Fronius review

Fronius EV Charger Reviews

4.8

Based on 16 ratings

Finn's Fronius EV Chargers Review & Verdict

Finn Peacock has been a Chartered Electrical Engineer since 1998, and is ex-CSIRO

Amazing Fronius quality, OCPP and easy integration into the Fronius ecosystem make a Fronius Wattpilot EV charger a no-brainer for those with a Fronius inverter. If you don't have a Fronius inverter then they are a bit overkill.

Fronius EV Chargers: Pros & Cons

  • Portable model you can take with you
  • Great integration with Fronius
  • Great support with Fronius
  • Top quality
  • Smart
  • Costs a few bucks

About Fronius

The Wattpilot EV charger is produced by Fronius. An Austrian company well known in Australia for producing high quality solar inverters. The Wattpilot is their EV charger and comes in three versions. One of them – the Wattpilot Go – is portable and can potentially be used to charge an EV anywhere there's a suitable socket.

The Wattpilot is smart and able to charge EVs solely with surplus power from a rooftop solar system, provided the home has a compatible Fronius inverter and smart meter.

The Wattpilot is likely to suit anyone who wants a smart charger and has or intends to get a Fronius solar inverter. The Go version is also one of the few portable EV chargers on the Australian market. The Wattpilot's drawbacks are its not cheap and – despite coming from a manufacturer with a reputation for making reliable products – it only has a two year warranty.

The Wattpilot's features are briefly outlined below, but if you want more information you can check out these links:

Three versions

The Wattpilot comes in three different versions:

  • Wattpilot Home 11 J
  • Wattpilot Home 22 J
  • Wattpilot Go 22 J AUS

The two Home versions are hardwired and so have to stay at home. Because the Wattpilot Go can be unplugged it can go with you anywhere you like.

All Wattpilots can be used with either single phase or three phase power, but the Wattpilot Home 11 J will be limited in how much power it can provide if installed on a property with single phase power.

Wattpilot Home 11 J: The amount of charging power the Home 11 J can provide depends on whether it's connected to single or 3 phase power.

  • Single phase: 3.7kW
  • 3 phase: 11kW

Most EVs can only accept 11kW or less from a home charger, so the limit on 3 phase power won't usually be a problem. But the 3.7kW limit with single phase power is low, so my advice to most people with single phase power is to not get the Wattpilot Home 11 J.

It has an advantage of being around $100+ cheaper than the other Wattpilots. It can also be connected to lighter duty electrical cable with only a 2.5mm cross section, but for single phase properties I'd recommend upgrading the wiring and getting a Wattpilot Home 22 J.

Wattpilot Home 22 J: This Wattpilot can provide considerably more power.

  • Single phase: 7.4kW
  • 3 phase: 22kW – provided the EV can accept it

While EVs that can accept over 11kW from a home charger are rare, getting a Home 22 J will help future proof your home in case they become more common.

Wattpilot Go 22 J AUS: This can provide the same power as the Home 22 J:

  • Single phase: 7.4kW
  • 3 phase: 22kW – provided the EV can accept it

The Wattpilot Go has a 3 phase 32 amp plug. A small number of households and a larger number of businesses have suitable sockets for it. Even if your home has 3 phase power you are likely to need to have a conveniently located socket installed. To use the Wattpilot Go with single phase power you will need a 32 amp, 3 pin, socket outlet. You will also need to provide your own adaptor cable to use it.

Smart Charging

When used in combination with a compatible Fronius solar inverter and smart meter, the Wattpilot allows an EV to be charged with surplus solar power that would otherwise be sent into the grid for a feed-in tariff. As solar feed-in tariffs are often low this is normally the cheapest way to charge an EV. The minimum amount of surplus solar it can provide to an EV is 1.38kW. Provided your solar system isn't small it will usually produce more than this when the sun is shining.

The Wattpilot Go's portability may make it seem like a good deal for renters, but rental properties with a compatible Fronius inverter and smart meter are rare.

ID Chip

Wattpilots come with one plastic fob that contains an ID chip. If desired, this can allow only the person with the fob to use it. Extra fobs can be ordered and up to 10 used with one Wattpilot.

No Cable

Wattpilots don't come with a charging cable to plug into EVs so you'll have to supply your own – either single phase or three phase as appropriate.

Short Warranty

Fronius has a reputation for making reliable electronics, so I would expect – or at least hope – that a Wattpilot would last for many years. Unfortunately, the Wattpilot only comes with a 2 year warranty. I consider this insufficient given how much it costs. Fortunately, you are protected by Australian Consumer Guarantees and I suggest using them if your Wattpilot fails within a few years of its warranty ending.

Fronius has 1 EV charger in our database

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Price 
Phase 
Power 
App Control 
OCPP1.6 Compatible 
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Product Name
Approx Price
Phase
Rated Power
App Control
OCPP1.6 Compatible
Multi-user Support
Bi-directional
WATTPILOT HOME 22 J
$1,800
Both
22 kW
Yes
Yes
No
No

 

Fronius Reviews (16)

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I have had this portable Fronius Go Wattpilot charger for 12 months.
The app user interface is confusing
Getting an adequate and consistent WiFi connection has been a problem, and the WiFi extender is still a problem, so am not yet getting the benefits of the chargers functionality.
I purchased the Fronius 22J Watt Pilot due to its variable power inputs capacity
Installation, service and price - all good.
Works great and having control via a phone app makes it even better.
Fronius WattPilot works perfectly. But I am having issues with the scheduler in the Solar.wattpilot iPhone app. When I select "Block charging + PV surplus" it starts to charge during blocked times because it thinks that it is using excess solar power. This happens in the evening when there is no sun shining.
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