The SMA eCharger can charge an electric car in 3 different ways, these are the 3 so-called ‘charging modes’. You would normally use the SMA Energy App to change the charging mode. Below we explain the three charging modes:

1) The default charging mode: PV optimized charging.

Try to use this charging mode as much as possible to get the most out of your system. The best way is to always remember to plug the cable into the car as soon as you get home.

Once the car is plugged in, all surplus solar power will be charged into the car. (Note: if you have activated the ‘Charge release’ setting, you will first have to either hold one of the registered charging cards (RFID cards) in front of the device, or ‘release’ the charging process via the SMA Energy app by swiping the lock to the right. The yellow LED will flash quickly: this means that the charging process has been released).

This mode helps you to retain as much of your own solar power as possible, and at the same time charge your car without using power from the grid. To know how much power has been charged into your car, use the SMA Energy App.

If you want to stop charging, use the SMA Energy app and select ‘charge stop’. The green LED will go out.

2) Charging with target.

With this charging mode, you indicate how much energy must be charged into the car before a certain time. This is the best option if you want to make sure the car is sufficiently charged before you leave, regardless of whether there has been enough sun.

Open your SMA Energy App and click on the icon for electromobility (in the red circle):

Click on the blue button that says ‘Select charging Mode’ and then select the option: ‘Charging with specified target’.

The ‘Charging with specified target’ screen will appear. You can enter two things here: ‘Target time’ (i.e. the time at which charging should be completed) and ‘Charging target’ (i.e. how much energy should be charged).

Enter the time at which the charging process should be completed, and then enter the number of kWh to be charged or the distance in kilometres to be charged. You can switch between these two options using the button at the top right. The ratio between the number of kilometres and the number of kWh depends on your car and is a fixed setting that you can change under ‘settings’. Finally, click on ‘apply’.

Once the desired amount has been charged, the charging process automatically changes to the default setting (namely option 1: PV-optimised charging). This means that the car will continue to be charged if there is a surplus of solar power and if there is still free space in the car’s battery.

To stop charging, click on ‘charging stop’ in the SMA Energy app. The green LED will then go off.

3) Fast charging

Only use this option if you are in a hurry to charge the car. With this option, the system does not take the production of solar power into account. The charging station makes the maximum possible power available to the car, regardless of whether it is solar power or grid power. You can select the 'fast charging' option on the app, or you can activate fast charging by knocking twice on the charging station. The green light will start flashing to indicate that fast charging is active.

The car starts charging immediately (Attn: if you have activated the ‘Charge release’ setting, you will always have to either hold one of the registered charging cards (RFID cards) in front of the device or else ‘release’ the charging process via the SMA Energy app by swiping the lock to the right. The yellow LED will flash quickly: this means that the charging process has been released).

To stop charging, click on ‘charging stop’ in the SMA Energy app. The green LED will go off.

Meaning of the LED lights on the eCharger

The meaning of the red, blue, green and yellow LEDs can be found here.