Charge your EV overnight

Charge your EV overnight with a zappi 2.1: set a start time and a duration, use ECO or ECO+ mode and turn off every timer in your car. Includes a planner for your start time and duration, the three ways to set a scheduled boost, what each mode does overnight, Intelligent Octopus Go charges, and fixes for when your EV did not charge.

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zappi 2.1 guide

Charge your EV overnight

Set a start time and a duration on your zappi 2.1. zappi charges at full power while the boost runs. Use ECO+ mode for the rest of the night. Turn off every timer in your car first.

ECO or ECO+ modeNo timer in your carStart time and durationNo stop time setting

This guide is for the zappi 2.1, in black or white, with a socket or a tethered cable. It has a display and four buttons. Other zappi models differ.

Did your EV not charge overnight? Check the usual causes.

On this page

Before you start

Check these five things first

  • Turn off every timer and schedule in your EV. A timer in your car might stop zappi controlling when the charge starts.
  • Put zappi in ECO or ECO+ mode. Schedules need it. It stops the car charging at full power straight away.
  • Choose ECO+ to avoid grid power before the boost. In ECO, zappi starts as soon as you plug in. On single phase it takes about 1.4kW from the grid when there is no solar surplus.
  • Do not use STOP mode. STOP blocks scheduled and manual boosts.
  • Plug your EV in before the start time.
There is no stop time. You set a start time and a duration. The charge ends when the duration ends.
Linked to Intelligent Octopus Go? Octopus sends the start and stop commands. Do not add your own schedules. See the Intelligent Octopus Go section below.

Plan your night

Work out your start time and duration

zappi has no stop time, so you work backwards from when you need the car. Enter the energy to add, your car's charge rate and your ready by time. The planner gives the start time and the duration to enter on zappi.

Example: adding 30kWh at 7.4kW takes about 4h 05m. To be ready by 07:00, set the start time to 02:55 and the duration to 4h 05m.

The planner did not load. Refresh the page.

02:55
Set the start time to 02:55Set the duration to 4h 05m. The whole boost sits inside your cheap rate window.
Start time
02:55App: left side, white numbers
Duration
4h 05mApp: right side, blue numbers
Ready by
07:00Adds 30kWh
Cheap rate
InsideExample window 00:30 to 07:30

The estimate uses the energy you enter and the charge rate you pick. Your car sets the real rate. A slower car needs more time.

Set it up

Three ways to set an overnight charge

Pick the way you use. All three need zappi in ECO or ECO+ mode and no timer in your car.

Using ECO+? If you do not want to charge from the grid until the scheduled boost, make sure zappi is in ECO+ mode.
Set up in the app myenergi app
  1. Tap the zappi icon. It is on the main screen. This opens the zappi details page.
  2. Check zappi is in ECO+ mode. It then charges from surplus, such as solar, and not from the grid. Read about zappi charging modes.
  3. Tap Scheduled.
  4. Add a schedule. Tap the + to add a new schedule. Enter the start time and the duration. Select the days it runs. For example, start at 01:00 for 3 hours every weekday.
  5. Tap OK. The new boost shows in the grid. A small clock icon appears next to Scheduled. It shows a schedule is set.
  6. Check it later. If you leave the zappi details screen and return, the app shows the Manual Boost settings. The clock icon next to Scheduled shows your schedule is still active.
No stop time. Set the start time on the left (white numbers). Set the duration of the charge on the right (blue numbers).
Set up at zappi On the unit
  1. Put zappi in ECO+ mode. It then charges from surplus, such as solar, and not from the grid. Read about zappi charging modes.
  2. Open the boost timer. On zappi, go to the path below.
    Menu > Charge Settings > Boost Timer
  3. Enter the schedule. As in the app, set the start time, the duration and the days of the week it applies to.
Set up in myaccount Tariff based

In your myenergi online account, myaccount.myenergi.com, you enter the details of your energy tariff and your charging preferences. The myenergi servers then work out the best times to charge your EV, or to boost your eddi.

Enter these first

  • The details of your EV
  • Your electricity tariff
  • Your address, because some tariffs depend on location

Use the menus on the left of the screen to enter them. For a full guide to tariffs, read myaccount, setting up your electricity tariff. On Octopus Agile, read Octopus Agile integration into zappi.

Flat rate The energy costs the same at all times.
Time of use or dual rate Some periods cost less, usually at night. Some tariffs also have cheaper weekends.
Flexible or dynamic The price changes every day. It depends on grid demand, the weather and the supply of wind and solar generation.

Set your scheduling preferences

Select Schedules from the menus on the left. Your tariff decides which of up to three options you see.

Scheduled Charge

Runs at the same time on each day you select. Set more than one, for example for the commute and for shorter weekend trips.

Enter for each schedule

  • When the EV is plugged in
  • When it needs to be charged by
  • How much energy to put in the battery
  • Which days it applies to

Single Charge

For a one-off journey, for example to make sure your EV is fully charged for a long trip. You set it up like a Scheduled Charge, for a chosen date and not the same day each week.

Budget Charge

For Dynamic or Flexible tariffs only. You set a price. When the electricity price drops below it, your EV charges. The scheduling engine needs to know when your EV is plugged in, so it picks the best time.

How the scheduling engine works

  1. Budget Charge first. It finds the best times to charge, based on the electricity price.
  2. Single Charge next. If the Budget Charge did not reach the target energy, it adds charging periods for the extra energy.
  3. Scheduled Charge last. It uses the same approach to meet the needs of each Scheduled Charge.

Other boosts

Scheduled, smart and manual boost

A scheduled boost runs at the same time each week. Smart boost and manual boost suit one night.

Scheduled boost

You set a start time, a duration and the days. It repeats each week on those days.

  • In the app, tap Scheduled, then the +.
  • On zappi, go to Menu, Charge Settings, Boost Timer.

Best for the same routine every night.

Smart boost

You set an amount of energy in kWh and a time to be ready by. zappi tests your EV for a few seconds to find its maximum charge rate. It then picks the latest start time which still reaches your target.

  • In the app, tap Smart under configure boosts, set the kWh and the time with the blue slider, then tap Boost Now.
  • On zappi, in ECO or ECO+, press + until SMART BOOST shows.
  • To set the target, go to Menu, Charge Settings, Smart Boost.

It adds a set amount of energy. It does not set a battery percentage. If the session already added enough energy, the boost does not run.

Manual boost

You set an amount of energy in kWh. It starts now and charges at the maximum rate, as in FAST mode, until zappi stores the energy you set. zappi then returns to ECO or ECO+.

  • In the app, tap Manual under configure boosts, set the kWh with the blue slider, then tap Boost Now.
  • On zappi, in ECO or ECO+, press + until BOOST shows.
Both work in ECO and ECO+ only. The energy and the time are fixed while a boost is active. To cancel any boost, press + on zappi until Cancel Boost shows.

Modes

What each mode does overnight

FAST Charges as fast as the car allows, as soon as you plug in. The most is about 7.4kW on single phase. Charges at once
ECO Starts when you plug in. It charges at about 1.4kW on single phase, or more when there is surplus. It draws from the grid when surplus is lower. Slow grid charge
ECO+ Waits for surplus. It shows Waiting for Surplus after you plug in. It charges only when surplus reaches about 1.4kW on single phase. Waits for your boost
STOP Stops all charging. It also blocks scheduled and manual boosts. Blocks boosts

In ECO and ECO+, a boost charges your EV at full power while the boost is active.

Intelligent Octopus Go

Charging at times you did not expect?

Linked to Intelligent Octopus Go? A charge at a time you did not expect is often a command from Octopus to charge then.

With the integration on, Octopus decides when your EV charges. Octopus builds a schedule soon after you plug in. It then sends zappi the start and stop commands.

Octopus picks times when the wholesale price is best. A charge outside your usual cheap window, even in the day, is possible. Octopus might change the plan part way through. This causes pauses.

Vehicle integration

Octopus and the car control charging. zappi sits in FAST mode and works as a plain charger. Solar divert is off.

zappi integration

zappi controls charging, in ECO+ mode. Solar divert still works. Octopus sends the boost start and stop commands.

What to check

  1. Look for a boost from Octopus. Octopus calls a manual boost a bump. A bump starts from zappi, the myenergi app or the Octopus app. It takes a few minutes to arrive.
  2. Remove your own schedules. Delete schedules on zappi, smart schedules in myaccount and charge timers in your car. They clash with Octopus.
  3. Check the PIN lock. If zappi has a PIN lock, release it as you plug in. A late release might make Octopus miss the plug-in. The car might then charge without Octopus in control.
  4. Stop Octopus controlling the charge. In the Octopus app, go to the path below. Suspend control or disconnect the device.
    Profile > Devices > Intelligent Octopus Go

Not charging?

Why did my EV not charge overnight?

Pick what you saw. Each answer shows the likely cause and what to do.

It started charging as soon as I plugged in

In FAST mode, zappi charges as soon as you plug in. In ECO mode it also starts at once, at about 1.4kW on single phase. A timer in your car might start the charge too.

  1. Switch zappi to ECO+.
  2. Turn off every timer and schedule in your EV.
  3. Check your schedule shows in the app. The clock icon sits next to Scheduled.
Nothing charged all night
  • zappi is not in STOP mode. STOP blocks scheduled and manual boosts.
  • Your schedule is saved. The clock icon sits next to Scheduled in the app.
  • The start time and the duration are set. There is no stop time.
  • The days you selected include last night.
  • The EV was plugged in before the start time.
  • The EV has no timer or schedule set.
  • In ECO+, Waiting for Surplus is normal until the boost starts.
It charged at the wrong time

A timer in your car might stop zappi controlling when the charge starts. A second schedule or a boost set earlier also runs when you told zappi to run it.

  1. Turn off every timer and schedule in your EV.
  2. Open Scheduled in the app. Check the start time, the duration and the days.
  3. If you use myaccount, check the plugged in time and the charged by time for each schedule.
  4. If you use Intelligent Octopus Go, Octopus might have sent the charge command. Read the Intelligent Octopus Go section.
It charged at a time I did not expect, and I use Intelligent Octopus Go

With Intelligent Octopus Go linked, Octopus controls the charge times. The charge is often a command from Octopus to charge then.

  1. Remove schedules you set on zappi, in myaccount and in your car.
  2. Check for a bump, which is a manual boost started from zappi, the myenergi app or the Octopus app.
  3. Read the Intelligent Octopus Go section for the full checks.
The app shows Manual, not my schedule

The Boost section opens on Manual each time. This happens even when a schedule is set.

  1. Look for the clock icon next to Scheduled. It shows the schedule is active.
  2. Tap Scheduled to see the schedule.
A boost ran when I did not expect it

zappi carries out the boost timer as you told it to. The app shows Manual even when a boost you set earlier is still on.

  1. Open Scheduled and check what is set.
  2. To use a different boost timer, turn off the boost timer first. Then set the new one.
  3. To stop a running boost, press + on zappi until Cancel Boost shows.
The charge is slow, around 1.4kW

Outside your boost, ECO charges at about 1.4kW on single phase unless there is more surplus. During a boost, zappi charges at full power. The car's onboard charger and any set limits also cap the rate.

A power cut sometimes leaves a zappi 2.1 limited to 1.4kW, or with extra 0s on the display.

  1. Check the mode. Slow charging outside your boost is normal in ECO.
  2. Check the charge rate during the boost.
  3. If the rate stays at 1.4kW during a boost, or the display shows extra 0s, follow the power cut fix below.
My myaccount schedule does nothing

myaccount needs your EV, your tariff and your address before it works out when to charge.

  1. Enter the details of your EV.
  2. Enter your electricity tariff and your address.
  3. In each schedule, enter when the EV is plugged in and when it needs to be charged by.
  4. Use Budget Charge on a Dynamic or Flexible tariff only.

Still not right? Send us the details.

After a power cut

Did a power cut spoil your charge?

Slow charge or extra 0s? A power cut sometimes leaves a zappi 2.1 with a slow charge rate, limited to 1.4kW, or extra 0s on the display. Your overnight charge then runs slow.

The fix resets the config and sets up your zappi again. It then stops the fault coming back with a full factory reset.

myenergi Customer Carezappi 2.1 overnight charging guide

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