An owner installs a charger, plugs in every evening and charges at whatever the standard rate is. Eight months later somebody mentions overnight tariffs and he works out what he has spent unnecessarily.
The hardware was always capable. Nobody spent ten minutes showing him how to use it.
The checklist
Cover these at handover and the customer gets what they actually bought.
1. Explain that timing is where the saving is
Not the charger, the car or the cable. The hour at which it charges. It is the single most valuable thing an installer can tell somebody.
2. Explain what scheduling does
Setting the unit to charge within defined hours, automatically, every night, without anybody thinking about it. Most owners never turn it on.
3. Show them how to set it
On the day, on their phone, with them doing it rather than watching. A schedule set at handover runs for years.
4. Warn about two schedules
That the car and the charger can both hold one, and that conflicting settings are the most common reason a car is not charged in the morning.
5. Explain the app situation
Which app, whether an account is needed, what it does and what happens if the connection drops. Owners need to know charging still works without it.
6. Explain the connectivity requirement
Whether the unit needs wifi, how far it is from the router and what happens with a weak signal. A charger in a detached garage frequently has none.
7. Suggest they compare tariffs
Without recommending one. Saying plainly that tariffs with cheaper overnight periods exist, and that they should compare their own options, is useful and neutral.
8. Explain what a tariff change involves
That switching is a matter for the supplier, may need a particular meter and takes time. Owners should not assume it happens the week they ask.
9. Explain how much charging they actually need
Most daily mileage replaces in a few hours, so a cheap overnight window is usually more than sufficient, which is the arithmetic in charging speed questions owners get wrong.
10. Explain the boost option
How to charge immediately when the schedule would not, for an unexpected journey. Owners need the override and frequently cannot find it.
11. Explain any load management interaction
How scheduling works alongside a supply limit, particularly in a household with a second car.
12. Explain solar interaction where relevant
Whether the unit can use surplus generation, what it requires and what it realistically achieves. Say what is possible rather than overselling it.
13. Leave written instructions
A single page with the schedule they set, how to change it and what to do if it fails. It prevents a support call in six months.
14. Answer setup questions after handover
Because the questions arise at eleven at night when something has not charged, which is the availability in EV charger installation questions homeowners ask.
Getting started
Set the schedule with the customer at handover, leave written instructions and answer setup questions at any hour, asking suppliers the questions in AI chatbot security questions to ask a vendor, alongside the positioning detail in cable route and parking questions installers must ask. SpideyChat for electricians answers from your published pages. Try SpideyChat on your own site, or read about answers on the features page.