How does Tibber Pulse work with a Zaptec charger?

Tibber Pulse turns any Zaptec charger into a smart energy manager. For e-mobility installers, this is a powerful solution to link chargers with real-time energy consumption, solar production and smart control. With a smart meter, solar panels, and Tibber technology, dynamic charging becomes the new standard.

What is Tibber Pulse?

Tibber Pulse is a smart P1 meter that connects to the P1 port of the smart meter. The Pulse sends real-time data to the Tibber app, giving users live insight into their electricity usage. Think of identifying usage peaks, phantom loads, and the ability to match EV charging power to current household consumption.For installers, this means reduced risk of main fuse overloads and often no need to upgrade the grid connection. The Zaptec charger automatically reacts to household load: if many devices are running, charging power is reduced. When capacity becomes available again, charging power increases. This is load balancing via the smart meter.

Smart charging with solar power

Tibber Pulse also makes it possible to charge an electric car using as much solar energy as possible. In combination with the Tibber app and an active Tibber energy contract, charging is automatically aligned with times of high solar production or low electricity prices.The Pulse measures the home’s net energy consumption via the smart meter. If more energy is being produced than consumed, the Tibber app detects this as the ideal moment to charge. This allows you to maximize self-consumption and reduce charging costs. Especially now that net metering is being phased out, this is a smart step toward energy savings and less grid dependency.

Note: the Pulse does not directly measure solar production but looks at the difference between generation and consumption. Exported energy is shown as negative consumption in the app.

Koppeling met een Zaptec laadpaal

De koppeling tussen de Tibber Pulse en een Zaptec laadpaal verloopt via de Tibber-app. De laadpaal wordt hierin toegevoegd als ‘Power-up’. Zodra dit is gedaan, gebruikt Tibber de data van de slimme meter om het laadproces te sturen. Het laadvermogen wordt continu aangepast aan wat er in huis beschikbaar is. Deze P1 loadbalancing werkt volledig automatisch en is zichtbaar in de app via het Pulse-icoon op het startscherm.Het voordeel van het koppelen met de auto is dat dit met alle laders werkt, zelfs een ‘domme’ lader kan loadbalancen en solar-chargen. Dit is doordat de Tibber het signaal naar de auto stuurt en de auto bepaald wanneer het stroom vraagt.

Connecting with a Zaptec charger

The link between Tibber Pulse and a Zaptec charger is made via the Tibber app. The charger is added as a ‘Power-up’. Once this is done, Tibber uses smart meter data to control the charging process. The charging power is continuously adjusted to what is available in the home. This P1 load balancing is fully automatic and visible in the app via the Pulse icon on the home screen.The advantage of connecting to the car is that this works with all chargers—even a basic charger can enable load balancing and solar charging. This is because Tibber sends the signal to the car, and the car decides when to request power.

Installing the Tibber Pulse

Installation is simple and can be done without an electrician:

• Connect the included RJ12 cable to the P1 port of the smart meter
• Open the Tibber app and follow the installation steps
• Add the Zaptec charger as a Power-up
• Activate load balancing via the Pulse icon

In most cases, the P1 port is already active. If not, the grid operator can activate it remotely. Some older smart meters require additional power via a micro-USB cable; this is not included by default. Once connected, the Pulse immediately provides insight into real-time electricity consumption for the past 24 hours, and the system is ready for smart, safe charging.

The smart choice for every e-mobility installation

For installers, Tibber Pulse is a valuable addition to any Zaptec installation. Whether it’s load balancing with a limited grid connection or smart charging with solar energy—the Pulse makes it possible. Maximize your solar panel performance, protect the main fuse, and lower energy costs.