen technischen Einschränkungen oder Unzulänglichkeiten des Produktes und den Fragestellungen der Anwender, denen einfach nur bei Konfigurationen geholfen wird.

Die Discussions zeigen den "Was ist schlecht"-Blickwinkel, eine Survey ergänzt auch den "Was ist gut"-View.

Wer sich auf evcc festgelegt hat, sucht sicher nach besonders einfach und stabil zu integrierenden Systemen.

[henrikssn]

From the responses, seems like go-e chargers are the ones to go for (pun intended)

[CiNcH83]

For me, the following are the must have features:

• Ethernet
• ISO 15118 Plug & Charge
• open local APIs (no cloud obligation)

go-e Charger Pro has those features, but is a bit expensive. Elli Connect 2 would be a cheaper alternative. However I don't like its use of EEBUS too much.

[kjs-DE]

Have set up several instances of evcc meanwhile and your criteria are important. In some cases a WLAN connection could also be a must have.
We startet with a go-e home which acted up a few months after the warranty period and as the repair (shipping, eventual repair cost, public charging for at least 1 month) would have cost to much I bought an EM2GO ONCB which was on sale (405€ incl. shipping). Had a few strange things (bugs) but the evcc developers programmed around them.
Beside these 3 or 4 technical requirements (plus native support by evcc) I only see the price as an important criteria.

[mikeharris2017]

Pick a wallbox that has only a power plug and no cable connected. It should also have a built in energy meter.

My wallbox is on the right back of the car and has a 5m cable. The Plug is in the left front of the car. I have to drive back into the vegetation to plug the cable in. Changing the cable to a 8m version would require to send the whole wallbox to the manufacturer, to change it.
Just in case you wonder: I can't park the car the other way round.

Also only one network or wifi connection should be required. I need 2 CAT7 cables to the wallbox: one for network, the other to connect the energy meter to measure the charged energy.

[kjs-DE]

Pick a wallbox that has only a power plug and no cable connected. It should also have a built in energy meter.

Wouldn't want a wallbox with fixed cable attached, socket only is important.
The plugs only have a finite number of insertions before they wear out. We have a type 2 cable permanently connected to the wallbox and if the car side plug would wear out we simply get a new cable.
Currently we only need a 2m cable to charge both of our cars in the garage. In case we get a new one which has the port at a different location all we need is a new cable.

[TheMagnetar]

Just to add. The Kathrein AC40 is Plug & Charge ready (ISO15118)

[vankampenp]

It would help me to know what I need to make life easy

• I don't need fancy solar management because evcc does it
• I think I don't need mA regulation because evcc is connected to a P1 meter (is that true?)
• Is it best to use OCPP 1.6J and which have that
• Is the firmware good (not Wallbox Pulsar, because it is flawed)

[kjs-DE]

To make your life easiest a Wallbox which can read out all required data from the car (like an HPC) would be best but unfortunately they are on the pricey side and often not that easy to set up. However, that gets you around the forced purchase of BMW or Tesla as the rest doesn't seem to be able or willing to provide a documented and stable API as required by the EU data act.
If it requires a token for evcc you have to spend the $2/m or $100/lifetime but I strongly recommend to do that to support evcc.
Otherwise to me the price is an important criteria. In many cases (like EM2GO and go-e) evcc found a workaround to make them work despite their bugs.
mA control in my opinion is overrated. In my "evcc rollout" I have both types and in real life I don't see a significant difference in terms of much higher mains consumption or feed in. The control interval of i.e. 30sec has about the same impact.All it provides is a better feeling.....

[vankampenp]

As I need to replace 2 Wallbox Pulsar plus, I have sponsored evcc. Also I don't want chargers where evcc has to find a workaround, I would like chargers that work withouth issues, so I don't have to replace them again.

[vankampenp]

That is why I think I should have an OCPP installation. I get the car information (SoC, estimated range) directly from the car, so I don't need that from an API.
The dilemma is should I go for a cheap box with limited features, or a more expensive one with flawless OCPP firmware, if such a thing exists.

[kjs-DE]

OCPP doesn't mean that the box gets car information. Only very few and expensive boxes have the car interface included. Originally the interface was only intended for use by HPCs thus the vast majority of wallboxes don't read out the car information.
90% of the boxes I have set up have OCPP but none of them gets more info than "connected" and "ready to charge". There evcc can only rely on an API provided (or reverse engineered) by the car manufacturer.

[lucode]

I'm quite happy with my FOX ESS AC charger. The OCPP stack seems to be well integrated, They provide updates and it even does support OCPP 2.0 . And it transfers the SOC via OCPP.

See my open Discussion:
#26550

[mikeharris2017]

I own an older version of the Hardy Barth eCharge cPµ2 PRO, which is not able to switch phases. An upgrade is possible, but still a few 100 Euros.
With that in mind, I tried to find an alternative wallbox and got lost... There are just so many parameters to consider.

Here are a few I find helpful and might be a starting point for a charger database:

• §14a EnWG compatible
• type 2 socket / type 2 charging cable
• number of charge points
• max power per chargepoint
• environment: indoor, outdoor, IP class,...
• mounting options
• energy meter: MID
• compatible with company cars (Dienstwagen-kompatibel): MID or geeichter Zähler, if you have a second private car, you might need RFID tags to determine which car is charging. Some additional rules may apply!
• connectivity: LAN, mobile (LTE), Wifi, Bluetooth, Powerline
• interfaces: Modbus TCP-IP, Modbus RTU, eEBus, OCPP, RS485, none, proprietary
• external energy management system
• phase switching: auto, manual, configureable, none
• Interface: display, app, LED, buttons,...
• Authentication: RFID, NFC, AutoCharge, ...
• vehicle2home (v2h) / vehicle2grid (v2g) ready?

additioanlly:

• evcc compatibility
• OCPP
• no cloud obligation
• compatibilty with existing inverters

It's not that easy to pick the right wallbox.
Take your time to evaluate your environment and your needs.

[Macrisu]

Actually it is easy.
There are a lot of options, but price is a big factor. Type 2 is not a big deal... in the end.
Most of the ppl do not need a lot of features.
From my point of view, a very good option "all in one" for a 3 phase system is Go-E Charger.
it s not cheap, but is easy to setup and it has 1/3 phase change.
When EVCC will support Tuya chargers, a lot of cheap Chinana chargers will be available.

[longtom99]

Empfehlung for Alfen Single Pro-Line (Load Balancing Lizenz erforderlich).
KEINE Empfehlung für go-e Pro, laufend Probleme wie Relais oder FI-Fehler.
In der go-e App kann man nichts genaues einsehen.

[mr42hh]

Alfen (Auch S-Line ohne Display) funktioniert klasse.

[mr42hh]

Ist eigentlich die neue OpenWB SE schon supported bzw. verhält die sich aus EVCC-Sicht exakt wie die alte OpenWB Serie 2?
Finde ich extrem attraktiv.
Box mit Phasenumschaltung 948€,
Duo (zwei Ladepunkte) mit Phasenumschaltung 1346€
16A dreiphasig und 20A einphasig
Teslastecker mit Knöpfchen für 99€ extra
Längere Kabel kosten auch nicht viel Aufpreis

[greatgranddaddy]

Below is my must have criteria:

• Full OCCP Compliance Certification for >= 1.6 https://openchargealliance.org/certified-companies/
• Ethernet (not wifii) for stability
• mA regulation for finer optimisation
• Phase switching (If you have three phase power) for optimistation on low solar days
• operational in air temperatures above 45 deg (Garages get hot in Summer)

EVCC provides the optimisation logic and my main interaction with the Charger. If a charger has the above it becomes a commodity in that the brand becomes less reverent.

[TbsBrggng]

N Abend,
suche eine Wallbox für bidirektionales Laden. Könnte ihr etwas empfehlen?
Danke...

[TbsBrggng]

Ok. Habe die KI in der Anleitung suchen lassen.
Du hast Recht!

Danke für die den Wallbox-Tipp!

[B4phomets]

Du könntest auch nach der BMW DC Wallbox schauen. Die wird "schon" für 2k beworben.

[kjs-DE]

Funktioniert aber nur mit BMW und e.on als Versorger. Allein durch letzteren ist der Gewinn durch deren hohe Preise für den Bezug wieder beim Teufel.

[MartinRinas]

openwb pro ist technisch für AC bidi ausgelegt. Ob das heute auch schon wirklich funktionert kann ich nicht sagen.

[iot4all]

openwb pro ist technisch für AC bidi ausgelegt. Ob das heute auch schon wirklich funktionert kann ich nicht sagen.

Wenn's das Auto mitmacht (R5 geht aktuell nicht per AC-bidi), sollte das gehen. Aber die normativen Anforderung an AC-bidi steigen, weil das kein Auto-Hersteller wirklich möchte.
Mit DC-bidi könnte es eher funktionieren, zumindest laufen Tests mit Kia/Hyundai sowie Cybertruck gut. Gibt hier eine Liste: https://wiki.openwb.de/doku.php?id=openwb:faq:bidiinfo#folgende_fahrzeuge_haben_wir_mit_unserer_openwb_dc_bidi_11kw_erfolgreich_getestet

Im Gegensatz zu Angeboten von BMW und VW ist die openWB-DC-bidi interoperabel - also ohne Vertragsbindungen an Stromanbieter oder Auto. Bugfixing, wenn auf WB-Seite wird auch zugesichert. Beim Auto muss dessen Hersteller ran.

[ScumbagSteve]

We may compile an EV charger buying guide based on these responses in our documentation later.

Is there any update on this so far? Today I saw the issue about Easee wallboxes, that only send energy information once per hour (or so) and it reminded me again how many unexpected issues can occur with a wallbox. These device issues really waste so much time on evcc end..

I saw that it is thankfully already noted on the device page website as an "bug" (in the easee wallbox) but right now you can't filter for "open issues" in the website.

Maybe an "do not show wallboxes with open issues" filter is something to look into - additional to the existing filters like 1p/3p - or a buyers guide.
From the evcc documentation it seems like right now the Charger Connect 2 would be the go-to solution. No open issues and ticks every hardware box that exists at still a reasonable price.

@naltatis I know there is so many things on your plate, but I think users buying the right wallbox in the first place has a very big long-term value for everyone in the community and also maybe pushes the manufacturers of existing wallboxes to fix their issues, because the device sales drop (a man still has dreams..).

[mfuchs1984]

Tinkerforge WARP4 Pro might be the best choice.

[ScumbagSteve]

ISO 15118-2 Is nice, but do we really need it @ home?

The number of cars that works with ISO 15118-2 is zero or very few?

That is true for the moment. If I buy a charger however, it should best case scenario work for >10 years (so I will most likely switch the car twice in its lifetime).

I want ISO to get rid of this damn API dependency. Manufacturers are making too much mess with this and I always try to go cloud-less with everything Smart Home.

Soc information is crucial for evcc so I would really prioritize having this information locally (at least long term).

[VolkerK62]

From 2027 ISO 15118-20 is mandatory for every new private chargepoint.
https://www.bender.de/fachwissen/applikationen/elektromobilitaet/alternative-fuels-infrastructure-regulation-afir-2025/

[aspengler]

Ist evtl. OT, aber ich würde mich ja freuen, die EU setzte erstmal existierende Regeln (wie den EU Data Act) durch anstatt sich neue Regeln auszudenken.

[ScumbagSteve]

From 2027 ISO 15118-20 is mandatory for every new private chargepoint.

Interesting. First time I hear this but I guess it makes sense