What name would you like to appear in your review?
Olaf
What is the make & model of your charging unit?
Alfen Eve Single Pro-Line
What year did you have your charging unit installed?
2021
Which company installed it and would you recommend them?
Local electrician.
How much did you pay for your unit and installation?
E2,000.
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Why did you purchase this particular unit?
I wanted to have a unit that supports 22kW; that supports unlocking the charger using RFID-cards as well as a mobile app; that has a display showing the current charging power; that is customizable by the user and supports load balancing together with an identical second unit or a solar power panel system.
List 3 or more points that you like about the charging unit.
- display
- customisability
- reliability
- IP55.
List 3 or more points that you don’t like about the charging unit.
- the interface of the computer application (solved by the very new mobile app)
- firmware updates sometimes don’t come with release notes despite major change
- sorry, I can’t think of a third issue I don’t like.
Outline any faults you have experienced with the unit.
5 or 6 days after installation one of my two units just broke down (dark display and no reaction). The technician came quickly and fixed the problem by swapping a central circuit board.
Provide your overall rating for the charging unit.
Tell us about your home charging routine.
I own two EVs (Skoda ENYAQ iV 80 and Tesla Model Y) and two home chargers. My family averages a total of maybe 100 to 150 miles a week with occasional longer trips. I usually charge my car when the SoC of any of the two cars has dropped below 40% and stop charging at the recommended 80% to not put any unnecessary stress on the battery.
This results in usually one charge per week since both cars have a relatively similar and long range. Typically that charge happens during daytime unless I am planning on going on a long distance trip. Then of course, the respective car gets charged to 100% during the night before the trip.
If you were buying a new charging unit now, what would you buy and why?
I would buy the exact same charging units again: 2 x Alfen Eve Single Pro-Line because I am quite happy with what I have and wouldn’t want to risk getting disappointed with any other model. The customisability and flexibility of this particular model is awesome, the load balancing works perfectly (to not overstress the city’s powerlines to the house by charging with 2x 22kW at the same time) and although this unit is awesome for tech nerds like me, the day to day use is perfectly simple.
Connect the cable to the car, activate the charge on the unit by your preferred method (if at all, you can also set the unit to charge without authorization if it is inside a garage, for example) and unplug the car when the charge has finished. Couldn’t be any easier in my opinion.
Tell us about your electricity provider and tariff. Would you recommend them?
It’s a local German provider and won’t help anybody not living in the exact same area, sorry.
Are you part of a charger-sharing scheme for those who don’t have their own charger?
No. But I’ve given my neighbours the option to charge at one of my units when they had visitors with an EV.
See other home charging reports here
