Setup guides → Everything else

Every other car

Sunplug charges any electric car on solar surplus — a Zoe, an ID.3, a Kona, a Kia, an MG, a van, anything. It does it by controlling your wallbox rather than the car, which means the make and model stop mattering entirely.

Tested against a simulator

Describes routes that exist rather than routes that have been driven. Tesla is proven in the field; anything else goes through a wallbox.

Works withEvery EV, no exceptions

NeedsA wallbox that speaks OCPP

Sees state of chargeNo — that needs the car

Setup timeAbout five minutes

Why through the charger

Car manufacturers' APIs are a mess. Most do not offer one to third parties at all; several that did have closed them; and almost none allow setting the charging current — start and stop, at best.

Surplus tracking needs continuously variable current. You cannot follow a cloud edge by switching a car on and off: each cycle wears a contactor and cars take minutes to settle. So Sunplug controls the socket, where the limit can be varied smoothly, and your car simply takes what is offered.

This is why "any car" is a real claim rather than marketing. Nothing about your car needs to be supported — it just has to charge.

What you need

A wallbox that speaks OCPP 1.6, which nearly every serious one does — Wallbox, Zaptec, ABB, Alfen, Keba, Vestel, go-e and many more. Follow the OCPP guide to connect it.

What you get, and what you do not

Surplus trackingYes, amp by amp

Scheduled off-peak top-upsYes

Blockout windowsYes

BoostYes

Charge to a percentageNo — the charger cannot see inside the car

Departure-time targetsPartly — by time, not by percentage

The missing piece is the battery level. Without it Sunplug cannot say "charge to 80%" — it charges while there is surplus and stops when you tell it to, or when the car does.

Two cars

Two wallboxes work the same way as two Teslas: both charge at once, sharing the surplus inside your supply limit. A mixed household — one Tesla on its own connector, one other car on a wallbox — is fine too.

What about my car's app?

Leave it alone. If your car or its app has its own scheduled charging or departure timer, turn it off — two systems setting the same thing will fight, and the more restrictive one wins.

Coming later

Some manufacturers can report the battery level even where they cannot set the rate. Adding that would give percentage targets on top of wallbox control. If your car's brand matters to you, tell me which — that is how I decide what to build next.

Questions: [email protected].