Project EV EVA-07S-SE PROJECT EV 7KW EV CHARGER

Project EV EVA-07S-SE PROJECT EV 7KW EV CHARGER

Project EV EVA-07S-SE PROJECT EV 7KW EV CHARGER – Project EV offer a wide range of cutting edge electric vehicle charging points, which are highly reliable and affordable. Project EV provide floor and wall-mounted AC and DC electric car chargers and test all their products to European standards.

Project EV EVA-07S-SE PROJECT EV 7KW EV CHARGER is a 7.3kW, single phase EV AC charging station with built-in Pro Earth protection. This extremely reliable charging point enables intelligent power adjustment, emergency stop and WiFi/APP/ethernet monitoring.

The EVA-07S-SE EV 7KW EV CHARGER has a compact, stylish design and a robust, IP65 rated enclosure – making it suitable for use in harsh environments. The charging point utilises a cable lock system and off-peak time shifting for optimum performance. The charger is easy to install and does not require an earth spike.

Project EV EVA-07S-SE PROJECT EV 7KW EV CHARGER – KEY FEATURES

• Type 2 socket
• Pro Earth – no spike required
• Cable lock system – secure tethering of all components
• Integrated RCBO isolation
• Off-peak time shifting

On paper, the Project EV Pro Earth ticks plenty of boxes with built-in earthing (no need for an earth rod), solar integration (so you can charge your EV with solar panels) and smart scheduling via the app.

Project EV EVA-07S-SE PROJECT EV 7KW EV CHARGER

It’s a big unit, but the design isn’t offensive. It has a few unique features, like a red emergency stop button on its side and a cable lock system that turns the untethered unit into a tethered charger for convenience.

The build quality is solid and the engineering inside the unit is good, making it popular with electricians.

Other than its physical size, the biggest downside to the charger is the app, which is one of the worst we have tested. The interface is clunky, data syncs are slow, and the settings panel is hell-bent on sending you down a rabbit hole.

To be honest, you are better off using your EV’s companion app, but this would defeat the point of a smart charger!

Overall, the Project EV has solid hardware let down by a poor app. It’s also hard to look around the size of the unit. The Zappi v2 is even bigger, but the Project EV is 145mm thick, making it the thickest charger we’ve tested.

Project EV Pro Earth versions

The Project EV Pro Earth range includes three main products:

• EVA-07S-S
• EVA-07S-SE – adds PEN fault detection
• EVA-07S-SE RFID – adds RFID
• EVA-07S-SE-4G-SIM-RFID – adds 4G

The EVA-07S-SE RFID has a different front fascia to the EVA-07S-SE and EVA-07S-S, with a top positioned LED status light bar instead of a bottom positioned LED ring and a hand-card graphic that shows you where to scan your card.

Here’s a photo of the non-RFID version:

And here’s a photo of the RFID version:

How easy is the Project EV Pro Earth to install?

The Project EV charger is easy to install with a robust body and high-quality internals, but the big case makes it a bit unwieldy.

The Project EV charger has Type A +6mA DC fault current protection (equivalent to Type B) and built-in earthing, so there is no need for an earth rod.

The built-in earthing protects against over-voltage, under-voltage, short-circuiting and lightning damage, protecting the charger and you.

The charger has lots of room inside to wire things up, a benefit of the bigger-than-normal case. There’s more going on than normal because the charger has a large circuit board and an installation for the emergency stop button.

The charger comes with a wall mounting bracket and the internals are preconfigured, so all the electrician needs to do is connect the terminals up.

The 32A single-phase input offers a max power output of 7.3kW, and the charger has an 8W standby power consumption.

Project EV Pro Earth design

It isn’t small or particularly stylish, but the Project EV charger is well-made.

It’s hard to fall in love with the Project EV charger at first sight because not only is it enormous and fat, but it’s not exactly handsome either.

But let’s look past all that and focus on the good stuff.

The build quality is solid, and the red emergency stop button is a unique feature only possible thanks to the large case.

The charger is available in all-black (my preference because it blends in more). Here’s a photo of the all-black model:

A handy feature is the lockable cable socket, which turns the Project EV charger into a tethered unit, so you can leave your cable plugged in. Most other untethered chargers just lock the cable in place temporarily with a release button.

The charger can be wall-mounted or post-mounted. This installation by Apex Doma Ltd shows what the charger looks like on a post:

There’s no display screen for at-a-glance settings like the ICS W7C, but the LED status light display is at least big and easy to see in all lighting conditions.

For example, the green status indicator is lit continuously during charging, and when it isn’t charging, the LED ring is off. Simples.

Charging speed

The Project EV Pro Earth charges at a maximum speed of 7.3kW on a 32A single-phase supply, adding around 28-miles of range per hour.

Intelligent power adjustment is optional, which requires a power-sampling device on the incoming mains supply cables. This could be a CT clamp or a Meter, depending on the type of electrical installation you go with.

Connectivity

The Project EV Pro Earth comes as standard with Wi-Fi and Ethernet connectivity, and you can add 4G connectivity optionally.

If you want 4G, you need to purchase an EV-4G module for a compatible model as an optional extra, or just get the 4G unit. Additionally, you need a SIM card with data because, unlike the Easee One, there is no integrated eSIM (boo!).

Charging experience

Charging with the project EV Pro Earth is simple. You can use Plug and Play mode for any time charging or schedule charge times in the app. Unfortunately, the app isn’t good, and this affects the overall charger experience.

With the Plug and Play mode, you do not require anything other than your charging cable to start charging – just plug the cable into your car and you’re good to go (the charger will show a steady green light to tell you it’s charging).

With scheduled charging, this is controlled via the app. The app lets you set multiple schedules, customise charging rates, prioritise off-peak charging, and create charging records so you can see and control all your data.

A feature I love is the lockable cable socket, which turns the untethered charger into a tethered unit. Most untethered chargers don’t have a permanent lock, instead temporarily locking the cable in place while it is in use.