EVBOX ELVI REVIEW SUMMARY

EVbox Elvi quick summary – OLEV APPROVED CHARGER.

Compatible with every EV on the market.
It comes in two colours polar white and misty black.
Tethered and untethered versions. (The units can be interchanged for future upgrades)
Three-year warranty.
Key card activation for security.⭐️
Type two plug on the front of the unit.
Dynamic load balancing. (which means it will adjust as demand in your home fluctuates with energy use so you don’t trip your main house fuse. This is also handy if you get a second charger as it ensures you don’t overload your supply)⭐️
Requires an earth rod. It is a European unit so has no earth.
Manual load balancing. (a great feature)⭐️
The unit comes in two-part. This is a great feature as you can replace or change the unit as it clips away from the backplate which is fixed to the wall. In the future, you could upgrade the unit simply by unclipping and adding a new unit without the need for an engineer.⭐️
They do a solar option which is extra.
Compatible with smart charging.
Can set the maximum amp within the charger unit.⭐️
Remote diagnostic.⭐️
Can be set up for multiple users making it great for shared use ⭐️

Who is EVbox?

Evbox is a Dutch firm established in 2010. They became a public company in 2021 when they expanded into Europe and North America.

What EV home chargers do EVBox offer?

The EVbox Elvi is the one unit that EVbox offers as an EV home charger. It also offers commercial units which explains why their EV home charging unit can also multitask and offer multiple user options plus back-end billing. (making it suitable for landlords, shared dwellings, etc)

How does EVbox Elvi compare at price?

You can expect to pay around £550 installed with an OLEV GRANT.

What do other EVBox Elvi reviews say?

On Trustpilot EVBox currently has a score of 1.7 out of 5 stars. 87% of reviewers have rated EVbox as bad. Poor customer service and app.❌

What is the EVBox customer service like?

They seem to have an issue with reviews referring to a lack of support via the helpdesk. According to reviews, the helpdesk logs the calls and reverts to emailing replies which can be slow and cumbersome.❌

What is the EVBox website/app like?

The key thing to remember is there is no standalone app specifically for home charging. There is an EVbox app but it seems to linked to their website rather than being an intuitive app which many people expect. It’s a little clunky and not that easy to navigate BUT it does have lots of extra features. Plus once you have set up your unit you will only really need to access it occassionaly. ❌

If you add credit card information on the EVbox app you can use your RF ID card to charge your EV at additional public units. You can have multiple cards and users attached to one account.✅

Does the EVBox Elvi offer smart charging?

Yes, it’s all set for smart charging.

How to contact EVbox?

You can contact EVbox in a number of ways.

By contact form on their website.

Facebook.

What’s in your new EVbox Elvi box?

The Elvi comes in an aesthetically pleasing box.
It comes with two information manuals for the engineers.
Information booked on how to use the app.
A user manual.
Two keys to open and close the unit. (These slide down the side to open the unit which consists of a base plate and front cover)
Two RF ID cards. The smaller card could be attached to your key ring. The ID cards can be programmed to start the home charger and as a result you can prevent someone from charging their car without your authorisation. To autostart charging using the card you simply tap the front of the unit with the card. (The ID card authorisation is within the engineer settings of the app) Security code for setting up the is in the box.
The EVbox unit. (which is in two parts the base plate and the front plate)
Long screws to bolt it to the wall.
Grommets for fitting electrical connections through.

✅ Can set maximum ampage for a time period.

✅ You can have multiple cards and multiple ids using one unit and as a result, the unit is great for shared us because as a landlord you could bill people separately depending on their recorded use.

Tips

Stand next to the unit when setting up the app is to talks directly to the unit.

The charger can be used without the RF-ID card. You need to go into the installer app and set auto start-stop in this section of the app BUT DO NOT TOUCH ANY OF THE OTHER INSTALLER SETTINGS because you can damage the unit and turn off safety features built into the charger!

You can use other management platforms even multiple platforms for multiple users.

Pros	Cons
✅ Security features. Key fob activation.	❌ Poor App
✅ Multi use / Multi accounts.	❌ Poor Support
✅ Can set amps in unit.
✅ Separate back plate. Allowing easy upgrade.
✅ Solar option.
✅ Smart charging.
✅ Remote diagnostic

What’s my personal opinion on the EVBox Elvi?

I think this is a great unit that has the added bonus of being future-proof. The fact that even I could unclip the base plate and replace it to upgrade in the future is a winning feature. This is quite unique to this particular home charger. You can also update the device and get diagnostics via the cloud which is great.

I like the idea of being able to prevent random strangers from rocking up to my home and charging their EV for free BUT I live in quite a rural area and I struggle to find my keys most days. So the idea of having to tap the charger to start my flow of electricity wouldn’t be the best option for me. I could disable this feature but I think this charger would appeal more to customers who are looking for that added security or who want to share the charging device within a multi-occupancy building.

EVbox Elvi would appeal to someone who doesn’t want to have to upgrade in the future and likes the added features that allow for this unit to be expanded upon. The design isn’t really to my taste. It does remind me of a hand dryer 😆 BUT it’s not the worst unit I have seen! I would just prefer something a little slicker and the Trustpilot reviews make me nervous. I like to be able to ask for help and get a reply quickly and that seems to be a challenge at the moment for EVbox.

If I was, however, an owner of a muli occupancy dwelling and I wanted to provide EV charging facilities for my tenants I would take this unit without a second thought for the negative customer service reviews as it fits the bill.

If you have made your choice on an EV home charger the next question is should you opt for tethered or untethered on your home charger?

Tethered	Untethered
✅ Own cable weird in.	✅ Future proof.
❌ Fixed length cable with limit option to extend.	✅ Looks neater without the cable.
❌ If you leave the cable installed it could be stolen.	✅ Can buy cable of any length if you need longer/shorter cable.
❌ Issue if EV sockets change in future	❌ Reconnect the cable each time you charge.
	❌ Need to supply your own cable.

I think a lot of people would go for the untethered version. I know it would be my first choice. The unit looks neater without the cable hanging around and there’s possibly less wear and tear with it not being outside in the elements. In reality, untethered EV users report leaving the charging cable plugged in when they are busy or it’s raining. This leads to the risk of the EV charging cable being stolen. So you may well opt for the tethered version which has less risk of theft and you always have the cable to hand when you are in a rush. It’s all down to personal choice.

Reviewed by Sarah at www.evcharger.today