Which home charging point?
Discussion
Beefmeister said:
Yup. I have a design engineering consultancy that actually pays the bills, then do YouTube stuff on the side. I’m actually working on three other EV charging related products (non-Pod-Point) at the moment. I seem to have found nice little niche there.
I worked for PP as I’ve known the CEO for 35yrs and were each other’s best men
I to have a pod Point fitted and is used with Octopus Go tariff. 12.30am to 4.30am, 5p a KW.I worked for PP as I’ve known the CEO for 35yrs and were each other’s best men
Edited by Beefmeister on Wednesday 11th December 12:48
This works well for me and my Ipace. Pod Point was installed without any fuss and the swap to Octopus was ok as well.
If interested in Octopus Go then please sign up for the Octopus Go tariff and share the £100 introduction gift
https://share.octopus.energy/tan-brook-825
Mefster said:
RammyMP said:
Mefster said:
Just to jump on the back of this thread, we’re awaiting collection of a Mini Countryman PHEV when the dealers are open again. We want to get a home charging point to speed up overnight charging. I think it’s likely when we change our other car it’ll be for a hybrid or electric car.
What is the best option for charging 2 cars? A charging point with a ‘double socket’ two separate charging points? Or am I better getting a single charging point and dealing with the second if or when we get a second hybrid?
Does anyone have any suggestions for a neat and good value solution?
Thanks
We had a Countryman PHEV on a long term test, as it’s only got a small battery I charged it up overnight on the 3 pin plug charger that come with the car. Overnight it would charge from flat to full. That might be an option if you’re struggling?What is the best option for charging 2 cars? A charging point with a ‘double socket’ two separate charging points? Or am I better getting a single charging point and dealing with the second if or when we get a second hybrid?
Does anyone have any suggestions for a neat and good value solution?
Thanks
It’s not much good if you want to give it a boost for an hour or two though.
The more I’m researching, the more decisions there are to be made...
The Countryman PHEV appears to have a maximum charging power rating of 3.7kW. Paying for a 22kW unit seems pointless as I’m sure costs will drop in the future. Seems pointless buying current tech for a future second electric car (other than the Mini) that I don’t own yet. Not a huge difference in cost for 7kW. Might be tempted with this option just in case, although I understand the existing supply to the house may be the limiting factor.
The next question is tethered or universal? Tethered is obviously more convenient. It’ll be mounted on an exterior wall and so it would mean less faffing with cables on cold, wet winter nights. I don’t know how standardised the sockets on cars are at present. Are we still at the Betamax/Videodisc stage or has the industry settled in a common system? If we did change the car in the future, can the tethered cable be changed or would it require a completely new unit?
The Countryman PHEV appears to have a maximum charging power rating of 3.7kW. Paying for a 22kW unit seems pointless as I’m sure costs will drop in the future. Seems pointless buying current tech for a future second electric car (other than the Mini) that I don’t own yet. Not a huge difference in cost for 7kW. Might be tempted with this option just in case, although I understand the existing supply to the house may be the limiting factor.
The next question is tethered or universal? Tethered is obviously more convenient. It’ll be mounted on an exterior wall and so it would mean less faffing with cables on cold, wet winter nights. I don’t know how standardised the sockets on cars are at present. Are we still at the Betamax/Videodisc stage or has the industry settled in a common system? If we did change the car in the future, can the tethered cable be changed or would it require a completely new unit?
Mefster said:
The more I’m researching, the more decisions there are to be made...
The Countryman PHEV appears to have a maximum charging power rating of 3.7kW. Paying for a 22kW unit seems pointless as I’m sure costs will drop in the future. Seems pointless buying current tech for a future second electric car (other than the Mini) that I don’t own yet. Not a huge difference in cost for 7kW. Might be tempted with this option just in case, although I understand the existing supply to the house may be the limiting factor.
The next question is tethered or universal? Tethered is obviously more convenient. It’ll be mounted on an exterior wall and so it would mean less faffing with cables on cold, wet winter nights. I don’t know how standardised the sockets on cars are at present. Are we still at the Betamax/Videodisc stage or has the industry settled in a common system? If we did change the car in the future, can the tethered cable be changed or would it require a completely new unit?
22kW is A LOT of power and you need 3 Phase electricity for that (not sure if you have that but most homes don't and it's very costly to get installed). The Countryman PHEV appears to have a maximum charging power rating of 3.7kW. Paying for a 22kW unit seems pointless as I’m sure costs will drop in the future. Seems pointless buying current tech for a future second electric car (other than the Mini) that I don’t own yet. Not a huge difference in cost for 7kW. Might be tempted with this option just in case, although I understand the existing supply to the house may be the limiting factor.
The next question is tethered or universal? Tethered is obviously more convenient. It’ll be mounted on an exterior wall and so it would mean less faffing with cables on cold, wet winter nights. I don’t know how standardised the sockets on cars are at present. Are we still at the Betamax/Videodisc stage or has the industry settled in a common system? If we did change the car in the future, can the tethered cable be changed or would it require a completely new unit?
Most EV's won't need charging up at the same time in the same way you don't fill up 2 petrol/diesel cars at the same time now so one charger will be fine for most.
About 2-3% of all the chargers we install have a tether. There is nothing wrong with a tethered charger, it's just personal opinion. Our chargers are very small and unobtrusive in size and so having a big cable wrapped around them defeats the aesthetics, which is probably why most use their own cables, but some larger chargers are designed to wrap the cable round them as their size can hide the cable quite well. But they are quite big.
Yes, we've been through the VHS/Betamax issue with Type 1 and Type 2 and we've settled on Type 2. You'll be fine with that and it'll work for any car.
Go for a 7.2kW, don't go for a lower powered home charger. Your next EV/Hybird will probably be able to able to the full amount so you don't want to have to buy twice.
Which is the cheapest charging point you can get by using the grant? Also, might be a stupid question but we currently have a 7.5kw shower with its own trip on the main electric unit. Could this be replaced for an EV charger? We were thinking of swapping the shower to run off the boiler anyway.
Also, when you get an electric/phev do you get the 3 pin plug with it? Also how long are the cables usually? Can they be left outside to charge, or does it need to be covered up?
We are looking at getting an A250e so just want the info before we decide.
Thanks
Also, when you get an electric/phev do you get the 3 pin plug with it? Also how long are the cables usually? Can they be left outside to charge, or does it need to be covered up?
We are looking at getting an A250e so just want the info before we decide.
Thanks
Mcfcms said:
Which is the cheapest charging point you can get by using the grant? - Not sure, just google it, it varies. Beware hidden charges though as there is the classic ''(From) £XXX' type of online marketing. Note too that the OLEV grant is now down to £350 from £500 so it won't be as low cost for you as it was once.'
We currently have a 7.5kw shower with its own trip on the main electric unit. Could this be replaced for an EV charger? - Basically, yes.
Also, when you get an electric/phev do you get the 3 pin plug with it? Also how long are the cables usually? With new ones yes, you should have a 3 pin 'granny cable' with it but prob not a type 2 connector for fast charging. 5m is the std length for a fast charging cable, not sure about granny cables, prob the same.
Can they be left outside to charge, or does it need to be covered up? Outside is fine.
See above, hope that helps.We currently have a 7.5kw shower with its own trip on the main electric unit. Could this be replaced for an EV charger? - Basically, yes.
Also, when you get an electric/phev do you get the 3 pin plug with it? Also how long are the cables usually? With new ones yes, you should have a 3 pin 'granny cable' with it but prob not a type 2 connector for fast charging. 5m is the std length for a fast charging cable, not sure about granny cables, prob the same.
Can they be left outside to charge, or does it need to be covered up? Outside is fine.
Frimley111R said:
About 2-3% of all the chargers we install have a tether.
I'm surprised by that. To be a tethered charger is far more convenient, no need to get the cable out of the car every time. For some use I'd much prefer tethered.Are you mostly doing commercial installs perhaps?
Frimley111R said:
Mcfcms said:
Which is the cheapest charging point you can get by using the grant? - Not sure, just google it, it varies. Beware hidden charges though as there is the classic ''(From) £XXX' type of online marketing. Note too that the OLEV grant is now down to £350 from £500 so it won't be as low cost for you as it was once.'
We currently have a 7.5kw shower with its own trip on the main electric unit. Could this be replaced for an EV charger? - Basically, yes.
Also, when you get an electric/phev do you get the 3 pin plug with it? Also how long are the cables usually? With new ones yes, you should have a 3 pin 'granny cable' with it but prob not a type 2 connector for fast charging. 5m is the std length for a fast charging cable, not sure about granny cables, prob the same.
Can they be left outside to charge, or does it need to be covered up? Outside is fine.
See above, hope that helps.We currently have a 7.5kw shower with its own trip on the main electric unit. Could this be replaced for an EV charger? - Basically, yes.
Also, when you get an electric/phev do you get the 3 pin plug with it? Also how long are the cables usually? With new ones yes, you should have a 3 pin 'granny cable' with it but prob not a type 2 connector for fast charging. 5m is the std length for a fast charging cable, not sure about granny cables, prob the same.
Can they be left outside to charge, or does it need to be covered up? Outside is fine.
Hi everyone.
Some interesting questions here.
Here is the answer to some of them from an Installer’s point of view.
Why does a chargepoint install cost so much when it’s essentially only a socket and contactor?
In order to comply with the requirements of the OLEV scheme all chargepoints are ‘smart’ enabled which depending on the chargepoint means it will have many other features such as communication (with the manufacturer), automatic load limiting (stop you blowing your main fuse) and for a couple of manufacturers the chargepoint comes with PEN protection (avoids the need for an earth rod or noisy external PEN protection equipment) built in.
The OLEV scheme only covers very specific makes and models of chargepoint and each one has to go through the OLEV type approval process. Many moons ago our local ROLEC rep said that to simply change the colour of the charge point it cost another £65k to get it type approved again.
Having dealt with OLEV for the last few years I can well believe that.
Typical install costs for us are around £200 labour (on a half day install) with around £50 profit on the job. For this you’ve got the initial labour for the half day install plus the original visit to quote, then a stack load of paperwork and evidence to access the grant and if you are lucky you may get paid in two to three months. Grant applications are routinely thrown out for the most unreasonably things (photo of driveway is not proof of off road parking for example).
The longest we’ve had to wait for payouts is nine months and we have had a few go to that time.
There are many companies who’ve set up to take advantage of the scheme and often they will quote a seemingly low price only for that to magically increase post install or alternatively they use sub contractors and simply take their slice and let the subby take the hit on the cost. Unfortunately this is why so many installs looks like they’ve been thrown in by a blind apprentice!
Tethered or untethered?
As a high mileage user of an i3 (two of them in succession and approaching 150k miles) personally I’d recommend a tethered.
When you pull up in the dark and pissing rain the last thing you want to do is go rooting about for a charge lead.
Yes you could leave a charge lead plugged into the chargepoint and simply plug it into the vehicle as and when. Be aware that the lead only locks in when attached to the car so theft of your lead is a very real and xpensive issue when not in use.
Untethered does have the benefit of flexibility, especially if you run multiple vehicles with different socket types and of course untethered is usually significantly cheaper.
3kWor 7kW?
The cost difference between the two is relatively small and even though your current vehicle may only take 3kW you can still plug it into the 7kW without issue and undoubtedly any full EV you buy in future will take advantage of the full 7kW
Not really any downsides to going for the larger unit apart from £50 on the initial install cost.
Which brand?
It’s a bit like asking “which car should I buy?”
All will get you from A to B/ charge your car but some are a bit more deluxe or more reliable.
From the brands listed in the opening post I’d personally avoid the ROLEC on the basis that the new ‘smart’ chargepoints (the older pre smart ones were okay) had a high failure rate.
EO is a smart looking chargepoint although it does appear that the internals are a little ‘crammed in’ due to its limited size I’ve yet to hear of any issues. The downside is that it will need either an earth rod or external PEN protection (which can be noisy).
PodPoint Solo-
Currently this would be my recommendation for a fully featured (load limiting and PEN protection built in), reliable chargepoint.
We’ve yet to have a call back on one of these.
Only negatives are that the PodPoint website shows the same cost for tethered and untethered units where in reality if it’s done by an approved installer the purchase cost of the tethered unit is actually about £80 more.
Maybe if PodPoint install it they might do it for the same price.
Having said that we have installed a few where the customer was originally booked for an install with PodPoint but the service was less than expected.
I hope this answers some of your questions.
Some interesting questions here.
Here is the answer to some of them from an Installer’s point of view.
Why does a chargepoint install cost so much when it’s essentially only a socket and contactor?
In order to comply with the requirements of the OLEV scheme all chargepoints are ‘smart’ enabled which depending on the chargepoint means it will have many other features such as communication (with the manufacturer), automatic load limiting (stop you blowing your main fuse) and for a couple of manufacturers the chargepoint comes with PEN protection (avoids the need for an earth rod or noisy external PEN protection equipment) built in.
The OLEV scheme only covers very specific makes and models of chargepoint and each one has to go through the OLEV type approval process. Many moons ago our local ROLEC rep said that to simply change the colour of the charge point it cost another £65k to get it type approved again.
Having dealt with OLEV for the last few years I can well believe that.
Typical install costs for us are around £200 labour (on a half day install) with around £50 profit on the job. For this you’ve got the initial labour for the half day install plus the original visit to quote, then a stack load of paperwork and evidence to access the grant and if you are lucky you may get paid in two to three months. Grant applications are routinely thrown out for the most unreasonably things (photo of driveway is not proof of off road parking for example).
The longest we’ve had to wait for payouts is nine months and we have had a few go to that time.
There are many companies who’ve set up to take advantage of the scheme and often they will quote a seemingly low price only for that to magically increase post install or alternatively they use sub contractors and simply take their slice and let the subby take the hit on the cost. Unfortunately this is why so many installs looks like they’ve been thrown in by a blind apprentice!
Tethered or untethered?
As a high mileage user of an i3 (two of them in succession and approaching 150k miles) personally I’d recommend a tethered.
When you pull up in the dark and pissing rain the last thing you want to do is go rooting about for a charge lead.
Yes you could leave a charge lead plugged into the chargepoint and simply plug it into the vehicle as and when. Be aware that the lead only locks in when attached to the car so theft of your lead is a very real and xpensive issue when not in use.
Untethered does have the benefit of flexibility, especially if you run multiple vehicles with different socket types and of course untethered is usually significantly cheaper.
3kWor 7kW?
The cost difference between the two is relatively small and even though your current vehicle may only take 3kW you can still plug it into the 7kW without issue and undoubtedly any full EV you buy in future will take advantage of the full 7kW
Not really any downsides to going for the larger unit apart from £50 on the initial install cost.
Which brand?
It’s a bit like asking “which car should I buy?”
All will get you from A to B/ charge your car but some are a bit more deluxe or more reliable.
From the brands listed in the opening post I’d personally avoid the ROLEC on the basis that the new ‘smart’ chargepoints (the older pre smart ones were okay) had a high failure rate.
EO is a smart looking chargepoint although it does appear that the internals are a little ‘crammed in’ due to its limited size I’ve yet to hear of any issues. The downside is that it will need either an earth rod or external PEN protection (which can be noisy).
PodPoint Solo-
Currently this would be my recommendation for a fully featured (load limiting and PEN protection built in), reliable chargepoint.
We’ve yet to have a call back on one of these.
Only negatives are that the PodPoint website shows the same cost for tethered and untethered units where in reality if it’s done by an approved installer the purchase cost of the tethered unit is actually about £80 more.
Maybe if PodPoint install it they might do it for the same price.
Having said that we have installed a few where the customer was originally booked for an install with PodPoint but the service was less than expected.
I hope this answers some of your questions.
Mcfcms said:
Thanks for that. Yeah the issue I’m having is finding chargers online that say £500, but then when you go through they have already taken off the £350 grant. Just seems expensive paying £500 as that will pretty much wipe out a lot of the savings I will make on petrol.
There is a perception, brought about mostly by stupid online adverts, that chargers are cheap items. They are not. The main charger we install is about £720+ if you wanted to buy it. Add on top of that paying a qualified electrician to fit it, armoured cabling, parts, labour, travel to your home, 16 pages of paperwork for you, an electrical certificate, and then the installer not getting paid for at least a month (often, as you can see above, many months after this) and you can see why home chargers are not cheap little sockets.Oh yes, and then the government made all manufacturers put in data connections/wi-fi which pushed charger prices up and then the IET made us put in earth spikes for most chargers. And then the government/OLEV reduced the grant to you from £500 to £350.
And then you pay 20% VAT on top of all that.
Whilst clearly not a cheap addition to your home, you, like all our customers have still spent many thousands of pounds on a car and so, in the big financial picture, chargers are low cost in comparison.
Frimley111R said:
There is a perception, brought about mostly by stupid online adverts, that chargers are cheap items. They are not. The main charger we install is about £720+ if you wanted to buy it.
Chargers seem to be overpriced. Looking on AliExpress you can get a 32A unit for a small fraction of that. It's the OLEV grant that forces the price up.At the moment the smart features just don't make sense much of the time. It's great that you can charge when electricity is cheapest overnight but it will take you decades to recoup the extra cost of the smart charger.
The only real issue is if you want two in one house. Otherwise the dumb chargers are cheaper and more robust. You also won't get screwed by security flaws or the manufacturer losing interest in providing software updates.
New EO Mini from EBay £320 plus £150 for local sparky to fit with, complete with separate isolator switch. £470 all in. No OLEV grant no fuss 
Previous quote for EO mini was £570 inc £500 OLEV grant so £1070 fitted.
OLEV approved Installers can only be inflating installation charges unfairly to account for such a difference in price! It’s like a huge gravy train that everyone has jumped on to make a quick profit on the back of the taxpayer.
Previous quote for EO mini was £570 inc £500 OLEV grant so £1070 fitted.
OLEV approved Installers can only be inflating installation charges unfairly to account for such a difference in price! It’s like a huge gravy train that everyone has jumped on to make a quick profit on the back of the taxpayer.
jms1 said:
New EO Mini from EBay £320 plus £150 for local sparky to fit with, complete with separate isolator switch. £470 all in. No OLEV grant no fuss
Previous quote for EO mini was £570 inc £500 OLEV grant so £1070 fitted.
OLEV approved Installers can only be inflating installation charges unfairly to account for such a difference in price! It’s like a huge gravy train that everyone has jumped on to make a quick profit on the back of the taxpayer.
As long as you trust a sparky to do a decent job fitting one of the highest powered electrical device in your home. For £150 he's got about £50 of parts and he has to get to your home and back. Oh, and you've got your electrical cert too I assume? And he put in an earth spike?Previous quote for EO mini was £570 inc £500 OLEV grant so £1070 fitted.
OLEV approved Installers can only be inflating installation charges unfairly to account for such a difference in price! It’s like a huge gravy train that everyone has jumped on to make a quick profit on the back of the taxpayer.
There's a difference between bargain bucket work and quality work in every sector. It's like getting your mate's mate to service your boiler vs. British gas for example.
jms1 said:
New EO Mini from EBay £320 plus £150 for local sparky to fit with, complete with separate isolator switch. £470 all in. No OLEV grant no fuss
Previous quote for EO mini was £570 inc £500 OLEV grant so £1070 fitted.
OLEV approved Installers can only be inflating installation charges unfairly to account for such a difference in price! It’s like a huge gravy train that everyone has jumped on to make a quick profit on the back of the taxpayer.
Great post and I genuinely mean that as it is a question that arises quite often when we go out and quote for installs.Previous quote for EO mini was £570 inc £500 OLEV grant so £1070 fitted.
OLEV approved Installers can only be inflating installation charges unfairly to account for such a difference in price! It’s like a huge gravy train that everyone has jumped on to make a quick profit on the back of the taxpayer.
With regard to the pricing-
The EO mini is fine but not OLEV approved which is okay as from your post you're not claiming the grant.
It also doesn't have a load limiting device so your electrician will need to deal with the DNO to get prior approval to install it if the total current demand of the property is over 60Amps (it will be if you have the chargepoint and a big load item such as cooker or shower etc).
No reputable installer is going to purchase their materials from eBay. They will need to provide and you'll expect to get some form of warranty for the parts and labour. Reputable suppliers for reputable installers I'm afraid.
As Frimley as rightly pointed out, you've also missed out all of the parts that go with the chargepoint.
So lets add cable (EV Ultra at £5 per Meter) plus cable glands and cleats and fixings.
In addition you will need a minimum B type RCD (different to a b type MCB) with an enclosure and main switch (£40-50) as it needs to be seperate to the AC type RCD's in you main consumer unit for safety reasons (potentially stops the normal RCD's operating in the event of a fault).
In order to install that you will also need a link box and a few metres of PVC/PVC tails (another £15-20).
Last but not least you'll be needing an earth electrode or alternatively some kind of PEN protective device (£10 for an earth electrode plus compound and a stack of labour to get a reading low enough for an EV chargepoint or £180 for a seperate PEN device).
So add up those parts complete with a chargepoint from a reputable source and you've got the materials cost.
Labour costs. For a half decent install on a straightforward job then you are looking at half a days labour (or more if you're having the typical nightmare with the earth rod), add the time for the initial quote (yes I know the advert said 'free quotes' but it's built into the quote) and the messing about with the DNO.
Unfortunately you're not the only one that expects it for £150.
EDIT- I'd also add that your average 'run of the mill' sparky won't have a clue about half of the requirements for EV installs.
Amazingly I've had a few instances of other electrical contactors phoning me for advice when they are mid install as they don't understand the requirements in the installation instructions.
You do wonder how they quoted for the job if they didn't know what they were doing!
Edited by Nick928 on Tuesday 7th April 16:16
Frimley111R said:
As long as you trust a sparky to do a decent job fitting one of the highest powered electrical device in your home. For £150 he's got about £50 of parts and he has to get to your home and back. Oh, and you've got your electrical cert too I assume? And he put in an earth spike?
There's a difference between bargain bucket work and quality work in every sector. It's like getting your mate's mate to service your boiler vs. British gas for example.
I had a quote from a reputable installer so I know what was required. Note the property is already TT earthed:There's a difference between bargain bucket work and quality work in every sector. It's like getting your mate's mate to service your boiler vs. British gas for example.
Supply of BLACK EO MINI charger basic socket up to 7.2kW/32amps (standard colour - Black) with
wifi connection to online portal and app. Price includes 3 years' admin
(£500 OLEV grant applied to this item) = £200 + VAT
Installation of EO MINI PRO.
Installed on side of property next to front door with Cable being clipped on internal of garage.
Office - Requires 100 Amp Switched fused isolator and 4 Way fired rated enclosure with TYPE A Main switch and MCB for EV Charge point - Existing system is already TT = £275 +VAT
The EO mini was purchased from a reputable electrical wholesaler (trading on EBay) and the electrician I used rewired my property during a recent renovation, so I trust him and know the quality of his work.
I chose to instal outside of the OLEV grant so accept the pros and cons therein.
Frimley111R said:
Mcfcms said:
Thanks for that. Yeah the issue I’m having is finding chargers online that say £500, but then when you go through they have already taken off the £350 grant. Just seems expensive paying £500 as that will pretty much wipe out a lot of the savings I will make on petrol.
There is a perception, brought about mostly by stupid online adverts, that chargers are cheap items. They are not. The main charger we install is about £720+ if you wanted to buy it. Add on top of that paying a qualified electrician to fit it, armoured cabling, parts, labour, travel to your home, 16 pages of paperwork for you, an electrical certificate, and then the installer not getting paid for at least a month (often, as you can see above, many months after this) and you can see why home chargers are not cheap little sockets.Oh yes, and then the government made all manufacturers put in data connections/wi-fi which pushed charger prices up and then the IET made us put in earth spikes for most chargers. And then the government/OLEV reduced the grant to you from £500 to £350.
And then you pay 20% VAT on top of all that.
Whilst clearly not a cheap addition to your home, you, like all our customers have still spent many thousands of pounds on a car and so, in the big financial picture, chargers are low cost in comparison.
Frimley111R said:
Whilst clearly not a cheap addition to your home, you, like all our customers have still spent many thousands of pounds on a car and so, in the big financial picture, chargers are low cost in comparison.
Given that you can pick second hand cars up for sub-£10k now, the idea that this isn't a significant cost isn't true.The standards have IMO, been driven to far. And I think what you'll see is a proliferation of second hand and DIY installations that don't meet the standard, as well as many people using heavy duty 3 pin sockets with an EVSE.
Ultimately undermining the grids intention of being able to manage charging load should it need to. And also reducing the ability for people to charge at the best time for the grid.
aestetix1 said:
Frimley111R said:
There is a perception, brought about mostly by stupid online adverts, that chargers are cheap items. They are not. The main charger we install is about £720+ if you wanted to buy it.
Chargers seem to be overpriced. Looking on AliExpress you can get a 32A unit for a small fraction of that. It's the OLEV grant that forces the price up.I was reluctant to spend £400-500 on a charger before the OLEV grant cut, not sure I'll ever get one now. There's also the fact that I don't like any of the current charger designs. I like the idea of the Ohme as I'm on Octopus Agile but the cable just looks a mess. Andersen make a great looking charger but that's ££££.
Evanivitch said:
Frimley111R said:
Whilst clearly not a cheap addition to your home, you, like all our customers have still spent many thousands of pounds on a car and so, in the big financial picture, chargers are low cost in comparison.
Given that you can pick second hand cars up for sub-£10k now, the idea that this isn't a significant cost isn't true.The standards have IMO, been driven to far. And I think what you'll see is a proliferation of second hand and DIY installations that don't meet the standard, as well as many people using heavy duty 3 pin sockets with an EVSE.
Ultimately undermining the grids intention of being able to manage charging load should it need to. And also reducing the ability for people to charge at the best time for the grid.
As you say, I’ve had a few enquires from people after a ‘cheap’ 32A commando style socket thinking that because the plug is a similar shape that they will be able to plug the vehicle straight in to that.
Same goes for people buying used kit off the internet or from properties where they’ve moved from.
From an EV point of view the regulations are constantly changing and the equipment that used to meet requirements more often than not now doesn’t.
This obviously doesn’t affect a DIY installer.
As we look to order an iPace this has been a really interesting thread.
Unfortunately we don't have any 'official' off street parking so are unable to qualify for a grant but we do have guaranteed access to the rear of the house.
What is the best way to have a quality install carried out?
Ideally I'd like to have it coinciding with running power to the shed from the consumer unit at the front of the house.
Based in Harrogate if anyone has recommendations.
Unfortunately we don't have any 'official' off street parking so are unable to qualify for a grant but we do have guaranteed access to the rear of the house.
What is the best way to have a quality install carried out?
Ideally I'd like to have it coinciding with running power to the shed from the consumer unit at the front of the house.
Based in Harrogate if anyone has recommendations.
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