No Charge Point at Home - Would You?

[trowelhead]

Hi all,

I've hired a leaf this week to see if it would be suitable as a commuter car.

Love the car so far, quiet comfortable and cheap to run.

My question is this: would it be madness to buy and run an EV as my only car without a home charge point? I live in an apartment so getting a point installed would most probably not be possible.

I live in south Manchester so there are plenty of charge points around the place. My driving is 90% short city journeys so an EV seems like a good choice. But is relying on public points a bad idea?

I suppose I could look at an i3 Rex or Audi etron which would cover me for range if I could not find a close charge point.

But I'm not sure if I would get sick of hunting around for points and timing my day around it?



(I've worked out that the lease cost of a leaf and electric used would be less than just fuelling my current car making it a compelling option.)

[johnnyreggae]

No charge point at home = trusting too much on a fallible network and selfish people - many similar arguments in this thread from a couple of days ago http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

[AmitG]

johnnyreggae said:

No charge point at home = trusting too much on a fallible network and selfish people

Exactly the reason why I've held off going full EV. I live in London on a fairly crowded road with no off street parking, and I need 1 car to do everything including long journeys - sometimes to remote rural locations - and European trips. In this scenario an EV just doesn't make work at the moment. I live in hope...

[Phunk]

If you can charge at work then I'd go for it.

I have a leaf and a 3rd floor flat, not really been an issue. However I have 5 rapid chargers within 10 minutes drive and my local gym had a slow point which is only 2 minutes away..

It would be great to have a charger at home however the cost saving is worth the inconvience

[Tophatron]

I've had a Leaf for 18 months and no way to charge it at home. It's worked out fine for me, but would obviously depend on how many local chargers you have.

If you can make it work - go for it!

[AmitG]

Tophatron said:

I've had a Leaf for 18 months and no way to charge it at home. It's worked out fine for me, but would obviously depend on how many local chargers you have.

If you can make it work - go for it!

What's your usage pattern? (journey length, city/rural, motorways etc.)

[trowelhead]

Tophatron said:

I've had a Leaf for 18 months and no way to charge it at home. It's worked out fine for me, but would obviously depend on how many local chargers you have.

If you can make it work - go for it!

Good to hear from another owner with no home charger - gives me some confidence.

Live in south Manchester so there is alot of public points and they are all free at the moment which is great.

I have hired a leaf for a week, and now have an i3 REX on a two day test drive. Up to now had absolutely no trouble charging. (albeit i have done no longer journeys all short city based trips.)

Worst case the REX will use petrol until i find somewhere, so i would go for the i3 rex over the leaf for this reason.

I was speaking to another leaf owner the other day at a charge point. He seemed to think that i'd be ok charging with a weatherproof extension cable out of the window as a backup plan...

[trowelhead]

AmitG said:

Exactly the reason why I've held off going full EV. I live in London on a fairly crowded road with no off street parking, and I need 1 car to do everything including long journeys - sometimes to remote rural locations - and European trips. In this scenario an EV just doesn't make work at the moment. I live in hope...

Would an i3 REX not work for you in this case? I have use of another car so not as much as an issue. Would be used 99% in a 10 mile radius.

[trowelhead]

Phunk said:

If you can charge at work then I'd go for it.

I have a leaf and a 3rd floor flat, not really been an issue. However I have 5 rapid chargers within 10 minutes drive and my local gym had a slow point which is only 2 minutes away..

It would be great to have a charger at home however the cost saving is worth the inconvience

5 rapid chargers, i can only dream!

There is one about 3 miles from me which is great, and another 2 or 3 within about a 15/20 minute drive. Plus loads of the "fast" chargers which are decent enough.

Working from home helps as i can pretty much work from a coffee shop located close to a charge point.

[Shaw Tarse]

Try an i3 http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

[Phunk]

i3 is overpriced and has the unreliable CCS rapid charge system.

[Kiwi LS2]

Out of curiosity, has anyone had any joy with their local authority and installation of on-street charging facilities to improve local infrastructure?

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploa...

Quite keen to get one to save racking the miles up on the Monaro on boring daily trivials but alas no off-road parking...

[MagicalTrevor]

Phunk said:

i3 is overpriced and has the unreliable CCS rapid charge system.

I believe there have been significant improvements to the CCS system and reliability is much better.

At least I hope it has, I get mine within the month!

[trowelhead]

Thanks for the input - i've decided to give it a go and try an i3 - wish me luck!

Will of course update with pics when the deal is done