What makes Zappi different from a standard EV charger
Most home EV chargers do one thing: they push electricity from the grid into your car at a fixed rate. Zappi does something fundamentally different. It monitors your entire home energy situation in real time and decides where to get the electricity from before it puts it in your car.
The Zappi charger is made by myenergi, a UK company based in Lincolnshire. It ships with a current clamp sensor that monitors your home's electricity import and export. When you have solar panels generating power, Zappi can see exactly how much surplus is available and route it directly into your EV instead of exporting it to the grid at a lower rate.
That energy monitoring capability is the foundation of everything. It enables three distinct charging modes that cover three different scenarios: solar-first charging, grid-cheap charging, and solar-only charging. Combined with Agile integration, these modes give you more control over your EV's energy source than any other consumer charger on the market.
The myenergi hub connects Zappi to your home WiFi and to myenergi's cloud platform. The hub is what allows the Agile price integration to work. It also enables future expansion: myenergi makes a home battery (Libbi) and an energy diverter (Eddi), all of which connect to the same ecosystem and can be managed together.
Zappi is built in the UK. For households that want both solar integration and Agile price response, it is unambiguously the best-positioned product available in 2026.
Setting up Zappi with Octopus Agile price signals
The initial setup takes approximately 30 minutes and is straightforward if you work through it step by step.
Step 1: Install the charger. Zappi must be installed by a qualified electrician. The installation should include the CT clamp sensor fitted around your main incoming supply cable so Zappi can monitor whole-home energy flow. Budget approximately £1,000-1,200 all-in including the charger unit and installation.
Step 2: Connect to the myenergi hub. The hub is a small device that connects to your router via ethernet or WiFi. Once connected, it discovers your Zappi on the home network and links them together.
Step 3: Download the myenergi app. Create an account and add your hub serial number. The app will populate with your Zappi's live status.
Step 4: Enter your Octopus API credentials. In the myenergi app, navigate to the tariff settings section. Enter your Octopus API key (found in your Octopus account online portal). Select Octopus Agile as your tariff. The app will begin pulling live half-hourly price data directly from Octopus.
Step 5: Configure your schedule. Set your departure time and your minimum charge level target. The app uses the live Agile data to build an overnight charge schedule that fills your battery to your target level using the cheapest available slots before your departure.
After this one-time setup, the scheduling runs automatically every night. When Octopus publishes the next day's prices at approximately 4pm, the myenergi system updates the schedule for that night.
Zappi's three modes explained
Understanding Zappi's three modes is essential to getting the most from it. Each mode is suited to a different situation.
Fast mode is the simplest. Zappi draws the maximum available rate from the grid (up to 7.4kW on a single-phase installation) and charges your car as quickly as possible. It ignores solar generation, grid price signals, and everything else. Use Fast mode when you genuinely need a full charge quickly, such as before an unexpected long journey.
Eco mode prioritises solar self-consumption first. When your solar panels produce more electricity than your home is consuming, that surplus flows into your car instead of being exported. When solar drops below what the car needs, Zappi supplements from the grid. This mode keeps your car charging continuously but minimises the grid draw to only what solar cannot cover.
Eco+ mode is solar-only charging. Zappi waits until your solar generation exceeds a minimum threshold before it draws any grid power at all. The car charges more slowly (or pauses entirely on cloudy days), but every unit that goes into the battery comes from your own roof. In summer months, with a well-sized solar installation, Eco+ mode can provide 50-70% of all EV charging from zero-cost solar energy.
In practice, most Zappi users develop a routine: Eco+ or Eco mode during the day to capture solar, then Agile-scheduled grid charging overnight to top up whatever solar didn't provide. This two-phase approach minimises total charging cost across all conditions.
Combining Zappi and solar: the setup for near-free charging
For a household with a 4kW solar installation and an EV, the optimised Zappi-Agile setup works roughly like this.
During the day, Zappi runs in Eco or Eco+ mode. The solar panels generate peak output from approximately 9am to 3pm on a clear day. Any solar surplus above household consumption charges the car. On a good summer day, this might add 20-30kWh to the battery completely free of charge.
At 4pm, Octopus publishes the following day's Agile prices. The myenergi system ingests these and builds an overnight schedule. If the car needs another 20kWh to reach the target level, the system identifies the cheapest two-and-a-half hours of overnight slots and schedules charging into those windows.
In winter, solar contribution drops to 5-10% of total EV charging. In summer, it can reach 60-70%. The Agile overnight rate handles the rest year-round. The blended annual charging cost for a 12,000-mile EV driver with a 4kW solar system using Zappi on Agile is typically under £100 per year, compared to £957 on the price cap standard tariff.
Check AgileAlert's live price dashboard each evening to see exactly what tonight's overnight rates look like and verify your Zappi is scheduled into the cheapest windows.
Zappi, Agile, and a home battery: the full optimisation
If you add a home battery to the Zappi-Agile setup, the savings potential increases further. myenergi's own Libbi battery integrates directly with Zappi through the hub ecosystem, but any well-integrated home battery can work with the right configuration.
The optimised three-way setup works on a simple principle. The battery charges overnight from Agile at the cheapest rates, typically 2-4p between midnight and 6am. During the peak evening window (5pm to 8pm), when Agile prices can reach 30-50p, the home draws from the battery instead of the grid. The car, meanwhile, has been charged by solar during the day and topped up by the battery or cheap Agile rates overnight.
The practical result is that your EV rarely draws grid power at high-price moments. Total annual energy cost across home electricity and EV charging can fall by 40-60% compared to a standard tariff household with the same consumption.
This level of optimisation requires investment (a home battery typically adds £5,000-10,000 to the setup), but for households with solar already installed, the incremental addition of Agile scheduling via Zappi is extremely cost-effective.
Real-world numbers: what a Zappi and Agile user saves annually
The annual saving figures for a Zappi-Agile household depend heavily on solar contribution, mileage, and how consistently the system is optimised. These are realistic estimates based on typical UK households in 2026.
A household driving 12,000 miles per year on an EV with a 3.5 miles/kWh efficiency uses approximately 3,429 kWh annually for charging. On a standard price cap tariff at 26.11p, that's £895 per year at home (assuming 100% home charging).
The same driver on Agile overnight rates, averaging 4p for 70% of their charging and solar covering the other 30%, pays approximately £96 per year for home charging. The annual saving versus standard tariff is roughly £800. Versus public charging at an average of 35p/kWh, the saving is over £1,100 per year.
These numbers explain why Zappi is, for solar households, one of the most financially compelling home energy purchases available. The payback period on the charger itself (at roughly £1,100 installed) is approximately 12-18 months.