Which home charging point?
Discussion
Whilst I'm waiting for an appointment to have a 32a Commando socket installed I would point out that I have managed for coming up to a year using just a 3-pin plug. It was tricky over Christmas, since I usually rely on workplace charging, but in the end it just meant charging the car for up to 10 hours on two occasions.
A couple of deciding factors-
I put off installing a dedicated charger / facility to charge at 7kW because electricity firms stopped offering cheap off-peak tarrifs around the same time I took delivery!
Since, like many, I'm paying the 'cap' price per unit at home, there's no advantage (other than speed) I can gain by having a faster charger. Whether it takes 12 hours or 4, it's currently going to cost me the same.
I'm hopeful (and news outlets look promising) that the energy market will calm down in the next 6 months. I'm sure I could haggle to get onto a cheap tarrif now if I really tried - ie. by phoning up and asking, the online options are not available to me - but I don't want to tie myself into a contract which might be uneconomical in 3 or 6 months time. Hence I'm now putting the 32a circuit in, which will allow me to charge at 7.4kW using the Tesla Mobile Connector - no need for smart integration that way.
A couple of deciding factors-
I put off installing a dedicated charger / facility to charge at 7kW because electricity firms stopped offering cheap off-peak tarrifs around the same time I took delivery!
Since, like many, I'm paying the 'cap' price per unit at home, there's no advantage (other than speed) I can gain by having a faster charger. Whether it takes 12 hours or 4, it's currently going to cost me the same.
I'm hopeful (and news outlets look promising) that the energy market will calm down in the next 6 months. I'm sure I could haggle to get onto a cheap tarrif now if I really tried - ie. by phoning up and asking, the online options are not available to me - but I don't want to tie myself into a contract which might be uneconomical in 3 or 6 months time. Hence I'm now putting the 32a circuit in, which will allow me to charge at 7.4kW using the Tesla Mobile Connector - no need for smart integration that way.
Frimley111R said:
thebraketester said:
UrbanAchiever said:
I'm going to start getting quotes for a home charger next week. Quite a few installers want me to answer a questionnaire and send photos of the consumer unit etc. They will then provide a quote but its understandably caveated in case there is more to the job than they expect.
Is this normal?
Any other electrical work I've had done on my house, no matter how small, such as installing a new external power socket, the electrician has come over to see what I want and provided a quote based on what they've seen.
Yes. Fairly normal. Is this normal?
Any other electrical work I've had done on my house, no matter how small, such as installing a new external power socket, the electrician has come over to see what I want and provided a quote based on what they've seen.
I think that a lot of electricians just aren't geared up to use photos, even though it is pretty easy, and so do stuff the old way.
CoupeKid said:
Has anyone got experience of the Simpson & Partners charger?
I was all set for a Zappi but went into an EV charger shop today (something I couldn’t have written even 3 years ago) and my head was turned!
An EV charger shop?I was all set for a Zappi but went into an EV charger shop today (something I couldn’t have written even 3 years ago) and my head was turned!
That charger is new and made by the people who started Andersen (the big posh charger). They sold the company and started S&P. It does look nice but I've not seen anything about it online to indicate it should be avoided. TBH, with their previous experience behind them it should be fine.
Does anyone know if you can limit access to charging without turning off the circuit that supplies the charger? Imagine I go on holiday and the charger is visible in the drive, what can you do to stop people just plugging the tethered cable into their car and nicking my electricity? I can't imagine this would happen but people never cease to amaze me.
cb31 said:
Does anyone know if you can limit access to charging without turning off the circuit that supplies the charger? Imagine I go on holiday and the charger is visible in the drive, what can you do to stop people just plugging the tethered cable into their car and nicking my electricity? I can't imagine this would happen but people never cease to amaze me.
Yes. You can "lock" them (the smart ones) via the app. Frimley111R said:
An EV charger shop?
That charger is new and made by the people who started Andersen (the big posh charger). They sold the company and started S&P. It does look nice but I've not seen anything about it online to indicate it should be avoided. TBH, with their previous experience behind them it should be fine.
Yeah, in St Albans. The guy said he’d started out fitting EV charging points some years ago and opened a shop to demonstrate the chargers and batteries about 3 years ago.That charger is new and made by the people who started Andersen (the big posh charger). They sold the company and started S&P. It does look nice but I've not seen anything about it online to indicate it should be avoided. TBH, with their previous experience behind them it should be fine.
I must have walked past it loads of times and it never registered because I didn’t need a charger. It’s nice to see the chargers in the metal and plastic before committing.
thebraketester said:
cb31 said:
Does anyone know if you can limit access to charging without turning off the circuit that supplies the charger? Imagine I go on holiday and the charger is visible in the drive, what can you do to stop people just plugging the tethered cable into their car and nicking my electricity? I can't imagine this would happen but people never cease to amaze me.
Yes. You can "lock" them (the smart ones) via the app. CoupeKid said:
Frimley111R said:
An EV charger shop?
That charger is new and made by the people who started Andersen (the big posh charger). They sold the company and started S&P. It does look nice but I've not seen anything about it online to indicate it should be avoided. TBH, with their previous experience behind them it should be fine.
Yeah, in St Albans. The guy said he’d started out fitting EV charging points some years ago and opened a shop to demonstrate the chargers and batteries about 3 years ago.That charger is new and made by the people who started Andersen (the big posh charger). They sold the company and started S&P. It does look nice but I've not seen anything about it online to indicate it should be avoided. TBH, with their previous experience behind them it should be fine.
I must have walked past it loads of times and it never registered because I didn’t need a charger. It’s nice to see the chargers in the metal and plastic before committing.
CoupeKid said:
Frimley111R said:
An EV charger shop?
{none related cut}
Yeah, in St Albans. The guy said he’d started out fitting EV charging points some years ago and opened a shop to demonstrate the chargers and batteries about 3 years ago.{none related cut}
I must have walked past it loads of times and it never registered because I didn’t need a charger. It’s nice to see the chargers in the metal and plastic before committing.
dapprman said:
CoupeKid said:
Frimley111R said:
An EV charger shop?
{none related cut}
Yeah, in St Albans. The guy said he’d started out fitting EV charging points some years ago and opened a shop to demonstrate the chargers and batteries about 3 years ago.{none related cut}
I must have walked past it loads of times and it never registered because I didn’t need a charger. It’s nice to see the chargers in the metal and plastic before committing.
CoupeKid said:
dapprman said:
CoupeKid said:
Frimley111R said:
An EV charger shop?
{none related cut}
Yeah, in St Albans. The guy said he’d started out fitting EV charging points some years ago and opened a shop to demonstrate the chargers and batteries about 3 years ago.{none related cut}
I must have walked past it loads of times and it never registered because I didn’t need a charger. It’s nice to see the chargers in the metal and plastic before committing.
cb31 said:
Does anyone know if you can limit access to charging without turning off the circuit that supplies the charger? Imagine I go on holiday and the charger is visible in the drive, what can you do to stop people just plugging the tethered cable into their car and nicking my electricity? I can't imagine this would happen but people never cease to amaze me.
My 11kW 3-phase charge point is on the front of the house in a narrow village street, and there are two spaces for car to park perpendicular to the road. To avoid switching the charge point on/off from the fusebox just inside the front door, I asked the installers to fit a key switch.
This means I can turn it on and plug when I arrive home without having to open the front door, and similarly I can activate the alarm and lock the house when leaving, and turn off the charge point before leaving.
The village restaurant is just 50m up the street and opposite and it wouldn’t surprise me that some cheeky sod might presume it’s a public charger, park and plug in if I left it on!
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