Designed for the home market
A complete redesign of the EV Charging Station for Victron Energy, an EV car charger specifically designed for the home market to complement their off-grid energy solutions
EV Car Charger
Victron Energy is a major company in the off-grid energy sector. They have built a strong reputation for innovation, reliability, and quality in the design and production of power conversion equipment.
With this project, they wanted to complement their solar power portfolio with an EV Car Charger, specifically for the home market. Offering the unique ability to exclusively charge your car on at-home generated solar power.
Vision
The unique ability to exclusively charge your car on at-home generated solar power is the next step in smart renewable power management. To accelerate the energy transition, the EV Car Charger had to be available for all clients. With clients from all over the world with diverging household styles, the aesthetic design focuses on matching with (future) electric car design, using neutral colours and minimal, smooth surfaces. In addition, the charger provides intuitive usability and daily convenience.
Collaboration with Pezy Group
Victron asked Pezy Group to redesign everything except the core electronics inside. Our main focus was the aesthetics, usability, and manufacturability of the new design. To improve these factors, we challenged the reuse of the old display and suggested an improved light ring with a seamless diffusion. However, we respected the main electronics, to keep investment costs low and achieve a fast time to market.
Challenges
The main challenge with this redesign was making it fit easily into many household styles while at the same time claiming a unique appearance in a booming market with many diverse competitors. In addition, the core electronics inside could not be changed. This presented a difficult space claim to work with and limited the possibilities. Despite these challenges, we managed to come up with a balanced concept. In the development of the concept, we paid specific attention to the product’s resistance to outside (weather) influences by testing and improving water drainage and tightness to protect the electronics, selecting durable materials, and designing a robust casing and part connections.
Design solution
The design solution lies in the altered form of the product and its manufacturability. This is combined with advice on peripheral electronics and materials.
The aesthetic design focuses on matching the design of (future) electric cars, using neutral colours and minimal, smooth surfaces. Also the charger is designed for intuitive use and everyday convenience. Unnecessary information has been omitted.
In addition, we focused on providing a quick & easy installation process. The charger is mounted on the wall with a metal bracket that allows for easy drilling, spirit level positioning, and fast fixation. When connecting the power wires inside the housing, the only electronics in view are the connectors, to prevent mistakes or damages to the electronics.
