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

Craazysteve

Dohvolle wrote: »

Kryten tested the Pure elec recently and loved it, but he hates PHEVs,
This german lad does good honest tests too.
https://youtu.be/H_6EUwoO7qs

He does very in depth reviews alright, pretty boring but always handy if you're looking for some smaller detail about something that most reviewers would gloss over. That's the current/pre facelift model he's reviewing there by the way, he's reviewed the new version too: https://youtu.be/9v9iyi274rQ

the_amazing_raisin

Craazysteve wrote: »

He does very in depth reviews alright, pretty boring but always handy if you're looking for some smaller detail about something that most reviewers would gloss over. That's the current/pre facelift model he's reviewing there by the way, he's reviewed the new version too: https://youtu.be/9v9iyi274rQ

I actually find him very entertaining, he's so deadpan that when he tells a joke it's so unexpected that I burst out laughing


It's a nice looking car alright, I like that it's got the option of 7kW onboard charger, makes public charging a bit more useful.


The e-3008 looks good, but have to wait until 2023

Dohvolle

I want my reviewers to be sceptical, and not in the pocket of the manufacturer like many.
"Here is the latest BMW x5 that BMW HQ loaned me to test while I stayed at their skiing villa in the Alps for a month"

Pappajohn

Craazysteve wrote: »

Jumping into the PHEV world from January myself, and thus have lots of questions. Car dealership is offering a home charger install (tethered, don't know what brand though) for €900 and for other charging needs, a Type 2 lead for just over €300 (one isn't included with the car it seems). It would be someone else getting the €600 back in grant money though for the charger, dealer/electrician I guess, not me, so doesn't seem like a good deal. Am I right saying that?

Type 2 lead...where and what to buy? What should they cost? Needed mostly for charging at work, would prefer a tethered charger at home.
Home charger, I'm assuming I'd get a decent tethered one supplied and fitted for less than €900 cost to me after claiming back the €600?
May not be a totally typical install in that our driveway is down a full flight of steps from the house, if that's a factor.

Any help and suggestions appreciated!

There is usually very little difference in cost to getting a 32A type 2 cable over a 16A one. The upgrade is worthwhile for future proofing.

In the the case of the one I linked to below it is only £10 more, £129 instead of £119 for a 5 metre cable. You would also need this if you choose to opt for the 7.4kW updated charger in your Peugeot 3008. It's a little mean of them to ask for £6 extra for a bag, delivery to Ireland is normally £15 stg & fairly fast with DPD. Unfortunately I haven't found any Black Friday offers on these but still alot cheaper than 300e you were quoted by dealer.
https://evonestop.co.uk/collections/type-2-cables/products/ev-public-charging-cable-type-2-to-type-2-16-32-amp-3-6-7-2-kw-5-10-metre?variant=9690528874543

Conba

Craazysteve wrote: »

Type 2 lead...where and what to buy? What should they cost? Needed mostly for charging at work, would prefer a tethered charger at home.

My local Peugeot dealer supplied a Type 2 for my e-208 for €228 incl vat. I then went for a tetherless Zappi charger to avoid the redundancy.

AndyBoBandy

Conba wrote: »

My local Peugeot dealer supplied a Type 2 for my e-208 for €228 incl vat. I then went for a tetherless Zappi charger to avoid the redundancy.

Wait, so the charging cable didn't come with the car as standard?

Thats fairly shocking no??

slave1

AndyBoBandy wrote: »

Wait, so the charging cable didn't come with the car as standard?

Thats fairly shocking no??

It's a joke, they need their arse kicked playing that game

the_amazing_raisin

AndyBoBandy wrote: »

Wait, so the charging cable didn't come with the car as standard?

Thats fairly shocking no??

I think a lot of car makers do this, seen Nissan and BMW do it, they'll supply the granny lead and make the charging cable an extra, or vice versa.

Glad some of them have grown up and started supplying both

eoferrall

cruisey1987 wrote: »

I think a lot of car makers do this, seen Nissan and BMW do it, they'll supply the granny lead and make the charging cable an extra, or vice versa.

Glad some of them have grown up and started supplying both

Mad! I got the lead and a granny cable with my C350e in 2016, assumed it was standard!

Dohvolle

I got a granny cable with the Outlander also, reading through the manual, this seems to be standard, as it recommends which type 2 cable to get.

the_amazing_raisin

I suppose with most phevs having a battery size around 10-15kWh, you could realistically survive long term with just the granny lead and charging at home.

Still pretty cheap behaviour though

Dohvolle

cruisey1987 wrote: »

I suppose with most phevs having a battery size around 10-15kWh, you could realistically survive long term with just the granny lead and charging at home.

Still pretty cheap behaviour though

Just a matter of making sure your public chargepoint is tethered too. Many are not.

dbloke

Got another quote for installation only of Tesla charger: €780 PLUS VAT.

Do they see the Tesla, assume you're loaded and then double the price?

AndyBoBandy

dbloke wrote: »

Got another quote for installation only of Tesla charger: €780 PLUS VAT.

Do they see the Tesla, assume you're loaded and then double the price?

Guy from Kildare installed mine back in February for around €540. No external isolator switch (Charger about 5m from board), and no issues.

Forms filled in, and grant received (knocking €60 off the purchase price of the Tesla Charger).

the_amazing_raisin

dbloke wrote: »

Got another quote for installation only of Tesla charger: €780 PLUS VAT.

Do they see the Tesla, assume you're loaded and then double the price?

There seems to be a general issue of installation costs going up the last couple of years. One might almost think electricians are pushing the prices up to keep the grant money for themselves :eek:


As an experiment, you could tell them you aren't eligible for the grant and see if the price moves?

yannakis

Hi guys, buying one of these cars with a plug soon so I'm slowly introducing myself to the universe of charge points!

I live in a newbuilt house, and I've made a provision for a charger through the builder - basically asked them to ran a 10mm cable from the consumer unit to the driveway so that part is done. It's currently unterminated on both ends so I guess that'll save me some money off of the installation cost.

The house has some PV solar panels; production peaks at 1,000W and on long sunny days I might get up to 6-7kWh. They are south facing and that definitely helps. My question is - would it be worth it investing on a charger with solar diversion or is my production too small to worry about? So far we have been scheduling washers/dryers for mid-day to take advantage of any potential excess.

Any feedback welcome!

graememk

yannakis wrote: »

The house has some PV solar panels; production peaks at 1,000W and on long sunny days I might get up to 6-7kWh. They are south facing and that definitely helps. My question is - would it be worth it investing on a charger with solar diversion or is my production too small to worry about? So far we have been scheduling washers/dryers for mid-day to take advantage of any potential excess.

In short, No

The minimum that the solar charge points can go is 6A, so thats 1.4kW

so you would want to be able to regularly get over that in excess to even think about it.

Do get a Night rate meter installed! think 6-7c/kwh compared to 15 c/kwh

Gumbo

yannakis wrote: »

Hi guys, buying one of these cars with a plug soon so I'm slowly introducing myself to the universe of charge points!

I live in a newbuilt house, and I've made a provision for a charger through the builder - basically asked them to ran a 10mm cable from the consumer unit to the driveway so that part is done. It's currently unterminated on both ends so I guess that'll save me some money off of the installation cost.

The house has some PV solar panels; production peaks at 1,000W and on long sunny days I might get up to 6-7kWh. They are south facing and that definitely helps. My question is - would it be worth it investing on a charger with solar diversion or is my production too small to worry about? So far we have been scheduling washers/dryers for mid-day to take advantage of any potential excess.

Any feedback welcome!

The good bits :
Your considering EV.
You have solar PV.
The cable run is done. That’s the messy bit.

The bad bits.
Peak is 1kw so you’ll never get enough to divert to the car. Some cars require 1.2-1.3kw to initiate the charge process.

Questions.
Do you want basic plug in and charge or do you want to get WiFi enabled, smart app control etc?

Me personally I just plug in and charge. You can control charge start times etc in the car.

yannakis

Thanks lads, I didn't know about the minimum 1.2-1.4kWh. That sums it up nicely. Really appreciate the feedback.

Gumbo wrote: »

Questions.
Do you want basic plug in and charge or do you want to get WiFi enabled, smart app control etc?

Me personally I just plug in and charge. You can control charge start times etc in the car.

Probably plug and charge. All the rest can be managed via the car and the app so no real need to double up on the functionality.

finneys13

finneys13 wrote: »

Just to double check, whenever I get my €600 from the SEAI (been waiting since April, emails have been sent), I can transfer my car registration address to a second residental property in my name and reapply for the grant again?

5 months since that post, I got my second "€600" this week from the SEAI after installing anther charger at a second address

danoriordan1402

Hi all - just picked up a PHEV and got the grant approval. I wont have solar connected so really just a simple charging station. From reading back the thread the Mini PRO EO looks like the one that will suit me. I already have a 6mm pulled into the location so I am wondering if I need a cat6 as well. Will hope to go BEV in a year or so. Any other recommendations appreciated before I look for prices.

the_amazing_raisin

finneys13 wrote: »

5 months since that post, I got my second "€600" this week from the SEAI after installing anther charger at a second address

There's great potential for a bit of a scam there.


Say you wanted to install a charger at a relative's house who you visit regularly and they're far enough away to merit a destination charger.


You could 'sell' your car to them, transfer the registration into their name. They get the grant and install a charger then 'sell' the car back to you

Gumbo

cruisey1987 wrote: »

There's great potential for a bit of a scam there.


Say you wanted to install a charger at a relative's house who you visit regularly and they're far enough away to merit a destination charger.


You could 'sell' your car to them, transfer the registration into their name. They get the grant and install a charger then 'sell' the car back to you

You don’t even have to “sell” it to them.
Do a change of address. It doesn’t add an owner to the car then.

The SEAI ask if your names on the bill it you could say you are in your parents house so name is theirs.

the_amazing_raisin

Gumbo wrote: »

You don’t even have to “sell” it to them.
Do a change of address. It doesn’t add an owner to the car then.

The SEAI ask if your names on the bill it you could say you are in your parents house so name is theirs.

True enough, that's an even simpler way

finneys13

To clarify, SEAI asked me to provide an utility bill in my name plus a letter explaining the change of residence. Both I was able to provide. I already changed the vehicle ownership address.

Only took 3.5 months to get the grant back, fairly standard

Gumbo

Anyone any experience with the following

QUBEV - EV CHARGING UNIT | TYPE 2 SOCKET | 32 AMP/7.2 KW | IP65 | (17th Edition) https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07WW6ZWVN/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_fabc_2S2ZFb5XGZE4J

the_amazing_raisin

Gumbo wrote: »

Anyone any experience with the following

QUBEV - EV CHARGING UNIT | TYPE 2 SOCKET | 32 AMP/7.2 KW | IP65 | (17th Edition) https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07WW6ZWVN/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_fabc_2S2ZFb5XGZE4J

A couple of people were singing their praises a while back, certainly it seems a nice basic charger and you can't argue with the price


The one thing I wouldn't be so keen on is that current selector switch. I'd prefer if it was a bit more difficult to adjust, I'd be worried about kids messing with it and dropping your charging speed down to 1kW (or blowing the fuse if you're limited to 3.6kW)


Otherwise, it seems okay

yannakis

Follow-up question - thinking how to provision for a second charge point as the second car will also have a plug in a year or two. As mentioned, I already have a 10sqmm from the consumer unit to the driveway so I estimate it can carry 45A/10kW if my math is correct.

Are there charge points with 2 ports that do load balancing?

I bumped on Easee Home - a bit pricey, but it allows adding more devices in-line, configuring the maximum they can pull, and the rest is done automatically.

Are there other ways to achieve something similar maybe?

Felexicon

yannakis wrote: »

Follow-up question - thinking how to provision for a second charge point as the second car will also have a plug in a year or two. As mentioned, I already have a 10sqmm from the consumer unit to the driveway so I estimate it can carry 45A/10kW if my math is correct.

Are there charge points with 2 ports that do load balancing?

I bumped on Easee Home - a bit pricey, but it allows adding more devices in-line, configuring the maximum they can pull, and the rest is done automatically.

Are there other ways to achieve something similar maybe?

I know it's possible to set up a cluster using Wallbox Pulsar and Pulsar Plus.

Basically you need a CT coil from main incomer to the Plus which acts as Master then a Cat6 from Plus to second charger which acts as slave.
You could bring 10sq to isolator and branch off to chargers.
Obviously you would need to set limits taking 10sq in to account or ideally you run a separate feed to second charger

Gumbo

cruisey1987 wrote: »

A couple of people were singing their praises a while back, certainly it seems a nice basic charger and you can't argue with the price


The one thing I wouldn't be so keen on is that current selector switch. I'd prefer if it was a bit more difficult to adjust, I'd be worried about kids messing with it and dropping your charging speed down to 1kW (or blowing the fuse if you're limited to 3.6kW)


Otherwise, it seems okay

Cheers. It will be in my parents side entrance behind a steel gate so tampering is generally not an issue.

Currently it’s only for a PHEV but I’m making sure he gets a 32a machine to future proof. Should have this installed for about the same as the grant price.