An EV charging from the grid, at the highest rate
Julian, owner of Bright HelpLast checked 18 October 2026
At a house in Bellbrae, the EV charger was reading the meter the wrong way round, so the EV was charging from the grid in the evening, at the highest rate, instead of from the solar panels when power is free.
It was fixed on the day, and it’s worth ~$490 a year to them.
What it was costing
The charger was meant to use only power the panels had spare. Reading the meter backwards, it took power the house was buying for power the panels were sending out, so it charged when the house was buying: in the evening, at the highest rate of the day.
The ~$490 assumes about 10,000 km a year, or 200 km a week.
How they use it now
The charger is set to a mode that charges only from spare solar, and the plan says to leave the EV plugged in whenever it’s home. When they need a full battery for a trip, there’s a boost setting.
Is yours doing the same?
A battery or an EV charger set up the wrong way can work against the panels, and nothing on the bill says so. Most chargers have an app that shows what the house is pulling from the grid or sending back at any moment, and it’s often never set up.
Look at it one evening with the EV plugged in. If you don’t have a home battery and it says the house is sending power to the grid after dark, the reading is the wrong way round.
Where I come in
It’s the kind of thing you only catch standing in front of it, knowing what to look for. I read your bills before I visit, and at the house I go through the charger, the inverter and the plan as one system, against how your house actually uses power.
The rest of what I found at this house is in their plan: what you get from a consult.