Home Charging Solutions

[CharlesCarmichael]

I researched all the providers before I switched, Intelligent Octopus Go made sense for me. We have 2 EVs and although you can only have one car registered you can charge multiple cars at 7p per kWh if you have a compatible charger. You also get the 7p rate between 23:30 and 05:30 for all devices so we can set the washing machine, dishwasher and tumble dryer to run between those hours.

My wife laughs at me when I go in to hyper money saving mode, but I always tell her it's better in our bank account than theirs.

 

[Gadget Geek]

Anyone else sorted their energy tariff in the UK yet? I've just changed mine. I was going to go with the Eon Next Flex, which tracks 10% below the price cap, but when I used the last 12 months worth of data and put in the standing charge, peak rate and off peak, Eon Next Drive V3, which is fixed for 12 months, worked out £350 cheaper over the year.

Martin Lewis's website, moneysavingexpert.com has some good advice if you're not sure.

 

[CharlesCarmichael]

Had my charger installed today, 30 mins after they left it stopped working, opened the CU and found this.

It's a CU in the garage just for the EV charger.

 

[Jomarkh]

Had my charger installed today, 30 mins after they left it stopped working, opened the CU and found this.

View attachment 29640


It's a CU in the garage just for the EV charger.

Looks like they didn't use a torque driver to tighten it up correctly.

 

[CharlesCarmichael]

Looks like they didn't use a torque driver to tighten it up correctly.

I didn't see how he tightened it up, didn't know you had to use a torque driver although I'm not an electrician.

 

[Alb]

The torque is normally marked on the breaker:

Getting this right is an important test of competence.

 

[CharlesCarmichael]

The torque is normally marked on the breaker:
View attachment 29655
Getting this right is an important test of competence.

I see, you learn something new everyday.

 

[CharlesCarmichael]

The electrician came back last night and fixed it, he held his hands up that it was his fault and apologised profusely.

As Jomarkh and Alb said he didn't tighten the busbar correctly.

 

[Aupa]

I have a socket in the garage that I will be able to access to charge the car so that's not a problem. I'm weighing up if the cost of the charger will be worth it or not. The car will primarily be used by my wife for school runs etc and me at weekends so we may get away with it.

There's a lot of advice and opinions here about long-term trickle (granny) charging.
At a minimum: good quality plugs, sockets and wiring, checked often for signs of overheating.
Any scorching or burning smells are a total no-no.

 

[barry7153]

Have recently switched to evolve tariff with EDF, cheap midnight to 5am, and manage to get to 70% from 20% with my ohme charger. Occasionally will charge from 35%to achieve 80%, which also seems to achieve balance. Just wonder if I will still need to occasionally get to 100%for battery maintenance.

 

[Ali8371]

I need to call my current energy supplier again. When I called at point of ordering they were quoting 6p per kWh at night. I think between 11pm-5 or 6am. I obviously need to check what the standard rate is on that to ensure it's not being added elsewhere

Who are you with? Octopus is 7p per kWh and it’s cheap from 11.30pm to 5.30am.

 

[AdeSc]

I use a MyEnergi Zappi, 15kW of solar PV and 38kWh of battery storage, it is a tethered unit but my cable goes up and over the shutter door so it's never in the way. I have to do long trips at very short notice and as a consequence, my MG4 Trophy is usually fully charged to 100% at home. I have my Zappi to Eco++ which means it only ever charges when I have excess solar and that works for me as I only use the car 2 to 4 times per week. For around 8 months of the year, it costs me nothing to charge unless I'm doing more than a couple of hundred mile trips when I have to use a fast DC charger on the road. I'm on Octopus Agile and (again) for about 8 months of the year I reap a pretty good income from the excess power I export. Hope this helps.

 

[PVperson]

Have you got an outside 13A socket, then? Some people seem to get by with this, but the slow speed might limit you, particularly thinking about cheap overnight tariffs.

I put in a (shuttered) 32A blue socket near where I park, As I have a lot of PV, this allows me to charge up to 8kW (My grid voltage is elevated when the sun is out!) You need the correct cable (Type 2 - commando (32A) plug) Advantage is components are cheap, if you can get some excess Armoured 10mm² cable, any electrician can put it in. OhmE is great if you want to use free solar PV to charge your car, but obviously more expensive up-front. if get an off-peak EV tariff, you can use a digital timer to switch it on/off, and some more modern MGs have a timed charge function using the app called Smartcharge.

 

[saugatRio]

I have untethered Teison smart mini pro been 2 years of use so far so good ! Have type 2 to type 2 cable as well. It's convenient for public charging where there is no tethered connection available!

 

[spnoe]

I live in Spain and purchased the charging station through our electricity company Iberdrola. I understood that a grant of up to 70% could be obtained. This was one and a half years ago. I will not bore you with the issues but I am still waiting. Its a Wallbox with cable.

 

[gazza487]

Due to my house I really had to go for untethered as house backs on to a communal road where I intended to park and charge. Tethered is so much easier but it would have been exposed where it is. In the rain, wrestling a cable into the boot which sometimes gets mucky on the floor - not great. I did buy one of the coiled cables when mine got warm which is quite nice though.

Eventually took the cable over the road with a catenary wire and a very long type 2 cable so it worked out ok.

Either way I whole heartedly recommend a charging station vs granny. So much quicker enabling you to take advantage of ev tariffs (you may need a specific charger if you wish to go for intelligent tariffs like octopus) and all my worries disappeared as it has its own CU with its own feed from the meter tails down nice chunky cable.

 

[BeX Power]

Who are you with? Octopus is 7p per kWh and it’s cheap from 11.30pm to 5.30am.

We're with UW. They have been the cheapest for me for normal use but will have to swap now. Car being delivered, getting excited now.

 

[BarryH]

I was thinking of just trying the granny Charger but I've double checked which cable it's coming with as I'd read various things on here about them coming with either granny or type 2 and sometimes both, and apparently it is coming with just a type 2

I couldn't recommend a Granny Cable as a regular charging option as the 3 pin domestic socket isn't intended for sustained (several hours regularly) high current draw required when charging an EV. A correctly installed EVSE (wall charger, although technically not a charger) is a small investment which will provide many years of safe and reliable services and be an asset to selling your home when you move on.
It's worth nothing that because of charging losses it is more efficient to charge an EV at 32/40 Amps than the 10 Amps a Granny Cable can deliver.
If you don't want to go down that route the only reliable option is to have a dedicated spur installed by an electrician with a Blue Commando socket and purchase something like an OHME Granny Cable with a Commando plug. The Commando is designed for continuous high-current use.

 

[Rolfe]

We've had this discussion in several threads. Some electrical installations cope just fine with a granny charger, others don't. You can't generalise. One persons experience may be quite different from another's.

Me, I took my brand new car home and plugged it in to an existing socket in my garage and went on doing that for a year with no issues. I did <10% to 100% charges three times and the plug was still stone cold at the end every time.

Other people have had plugs heat up and fail and there have been fires reported. I think the important thing is to understand that there MAY be a problem and monitor the plug for heat and get the socket and supply upgraded if there is cause for concern. But it should not be assumed that problems are inevitable.

 

[Bam Bam]

Those looking to buy an EVSE might want to look at these reviews from an electrical installer.



He didn't review ours! (Givenergy EVSE)

However, he did include two premium and very expensive brands, perhaps indicating that he is an increasingly upmarket installer (the firm is called 'artisan electrics').

Hypervolt was my second choice, but I wanted Givenergy to go with the solar/battery install.