Evnex E2 EV Charger Review – An Honest Review by a Real Electrician

Evnex are designers and manufacturers of Smart EV Chargers and hail from our neighbours across the ditch – New Zealand. First established in 2014 they are making quite a splash as an EV charging solution. So much so, that Polestar (a Volvo subsidiary) have partnered with the kiwi company and nominated them as the preferred charger for Australian households.

A Choice of Two Models

Evnex have two choices of chargers on offer in Australia at the moment – the E2 and X22 – starting from around $1395 and $1995 respectively. The E2 is their single phase, 7.4kW model, whereas the X22 is their 3-phase 22kW version. Both are manufactured in the New Zealand and have a host of smart charging features to protect your home, harvest surplus solar and minimise your environmental footprint. For the purpose of this review however, we will predominantly focusing on the E2.

The Evnex E2 EV Charger boasts an IP55 Rating meaning it can be safely installed outdoors too. It is available with a 5m or 8m Type 2 Charger cable and comes in a range of 4 colours (the ‘Snow’ Colour is restricted to indoor installation however).

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What We Are Loving

Ease of Installation

We love how simple these are to install and set up for our customers. The E2 Chargers are shipped out pre-registered to their owners. This means once we install the unit all we have to do is connect it to Wi-Fi and commission the unit. If the Wi-Fi doesn’t reach the far corners of the carport or garage, it also has a backup SIM Card for connectivity. Believe me, this saves a ton of headaches (Zappi, I’m looking at you!).

In addition to this, the installation of the CT clamp (more on this later) comes specified with a KNX cable that allows the CT clamp cabling to be installed in the same conduit as the 240v feed. This saves a ton of time in installation and removes connectivity issues we have experienced with other chargers that rely on a Bluetooth connection between the Charger and CT clamps.

Local Legends

We love that these are all manufactured in New Zealand and that their phone support has been second to none! We ring their technical line and can typically get a hold of someone in Australia or New Zealand right away.

Solar Harvesting

The E2 is an incredibly smart charger that allows you to charge your EV with surplus solar power or have it charge from solar and then top up from the grid to make sure you’ve always got a full battery. You can also track how much you’ve saved by charging with solar.

Through their app interface you can determine how clean the grid energy is before you decide to start charging.

The charger can be controlled through the app and schedule charging from anywhere in the world due to it’s Wi-Fi connection.

Overload Protection

One of the biggest issues of installing an EV Charger in your home is the possibility of overloading your electricity supply and having the circuit breaker trip, or worse, burning out the incoming cables. The CT Clamps (included with the E2) solves this problem by monitoring the total usage of your household at any given time and then adjusting the rate at which your electric vehicle will charge to protect the incoming supply.

Should I Buy an Evnex E2 EV Charger?

The E2 Home Charger offers great value for money and pretty much every feature you could hope for in a home EV Charger. Having personally installed 100’s of EV Chargers, the E2 is high on my list of recommendations when consulting with homeowners

How Much Does the Evnex E2 Charger Cost?

The RRP of the E2 Single Phase Charger is $1395, however at Plateau Electrical, we do have access to trade discounts as certified installers.

Alternatives to the Evnex E2 Wall Charger

There are a myriad of products popping up on the market now and if you’re looking for something with similar features you could explore the Wallbox, Zappi, Hypervolt, or EVLink

Summary

We love a bit of back and forth with our neighbours across the ditch as much as the next person but credit where credit is due. The Evnex have done a stellar job producing a smart EV charger with a sleek design that solves so many of the pain points we’ve experienced with other chargers on the Australian market. From local support, warranty, pricing, app interface and ease of installation, they’ve ticked all the boxes with the E2!

I would, however, love to see a facelift of the X22 to hopefully reduce it’s size and move away from the ‘industrial’ look of the unit and bring it more in line with the sleek, minimalist appearance of the E2 Home charger.

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