myenergi Zappi GLO vs Rolec EVO: solar computer or British value?

One does solar properly. The other does everything else for £301 less.

This is a strange pairing on paper — both chargers advertise solar diversion, both carry 4.6 ratings, both land in the same install-cost bracket. But the price gap tells the real story. The myenergi Zappi GLO is £750. The Rolec EVO is £449. That £301 buys one specific thing: a deeper, more mature solar brain and the rest of the myenergi ecosystem to plug it into.

If you don't have panels on your roof, the decision is already made.

• myenergi Zappi GLO — the solar charger the industry measures itself against. Eco+ runs the car from PV surplus alone; eddi and libbi clip onto the same app.
• Rolec EVO — British-built, five-year warranty, CT clamp in the box, and install savings that take the real cost below most rivals.

When the Zappi's £301 premium earns its keep

Solar. That's the answer, and it's the only answer. The Zappi GLO has been the reference design for surplus-diverting home chargers for years, and the GLO revision keeps the three-mode logic (Fast, Eco, Eco+) that made its name. Eco+ is the one that matters: the car only draws when your panels are producing more than the house is using, so you never import a watt to top up the battery. Over a sunny summer, that's free miles, not cheap miles.

The ecosystem argument follows. If you already run, or plan to add, a myenergi eddi for immersion-heater diversion or a libbi home battery, the Zappi is the missing third leg of a stool. One app, one logic, one manufacturer to call when something misbehaves. That's a meaningful thing if you're building an integrated solar house.

But the Zappi's weakness is tariffs. Its integration with variable pricing is manual, not API-driven, and on something like Octopus Intelligent Go or Octopus Agile you'd get more out of an Ohme Home Pro. If your priority is off-peak hours rather than sunshine, the solar computer is overkill. For buyers on the fence between solar and tariff-led charging, the Ohme vs Zappi GLO comparison is the more useful read.

What £449 actually buys on the Rolec

More than the headline price suggests. The Rolec EVO ships with the CT clamp needed for solar diversion and runs the same Eco / Eco+ logic — not as refined as the Zappi's, not backed by the same decade of solar firmware, but functionally the same thing. If your array is modest and your expectations are sensible, it will divert surplus into the car perfectly well.

The quieter saving is in the install. Rolec has built PME (open-PEN) fault detection, a Type A RCD, and surge protection into the unit. That removes the separate earth rod or PEN-protection device most installers quote for, and typically takes £150–£250 off the labour bill. Add the five-year warranty — longer than the Zappi's three — and the British manufacturing in Boston, Lincolnshire, and the value case writes itself.

The caveats are real but narrow. There's no tethered option (bring your own cable), no 4G fallback if your Wi-Fi drops, and the consumer app is newer than the Zappi's polished decade. For tariff-optimised charging specifically, the VCHRGD Seven Pro at £432 or the Ohme Home Pro at £535 handle variable pricing more gracefully.

The verdict

Buy the myenergi Zappi GLO if:

• You have solar panels, or you're installing them this year
• You run or plan to add eddi or libbi from the same ecosystem
• Three-phase 22kW charging is on the table at your property

Buy the Rolec EVO if:

• You don't have solar (or your array is small enough that Eco+ sophistication is wasted)
• The install savings from built-in PME protection matter to your quote
• A five-year warranty from a British manufacturer carries weight

If panels are on the roof, pay the £750. The Zappi is worth it, and Eco+ is the reason — nothing else does surplus diversion with the same maturity. If panels aren't on the roof, the Rolec EVO is the charger to buy. £449, five years, and install labour that comes in lighter than its rivals. Paying £301 extra for a solar computer you can't feed is the clearest wasted money in home charging.