How does the Amber for EVs automation interact with other EV controls?

How does the Amber for EVs automation interact with other EV controls? 

Amber for EVs is designed to be the sole active controller of your EV charging. When other systems are simultaneously trying to control charging, they can conflict with Amber's commands - resulting in unexpected behaviour like charging starting and stopping immediately, or the car charging when it shouldn't be.

Why do competing controls cause problems? 

Amber sends charging commands to your vehicle based on live wholesale prices, your settings, and solar availability. If another system - like a vehicle's built-in schedule, a smart charger's own automation, or an energy management system - sends a conflicting command, your car may ignore Amber's instructions. A common symptom is the charge command being acknowledged but stopping within seconds.

What competing controls should I disable?

Known sources of conflict include:

• SolarEdge EV charger logic - the charger's own solar/smart charging mode
• Zappi Eco / Eco+ modes - when running in parallel with Amber's control (not via the Zappi integration)
• Battery or inverter automations - e.g. systems that discharge the home battery into the EV
• In-vehicle schedules - departure times or recurring charge timers set in your vehicle's app (e.g. Audi MMI, Tesla app)
• Third-party charging apps - any other app actively managing EV charging
• Authorisation to charge - like the Sigenergy Wall charger either through RFID or in app. 

The Amber app onboarding screen advises: "Please ensure only one charge management app is active."

What about my home battery (SmartShift)? 

Amber for EVs and Amber for Batteries (SmartShift) are built to work together, but the coordination has some nuances:

• Solar priority: When you have both solar and a home battery, solar energy is prioritised as: 
  
  house load → home battery → EV. 
  
  The EV receives excess solar only after the battery is full or charging at its maximum rate.
• Preventing simultaneous high-rate charging: When the EV is charging at max rate, Amber automatically puts the home battery into "Preserve" mode to protect your home's import limit and prevent circuit breaker trips.
• "Minimise EV charging from battery" setting: This setting prevents the battery from discharging into the EV. Note that small amounts of battery energy may still occasionally be used due to the natural delay in telemetry and command processing - this is expected, not a bug.
• Non-compatible batteries: If your battery isn't enrolled in SmartShift, Amber cannot prevent it from discharging into the EV. Some customers have their electrician hard-wire the EV charger outside the battery's metering to physically prevent this.

What about chargers that auto-start? 

Some chargers (e.g. Hypervolt) automatically begin charging as soon as the car is plugged in. This conflicts with Amber's control logic, which needs to decide when to start charging. If your charger has an auto-start feature, you may need to disable it or configure it to allow Amber to take control.

The bottom line

For Amber for EVs to work as intended, Amber should be the only active system controlling your EV charging. If you're experiencing unexpected charging behaviour, check whether any other automation - in your vehicle, charger, inverter, or third-party app might be sending competing commands.