Yes. Several UK home chargers, including the myenergi Zappi, Ohme Home Pro, and Hypervolt Home 3, can connect to your solar panel system and automatically route surplus daytime solar generation into your car instead of exporting it to the grid.
Below, we explain how solar matching actually works, compare the main solar aware chargers on the market, and cover what it means for your electricity bills.
How Solar Matching Actually Works
A solar matching, or "eco mode", charger uses a current transformer (CT) clamp fitted at your consumer unit, or a wireless sensor in some setups, to measure your home's solar generation and household electricity use in real time. When your panels are generating more than the house is using, the charger diverts that genuine surplus into the car rather than letting it flow back to the grid for a few pence per unit. When the sun goes in and the surplus drops, most chargers pause or scale back automatically.
The effect is that your car ends up charging largely, or entirely, for free on a sunny day, rather than pulling power from the grid at your normal tariff rate.
Comparing the Main Solar Aware Chargers
myenergi Zappi
The Zappi is the best known solar matching charger in the UK and remains the benchmark for solar households. Its solar diversion is built into the hardware rather than added on top through software, and it typically offers a few charging modes: a fully solar only "Eco+" mode that pauses when there isn't enough surplus, a blended "Eco" mode that tops up with a bit of grid power to keep charging moving, and a standard fast mode for when you just need a full battery regardless of the weather. The Zappi also forms part of a wider myenergi ecosystem, including the Eddi hot water diverter and the Libbi home battery, so it is a strong fit if you are building out a broader home energy setup.
Ohme Home Pro
Ohme's strength lies more in smart tariff integration, particularly with providers like Octopus Energy, where it automatically times charging around the cheapest overnight rates. It does support solar charging via a CT clamp, but this tends to be a secondary feature rather than the core selling point, so it suits households who care more about cheap tariff charging than pure solar self consumption.
Hypervolt Home 3
Hypervolt is known for a polished app and a neat, compact unit, and it offers solar compatible charging modes too. For households whose main priority is genuine, dedicated solar diversion, it generally sits a step behind the Zappi, but it is a strong all rounder if app experience and design matter to you as much as solar performance.
Do I Need a Home Battery Too?
No, a solar matching charger will work with panels alone. A battery is not required, but if you have one, most solar aware chargers and battery systems can be set up to work alongside each other, so the battery is not drained by daytime EV charging and the car draws from genuine surplus first. Our battery storage page covers how a battery fits alongside solar and EV charging if you want to look at the full picture.
What This Means for Your Costs
Solar matching chargers usually cost a little more than a basic smart charger, since the CT clamp and diversion logic are effectively part of the price. It is worth reading our guide on how much a home EV charger costs to install for the full breakdown of what a fitted price actually covers, so you can weigh the premium against the free miles you will get back from your own roof.
What This Looks Like With Fit Solar
Fit Solar supplies and installs the myenergi Zappi, Ohme, and Hypervolt ranges across Stroud and the Cotswolds. If you already have solar panels, or you are planning to install them, we size the charger and the solar array together as one system, rather than bolting the two together afterwards. We have also written a dedicated piece on how many panels you need to charge an EV, which is worth a read if you are still at the planning stage. And if your home has anything other than a standard single phase electricity supply, our guide on whether you need 3 phase power for 22kW charging covers what that means for solar matching chargers too, since the Zappi is available in both single phase and 3 phase versions.
Want to find out how a solar matching charger would work at your property? Book a free site survey with Fit Solar and we'll recommend the right charger for your setup, solar or otherwise.
Frequently Asked Questions
The myenergi Zappi, Ohme Home Pro, and Hypervolt Home 3 all support solar matching to some degree. The Zappi has the most developed, hardware based solar diversion, while Ohme leans more towards smart tariff integration and Hypervolt offers a strong all round package.
Yes. Solar matching chargers work directly with your solar panels using a CT clamp to measure surplus generation. A home battery is not required, though the two can be set up to work well together if you have one.
It monitors your home's solar generation and electricity use in real time through a CT clamp or wireless sensor. When generation exceeds household demand, the surplus is diverted to the car. When it drops, most chargers pause or fall back to a minimum charge rate.
Usually, yes, though the premium is often modest. The hardware needed for genuine solar diversion, particularly on the Zappi, adds to the unit price compared with a basic smart charger without solar features.
In most cases, yes. Both chargers are designed to work as standard smart chargers without solar and can have the CT clamp added later if you install panels afterwards. It is worth confirming with your installer at the time of fitting.
