[Elken]

Dear Friends

My name is Artem. I represent a group of engineers who invented chRget — universal EV charger with 32 plug adaptors and the software that can change charging parameters in real time.

Could you please have a look at our prototype? What you think could be added to it? What functions or properties you think there should be in the EV charger? Your answers would really help us to make the ideal charger.

A couple of days ago

we launched a Kickstarter project. Here is the link CHRGET: Self-Adjusting Universal EV Charger

We invite you to become our backer and we will be very grateful if you could spread a word about our charger in Fb, Twitter, etc. to help us reach the goal.

32 adaptors to any power outlet in the world make the body visible, not lying on the floor.
Adaptors once connected and the body make the whole entity.

chRget uses geolocation and automatically sets optimal charging parameters according to each country voltage, frequency and other properties.

chRget automatically adjusts the power if the voltage is not stable.
It also will lower the power in case the circuit is overheated to prevent damages of wiring.

On the top of that - full operation with mobile app, normalizing power between 2 chRgets, flawless quality.

BTW we were selected for technical support to the first Rally through Asia and Europe – the Electric Marathon 2020 Star Race – which starts at Expo Dubai and finishes in Monte Carlo.

Please support us on our Kickstarter page CHRGET: Self-Adjusting Universal EV Charger

 

[Maui]

Interesting - particularly that you can go from 1Ph right up to 3Ph 22kW in a compact unit.

How does the app control work? Do you have some sort of mobile network / cellular connection in the charger for connectivity or does it depend on a Wi-Fi connection?

Some thoughts around app control - would be to have an API that 3rd party software or integrations can use, like a home automation platform. Even better if the device can provide metrics / data back such as power consumption, state of charge etc.
On top of this, as it could be a competitor to Ohme - bring in other data to the app / charging timing like the car's State of Charge, and utilise pricing from electricity suppliers that have agile / 1/2 hourly pricing like Octopus Energy.

Also a good consideration would be around detection for solar power generation, and the charger be able to detect and charge from a PV array at an appropriate rate.

 

[mikegs]

It's very impressive from what I have seen.
It's clearly a premium product, so in answer to this:

What functions or properties you think there should be in the EV charger?

... All of them. (Maui mentions obvious ones above.)

I can't imagine many people will travel all round the world with their car, so how many adapters do you put in each set? Or will people have to buy the ones they want?

Cellular seems essential for the app and security to work when out in the world, but how will this cope with different country's systems? i.e. roaming. There will be a cost for that which someone has to pay.

 

[cDy]

It looks a nice technical product, but why would I buy it?

• Across Europe I charge from rapid CCS chargers, all with fixed cables.
• If I want to charge at a slower rate I have a type 2 cable for 3 phase AC charging.
• If I want to charge from a socket I have a suitable, far cheaper, portable EVSE with 2 waterproof adaptors for EU sockets and 'commando' industrial sockets.

I'd get into difficulties if I wanted to take my EV to the US, say, and use a rapid charger, but I don't think you are providing a solution to that?

There may be a few people wanting to travel the world who would benefit, but doesn't that limit sales volume? Few portable EVSE get sold as it is.

 

[JohnMars]

Yes it’s very impressive, but expensive, and I’d worry about longevity.

Im so ultra aware now of gadgets that are too “app” dependent, I’d need to know it was still going to work if your company goes bust or if bought out by someone. In addition I find I am buying much simpler things as I get older as “less to go wrong”.

As said above I’m not sure I’d need one as set up a similar ”charge anywhere” solution I carry in my Leaf at all times, it’s cost me £40 for all the bits, and also extends my evse range to 35m.

I’m not going to take my car across the globe so don’t need multiple plug adapters and even in Europe I could use my current evse.

The remote functionality might appeal to some, but my Nissans app already lets me stop and start remotely.

 

[mikegs]

Nikki at Transport Evolved has been loaned a unit to trial and has just put a video out with 'first impressions'.

 

[Maui]

Bjorn also provided a prototype review: HERE

Impressions from seeing this review:

• Concerns around providing a prototype that clearly cannot handle 7kW at this stage. Looks like he could not select anything higher than 16A. In fact - the all the YouTube videos I've watched barely break 3kW / 13A.
• I am somewhat unnerved by the fact that they advertise this as a 'smart' charger but provide no means for the reviewers to test that smart functionality which in my opinion is a huge oversight.
• Delay charging, but no option for charge for - i.e. delay for 4 hours, charge for 3 hours etc.
• Wi-Fi only, no cellular - so all that alerting around theft / smart notification is utterly useless when you are using this in public.

I feel this company were far too early to get this prototype out to testers and raises some serious concerns around what the unit could actually do - particularly how they are going to manage to push 3 phase / 22 kW though such a compact unit when comparable chargers are significantly larger.

Prototyping aside, if there were limitations at this stage ChrGet could have had reviewers state this in as some sort of script / disclaimer during their review videos. As good as the product may look, I would be very skeptical of investing on Kickstarter given what I've seen.

I would really like this to get in the hands of someone truly electrical minded so they can provide their thoughts on how this can physically perform in it's form factor to change my mind.

 

[wyx087]

Personally, I'm afraid I don't see any use for this "charger". It looks like it's designed to replace the Type 2 cable and slower emergency charger. The first is a very simple device that doesn't need replacing, you don't need another charger on top of the Type 2 socket. When out using public Type 2, most people just want it to charge as quickly as possible, a simple cable does the job. The latter is bundled with most EV's, and replacing it is rarely on top of people's mind considering it's rarely used.

If you want to sell a smart charger, do smart home/workplace charger properly. If you want to sell a charging cable, the market is already saturated.


For smart home chargers, it's not just enough to have smart phone app. This is like cheap wifi enabled plugs that doesn't talk to other pieces of tech within your home, it does not integrate into smart home. It's not fit for purpose (purpose being a smart home project)

What you need is full integration into current smart home protocols (MQTT, Homekit, etc) to allow full control as well as charge monitoring by any smart home controller. Think OpenEVSE - Electric Vehicle Charging Solutions Most important for any "smart" home automation hardware is to allow local control, a tech company may last 5-10 years, but its product may be serviceable for 20 years, so it must not be reliant on the "cloud".

 

[mikegs]

Personally, I'm afraid I don't see any use for this "charger".

I agree a bit for the UK, and same probably applies to some/many other markets. But I think it could be useful where charging infrastructure is limited but other power outlets are available. This may be the case in Ukraine where the device appears to be developed and made, and thus prompted its creation.

 

[Elken]

Interesting - particularly that you can go from 1Ph right up to 3Ph 22kW in a compact unit.

How does the app control work? Do you have some sort of mobile network / cellular connection in the charger for connectivity or does it depend on a Wi-Fi connection?

Some thoughts around app control - would be to have an API that 3rd party software or integrations can use, like a home automation platform. Even better if the device can provide metrics / data back such as power consumption, state of charge etc.
On top of this, as it could be a competitor to Ohme - bring in other data to the app / charging timing like the car's State of Charge, and utilise pricing from electricity suppliers that have agile / 1/2 hourly pricing like Octopus Energy.

Also a good consideration would be around detection for solar power generation, and the charger be able to detect and charge from a PV array at an appropriate rate.

Thnak you for your questions. App control uses bluetooth and wi-fi interface. The device can show the current consumption, the total consumption, the state of charge on the display and in the app. Regarding the connection to 3rd party software - we can easily do that and we plan to make such integrations in the final device.

 

[Elken]

It's very impressive from what I have seen.
It's clearly a premium product, so in answer to this:... All of them. (Maui mentions obvious ones above.)

I can't imagine many people will travel all round the world with their car, so how many adapters do you put in each set? Or will people have to buy the ones they want?

Cellular seems essential for the app and security to work when out in the world, but how will this cope with different country's systems? i.e. roaming. There will be a cost for that which someone has to pay.

People will be free to purchase the adaptors they like. For example for US I would buy Nema 14-50, Nema 5-15, dryer, some of the L adapters, etc.

We do not plan to make the chRget cellulary connected. It will connect throught Bluetooth to the smartfone that will be cellulary connected to Internet.

 

[Elken]

It looks a nice technical product, but why would I buy it?

• Across Europe I charge from rapid CCS chargers, all with fixed cables.
• If I want to charge at a slower rate I have a type 2 cable for 3 phase AC charging.
• If I want to charge from a socket I have a suitable, far cheaper, portable EVSE with 2 waterproof adaptors for EU sockets and 'commando' industrial sockets.

I'd get into difficulties if I wanted to take my EV to the US, say, and use a rapid charger, but I don't think you are providing a solution to that?

There may be a few people wanting to travel the world who would benefit, but doesn't that limit sales volume? Few portable EVSE get sold as it is.

Good question cDy! It depends on the routes you usually travel and the lifestyle in general. We agree that our charger will not be suitable for everyone. I think our charger will fit for those who

1) Travel a lot in their EV even inside borders of their own country, sometimes using routes where there is no or less CCS fast charging outlets.
2) Would like to have the backup emergency charger in the trunk that can charge the car out of the Schuko, 3-pin, 5-pin, italian socket, etc.
3) Would like not to think about what amperage to choose - our charger will automatically reduce amperage if the voltage goes down.

Also our charger replaces the Type 2 -Type 2 cable because it has the Type 2 adaptor.

 

[Elken]

Yes it’s very impressive, but expensive, and I’d worry about longevity.

Im so ultra aware now of gadgets that are too “app” dependent, I’d need to know it was still going to work if your company goes bust or if bought out by someone. In addition I find I am buying much simpler things as I get older as “less to go wrong”.

As said above I’m not sure I’d need one as set up a similar ”charge anywhere” solution I carry in my Leaf at all times, it’s cost me £40 for all the bits, and also extends my evse range to 35m.

I’m not going to take my car across the globe so don’t need multiple plug adapters and even in Europe I could use my current evse.

The remote functionality might appeal to some, but my Nissans app already lets me stop and start remotely.

Thank you for your questions, John.

It is not app dependent because even without the app it can be plugged to any outlet and it can lower the amperage if the voltage goes down, however as I wrote earlier we understand that this charger does not fit for everyone.

We already sell similar product here in Ukraine in the more simplified body so we know all the angles of how to make this thing reliable.

 

[Elken]

Bjorn also provided a prototype review: HERE

Impressions from seeing this review:

• Concerns around providing a prototype that clearly cannot handle 7kW at this stage. Looks like he could not select anything higher than 16A. In fact - the all the YouTube videos I've watched barely break 3kW / 13A.
• I am somewhat unnerved by the fact that they advertise this as a 'smart' charger but provide no means for the reviewers to test that smart functionality which in my opinion is a huge oversight.
• Delay charging, but no option for charge for - i.e. delay for 4 hours, charge for 3 hours etc.
• Wi-Fi only, no cellular - so all that alerting around theft / smart notification is utterly useless when you are using this in public.

I feel this company were far too early to get this prototype out to testers and raises some serious concerns around what the unit could actually do - particularly how they are going to manage to push 3 phase / 22 kW though such a compact unit when comparable chargers are significantly larger.

Prototyping aside, if there were limitations at this stage ChrGet could have had reviewers state this in as some sort of script / disclaimer during their review videos. As good as the product may look, I would be very skeptical of investing on Kickstarter given what I've seen.

I would really like this to get in the hands of someone truly electrical minded so they can provide their thoughts on how this can physically perform in it's form factor to change my mind.

Maui, I can not agree with you. Our charger easily handles 7-22 kWts not. We already sell this charger just without app, adaptors and in a more simplified body in Ukraine and charge all Nissan Leafs at 7 kWts and Renault Zoe at 22 kWts. The reason why Bjorn could not select higher than 16A is that he plugged our 3-pin adaptor to 16A adaptor. Main smart function is that the charger will automatically reduce amperage if the voltage goes down. The charger does not have to have the app to do that. But you are right that it would be much better if we could provide the app to youtube bloggers at this stage.
Thank you for the advice about delay charging. We did not consider to implement the time of actual charging because the most often scenario is that if you know that in 2 hours there will be lower rate you just put 2 hours delay and after that the car starts charging and will be fully charged before the rate will go up in the morning. However maybe if we are talking about Jag I-Pace maybe you are right because to make it fully charged with 7 kWts you might need like 11 hours or so. Regarding wi-fi only - it will use wi-fi and bluetooth. For exaple when you come to your office parking you connect chRget to your office Wi-Fi and if stolen it will send notification to the app.

Again I can not agree with you that we are far too early because as I wrote earlier we already sell almost the same device but in simplified body Зарядное устройство Transgreen Type 1, 7кВт, PRO, Wi-Fi, Nissan, Tesla, Chevrolet, Fiat, BMW

We sell also 22 kWt devices in the same compact body and they work without problems.