Clenergy EV: App review and charging guide

If you own an electric car and live in Wales or Essex, chances are you've noticed that the Clenergy EV's charging points are everywhere! Although they also exist in a few places in London and across England, they seem to dominate those two locations.

In this guide, we'll provide a detailed overview of their app and how you can use Clenergy's chargers to charge up your EV. We've used them for about a couple of month in multiple areas around Cardiff, Swansea and the Gower, so we have a good handle on the app and the charging infrastructure. 

About Clenergy EV

Clenergy EV is a UK-based electric vehicle charging infrastructure company. 

Their charging network consists of slow, fast and rapid charging devices across Wales, Essex and other areas of the UK. Clenergy has more than a hundred points and is rapidly expanding to cover even more rural areas, ensuring that EV drivers have easy access to charging points wherever they are.

Costs and payments

There is no membership fee to use Clenergy EV devices. You can access their charge points and make payments using the Clenergy EV app, available on iOS and Android devices. 

You can also use an RFID card, which in our experience, was faster and easier. Some of their charging points are in locations with very poor network coverage, and it's impossible to start up the app, initiate the charge and confirm your payment method. 

The app supports card payments and manual credit top-ups. We have tried both, so it's really up to you to decide what works best for you. 

Remember that if you forget to top enough, it may run out while charging, which will stop the charge. You may have a nasty surprise when you return, expecting a full battery. 

The charging cost around most of the points in Wales is currently 75p/kWh, while some chargers in England are as cheap as 24p/kWh.

We have an in-depth guide listing all the best apps for EV charging, so make sure you check that out too!

Using the app to charge

You can find charging points using the in-app map, Clenergy's own website or Zap-Map. The latter isn't up to date and quite a few charger are missing.

At the charging point, there is a set sequence of steps you need to make sure you follow otherwise charging won't start. 

Although there are instructions shown at every charge point, we still had trouble getting our car to charge because we didn't follow the steps required to get the charger started. 

After contacting their support team (who were very helpful and responded the same day), we learned that if we don't follow the instructions precisely, the machines won't work.

If you're using the Clenergy EV app to charge your EV, but it doesn't work, try again by following these instructions:

1. Ensure the green flap at the side of the charge point is securely closed (we've seen some were left open, so make sure you press the flap until it's fully closed).
2. Plug the charging cable into your car but not into the charge point.
3. Open the Clenergy EV app and log in.
4. To find your charging station, you can either scan the QR code on the charge point with the app or enter the unique station ID.
5. Select the correct connector - connector/socket 1 is on the right-hand side, and connector/socket 2 is on the left-hand side.
6. Select your preferred payment method (card or credit)
7. The green round button above the connector will flash green.
8. Press the green button.
9. The rectangular light above the connector will start rapidly flashing green (you can see it as part of the flap).
10. Open the flap and plug the vehicle into the charge point.
11. The green button will turn solid green, and the rectangular light will slowly flash green to indicate charging has started.
    

It may be just our experience as new EV owners but other charging points aren't as tricky to get right. It takes a few charges to remember the sequence, and when you get it right, the chargers work perfectly! You can also check out as a "Guest" without creating an account. 

The steps are the same, but you must add a payment card before charging.

Using their RFID charge card will save you time because you can skip a few steps as you don't have to use the app. 

How to get an RFID card for Clenergy EV

You're supposed to receive a charging card when you register an account with them, but we didn't receive ours. 

So, if yours doesn't arrive within a week, you'll have to contact Clenergy directly. You can either contact them through their contact form on their website or by sending an email to their support team (info@clenergy-ev.com). 

When submitting your request, make sure you include your home address and your name so they can post the card to you. It will arrive within a few days. It took three days in our case. 

Once the card arrives, you must register it using their app. This will ensure that it's linked to your account, and it will use the payment method you've selected.

How to register your RFID card in the Clenergy EV app

There are a few simples steps to take:

1. Open the Clenergy EV app and log into your account.
2. Go to "Settings and account" 
3. Scrolls down until you see the "RFID cards" option.
4. You can add the card in two ways type the car number manually or scan it. We used the "Enter new RFID Card code" option.
5. Type the code and submit it. 
6. That's it - you can now tap your new charging card when using Clenergy charge points without using the app.
   

The dashboard

Their app has a convenient dashboard which shows your past charging statistics - total kWh charged, miles/km added, total charge time, CO2 emission saved, and the cost per mile/km. 

This is where you can also see your entire charging history. As someone who likes analytics, the data included in the dashboard is very interesting. 

We bet if you're just switching to an EV, you too would be interested in comparing the cost of EV charging vs petrol or diesel. 

Supported charging speeds and chargers

Clenergy EV offers what you'd expect from an established network - their network supports slow, fast and rapid charging.

Here's a bit more about the charging speeds for context:

• Slow chargers have a power output of 2.3 kW to 3 kW and can take more than 16 hours to fully charge an EV (depending on the car). They are suitable for overnight charging at home or work.
• Fast chargers have a power output of 7 kW to 22 kW and are usually found in commercial premises (e.g. retail parks, car parks) or areas of interest.
• Rapid chargers have a power output of 43 kW to 350 kW, which means you can reach a full charge within the hour. They are usually found on major road networks, service stations or public charging hubs.

Some vehicles can charge at faster speeds than others, so you should check your vehicle’s specifications before using a charging point.

You can expect to find mostly CCS charging connectors, but we found that some chargers supporting CHAdeMO also exist. 

Overall using the Clenergy EV app to charge our car has been great! The chargers are reliable and charge at good speeds. We're yet to encounter one that isn't working.

Seems like Clenergy does a good job of maintaining its charging points. Just ensure you have an RFID card for the locations where you can't get good coverage on your mobile. Download the iOS app here, Android here or visit their website.