GivEnergy EV Charger vs Zaptec Go 2: Battery Storage vs V2G Future

Today's Energy Storage vs Tomorrow's Grid: Two Chargers Built for Different Futures

Most home EV charger comparisons pit mainstream all-rounders against each other — your Ohmes, your Zappis, your Hypervolts. This one is different. The GivEnergy EV Charger and the Zaptec Go 2 are both specialist tools aimed at drivers who want their charger to do more than simply fill a battery overnight. They just disagree on *how*.

The GivEnergy is built for homes that already have battery storage. Its killer feature is battery-to-EV charging — the ability to top up your Tesla from energy your home battery banked earlier in the day, whether that came from solar panels or a cheap off-peak tariff window. The Zaptec Go 2, meanwhile, is looking further ahead. It is the UK's first V2G-ready AC home charger, designed for a future where your car feeds energy *back* to the grid during peak demand, potentially earning you money in the process. One charger optimises the energy ecosystem you have now; the other bets on the ecosystem that is coming.

If you are weighing up these two, you are almost certainly someone who thinks about energy holistically — not just "how do I charge my car?" but "how does my car fit into my home energy strategy?" Good. Let us dig in.

In a nutshell:

• GivEnergy EV Charger (£478): The cheapest way to charge your EV from stored home battery energy, turning your existing solar-and-storage setup into a complete off-grid charging solution.
• Zaptec Go 2 (£707): A future-proofed, V2G-ready charger with subscription-free 4G, a MID-approved meter, and three-phase capability — built for the grid of 2030.

Spec Comparison

Solar and Storage: Where These Chargers Truly Diverge

This is the battleground that matters most, and both chargers approach it from completely different angles.

The GivEnergy EV Charger has a dedicated solar divert mode that sends surplus panel generation straight to your car, much like the myenergi Zappi. But its real party trick is battery-to-EV charging. If you have a home battery — GivEnergy's own or any compatible third-party system — you can store cheap overnight electricity or daytime solar in your house battery, then discharge it into your EV whenever you like. That means you could charge your Tesla Model 3 entirely from energy bought at 7p/kWh on Octopus Go, even if you do not plug the car in until 6pm. For a household already invested in battery storage, that is genuinely transformative. As warmzilla.co.uk notes, integration with your wider home energy system is becoming one of the most important factors when choosing a charger.

The Zaptec Go 2 takes a different route. It can auto-switch between single and three-phase charging for optimal solar integration, which is clever if you have a three-phase supply and a large solar array. But it does not offer battery-to-EV functionality. Its solar story is more about efficient self-consumption than the deep storage integration GivEnergy provides. Where the Zaptec looks ahead is V2G — vehicle-to-grid readiness. When V2G becomes mainstream in the UK, your car's battery effectively becomes a home battery, exporting stored energy back to the grid during expensive peak hours. It is a compelling vision, but as viablepower.co.uk highlights, smart energy integration today is what actually saves you money right now.

Power, Speed, and Future Flexibility

On a standard single-phase UK home supply, these two chargers perform almost identically. The GivEnergy delivers 7kW; the Zaptec pushes 7.4kW. The practical difference is negligible — we are talking about a 60kWh Tesla Model 3 Long Range taking roughly 8.5 hours versus around 8.1 hours. Either way, you plug in after dinner and wake up to a full battery.

Where the Zaptec pulls ahead is three-phase support. If you are one of the small percentage of UK homes with a three-phase supply — or if you are planning an upgrade — the Go 2 can deliver up to 22kW, slashing that same charge to around 2.7 hours. That is a significant advantage for commercial premises, rural properties with three-phase, or anyone future-proofing for a supply upgrade. The GivEnergy is locked to single-phase 7kW with no upgrade path.

App, Connectivity, and Smart Tariff Integration

Neither of these chargers will win any awards for app sophistication. Both offer scheduled charging, but compared to the deep tariff integration of an Ohme Home Pro — which links directly to Octopus Intelligent Go and adjusts charging dynamically based on real-time pricing, as evenergyhub.com explains — these two feel more utilitarian.

The GivEnergy charger connects via Wi-Fi and plugs into the GivEnergy monitoring portal, which is excellent for whole-home energy management if you are already in the GivEnergy ecosystem. However, its smart tariff integration is limited. If you are relying on agile pricing to minimise costs without a home battery, this charger will not do the heavy lifting for you.

The Zaptec Go 2 has a clear connectivity advantage: subscription-free 4G alongside Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. That means reliable communication even if your Wi-Fi does not reach the driveway — a genuine real-world benefit that many drivers underestimate until they experience dropout issues. Its OCPP 1.6J compliance also means it can talk to third-party energy management systems, and its MID-approved energy meter provides billing-grade accuracy. For landlords, shared driveways, or anyone who needs precise cost tracking, that MID meter is a meaningful differentiator.

Build Quality and Installation

The GivEnergy is the more weather-resistant unit on paper, with an IP65 rating (fully protected against dust and water jets) compared to the Zaptec's IP54 (protected against splashes). If your charger will be fully exposed on an open driveway with no shelter, the GivEnergy has the edge. That said, IP54 is perfectly adequate for the vast majority of UK installations — the Zaptec is not going to fail because it rained in Manchester.

The Zaptec is notably more compact (240 × 180 × 106mm versus 320 × 220 × 115mm) and lighter at 3.2kg. Its Scandinavian design is minimal and unobtrusive. Being untethered, there is no cable hanging from the wall, which some homeowners prefer aesthetically — though it does mean keeping your Type 2 cable in the boot and plugging in manually each time. The GivEnergy's tethered 5m cable is the grab-and-go convenience most drivers prefer.

Both chargers are OZEV-approved, and standard installation costs for either sit in the £400–600 range depending on cable run length and consumer unit requirements.

Price and Value

The GivEnergy is £229 cheaper at the unit level, and that gap persists through to total installed cost. For a household with an existing home battery, it represents extraordinary value — you are getting battery-to-EV charging for less than many basic smart chargers cost. Without a home battery, however, you are paying for a charger with limited smart tariff features and a basic app, at which point competitors like the Ohme Home Pro offer considerably more for similar money.

The Zaptec's premium buys you V2G readiness, a five-year warranty (two years longer than GivEnergy's), free 4G connectivity, a MID-approved meter, and three-phase capability. Whether that is worth the extra £229 depends entirely on your timeline. V2G is still emerging in the UK, and you may wait years before it delivers tangible returns. But if you are the sort of person who keeps a charger for a decade, the Zaptec's longer warranty and future-proof feature set start to look like smart money.

Who Should Buy Which?

Buy the GivEnergy EV Charger if:

• You already have a home battery system (GivEnergy or compatible) and want to charge your EV from stored energy
• You have solar panels and want both solar divert and battery-to-EV functionality
• You want a budget-friendly charger under £500 that integrates with whole-home energy monitoring
• You prefer a tethered charger with a ready-to-use cable
• You prioritise maximum weatherproofing (IP65) for an exposed installation

Buy the Zaptec Go 2 if:

• You want a charger that is ready for V2G when the technology matures in the UK
• You have (or plan to get) a three-phase supply and want up to 22kW charging
• You need subscription-free 4G because your Wi-Fi does not reliably reach your charging point
• You require a MID-approved meter for accurate billing — ideal for landlords or shared use
• You prefer a compact, untethered design and plan to keep the charger for five-plus years

Our recommendation: For the majority of UK homeowners today, the GivEnergy EV Charger is the better buy — *if* you have a home battery. The ability to charge your Tesla from stored solar or off-peak energy is a tangible, money-saving feature you can use tonight, not in three years' time. At £478, it is also significantly cheaper. However, if you do not have battery storage and are thinking long-term — particularly if you have three-phase power or want V2G readiness — the Zaptec Go 2 is a genuinely forward-thinking choice with a longer warranty and superior connectivity. Just be honest with yourself about whether you are buying for the future you will actually have, or the future you hope for.

Read our full GivEnergy EV Charger review or Zaptec Go 2 review.

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