Home charge points (purchase/problems/questions) (See mod note post#1)

Krusty_Clown

My experience was an initial survey that highlighted a need for some electrical upgrade work in my 36 year old 3 bed semi-d. Earthing the gas boiler, earthing the boiler in the hot press, upgrade the tails, no sign of the earthing rod (probably covered over during piped gas installation 20+ years ago, quote for €550 plus vat, and promises of some ugly cable routing/trunking. Once this work has been completed and cert produced, then we call and schedule the ESB to connect to the new tails - another few weeks and €168. Then only after that we schedule and pay €1,100 minus grant for an EO mini for a pretty standard install. So around €1.2K after grant and about 6 weeks to get the work completed.

Got an alternative quote from a REC, to do the earthing, do a half job on the tails (as the ESB will be installing a smart meter in the coming months), overlook the ESB connecting to the tails (nudge, nudge, wink, wink), not sure if we'd get the certificate, cos it wouldn't be needed anyway, and they'd install the charger if we sourced one ourselves. We're unlikely to go down this path, as the savings just don't justify the risk. If we did have an electrical fire and it transpired we'd had the electrical work done by an REC without following due processes, I've a feeling we'd be the ones in a hard place.

Not complaining, just setting the expectation that if you live in a slightly older house there's expense, time and a bit of grief to get your home charger set up. If you find a good electrician, appreciate them!

Gumbo

FixdePitchmark wrote: »

Also - I don't buy decades - the technology has already changed a few times in a 10 years.

It’s essentially a charger. Plug sockets haven’t changed that much over the years. Plug in, power comes out.

slave1 wrote: »

Charge points don’t need to cost a grand if you’ve no need for all the extra features, I posted a £200 used 5m tethered type 2 a week or so ago on this thread

+1

I bought my charger for €200 on the Facebook group and paid a sparks €100 to connect at both ends and certify.

jprboy

Gumbo wrote: »

I bought my charger for €200 on the Facebook group and paid a sparks €100 to connect at both ends and certify.

Is that the charging unit you subsequently sold on?

If so, here's a hypothethical scenario

The purchaser is now finally getting around to getting this installed as lockdown has not allowed this since purchase.

Consumer unit is in middle of house (3 bed semi-d) so cable will need to be run from there to front of house. First electrician engaged to look at this is "having trouble finding a priority switch" :rolleyes:

Ok, purchaser is now seeking another electrician but any idea what is a realistic price to pay to connect this charging unit up, including a priority switch?

zg3409

In terms of cost many companies are adding more than the usual hourly rate.

However the rules in the UK have driven up the cost of chargers. To get the grant in the UK chargers must have extra safety features self testing or else that needs to be put in fuseboard. In UK it might require a new or dedicated earth rod. It also needs to be smart to get the grant (only recently) mainly as future planning for a smart grid where chargers may stop charging temporarily if the national or local grid is busy or if there is cheap wind or not enough load on the grid they might start charging earlier in the evening. Its not fully implemented in the chargers yet but without any smarts in the charger its harder to add it later. They are assuming millions of EVs sitting plugged in during the day and overnight might be a good thing for the grid and it may help the grid at peaks of high and low demand.

Also republic of Ireland is different to UK. In ROI many people have 9kW instant showers but a low 60A grid connection so load sharing needs are far more common here. In UK instant showers are far less common with gas often used for showers fed from hot tank or combined gas boiler. This is partly due to higher standard water pressure in UK

All that said the electric Ireland upped the cost of their standard installation because they could get away with it and a few years ago 1000+ total costs after vat was rare The cost of a Zappi has risen too for no real reason.

slave1

UK also have restricted charge point listings, AFAIK the Tesla home charge point is not even on their list so no grant associated with that purchase/install

pjproby

Have the same issue-KN came out to install the charger-they said the main cable into the house needs to be upgraded from 10sq to 16sq. ESB will do it for €168 if a RECI will certify that it can be upgraded. RECI I spoke to reckons nobody wants to certify anything in a 40 year old house.
Wondering would it make sense to get a 3 pin plug wired back to the fuse box and forget about the charger.

KCross

pjproby wrote: »

Have the same issue-KN came out to install the charger-they said the main cable into the house needs to be upgraded from 10sq to 16sq. ESB will do it for €168 if a RECI will certify that it can be upgraded. RECI I spoke to reckons nobody wants to certify anything in a 40 year old house.
Wondering would it make sense to get a 3 pin plug wired back to the fuse box and forget about the charger.

An alternative is get a 16A charge point. You shouldnt need any upgrades then but you only get to charge at half the rate but its better/safer/faster than a 3 pin socket.

lobbylad

I need to get a Type 2 to Type 2 7.5m or so charge cable, any suggestions on one locally in Dublin or get it online?

unkel

Locally: electricautos.ie

Good service, locally owned business and you will be surprised at the prices of cables - you won't get them online substantially cheaper.

drunkmonkey

Can electrician install a home charger? Just looking at VW install costs and they seem off the wall....

Cyrus

drunkmonkey wrote: »

Can electrician install a home charger? Just looking at VW install costs and they seem off the wall....

how much are they quoting?

drunkmonkey

€1155 for the entry level including the charger valued at €399
€1399 for next level charger (599 for charger)
€1649 for Max charger (849 for charger)

I'm buying it through a business so no SEAI grant... thinking would be cheaper to just get out my usual sparky for install.

Cyrus

drunkmonkey wrote: »

€1155 for the entry level including the charger valued at €399
€1399 for next level charger (599 for charger)
€1649 for Max charger (849 for charger)

I'm buying it through a business so no SEAI grant... thinking would be cheaper to just get out my usual sparky for install.

electric ireland are doing an eomini pro for 1099 fitted which looks like better value than that.

the units themselves arent that cheap so even if you get the most basic unit (unless you buy used) it will probably still be 800/900 all in, but it could be possible do it for less (im sure some on here have done so)

KCross

drunkmonkey wrote: »

Can electrician install a home charger? Just looking at VW install costs and they seem off the wall....

Any electrician can do it. Its just an outdoor socket (albeit higher power).

MJohnston

KCross wrote: »

Any electrician can do it. Its just an outdoor socket (albeit higher power).

Just to be clear - any electrician can do the work, but only an electrician registered with Safe Electric Ireland can provide the proper certification that will allow you to claim the Home Charger grant from SEAI.

Cyrus

MJohnston wrote: »

Just to be clear - any electrician can do the work, but only an electrician registered with Safe Electric Ireland can provide the proper certification that will allow you to claim the Home Charger grant from SEAI.

which is where drunkmonkey has options as he isnt claiming the grant

MJohnston

Cyrus wrote: »

which is where drunkmonkey has options as he isnt claiming the grant

That's fine in this one case, but people tend to grab information from these threads willy nilly.

Felexicon

KCross wrote: »

Any electrician can do it. Its just an outdoor socket (albeit higher power).

That's not exactly true. There are more factors to take in to account when dealing with a business premises.

KCross

MJohnston wrote: »

Just to be clear - any electrician can do the work, but only an electrician registered with Safe Electric Ireland can provide the proper certification that will allow you to claim the Home Charger grant from SEAI.

Felexicon wrote: »

That's not exactly true. There are more factors to take in to account when dealing with a business premises.

My comment was on the basis that he wasnt claiming the grant and its a home charge point install(or at least thats what he said)... i think he's a sole trader or something.

Any electrician can do it.

Gumbo

drunkmonkey wrote: »

Can electrician install a home charger? Just looking at VW install costs and they seem off the wall....

Yes any Safe Electric electrician that’s registered if going for grant.
If no install grant then any competent electrician can do it.
You can install and run the cables yourself actually. You just need the electrician to make the connection in the fuse board.





There really should be a sticky at this stage mods as the same questions gets asked daily.

meercat

[quote="Gumbo;113810047"
If no install grant then any competent electrician can do it.
.[/quote]

Only a registered electrical contractor(Safe electric rec) is permitted to work on distribution board

meercat

KCross wrote: »

My comment was on the basis that he wasnt claiming the grant and its a home charge point install(or at least thats what he said)... i think he's a sole trader or something.

Any electrician can do it.

Only a rec is permitted

https://safeelectric.ie/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/REC-Factsheet-April-2016.pdf

liamog

Gumbo wrote: »

There really should be a sticky at this stage mods as the same questions gets asked daily.

As per last time someone suggested that :cool:

liamog wrote: »

If you want to come up with the content, I'll happily sticky it.

_dof_

unkel wrote: »

Locally: electricautos.ie

Good service, locally owned business and you will be surprised at the prices of cables - you won't get them online substantially cheaper.

This. When I bought my Zappi from them, it was cheaper than ordering it from the manufacturers.

ClareGirl70

ClareGirl70 wrote: »

Trying to decide whether I really need a smart charger or not? My eNiro will come with the UVO app, so do I really need a charger with an app? What additional benefits would I get from a smart charger?
I’ve just been on to Electric Ireland and they now have a non-smart version of the EO Mini, tethered, available for €899 installed.
So trying to decide what features I really need.....?

Having done some further research and asking a few more questions, I’ve had an email from Pearse at Electric Ireland confirming the options they are offering:

1) The EO Mini Pro, tethered (€1199) or untethered (€1099) This is a smart charger that comes with monitoring app.
2) The EO Basic, tethered (€899) This doesn’t have a monitoring app and is bigger than the mini.
The email goes on to confirm that these come with Automated Load Balancing and DC Leakage Protection.
The original information that they were supplying the EO Mini as the ‘non-smart’ option is incorrect.
As my car (eNiro) will come with it’s own app which will monitor charging, etc I’m considering the EO Basic. Does anyone have any experience/knowledge of the EO Basic - good or bad?
Thank you!

darrenheaphy

ClareGirl70 wrote: »

Having done some further research and asking a few more questions, I’ve had an email from Pearse at Electric Ireland confirming the options they are offering:

1) The EO Mini Pro, tethered (€1199) or untethered (€1099) This is a smart charger that comes with monitoring app.
2) The EO Basic, tethered (€899) This doesn’t have a monitoring app and is bigger than the mini.
The email goes on to confirm that these come with Automated Load Balancing and DC Leakage Protection.
The original information that they were supplying the EO Mini as the ‘non-smart’ option is incorrect.
As my car (eNiro) will come with it’s own app which will monitor charging, etc I’m considering the EO Basic. Does anyone have any experience/knowledge of the EO Basic - good or bad?
Thank you!

I'm researching these too - you can see some videos on YouTube but haven't had any insight into whether they're reliable etc.

I presume since the EO Basic offers 22kw charging it'll be faster than the EO Mini but I haven't a clue

graememk

darrenheaphy wrote: »

I presume since the EO Basic offers 22kw charging it'll be faster than the EO Mini but I haven't a clue

It can only offer 22kw if there is a 3phase supply, Also your car would need to support 3 phase too.

At home on a single phase supply the most that can be supplied is 7.2kw

Sheep Shagger

It was the size of the box, the fact it was available in non tethered, had the app and is smart (seems the cheaoer one might be too) sold it for me for the pro.

I know it's a couple of hundred euro cheaper but given am going to have it for years and the fact we've just bought a new car in the grand scheme of things it wasn't a lot of extra cash. I didn't want to regret it later.

drunkmonkey

What charger would you recommend for an ID3, I'm not sure what a charger needs to do, I presume it needs the option to turn it on for a few minutes before you leave in the morning, if it could track the amount of electricity it uses that you can download it would be useful, can't think of anything else.
Would like something discreet only two I've spotted are the EO mini pro and the Anderson A2, has anyone made a diy discreet wall box out of something cheaper?

Busman Paddy Lasty

drunkmonkey wrote: »

€1155 for the entry level including the charger valued at €399
€1399 for next level charger (599 for charger)
€1649 for Max charger (849 for charger)

I'm buying it through a business so no SEAI grant... thinking would be cheaper to just get out my usual sparky for install.

Full cost of a chargepoint bought by a business can be written off against tax in one year under the Accelerated Capital Allowance scheme. Just check that the unit itself is on the triple E register.

Does not apply to installation costs but might make financial sense to buy a fancy wallbox and get your usual sparky to do the install.