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Charging your car using solar power is a great way to save money and reduce your carbon footprint. When there is enough excess solar power, Ohme can use this to charge your EV, helping you make the most of your self-generated green energy. This article explains the solar charging features available in the Ohme app, how to use them, and eligibility requirements.
Jump to:
Am I eligible for solar charging?
How can I charge with solar in the Ohme app?
What are Solar Boost and Solar Max?
What are the grid control settings?
How to set up solar charging in the Ohme app
What happens if solar power stops being generated during charging?
Solar savings
What can I do if I’m not eligible?
FAQs
Solar charging is available for most Ohme Home Pros and Ohme ePod chargers with a recent and complete setup installed from January 2023 onwards.
Please note: if you are not on a single-rate electricity tariff, setting up solar charging will require careful consideration of grid control settings to avoid consuming higher-cost grid electricity. For example, customers on a dual or multi-rate tariff should to consider all options given it may be cheaper to only charge at night when electricity rates are lower. Find out more about the settings available here.
If you cannot see an option to toggle solar charging on or off in the Settings screen, this indicates you are not eligible for this feature at this time. The most common reasons are that the charger was installed before January 2023, or that a CT clamp is either not installed or not providing a reading.
Please read the information below for guidance on what to do if you are not eligible.
The Ohme app offers two solar charging options, Solar Boost and Solar Max, so you can choose how much solar energy and grid energy you use to charge your EV. Each option is designed for a different approach:
Solar Boost is a solar charging option that offers a mix of solar and power from the grid.
Note: This Charge screen layout appears if Ohme is not set up to read your EV’s battery status. You will see the total amount of energy added during the session.
When Dynamic charging is enabled:
You can set a target for how much you want your EV to be charged and the time you need it to be ready. Ohme will create a charging schedule to meet your target on time. Throughout the session, any excess solar power can be used to top up your car, even outside the scheduled grid charging times. After your target is reached, Ohme will continue to use available excess solar power to keep charging your EV while it is plugged in.
When Dynamic charging is off:
Ohme will charge your EV to full as quickly as possible, up to the maximum speed your car allows. This is usually up to 7kW for most EVs or 3.5kW for some hybrids but could be up to 11kW for 3-phase chargers and compatible EVs. If you have set a Price cap, Ohme will charge as much as possible with grid power within the available times and will stop when the battery is full. Any extra solar power you generate can be included at any time to reduce the overall grid power required.
Solar Max is a simple way to charge only with excess solar energy, whenever it is available. Setting a target or ready by time isn’t available for this option, so no schedule will be created. Ohme will start charging your car only when your chosen grid control settings are met.
Note: This Charge screen layout will be shown for EVs where Ohme is set up to retrieve the battery status. You will see the battery indicator and percentage shown, and Ohme will check in with the EV every so often to update the battery level.
If you have a dual or multi-rate tariff, where you pay different rates for electricity at different times of the day (like cheaper night rates), you may wish to make use of solar power during the day with Ohme scheduling the bulk of the charging within your off-peak period. Charging will only start outside these hours if excess solar power is available.
To do this, ensure the Price Cap is enabled, which means Ohme cannot schedule charge when electricity is at a higher cost than your cap. Simply plug in your vehicle during the day and Ohme will schedule charging during the off-peak hours of your tariff.
If you wish to charge the vehicle to full as soon as possible, you can initiate a Max Charge and Ohme will deliver the maximum charging rate that your vehicle can accept. If there is any excess solar power, this will be used to reduce the amount drawn from the grid while maintaining the maximum charging rate.
To start charging your EV, you need at least 1.44kW (6A) of power. Because solar power generated at home can sometimes be quite low, you have a choice in how to use your solar and grid power. You can set Ohme to wait until 1.44kW of solar power is available before charging starts, or you can let charging begin at 0.72kW and make up the rest from the grid to reach the minimum needed. If your solar panels are generating more than 1.44kW, Ohme will use all the available solar power, so your car charges even faster.
The mode you choose depends on how much solar power your panels provide. If you often generate enough solar power, you might prefer to charge only when at least 1.44kW is available, which uses solar power alone. If your solar power varies, allowing a small amount of grid power to help reach the minimum can make sure you do not miss out on charging and helps prevent interruptions, especially on cloudy days.
Only charge with solar power when there is enough excess:
Ohme will wait until at least 1.44kW of excess solar power is being detected before charging starts outside of scheduled times.
Use grid power and solar power:
Ohme can start charging when at least 0.72kW of solar power is detected and matches it with up to 0.72kW of grid power to reach the minimum charge rate the EV will accept before charging starts outside of scheduled times.
Note: You can only select one of the modes, and this setting applies to both Solar Boost and Solar Max charge options. Any grid energy used will be billed at your energy supplier’s rates during daylight hours. Depending on your charger model or firmware version, you may only have one option available.For example, 3-phase chargers only display the option to charge when there is enough excess solar power. Some chargers may not be eligible for a firmware upgrade to enable both options.
If solar power drops below the level needed to continue charging, Ohme will keep charging at the same rate using only grid power for 15 seconds. After 15 seconds, charging will pause for 5 minutes. Charging will automatically restart once your selected grid control settings are met again. For example, if you chose the option to allow grid power at 0.72kW, charging will resume as soon as at least 0.72kW of solar power is being generated. If you set your charger to only use solar power when there is at least 1.44kW, Ohme will wait until enough solar power is being generated before starting again.
If you are using the Solar Boost mode and have set a specific target for Ohme to reach – this will be achieved with a scheduled charge. If excess solar power is available before or during scheduled times, the session will be recalculated to take that into account and reduce the amount of scheduled grid usage accordingly. So for example, if your minimum target is 60%, we could charge to 60% using any or both sources, and then up to 100% using only solar power.
Once your charging session is finished, the Ohme app will show you an estimate of how much grid electricity you avoided and how much you saved by using solar power. Make sure your tariff details are up to date in the app for the most accurate information. Learn how to keep your tariff up to date in our help article, here.
We appreciate your interest in our solar charging feature. However, certain requirements need to be met for the feature to function properly. If you’re finding that you’re not eligible, it could be due to one of the following reasons:
If your charger was installed prior to January 2023, it may not contain the necessary components required for the solar charging feature to work. The technology required for this feature was not standard in chargers installed before this date.
A CT (Current Transformer) clamp is a crucial component for the solar charging feature. While it’s not a requirement for charging, it is essential for Ohme to charge with solar power. If your installation does not have a CT clamp, you will need to have one fitted.
The CT clamp will need to be located on a live cable as close to the meter box as possible.
If you find that your system falls into one of these categories, please contact your installer to discuss potential upgrades or modifications to be compatible with the solar charging feature. We’re committed to helping you transition to this innovative and sustainable energy solution.
Ohme chargers can’t tell where your electricity is coming from, so if your home battery is set to discharge while your EV is plugged in, Ohme may use power from the battery. To prevent this, set your home battery not to discharge when using this feature.
If Ohme is using too much grid power, it could be for one of these reasons:
The amount of grid energy used depends on the solar charging option and Grid control settings you select. With Solar Boost, Ohme uses a mix of solar and grid power to reach your chosen target and ready by time, using more grid energy if solar generation is low. If you select the “Use grid and solar power” setting, charging can begin with as little as 0.72kW of solar power, topped up with up to 0.72kW of grid power. If you choose “Only charge with solar when there is enough excess,” charging will only start when your solar generation reaches at least 1.44kW, and no grid energy will be used outside scheduled targets. With Solar Max, charging only happens when your selected solar threshold is met, so if you choose solar only, no grid energy will be used, but if you allow grid and solar, up to half of the energy may come from the grid whenever solar generation is low.
The amount of grid energy used depends on the solar charging option and Grid control settings you select. With Solar Boost, Ohme uses a mix of solar and grid power to reach your chosen target and ready by time, using more grid energy if solar generation is low. If you select the “Use grid and solar power” setting, charging can begin with as little as 0.72kW of solar power, topped up with up to 0.72kW of grid power. If you choose “Only charge with solar when there is enough excess,” charging will only start when your solar generation reaches at least 1.44kW, and no grid energy will be used outside scheduled targets. With Solar Max, charging only happens when your selected solar threshold is met, so if you choose solar only, no grid energy will be used, but if you allow grid and solar, up to half of the energy may come from the grid whenever solar generation is low.
| Use grid and solar power | Only charge with solar when there is enough excess | |
|---|---|---|
| Solar Boost | ✅ Scheduled charging can use grid power ✅ Unscheduled charging can use grid power ☀️ Solar charging starts if more than 3A of solar is available. Any extra power needed will come from the grid (no matter your price cap). |
✅ Scheduled charging can use solar power only ❌ Unscheduled charging cannot use grid power ☀️ Solar charging starts if more than 6A of solar is available. No grid power will be used. |
| Solar Max | ❌ Scheduled charging will not use grid power ✅ Unscheduled charging can use grid power ☀️ Solar charging starts if more than 3 |
❌ Scheduled charging will not use grid power ❌ Unscheduled charging cannot use grid power ☀️ Solar charging starts if more than 6A of solar is available. No grid power will be used. |
A collection of solar panels is referred to as an “array”. Typically, a larger array will provide more solar power, and therefore require less grid energy to charge your car. It will depend, however, on the battery capacity of your EV – a larger battery will take longer to charge from a small array versus a larger one. Generally speaking, a solar array of between four and ten panels is sufficient to generate enough electricity to charge the average EV without drawing a single watt-hour from the grid.
When charging with Solar Boost, Ohme keeps track of how much solar energy is being used and will adjust the charging schedule to use less grid power whenever possible. The aim is to maximise the use of excess solar power to charge your car. Sometimes, this means your car might be charged a bit more than your set target, but Ohme will never go above the battery limit you have set in your car’s settings.
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