Solar charging is tricky when the electricity distributor won't let you have an inverter bigger than 5kW. Whilst it's cheaper (per 100km) to fill up with electricity rather than petrol, the additional cost of EV's and the extra charging infrastructure mean you have to drive enormous distances to economically justify an EV over petrol. I live about 300km outside Melbourne and will not be owning an EV due to lack of charging infrastructure and the long charge times. In Victoria roughly 70% of electricity generation comes from burning brown coal. I note too that S.A. and Tasmania import lots (up to 50%) of dirty power from Victoria (refer NEM Dashboard).

Thanks for another informative and comprehensive video! I live in SE QLD and am at home most days and was able to do a very cheap but effective setup for a Tesla M3. We have a single phase grid connection, and about as large a solar system on the roof as Energex rules will allow - 10 kW inverter (5kW export limit) now upgraded to 16kW panels and home battery (Solaredge - Energex rules don't allow AC-coupled battery for that configuration). Initially I just charged the car from an 8 amp socket in the carport - worked fine but not exactly fast. Turned out we had a spare 32 amp dedicated circuit in the switchboard (from a now-defunct AC that ran out of gas). Got an electrician to run that circuit to the carport and install a 32 amp single phase socket. Then purchased a 32 amp single phase tail for the Tesla mobile charger from EVSE, allowing charging the car at 7 kW. Initially just tried to make sure it was sunny when plugging the car in, but then Charge HQ came along and did its magic - dynamically adjusting the charging rate to match our excess solar - it talks to the SolarEdge inverter to determine how much excess solar is available, and to the car to adjust the charge amps accordingly. EVSE also has a Tesla portable charger tail that is physically a standard three-phase 32 amp plug but electrically single phase. This enables charging M3 or MY from 3-phase 32 amp sockets that are not uncommon in caravan parks and showgrounds around the country (kzfaq.info/get/bejne/qrOChbaWudiWiYk.html&ab_channel=LudicrousFeed)

What a wonderful video this is. Everything explained so clearly. Thanks Finn for putting in the effort, I can appreciate how much time would have been spent in planning of delivering such complex info in a fun, crisp way.

Love the vid! Truly 'EVERYTHING' you need to know about EV charging indeed!! Thank you for sharing this information. Appreciate the simple language, and explanations to the charging types, levels, and cable conventions. Great video!!

I use about 7 litres/100 km and pay about $1.69/litre on cheap days, ie about $12/100km. Even so I have had solar panels installed which comfortably run my entire household in the daytime (hot water, oven, washing machine, dishwasher, lights, clothes dryer, TVs)(I currently have a gas cooktop). I intend to buy an electric car which will also comfortably charge in my garage as I am home a lot in the daytime. Yay no petrol costs!

Heavens, I didn't think I would make 5mins of this. Very well put together and held my attention. Thanks!

Most useful video (by far) I have found on EV charging options in Australia. Thank you so much for posting.

As a near future EV owner, this video just saved me hundreds of dollars I was about to spend on various adapters and cables that I will probably never use! 🥂

Nice to see that you Australians have decided to also use CCS2 like us in Europe.

Thankyou Finn, really concise & easy to understand. Enjoyed graphics & animations, too. ⚡🚗⚡

Thanks for a great video. With all the complexity you have 100% convinced me to wait another 5-10 yrs to buy an EV.

A very helpful video Finn. At 12.25 mins you show the set-up for 3-phase charging using a third party 20-32 amp tail with a Tesla trickle charger - and on your website you say "Pro-tip: If you have a recent Tesla and are lucky enough to have a 3-phase socket in your garage, you can buy third party tails that can charge at 4.8 to 7kW (20 to 32A) using your mobile connector". I've searched but can't find one of these third party 20-32 amp tails - any suggestions regarding where to look are appreciated please. EVSE say they only sell them as a complete until (including the trickel charger) - but I only need the tail. Thanks in advance mate.

Thank you Finn, at last I understand- well almost- what I will need to do in preparation for our EV (Volvo EX30 ) arriving next August. The main thing that had been troubling me was getting my head around the charging options, especially the issues of home v public charging, Solar v Off peak charging and the various technical terms (including the acronyms) associated with EV and charging. I will watch this a few times until I am really familiar with it. Shame you aren’t in NSW closer to the time of delivery of the car I’d have you round to do a quote! Thanks again. Judi

Great video. You could have mentioned that some EVs have the ability to supply power to your house like a Tesla power wall, making EV cars even more appealing. When I eventually get an ev, I'll be making sure it has the ability to act like a power wall, as I rarely travel more than 50 to 100km a day, leaving surplus power to run our house at night.

Finn, congrats on the best, most comprehensive yet easy to understand explainer video on EV charging. I even learnt some new tricks (I’m gonna buy a Type 1 to Type 2 adapter cable). PS just bought a Model 3 in same midnight silver as yours 😂

That clears up a lot for me. Thanks for the great content

So detailed and comprehensive, thanks a lot. One question please Is the type 2 charger Chargerfox supplied AC or DC?

Hi I bought a simple Type 2 Mennekes plug to Scucko socket for my electric motorcycle which only has a computer power cable socket so 1kW AC needed. When the AC Type 2 stations has socket it fits in and works fine, but there are Type 2 EV charge stations with Type 2 cable instead of socket. In the cable end my Type 2 plug does not touch the pins, the plastic spacing is too long. Can I cot a centimeter from the plastic plug end just to fit both socket and cable Type 2 chargers?

Hi, great video. I'm in Sydney. what apps do you use to determine where the chargers are located?

this have been the msot helpful video i have seen yet. thank you

Thank goodness for standardised charging plugs! Does the Tesla come with Type 2 or CCS?

Brilliant vid. Very informative to someone considering buying an ev. Thank you

Love the video. I am currently working on a business that will hopefully help thousands of Canadians by making residential solar options even more accessible. I hope to achieve this by enabling home owners with the ability to access existing equity in there homes to acquire the funds to make these upgrades while providing education to the options and incentives available. I have found your channel extremely informative, helpful and inspiring for this business and my goal of assisting fellow Canadians with saving hundreds of dollars each month by generating their own self-sustaining energy to power, heat and cool their homes and even power their transportation. Keep up the great videos!

Great video - thank you! Only question I had is, if charging overnight, how can you program the charging so the car is charged from the grid and the battery powers the house?

Lots of good Info thanks Finn. Foregoing the solar FIT is only really a minor consideration when you look at the piddling amount you get for it. I only get 5c a kWh so it would be a no brainer to save the $12/100 I spend on my car ( 7l/100 @ $1.70litre) and sacrifice the $2.50 FIT for 50kW of electricity which would be over 200ks of range. Huge saving win for the EV even if it uses some grid electricity. Looking forward to EV ownership one day.

Very helpful and informative video, thank you!

Excellent video. It can be quite confusing for someone about to get an EV. I am looking at getting the Tesla M3 and as they don’t include the mobile charger now I’ll be getting that as I rent. Also now after watching your video I might grab a Level 2 charger and throw that in the car. Well done and thanks for making this video.

QUESTION: After you finish charging while at home once it’s done should I disconnect it or keep it plugged in

Very nice video, also good to see a fellow South Aussie.

Awesome review. I recently bought a Tesla M3LR & am surviving happily with the L1 charger supplied with the ca r with15 Amp socket already installed in my garage.( Yep just got in time ) I only charge from my 10 Kw solar using Charge HQ. My biggest concern is the cost of smart meters, L2 chargers & cables as I can drive a long way for a cable that might give me free charging. Also I can’t go past the Tesla wall charger @ $750 when most others are $1K and above and again I can drive a long way on the extra cost of after market chargers. Any thoughts on the Tesla wall charger?

Could you cover the difference between fixed and variable energy rates. Is there really a difference and maybe you could use fixed rate for some of your examples.

Thank you so much for putting this video together 🙏

Thx Finn great info. I am still in concept phase ATM. I want to have a Tesla powerwall 3 on my future home build and also have a V2G connection for a future EV. My plan would be to have a master switch that can simulate a blackout to my powerwall so it functions off grid at all times. In addition as much solar on the roof as I can fit and literally use the V2G only when the powerwall gets low. Could you possibly put together a short video on how YOU would do this to maximise both the powerwall and EV lives"

That was an excellent video. Thank you very much 👍

Is there a alternativ to charging hq for the eu market?

Very good overview.. thanks.

Hi Finn, can you provide more details on "getting paid to charge" you EV from home, i haven't been able to find much information about it online. Thanks

Building a home at the moment and waiting for the roof to go on so I can get get some quotes from solar quotes in Western Australia. I'm really wanting to plan for the future as I don't have an electric vehicle yet. Nice to get some professional thoughts on the matter. Thanks for the all the work, learnt a lot.

@ 13:44- I am not so sure about the 3ph charger being any use for a BYD Atto 3 that is single phase and will only charge at a max. of 7kw, regardless of 3ph power in the home.

Thanks for a fantastic video Finn. You have helped me immensely on my way to becoming a EV Owner.

Thanks for an easy to understand video on charging for general community. We really love using a smart solar EV charger (evse) so we're only using solar. Currently the Fronius Wattpilot go is do a fantastic at this. 🔋☀️⚡

great vid just wondering what companies provide a wholesale price in Australia

bloody fantastic video. trying to learn all I can as gonna buy a BDO DOLPHINE. wish me luck.

Thnx Finn. I am about to get a Tesla model 3 and I hear 2 conflicting things. Firstly it's recommended to keep plugged in overnight....but...the battery has an effective 2,000-cycle life. If I only drive 50kms per day I would use 1 cycle per day, but if I plugged it in every 5th or 6th day I would would extend the life of the battery by a factor of 5. What do you recommend?

Thanks for the video. If I have 3 phased power, are you saying I can charge 3 phased with 10amp if I buy a special socket? Sorry I’m confused because do I need to install special socket for 3 phase if my home already has 3 phase power? Can you link any examples please!

Does it come with a tap & pay charging meter ? so the garage can be franchised rented out for business!? with all visitors to just tap & pay !! when using the ev charging meter with a vending machines or membership gyms & car share programs

Great video, very informative. I would recommend an NPV approach to the calculation for solar panels and other capital expenditure before comparing like for like with the base case. Capital costs other than the car shouldn’t be ignored or else it’s not really correct…🤔

Hi, Origin Energy told me it was illeagle to have a home charger unless I get an off Peak meter in Queensland. Is this true and why?

Hi, Can you tell me why you can't use an extension cord for a level one charge (charging cable supplied with car.) we are going where there is only a 240 volt 10amp home socket inside our accommodation. Many thanks :)

Awesome video mate. Thanks

Great explanations, Finn. A minor correction: the Model 3 charges at up to 250 kW. I recently charged my Model 3 from 22% at a Tesla supercharger and (briefly) got a peak rate of 245 kW.

A brilliant video thank you.

We don’t even own a ev, and we will probably never have the money to get one, however this was a amazing video.

Does anyone know where to find providers that will offer to pay us to use electricity during surplus? Couldn’t find anything online.

What an eye opener, so so complex. I just bought an IONIQ 5 and the Hyundai the ocular charger, which I don’t think is OCPP. Many thanks for this video much appreciated, no sure my electricity provider in Brisbane provider OCPP compliance etc.

Great video, well communicated.

Excellent video. Very informative 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

I often charge at negative grid prices with Amber in SA.

Hi you didn’t mention how long to charge the Tesla at home with the level 2 3 phase charger

Great charging tips. I have a Tesla Model 3 & am getting away with a level 1 charger with 15 Amp adapter but the biggest issue is unreliable power from 10 Kw of solar panels. Yep when the suns out I get 10.9 Kw generation but I would say 50% of the time there’s not enough generation to run a pool pump, 6 Kw Air conditioner & charge the car. I’m with OVO for energy so charge @ 8 c/kw between 00:00 & 06:00 which works OK on less the battery is below 50%. I’m installing a Tesla L2 Charger soon & couldn’t believe the price difference between L2 chargers. Considering there’s a simple PCB inside think the industry is ripping off unsuspecting customers who don’t know what they are buying. Tesla charger $750 $ others up to $3K what’s the difference? Could you do a video on what’s the difference in chargers & why the price difference

Doesn’t Nissan still use the Type 1 plug for the Leaf?

Keep up the good work Finn!

Hey Finn, great video. Not sure of the rules in SA but I am just in the process of installing a type 2 charger at home in Brisbane. With Energex, you can only connect above 20A on a tariff. So either capped at ~4.6kW for 24/7 supply or additional costs for the full ~7kW on a tariff.

Is there any danger to use the charger when it is raining?

Great video, thank you.

Thanks Finn, great video

For the record, in WA, Synergy's EV off-peak rate is 19.0698c/kWh. They have withdrawn offer to new sign-ups.

What a great video, thank you

If you have DC coming in from your solar panels to the inverter, wouldn't it be better to pass through from the panels to the DC input of the car through a DC to DC converter instead of converting it to AC through the house inverter the cars AC to DC conversion, cutting on DC-AC then AC-DC conversion losses?

Fantastic video! Thanks for such great content. Question. I charge my EV at home from solar. When my solar is producing 10kW during the day time I charge my EV at 8kW to avoid using the grid. From my understanding of your comments. Even though I’m not using the grid. I still pay for charging even though its 100% solar generated AC electricity being used? Therefore I am still paying for using my solar generated energy, because I’m not feeding it into the grid, I pay the feed-in tariff amount for consuming it? Doesn’t make sense but that’s how I understood your comments.

I have 10kw of panels and 15kw of batteries. How would I charge the ev at night without consuming the battery?

so how does DC cahrger fee work? Do they charge kW/hr or just one fees applies to all kwH speed no matter if it 50kwH/hr or 150kwH/hr?

Thanks 🙏

When can we top er up without the obligatory App?

where do I charge on the Gunbarrel or Gibb River?

Can you do charger rankings?

We currently have 6kw solar panels on our roof. The problem is there is no more space to fit more panels..

The big question with EV charging is how long will it take to charge your car when there a couple of hundred other EV owners who all want to leave the weekend holiday destination at 3pm on Sunday afternoon to get home ands be ready for work on Monday morning. Eg, I like to go skiing, Thredbo has 3 chargers, one of which is only available to the residents of unit #17 of one of the lodges. There is typically about 1,000 cars all wanting to leave after the lifts close, rough calculations show it will take about 3 weeks before you can charge your car.

Feedback: A 15amp socket at a caravan park's power stand in most cases can't accept the Tesla 15amp plug. The cable is offset and gets in the way of the box's door frame. There is a work-a-round.

Awesome vid cheers

Getting paid to charge the car, a wholesale pricing retailer with what type of charger?

in WA we are now limited to 1.5Kw into the grid. So really charging your car is free. I think i am only paid 3c per Kw now (waiting on the bill) I have installed an additional 7 Kw with a 13.6Kw battery. New tarrifs here are 8c in the day, 50c from 3 to 9pm then 15c at night.

Finn, I’m down with OCPP! (waves arms high side to side) hey ho hey ho. Haha great video mate, very entertaining and even just the right amount of nudity😂👌

Thanks mateee

three phase charge speed??

I like how you made an OPP joke then had to put the video in to explain the joke, I find jokes are infinitely more funny when they need to be explained.

Given that 15 amp and 20 amp circuits use the same 2.5 mm cable they should cost the same amount to install. If using a Tesla Mobile Connector a 20 am tail would be needed.

Great explanation. EV's are the future, but dear lord how painful is the journey to be with the various L1/2/3 chargers, cables, adapters and public charging station constraints/availablity with the typical technical problems etc. Does my head in. I'll be delaying as much as possible until all the fuss is sorted.

I can't imagine my 80 yo mother dragging the Type 2 cable out of the car to charge up halfway between Sydney and Melbourne. Let alone leaving a charging cable that can be stolen hanging out of the car and the charger. I'm also waiting for V2H/V2G to become a thing in QLD. I want to go electric, but it seems we're not there yet.

Anyone know of any channels that go in-depth into what is actually inside the charging cord? Not so interested in this watered down stuff

There's some modern EVs that won't charge at 3-phase. So if your car is one of those (e.g. MG4, Nissan LEAF), there's no point paying more to buy a 22kW 3-phase Type2/Type2 cable when the 7kW 1-phase cable will charge it at exactly the same speed. Unless you're planning to upgrade to a faster charging car at a later time and want to keep the cable of course.

Wow its like you live in a different country, all those options for electricity providers. Why do North Queensland only get no choice of one single company

It's actually cheaper to drive an unleaded car to drive to and from work .lol.. Australia, it can cost anywhere from $0.30 - $0.60 per kWh to charge an electric vehicle (EV). This equates to around $11.50 - $23 to fully charge a small electric vehicle or about $22.50 - $45 to fully charge a larger long-distance electric vehicle

I have a first generation MG ZS EV, and Type 2 charging is limited by the car to 7kW/single phase. So it did not make sense for me to buy a 3-phase charging cable. Make sure you know your car's limits.

Was thinking about this too,, and even looking at a Tesla 3 but,,, solar system price average 15000 plus EV 65000 which as AFAIK at this stage the car is landfill and worthless when batteries die due to the lack of recycling, that buys a lot of fuel for a car I already own for " free" ,and now for the " yeah but"

If charging DC is possible why no home DC charger... why waste power converting to AC and then back...

i want to buythe later tesla model, and my domesticc supply has 3 phase 480Volt/or 380 and 460 if my memory serves me right uioi gotta check but i have an insstalled 3 phace 480voltbundle waiting to be rolled out to my garage, and i often do doubling the voltage and using higher amps from 2 groupsso i get 16 or 32 i forgot, damnit anyway dual AC, at the maximum of allowable ampss because my mother has a unused ceramic oven that goes up to 1600degrees celsius and IT"S LARGE the plug has 5 holes 3 for 30hertz 50hertz and 75herts and (and either 20 - 50 or 100amps i dont know)(I SUPPOSE, dont know what in the netherlands the power output looks like but generally normal domestic allows for either single AC230Volts at 8 AMPSb fuses you can double this up btw this is 50 ~60hz and use a special connector for that still it's 2x single phase at8 amps (2x4amps.. the 3 phase is generally has 5 pinsn 3 for power and 1 ground ofcourse and i don't know what the 5th one is maybe it's DC for multi compatibility. (i'm not the best electrician anymore, or it's a regulator in DC that checks powerflow because the fusebox is so sci-fi looking and digital.. DC charges faster, that's good for a road trip... but what are my options here i dont use allot of power about 1500~3000wats or watts hours as you call it. I have what is called a second meter and fusebox that can do 380 and 460/480volts at 20amps? what do these installations do, how do install them. and i'm planing on night tarrif and polar power on the roof is going to be split between 2 other homes unless i pay for them. but i am not that rich, because these solar panels are like spacegrade, modern powerfull and on a dark cloudy dark even on a cubic meter itll do 40k % then regular solar panels, these arent blue these are entirely black with some black libnes..,... but i drive large armount through europe, sometime to the UK, do the have charging stations at rotterdam, or do i have to drive to drive to calais?

not sure the comparison between 7 km/kWhr and 10 l/100km for petrol is fair. my Outlander PHEV MY19 gets about 3km per kWhr when operating "pure EV". By comparison, a fuel consumption test for a tank full when car is working as a hybrid (ie battery drained from start to finish) returns about 7 litres/100km. At $2 per litre of fuel, that works out at 14c per km. The car only has the small battery given PHEV and we only charge via our solar. However, if I had to pay the 60c common price per kWhr at public charging then the cost would be 20c per km. So for us, petrol is cheaper than that, and looking for a cheaper low power charger is not worth the effort.

EV makers need to "adopt the "induction charging" method of charging vehicles ASAP. This technology ihas been around for decades and is a perfect fit for "convenient charging of EV's. Charging vehicles without having to connect anything; get out of the vehicle in snow and rain; would appeal to many Tesla customers. just imagine; pulling over a lighted pad; it dings when you are in position; you just hop out and the charger later texts you when the vehicle is ready. What is not to like???

Fun fact, when owners walks off you can pull the plug and toss it on ground OR plug in and charge on their bank account.