SEAI ev charger grant

D Dastardly wrote: »

I will be getting an EV when I change my car in a few months time, I will availing of the S.E.A.I Grant of €600 to help with installation costs.

I was wondering if I could buy the charger myself because I am seeing some good prices in the UK of around £330 for a 32Amp charger, or does the electrician have to buy everything to be able to put it through the Grant system.

Thanks in advance if anyone anyone has experienced this or can help me with this.

That's what I did, purchased a Rolec 32A charger from the UK.
A registered electrician installed it and gave me the required documentation to send off to the S.E.A.I (after they approved my application for the grant).

D Dastardly wrote:

Also I was wondering, does the charger have to connect to the main fuse board of the house or can it be connected to the Electric metre position which is at the opposite corner of the house and is where the power comes into the property which is actually where I want it.

I think is has to go to the fuse board

D Dastardly wrote: »

Yeah makes sense, I have two power showers with a priority switch so this will need to go on a priority switch as well, it will mean extra expense to do a cable run but it has to be what it has to be.

Take a look at the Zappi charger. It wont need a priority switch as it senses the whole house load and reduces its draw if you, for instance, start the shower.

https://myenergi.uk/product/zappi-product/

The Garo charge points also have the same ability and might be a tad cheaper
https://www.garo.ie/Categories/evhomechargers/EV-Wall-Charger

D Dastardly wrote: »

Those chargers look nice and have plenty of features and are worth considering, I was also thinking that the car will be in my name but the electricity bill is in my other halfs name as we are living in sin, could this cause any problems with the Grant, sometimes I think I overthink things x-D

Shouldn't be an issue.
It's part of the application - you confirm if the bill is in your name. If it's not, then you need to confirm if you have permission from the bill payer to add it to the bill:

Lads apologies if this is a stupid question but I'm new to this charging stuff! If you put one of these on the outside off your house.....in an area that might be accessible to others during the day.....what's to stop others from using it?? Is there a lock? A password?? Has to be activated from inside the house??

KCross wrote: »

You can get PIN enabled charge points but realistically do you think someone is going to pull their car into your driveway for several hours sucking your electricity? Charging an EV takes hours, not minutes.

It's not exactly covert stealing!

But anyway, yes, you can get PIN enabled charge points if you have brazen neighbours!

Ah yea I know, it just seemed interesting to me that you are essentially putting a plug outside the house!

KCross wrote: »

The Garo charge points also have the same ability and might be a tad cheaper
https://www.garo.ie/Categories/evhomechargers/EV-Wall-Charger

Just be careful with the Garo. It’s IP44...which means it’s not technically rated for outdoor use

Dont buy a secondhand Rolec. Early ones had issues with burn out so buy new only, imo.
They are cheap and cheerful. Mine gave some trouble but most people seem to have no issues so its the cheapest option if cost is your issue.

Up from that are the Zappi and the Garo and the Tesla unit (only supports Type 2 I believe so not suitable for Gen 1 Leaf).

Dont rule the Zappi out just because you dont have Solar PV. There is more to Zappi than that. It has other advanced features that you can use like load sharing and load limiting which future proofs it for you.... and you never know you might put up Solar in 10 years time too.

Do you have an electric shower in the house?

Mickeroo wrote: »

Yeah I'd be buying new if I went Rolec alright.

We do have an electric shower yeah so that would mean a priority switch for the Rolec I guess. The Zappi doesn't require the switch as I understand it?

I do like the look of the Garos too but I can't seem to find pricing for them anywhere online.

Exactly, so the price difference between the Rolec + priority switch vs the Zappi(or Garo) might be much the same and by having the Zappi/Garo you have all the other features it has.

What car are you buying Mickeroo?

unkel wrote: »

IP44 does mean rain proof. But you can't put your hose on it. That's 5 for the second digit. And you can't put a high pressure washer at it. That's 6 for the second digit.

apologies- I'm going by what my electrician is telling me. for comparison, Zappi is IP65 rated! I can spray my powerwasher off it and not get fried :p:p

kceire wrote: »

Also, on my ABL unit, there's a front flap that you open by key.
In side that is a cut off switch which you can switch on/off when not in use.

I use a PIN Number on my Zappi to prevent unauthorized use and to prevent any onscreen info on the Zappi being visible..

unkel wrote: »

So every time you want to charge you have to walk over to your charger and unlock it with your PIN number? :eek:

Would you not just flick the switch in your consumer unit (which presumably is in your hall) on your way out of your house?

Or, like me, don't bother with any of that. What are the chances of some randomer parking in your drive and waiting there for a good hour to juice up on your electricity? And even if they did, at worst it will have a cost to you of maybe €0.50?

It's no big deal really - just really wanting to use that Zappi feature / functionality for the moment. Only takes 3 to 4 secs to 'lash in the code'. Works great.

I'm not particularly worried at all about someone coming to charge in my drive - in terms of I agree with you that its a low to never going to happen scenario (at present anyway :-)) If the Zappi didn't have this feature - I wouldn't be bothered but just want to use it as its there & only takes few secs of my time.

Being lucky to have the Kona with its high capacity battery means I'm not having to charge as much as I might otherwise have to do if I had an EV with lower capacity too, so again, its very infrequent rather than having to do it a lot. ;-)

ethernet wrote: »

Need a registered electrician to do the work and sign off on it in order to get the grant:

You need a registered electrician to do any electrical work.

ethernet wrote: »

Nice way to derail the thread. I know you post in the Electrical forum as well so you will be familiar with the regs - no need to be pedantic here. We all know which works are minor (and can be done by a competent DIYer) and those which require a registered sparks.

What are you on about ? Are you suggesting fitting an charger is minor works ? Itls the largest energy user in the consumer unit.

What was the point in your post. You were implying it was some kind thing out if the ordinary?

ethernet wrote: »

You said a registered electrician is required to do any electrical work. That's not fully true, as we know. Obviously fitting an EVSE is not considered minor works - this is very clear from all the threads here so I don't know why felt the need to make that sweeping generalisation. Everyone knows you need a certified contractor and installation to get the grant - I even highlighted it in my screenshot FFS.

My comment was based on you highlighting it as if it was out of the ordinary.