Released 11/05/2021 - Previous version 3.103
Before upgrading the zappi please ensure that your hub also has version 3.051 firmware or above installed
Instructions on how to update the firmware on your zappi and other myenergi devices can be found
-> here <-
New features
3 phase zappi - Single Phase / Three Phase Switching
The long awaited change to the zappi firmware…
zappi will now switch from single phase charging (ECO/ECO+) to three phase charging in FAST and BOOST modes.
This overcomes the problem encountered with some vehicles that short circuited the supply if zappi switched from single phase to three phase charging
Note: If zappi detects that that the EV shorts out the phases when charging in single phase mode then it now introduces a 90 second delay before switching to three phases (and back to single phase charging). Vehicles affected include the Kia e-Niro, Hyundai Kona, Renault Zoe
Preconditioning
This feature has been introduced to cope with a problem charging the Tesla Model-S when the batteries are cold.
The Model S appears to need a lot of power to warm up the battery. If zappi tries to start a charge in ECO/ECO+ at 1.4kW then the Tesla will start to charge but then immediately gives up, tries again after a short pause, gives up, ad infinitum until the Model S gives up with an error message.
To deal with this, we have introduced a new menu option on the “Charge Settings” menu. “Preconditioning” can be set to :
- “Off”: Once zappi detects “Charge Complete”, the next time the EV tries to draw power zappi will revert to the mode set (ie ECO, ECO+ or FAST). If zappi is in ECO+ and there is not enough surplus generation then the charge will pause and zappi will display "Waiting for surplus"
- “On”: You can define how much energy (kWh) zappi should supply to warm up the battery / precondition your EV. Once zappi detects “Charge Complete”, the next time the EV tries to draw power zappi will start a Preconditioning Boost (to the kWh target you have set) and then revert to normal charging, in whatever mode it is set to.
This is a quite a complex workaround to deal with the fact that the Tesla S does not follow the charging standard (IEC 61851-1).
If the battery is cold and you try to start a charge in ECO/ECO+ then the Tesla will start to charge, draw a small amount of power at 1.4kW and then give up. Zappi detects this as “Charge Complete”. When the Tesla then tries to charge again zappi will boost at full power and then continue at the ECO/ECO+ rate set by the zappi.
Grid Power Limit
This is a new option under the Advanced - Supply Grid - Device Settings menu.
Rather than setting an absolute limit on the current in each phase (ie the Grid Limit) this new feature - the - “Grid Power Limit” - looks at the total power drawn across all three phases.
If this limit is exceeded then the charge rate is reduced.
The new limit can be set to: OFF, 3-30kW in 0.5kW steps
This feature was introduced at the request of Italian installers as the three phase supply can be provided by the distribution company with the requirement that the total power across all three phases is capped, regardless of whether the supply is balanced or the power is only flowing on one of the three phases.
Note: If more than one zappi fitted then this limit needs to be set on each zappi individually
Improvements
Block charge after multiple "Charge Complete"
zappi will now limit the number of times that it will go from “Charge Complete” to “Charging”.
After three cycles from Charge Complete to Charging, zappi will stop with the error message “Charge Blocked”. This is to protect EV and zappi from getting into an endless loop (eg the Tesla S scenario”)
Automatic recovery from voltage too high / too low
If zappi stops the charge due to the supply voltage being too high or too low, the charge will now resume automatically once the voltage returns to the allowable range.
(zappi stops charging if the supply voltage is outside the range 230V +/- 12%)
Other improvements
- Three phase zappi – Boost timers now work with three phases as described above
- Changes to start/stop timer in ECO+ mode allows zappi to better respond to the “power trend” if the power measurement on the grid CT is swinging rapidly.
- Increase the maximum ECO+ start/stop timer to 240 seconds
- Adjusted the Control Pilot measurements to deal with Audi e-Tron which has values outside the values expected according to IEC 61851-1
- "G100" setting renamed "CT Detect"
- Grid Limit : at least 7.5A spare is required for a charge to start/resume - avoids short charge cycle on systems with a low grid limit
- “ Time and Date” screen is printed at bootup if the Real Time Clock (RTC) has lost power, to force user to enter a valid date.
- Added cable rating in Amps based on Proximity Pilot in “Readings Screen” page 2.
- Cloud IP displayed in information screen page 6
Bug Fixes
- Time Date settings - fixed problem with Timezone setting being ignored if DST is "off"
- Time Date settings - error in New Zealand timezones corrected
- Improvement to Event Logs - should fix problems with Event Logs not being stored
Please note – an upgrade of the hub firmware to v3.051 or above is recommended before upgrading your zappi.
Instructions on how to update the firmware on your zappi and other myenergi devices can be found: https://myenergi.com/updating-your-firmware/
Comments
8 comments
Since the update i have problems with charging. I think it's of the Preconditioning mode. I have a Tesla Model 3 and it seams that the Preconditioning mode is running also there. I don't know if this is what you want or should it only be used for Model S?
My problem is that i have 3 phases and a grid limit of 5,5 kW (Italy). So the new Grid Power Limit ist great for me. Thanks for that.
But now when i stop charging and restart it seams that the preconditioning is boosting the charge up to 16 A = 11 kW although i have set the grid limit to 5,5 kW. Also setting a preconditioning to ON with a limit aof 3 kW doesn't chage a starting boost of 11 kW.
Hi, after updating today we are now experiencing issues with Zappi aborting charging after only a few kWh have been added. It stops after a while and the text "charge delayed" is displayed.
I believe this might be a side effect of one of the changes stated above, to help Tesla owners. The problem is we now have to go out and unplug our car and plug it in again to resume charging. The same has happened to our neighbor.
We have an Audi e-tron and a BMW i3 respectively and our settings are to charge on 100% solar surplus, which has always worked before. Now Zappi stops charging and doesn't start up again even with a lot of surplus solar energy.
Looking forward to a fix ASAP because this really doesn't work for us as this functionality was the reason we bought the Zappi to begin with.
So now what do I do ?
Follow these instructions URL: https://myenergi.com/updating-your-firmware/ or ask your Zappi installer to run through the update over the phone which is what I'm planning on doing. Zappi need to do these updates automatically via OTA.
When will Zappi introduce FW OTA updates? Back to the drawing board...
Thanks Roland Pircher I'll ask the engineering team to see if they can recreate the problem that you have described.
With so many reported issues with this version of the FW it's pointless installing this particular version as it's clear and obvious that's been poorly tested, if at all and/or quickly rushed through without due care and attention. I will refrain from installing this version of the FW in the hope that the reported bug fixes will be fixed in the next release.
Some feedback from Tesla S owners - although the new Preconditioning feature works most of the time it does not catch 100% of the cold battery issues. If the Tesla cycles the charge / stop / charge / stop sequence too quickly, zappi does not detect this as "Charge Complete" so the new preconditioning boost is not triggered. Back to the drawing board...
The Charge Blocked feature has also caught a few people out, so it looks like we need to refine this as well for EV's that repeatedly draw small amounts of power to condition the batteris
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