Renault Zoe Van Charging
Discussion
Good evening all
I have a Zoe van coming on Wednesday, and haven’t thought about charging the thing until tonight. I had a look and see that the home charger grant ends in a few days. Although I will get one eventually, will I be ok for the time being with the charging lead that comes with it? I’ll be doing 80 miles per day, so just need it to top back up within around 10 hours.
Is anyone on here coping without a wall charger?
Cheers
I have a Zoe van coming on Wednesday, and haven’t thought about charging the thing until tonight. I had a look and see that the home charger grant ends in a few days. Although I will get one eventually, will I be ok for the time being with the charging lead that comes with it? I’ll be doing 80 miles per day, so just need it to top back up within around 10 hours.
Is anyone on here coping without a wall charger?
Cheers
If it doesn’t come with one, Screwfix sell decent granny chargers at a very reasonable price.
That said, any 13A charger will only add about 2.5 to 3 kw per hour. You might be OK with that giving you 80 miles in eight hours for most of the year but it’s going to be fairly borderline. In cold temperatures I think you’ll be some way off.
That said, any 13A charger will only add about 2.5 to 3 kw per hour. You might be OK with that giving you 80 miles in eight hours for most of the year but it’s going to be fairly borderline. In cold temperatures I think you’ll be some way off.
Thanks for the explanation
I’ll be commuting into London daily, so I can hook up somewhere close to work. That’ll give me a little extra.
I will get round to the home charger, but thinking about the next couple of weeks or so. I’m a little worried about getting stuck somewhere if I’m honest!
I’ll give it a go and see how I get on.
Is there a charging network better than others? Is there any other points or tips I need to know about when owning an EV?
I’ll be commuting into London daily, so I can hook up somewhere close to work. That’ll give me a little extra.
I will get round to the home charger, but thinking about the next couple of weeks or so. I’m a little worried about getting stuck somewhere if I’m honest!
I’ll give it a go and see how I get on.
Is there a charging network better than others? Is there any other points or tips I need to know about when owning an EV?
charltjr said:
They’re much of a muchness when it comes to Zoe as it can’t charge very fast anyway. The latest chargers let you pay by debit card but older ones need an app or a specific RFID card which the operators of the charge point provide you with.
It has got 22kW AC charging and up to 50kW DC? It does, but they are theoretical maximums and that's a long way off the competition these days. It has quite a big battery too so takes a while to charge. My experience was that rapid charging wasn't actually very rapid, even on a very fast charger, compared to the ID3 for example which can do 100kW.
It's absolutely fine if you can leave it on a slower charger for an hour or two, or on a 7kW for a good while, but for a rapid top up to add another 50 miles as fast as possible it's a bit limiting.
Actually OP, I mis-remembered, a 13A charger will actually provide around 2.3kW an hour so will definitely be marginal for 80 miles a day. That said, if you start off fully charged then it's not like you'll run out for ages if you make up most of the difference every day.
It's absolutely fine if you can leave it on a slower charger for an hour or two, or on a 7kW for a good while, but for a rapid top up to add another 50 miles as fast as possible it's a bit limiting.
Actually OP, I mis-remembered, a 13A charger will actually provide around 2.3kW an hour so will definitely be marginal for 80 miles a day. That said, if you start off fully charged then it's not like you'll run out for ages if you make up most of the difference every day.
Not sure if it's still the case but Zoe didn't used to have a "granny" charger that you can plug into a 13A socket because it's charging rate at low power was so crap it was hardly worth the effort.
Something to do with the car using part of the motor as it's charger - beyond me to explain! But the lower the power the less efficient, so 13A might not be an option in any case.
On the plus side built-in 22kW charging was actually really handy! And the new ones have CCS so should be able to gain 90-100 miles in 30 minutes.
Something to do with the car using part of the motor as it's charger - beyond me to explain! But the lower the power the less efficient, so 13A might not be an option in any case.
On the plus side built-in 22kW charging was actually really handy! And the new ones have CCS so should be able to gain 90-100 miles in 30 minutes.
DeanR32 said:
I’ll be commuting into London daily, so I can hook up somewhere close to work. That’ll give me a little extra.
That'll be fine for the time being, did that for a week or two while waiting for my home charger.Just make sure to check the payment methods on them. Usually requires an app or badge so make sure you have the correct one.
Knock_knock said:
Not sure if it's still the case but Zoe didn't used to have a "granny" charger that you can plug into a 13A socket because it's charging rate at low power was so crap it was hardly worth the effort.
Something to do with the car using part of the motor as it's charger - beyond me to explain! But the lower the power the less efficient, so 13A might not be an option in any case.
On the plus side built-in 22kW charging was actually really handy! And the new ones have CCS so should be able to gain 90-100 miles in 30 minutes.
Interesting. iirc the Zoe is one of the only ones I know of that can actually take 22kW which means they have an internal rectifier that can take it. Maybe the flip side of the coin is that, as you say, it doesn't really work well at lower power...Something to do with the car using part of the motor as it's charger - beyond me to explain! But the lower the power the less efficient, so 13A might not be an option in any case.
On the plus side built-in 22kW charging was actually really handy! And the new ones have CCS so should be able to gain 90-100 miles in 30 minutes.
Knock_knock said:
On the plus side built-in 22kW charging was actually really handy! And the new ones have CCS so should be able to gain 90-100 miles in 30 minutes.
CCS isn’t standard on the Business trim, it’s an option. It’s standard on the Business + though. Just done a review of it on my channel. Good little van.https://youtu.be/8WHZ7dbaWcQ
This chap wasn’t too impressed with the charging capability, albeit that was with a Kangoo EV which appear to lack any higher speed charging.
This chap wasn’t too impressed with the charging capability, albeit that was with a Kangoo EV which appear to lack any higher speed charging.
Tractor Driver said:
https://youtu.be/8WHZ7dbaWcQ
This chap wasn’t too impressed with the charging capability, albeit that was with a Kangoo EV which appear to lack any higher speed charging.
Kangoo uses a different charging setup and a different motor and battery to the ZOE van!This chap wasn’t too impressed with the charging capability, albeit that was with a Kangoo EV which appear to lack any higher speed charging.
Buy a 13A from screwfix for now - 10-14 hours to recharge 100 miles. Arguably you don’t need a home charger but it does speed up the charge rate and allows you to make the most of smart tariffs.
Charge on a 7kW whenever you’re near one and make sure you use the 22kW posts at Tesco/Aldi
Otherwise any 50kW CCS while you’re travelling - charge up to 80% and move on - its usually quicker to travel to the next charger than eke out the last 20%
Charge on a 7kW whenever you’re near one and make sure you use the 22kW posts at Tesco/Aldi
Otherwise any 50kW CCS while you’re travelling - charge up to 80% and move on - its usually quicker to travel to the next charger than eke out the last 20%
Thanks for all your replies. It all helps to make sense of it all!
I didn’t buy the lead in the end. I’ve been plugging it in to the closest charger to work (which has the CCS bit). I plugged it in for an hour and it gave me around 120 miles, and took £15 advance payment on my card. I thought that was a little expensive actually.
I think I’d better get a home charger, so, next question is which one to go for? What one do you guys recommend?
Cheers
I didn’t buy the lead in the end. I’ve been plugging it in to the closest charger to work (which has the CCS bit). I plugged it in for an hour and it gave me around 120 miles, and took £15 advance payment on my card. I thought that was a little expensive actually.
I think I’d better get a home charger, so, next question is which one to go for? What one do you guys recommend?
Cheers
I bought a granny charger that is variable between 8 and 16A.
Installed a 16A commando socket outside my house which gives 3.6kw charging capability, enough for 99% of situations but with the added advantage I can chuck it in the back of the car, add a 13a fly lead and plug it into the Airbnb like we are this weekend.
All for well under £300.
When I looked into smart chargers they all seemed like rip-offs to me. That said if you're trying to utilise the 4hrs of night rate like a Octopus Go tariff you'd be best with a 32A charger to make the most if it.
Installed a 16A commando socket outside my house which gives 3.6kw charging capability, enough for 99% of situations but with the added advantage I can chuck it in the back of the car, add a 13a fly lead and plug it into the Airbnb like we are this weekend.
All for well under £300.
When I looked into smart chargers they all seemed like rip-offs to me. That said if you're trying to utilise the 4hrs of night rate like a Octopus Go tariff you'd be best with a 32A charger to make the most if it.
Cheapest charger you can, I would suggest. The commando option is one I've heard of but not tried - simple and cost effective from the sound of it. I don't know if you could get a 32 amp one, which would be ideal. 16 amp is a bit slow. Unless you're really competent I would use an electrician to fit it, as it'll be drawing a lot of current for extended hours.
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