Pod Point Solo - any good?

[BHML]

In anticipation of purchasing an EV (probably a 2-4 year old Nissan Leaf) by the end of the year, I am considering getting a free Home Charge Unit fitted by Pod Point http://www.green-tourism.com/wp-content/uploads/20...

This charges at 3.7KW so will take 6-8 hours to charge a Leaf.

The only stipulation of free fitting is that it must remain on the property for 3 years, which I have no issues with.

At the moment I have only requested a site survey and have not committed to having one yet. Are there any downsides to having this at all? what's the catch? Does anyone have one and what are their experiences?

[Pvapour]

they're a pretty advanced unit apparently, they're running a very interesting experiment that'll probably interest you http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

[RossP]

How is the podpoint unit any different to the other chargers on the market, chargemaster, BMWi etc?

[Pvapour]

built in future tech?? dont know, wasn't really listening tbh, I'll ask the next time we speak.

[RossP]

I have a polar charger from Chargemaster. I would recommend the upgrade to the 7kW for £95. Not sure if that will charge any quicker with your leaf but it gives you an element of future proofing.

[RossP]

Pvapour said:

built in future tech?? dont know, wasn't really listening tbh, I'll ask the next time we speak.

I don't believe it's any different from any of the other chargers available. They just shove 3-7kW into your car. A condition of the grant is GPRS connectivity to report usage for future goverment stats which they all have.

[c2mike]

Ideally you want two things from a home charger:
1. The maximum kW that your house wiring can comfortably handle. 7kW (32A) for most single phase houses. Some older homes can probably only support 3.5kW (16A). Note that some EVs like first gen Leaf can only charge at 16A AC.
2. A removable cable so you can easily upgrade to different plug standards at the car end.

If it is free, not a big deal.

[Beefmeister]

I think it's a great unit, looks especially good too and very well designed so the cable can wrap around it.

The holster is also a cracking bit of design.

[LordFlathead]

RossP said:

I have a polar charger from Chargemaster. I would recommend the upgrade to the 7kW for £95. Not sure if that will charge any quicker with your leaf but it gives you an element of future proofing.

I have mine being fitted as we speak.. I did some research and it matched the opinion of the Polar installer that the most popular install was the 32amp. If you use parkatmyhouse.com you will find an increase in bookings due to the 32amp charger.



That's the charger fitted now for the car!