EV charging with Autopilot
This page collects tips that are specific to EV charging with Autopilot.
Smart Autopilot charging via charger vs EV
If you have both an EV and an EV charger connected, activate Autopilot on only one of them. The app shows a warning for this case. Having Autopilot active on both may lead to unexpected behavior; future app versions will improve this.
Most EVs can only be controlled as charging on or off, usually at a fixed charging power such as 11 kW or the maximum allowed by your installation. If your expected charging power is different from the default of 11 kW, you can adjust this in the expected charging rate setting.
An EV charger can usually vary charging power by changing the charging current. Many chargers can also switch between one and three phases. This is especially useful in Solar Mode, where the charger can follow excess solar power more closely.
EVs parked in an underground garage often cannot be triggered remotely, even if they have Wi-Fi. The wake-up signal commonly goes through the vehicle’s cellular connection. If there is no cellular reception in the garage, Zerofy may not be able to wake the vehicle. This is true for many brands, including Tesla.
For these reasons, the EV charger is often the more reliable and more flexible option if it is available and connected to Zerofy.
The disadvantage of controlling charging through the EV charger is that the charger does not know the vehicle’s state of charge. The connection protocols used for AC home charging today generally do not send this information. Future versions of Zerofy will be able to combine the best of both worlds.
Important: if the car has a maximum charge limit set in the vehicle or in the vehicle manufacturer’s app, Zerofy currently does not change that limit. This is not possible for all brands, and where it is possible it will be added in the future. If the vehicle’s own charge limit is lower than the target SoC configured in Zerofy for Smart Autopilot charging, charging will stop at the lower limit set on the car. The car always takes precedence and there is no way to override this from Zerofy.
Specific Autopilot behaviors
In Smart Mode, Autopilot stops charging at the desired departure time, even if the target SoC has not been fully reached. Usually the target SoC should be reached if the charging plan is correct, but the departure time is still the stop condition.