Electric charging points
Discussion
Hi All, just found this area - Excellent!!! hopefully the trolls don't discover it and try to start arguments.
Anyway, i'm getting an i3, what options do i have for charging it (obviously the £300 odd pretty plastic BMW option) I've heard of something called smart charge (sp?) and also a homebrew, diy join 2 supplies together to get 32A type affair. What is everyone else out there doing? also, i'm having a building refurbed for work, what is the DC infrastructure in real terms? can it be reproduced from a 415V supply? i know you can't routinely charge from DC as you will give the battery a real beating, but as a once in a while option, it may be quite useful
Anyway, i'm getting an i3, what options do i have for charging it (obviously the £300 odd pretty plastic BMW option) I've heard of something called smart charge (sp?) and also a homebrew, diy join 2 supplies together to get 32A type affair. What is everyone else out there doing? also, i'm having a building refurbed for work, what is the DC infrastructure in real terms? can it be reproduced from a 415V supply? i know you can't routinely charge from DC as you will give the battery a real beating, but as a once in a while option, it may be quite useful
If you are doing refurb work then run the biggest cable posibe from your junction box to where you intend the charger to go.
If you have 3 phase run that also as you can get forklifts that have a built in 4 phase charger so no reason why that won't make it to cars at some point
Oh and just to add
EVs turn you gay, produce 30 times more plantfood then a V8 and we all drive 40000 miles a day
If you have 3 phase run that also as you can get forklifts that have a built in 4 phase charger so no reason why that won't make it to cars at some point
Oh and just to add
EVs turn you gay, produce 30 times more plantfood then a V8 and we all drive 40000 miles a day
Hmmm,
[Tin foil hat time] having just read the ToB from chargemaster, it turns out that the terms of the grant dictate that they have to provide usage data to government for future policy consideration.
My standard thoughts on this are "f*** 'em, i'm not going to give them rope to subsequently hang me with, ie road charging via the back door" or should i be more pragmatic and just accept the grant, use the box and dodge the road pricing when it inevitably comes by installing another charge point.
Will i be 'marking' my house as an EV user by accepting this grant and thus in the long term opening myself up to certain assumptions from HMRC vis a vis P11D form filling or will they just look me up from DVLA records and charge me anyway [/Tin foil hat time]
We've gotta be smart people.....
[Tin foil hat time] having just read the ToB from chargemaster, it turns out that the terms of the grant dictate that they have to provide usage data to government for future policy consideration.
My standard thoughts on this are "f*** 'em, i'm not going to give them rope to subsequently hang me with, ie road charging via the back door" or should i be more pragmatic and just accept the grant, use the box and dodge the road pricing when it inevitably comes by installing another charge point.
Will i be 'marking' my house as an EV user by accepting this grant and thus in the long term opening myself up to certain assumptions from HMRC vis a vis P11D form filling or will they just look me up from DVLA records and charge me anyway [/Tin foil hat time]
We've gotta be smart people.....
Greg_D said:
McWigglebum4th said:
If you are doing refurb work then run the biggest cable posibe from your junction box to where you intend the charger to go.
Are you sure??? it may be a bit overspecced!!! 
Upside you can recharge in under 5 seconds
Downside
The car vanishes in a puff of blue smoke after 3 seconds
Yes, went for the 7. I think all of the charging points including the BMW one are subsidised by the grant thus need the data link.
It's an O2 connection in the unit, so cover it in tin foil to block the signal?!?
The installer says that he is putting quite a few in at houses without EVs as they are free. He said a number of them were for people using parkatmyhouse.com
It's an O2 connection in the unit, so cover it in tin foil to block the signal?!?
The installer says that he is putting quite a few in at houses without EVs as they are free. He said a number of them were for people using parkatmyhouse.com
Greg_D said:
Hi All, just found this area - Excellent!!! hopefully the trolls don't discover it and try to start arguments.
Anyway, i'm getting an i3, what options do i have for charging it (obviously the £300 odd pretty plastic BMW option) I've heard of something called smart charge (sp?) and also a homebrew, diy join 2 supplies together to get 32A type affair. What is everyone else out there doing? also, i'm having a building refurbed for work, what is the DC infrastructure in real terms? can it be reproduced from a 415V supply? i know you can't routinely charge from DC as you will give the battery a real beating, but as a once in a while option, it may be quite useful
32A 7kW AC is all you need at home. Should fully charge in about 3 hours. My Leaf only supports 16A and that is plenty fast enough for home. Save the DC fast charge for when you are on the road and in a hurry. Bear in mind that high kW chargers slow down once battery reaches 80% charge (to protect the cells), so not great for max range in a hurry.Anyway, i'm getting an i3, what options do i have for charging it (obviously the £300 odd pretty plastic BMW option) I've heard of something called smart charge (sp?) and also a homebrew, diy join 2 supplies together to get 32A type affair. What is everyone else out there doing? also, i'm having a building refurbed for work, what is the DC infrastructure in real terms? can it be reproduced from a 415V supply? i know you can't routinely charge from DC as you will give the battery a real beating, but as a once in a while option, it may be quite useful
Mr2Mike said:
c2mike said:
Bear in mind that high kW chargers slow down once battery reaches 80% charge (to protect the cells), so not great for max range in a hurry.
Is there a faster way to fully charge the batteries?98elise said:
Can any on clarify, these "chargers" are just a power connection aren't they? The actual charger is on board, and the fastchargers and superchargers etc are simply a larger capacity cable/sockets?
I'm not an electrical engineer, but hopefully this helps.DC charging effectively has all the "intelligence" in the charging station (correct voltage for the car battery, safety switching, AC to DC electronics and the cable is tethered to the charging station). It can charge very fast and keeps the car simple. To put all this 50kW stuff on the car would be huge and expensive. The downside is that high power charging stations are expensive to buy and install. Gradually the UK is getting a viable network. http://www.ecotricity.co.uk/for-the-road/our-elect...
AC charging is typically from regular mains supply (2 - 7 kW). At the bottom end you plug your EV cable into a regular 220V outlet. The cable has to include the "brick" with the safety switching.
One level up is where the wall outlet is industrial rated (typically 32A / 7kW) and includes the safety switching. That's a typical home charger that costs around £500 plus installation (lot's of Govt subsidies available). Perfect for home use (suspect most homes could not support more) and charges a typical EV in around 3 hours. Eventually the public "street" chargers will be upgraded to this standard. The ones around me all use a standard domestic plug
There are also faster AC options. 3 phase AC is an example. Renault Zoe has a very clever design which uses some of the drive electronics to double up for charging, so it can support much higher AC charging without the bulk and expense. The big benefit is that the charging stations are much cheaper and simpler. However, it won't get traction if no other manufacturer adopts it. Completely different to the Nissan DC approach...
To add to the standards joy, there are multiple, competing plug standards. EV forums love debating this stuff.
More here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAE_J1772#Signaling
Bottom line: all EVs support AC charging. Minimum is around 3kW (low spec Leaf for example). 7kW is more typical now. Faster options are mostly DC (except Renault) and all require a specialised charging station AND the correct plug in the car or a converter (as the cables are tethered to the charging station).
RossP said:
THe i3 I have ordered can charge from AC up to 7KW. You have to order the fast charge DC (30 mins) as an option - no idea what that actually gives you but it's £500+. Also AFAIK, there are no rapid charge DC stations in the UK yet, although they are coming.
There are lots of rapid charge DC stations in the UK (Nissan Dealers, Ecotricity network, etc.), but the plug standards may be different to the i3...CCS Vs CHAdeMOGassing Station | EV and Alternative Fuels | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff