Formal support for multiple EVs or wall chargers is planned but is not currently supported by the app. In the interim, if you have multiple EVs there are some work arounds you may wish to try. None of these methods have been tested at length, they’re not ideal, but they may be better than waiting.
Multiple Tesla EVs with a single charger at a single location
Setup guide
- Create a single Charge HQ user account
- Connect your Tesla account.
- Ensure you configure each vehicle with a scheduled charge on the vehicle and enable the override in the app.
- Each time you plug an EV into the wall charger, to charge that EV from solar you will need to open the Charge HQ app and ensure that the app is currently set to control the connected EV.
If it’s not, the EV won’t charge from solar, but it will charge based on the schedule configured in the vehicle when this next occurs.
Notes
- The main constraint with this method is that you need to remember to switch to the connected vehicle each time you plug in during the day.
Multiple Tesla EVs with multiple wall chargers at a single location
Setup guide
- Create two Charge HQ accounts, one for each vehicle. You’ll need to use a different email address for each (noting you can use the +suffix, e.g. john.doe+secondEV@gmail.com)
- In each account configure your solar data source.
- Connect your Tesla account to each Charge HQ account.
- In each account, ensure a different EV is selected for control on the home screen of the app
- Choose one EV to have priority over any available solar. For the piority EV ensure the solar tracking margin is set to 0 kW. For the second EV, set the solar tracking margin to be 0.3 kW (or higher). This will ensure that there is sufficient excess solar for the priority EV to access it first and avoid the two independent accounts fighting over available excess.
Notes
- Since you can only remain logged in to the app as a single user on a single device, you can either: a) set the accounts up on two phones, one per phone, or b) login to the first account using the mobile app, and login to the second account via the webapp on the same mobile phone.
- This approach will cause Charge HQ to poll your solar data source twice as often as it needs to. When a vehicle is not home or has finished charging this only occurs once per hour though.
Multiple supported wall chargers at a single location
This guide applies to sites where Charge HQ controls the wall charger. It generally won’t apply to Tesla EVs.
Setup guide
- Create two Charge HQ accounts, one for each vehicle. You’ll need to use a different email address for each (noting you can use the +suffix, e.g. john.doe+secondEV@gmail.com)
- Configure the corresponding wall charger on each account
- In each account configure your solar data source.
- Choose one wall charger to have priority over any available solar. On the priority wall charger ensure solar tracking margin is set to 0 kW. On the non-priority wall charger, in the Charge HQ app, set the solar tracking margin to be 0.3 kW (or higher). This will ensure that there is sufficient excess solar for the priority wall charger to access it first and avoid the two independent accounts fighting over available excess.
- Configure scheduled charging as required for each wall charger.
Notes
- Since you can only remain logged in to the app as a single user on a single device, you can either: a) set the accounts up on two phones, one per phone, or b) login to the first account using the mobile app, and login to the second account via the webapp on the mobile phone.
- This approach will cause Charge HQ to poll your solar data source twice as often as it needs to, but only whilst a vehicle is plugged in to one of the chargers and has not completed charging.
One Tesla EV, one Smart Wall Charger with a Powerwall at a single location
When you have multiple EVs where only one of them is a Tesla and you have a Powerwall (as your source of solar data) a further work around is required.
Setup guide
- Create one primary Charge HQ account
- Connect your Tesla account
- Use this account to control charging of your Tesla EV
- Create a secondary Charge HQ account with a different email address
- Connect your Smart Charger to this account
- In the Tesla app, under Powerwall -> Settings -> Manage Access, Add a Member and supply the same email address you used for your secondary Charge HQ account
- In the Charge HQ app, under Settings -> My Equipment -> Add Solar / Battery Equipment, connect the Tesla account that you created in the previous step (with your secondary email address).
- Choose one EV to have priority over any available solar. For the priority EV ensure the solar tracking margin is set to 0 kW. For the second EV, set the solar tracking margin to be 0.3 kW (or higher). This will ensure that there is sufficient excess solar for the priority EV to access it first and avoid the two independent accounts fighting over available excess.
Notes
- The separate Tesla app login is currently required as Charge HQ will always attempt to control charging on a Tesla EV if it finds it in a connected account. By sharing only your Powerwall with a separate login, it provides the required visibility of your home solar, battery and grid usage, without enabliing access to the Tesal EV on the account that is to be used with the Smart Charger (and non Tesla EV).
