Leadership change at Myenergi following poor performance

[Stuart Wright]

2024 was not good for Myenergi.

Myenergi crashes into the red as jobs cut

Smart home start-up Myenergi has crashed into the red after its sales were cut and it shed more than 100 jobs.

www.cityam.com

And co-founder Jordan Brompton has stepped down with the appointment of a new CEO.

Jordan Brompton officially steps down from leadership role at myenergi

The firm has confirmed the appointment of a new CEO

www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk

I think much of this is due to the structuring of tariffs like IOG (Intelligent Octopus Go) where cheap electricity at night and export payouts for solar make the clever features of the Zappi (charging an EV from excess solar power) and the Eddi (heating hot water with excess solar) redundant.

I have both the Zappi and the Eddi but with IOG, I charge my car and battery (plus heat our hot water at night) when it’s 7p/kWh and all my solar generated energy gets exported for 15p/kWh.
I use the battery to power the house and never need to use peak time electricity.
Why use excess solar power worth 15p/kWh to charge my car when I can do it for 7p/kWh at night?

So a cheaper, dummer EV charger would be fine provided IOG can control it or my EV to schedule the off peak charge times.

It means that unless you have to charge your car during the day, the USP of Zappi has evaporated. In fact its flexibility brings complexity which some people won’t like. A dumb charger will be preferable in a lot of scenarios.

Now if the tariffs change so there is no payout for exporting electricity, then the Zappi might suddenly see its USP reappear.
But for now, I see this as a major issue for Myenergi and I think it’s the reason for their sales downturn.

The co-founder Lee Sutton visited my house to oversee one of the first UK installations of Zappi, Eddi and Harvi. I made a video with him for my YouTube channel.
I like him and his brilliant invention and I hope MyEnergi’s good fortune returns. Not at the loss of the export tariff, though.

 

[GaryMG4]

Perhaps that explains why Octopus installed a 3 phase Zappi recently when only a single phase was needed. I'm still on FiT and able to charge during the day so suits my needs. Although I have grossly overestimated how much solar I use on a normal day and am considering giving up the guaranteed deemed export of 50% of generation at 7.1p in favour of an average of 60% (more in summer, less in winter) generation that I currently export at 15p. If anyone has done this and kept their FiT generation payments I'd be interested in what's involved.

 

[Ferretusmaximus]

Same analysis, we don't need the cleverness of the Zappi with the current tariff balance. Indeed, my Powerwalls work out what's going on and supply the Zappi excess from the batteries and divert the solar output (that Zappi intended for the car) to the grid - net effect to charge the car at 7p/unit and export at 15p/unit. A different take on trickle charging.

 

[GaryMG4]

As someone else suggested the Zappi seems to have been designed with FiT tariffs in mind. I can charge my car for 0p from the solar and get paid 7.1p for the same electricity consumed.

 

[Eclectic]

I'm still charging from my 7 year old ChargeMaster EVSE that was fitted courtesy of Renault when I bought a Zoe 40 in 2018. The EVSE is under a carport, so spared the worst of the English weather, and works well with Octopus GO (I can't use OIG as the car isn't compatible either)
I have been looking around to see what I might replace it with, and find most of the offerings, including the Zappi, are just too complicated (and thus, expensive!) for what I need.
I am actually looking at getting hold of a duff ChargeMaster unit and upgrading it with parts from evbitz, and just storing it until my current ChargeMaster packs in.
I'm aware of the current regs saying a smart unit has to be fitted, but when Eon etc are offering lower overnight rates and higher export rates than Octopus without the faff of smart charging, a like-for-like replacement seems a much better option.

 

[Bam Bam]

Good points about the lack of a need for solar divert options for EV drivers.

Many EVSE's offer this feature now, so Myenergi are no longer unique in that regard.

More generally, though, I think that all the charging companies have been hit because it is a crowded market and EV sales overall haven't quite hit the expected levels.

FWIW I think that solar divert will become valuable again once there is more solar on the grid. At that point the generous export rates will disappear and we will go back to maximizing self-usage again.

When that happens MyEnergi probably won't be only game in town.

 

[Rolfe]

2024 was not good for Myenergi.

Myenergi crashes into the red as jobs cut

Smart home start-up Myenergi has crashed into the red after its sales were cut and it shed more than 100 jobs.

www.cityam.com

And co-founder Jordan Brompton has stepped down with the appointment of a new CEO.

Jordan Brompton officially steps down from leadership role at myenergi

The firm has confirmed the appointment of a new CEO

www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk

I think much of this is due to the structuring of tariffs like IOG (Intelligent Octopus Go) where cheap electricity at night and export payouts for solar make the clever features of the Zappi (charging an EV from excess solar power) and the Eddi (heating hot water with excess solar) redundant.

I have both the Zappi and the Eddi but with IOG, I charge my car and battery (plus heat our hot water at night) when it’s 7p/kWh and all my solar generated energy gets exported for 15p/kWh.
I use the battery to power the house and never need to use peak time electricity.
Why use excess solar power worth 15p/kWh to charge my car when I can do it for 7p/kWh at night?

So a cheaper, dummer EV charger would be fine provided IOG can control it or my EV to schedule the off peak charge times.

It means that unless you have to charge your car during the day, the USP of Zappi has evaporated. In fact its flexibility brings complexity which some people won’t like. A dumb charger will be preferable in a lot of scenarios.

Now if the tariffs change so there is no payout for exporting electricity, then the Zappi might suddenly see its USP reappear.
But for now, I see this as a major issue for Myenergi and I think it’s the reason for their sales downturn.

The co-founder Lee Sutton visited my house to oversee one of the first UK installations of Zappi, Eddi and Harvi. I made a video with him for my YouTube channel.
I like him and his brilliant invention and I hope MyEnergi’s good fortune returns. Not at the loss of the export tariff, though.

Really, really good points. I hadn't considered that aspect. I also have a Zappi and an Eddi and was using them as they were designed until my G99 came through, but then I set the threshhold so that they don't take solar.

I understood though that to get IOG with an MG4, the Zappi was one of the few chargers that would work.

 

[Everest]

Agree with all the points above but, from a female who has spent a lifetime in a male dominated tech industry's perspective, I found myenegi's portrayal of JB somewhat sad... especially in light of of the (slightly) better values and less sexist objectification of women in industry, that is slowly prevailing in the mid 2020's.

IMHO, it should be the skills, knowledge and work ethics that should be the deciding factor for employment. As the press release says "The board of myenergi are delighted to have found somebody with the experience and the talents of Andrew".

This compares to myenergi's own website, where they introduce JB as a "Children’s author, zumba instructor, radio presenter, mother, award-winner… eco warrior." As for her picture on the company's website... really? in 2025?... this does nothing at all for women's status in industry. Who wears an off the shoulder top and skin tight, see-everything, leggings to work?

</rant>

As for the technical aspects, so many EVSE's seem overpriced to me - Zappi especially. Most EVSE's are little more than a dual-pole contactor, DC-aware RCD, a $5 ESP32 or similar, display, box and leads. I don't see them being able to continue commanding a price of £700+ before installation as EV adoption and demand for EVSE's increases.

As for solar diversion, with the tariffs currently available, it is only a few of us that have more solar generation that we are permitted to export who will need sophisticated diversion capability.