Electric Car Home Charging Point? Which charger/installer?
- Thread starter Gerard124
- Start date
lordsummit
Moderator
Have a look at www.speakev.com, lots of useful information there.
cutting42
Arrived at B4 Hacker Ergo
Pod Point here, installed in the midst of full lockdown. I actually did a photo montage of the route the cable needed to go (up to 15m std but can do longer for an extra fee), sent it to them and then they arrived and installed very quick and neat. Good app to monitor how much charging and how much it is costing you although I am sure most of the chargers will do similar.
To the rewiring question, in the UK the installer will connect a new breaker box to the incoming mains (post meter of course) creating its own 32A circuit that completely bypasses the house wiring system so this will not be a consideration. Most UK houses have a 100A single phase supply which is more than adequate even if you are showering and cooking the Sunday lunch while charging. However most charging happens at night when most folks don't cook or shower (teenage kids notwithstanding).
To the rewiring question, in the UK the installer will connect a new breaker box to the incoming mains (post meter of course) creating its own 32A circuit that completely bypasses the house wiring system so this will not be a consideration. Most UK houses have a 100A single phase supply which is more than adequate even if you are showering and cooking the Sunday lunch while charging. However most charging happens at night when most folks don't cook or shower (teenage kids notwithstanding).
Mike Reed
pfm Member
Is this not something which can be done by one's electrician? If an ordinary 13 amp socket, surely, a radial to your existing c.u. would suffice if the domestic circuits are fully functional and compliant, assuming spare c.u. capacity.
Not sure if a dedicated EV supply is within the remit of a registered electrician, though I don't see why this shouldn't be so.
My meter and main fuse are both 100 amp, so I guess this is sufficient for any EV charging unit.
Not sure if a dedicated EV supply is within the remit of a registered electrician, though I don't see why this shouldn't be so.
My meter and main fuse are both 100 amp, so I guess this is sufficient for any EV charging unit.
cutting42
Arrived at B4 Hacker Ergo
They have been poorly advised then as there is no need to rewire the house. The charger should be installed as a separate breaker right from the incoming supply to the house not impacting the rest of the house at all.
There can be issues if the incoming cable is located in an inaccessible or inconvenient location but most charger installers will know what the options are.
My understanding is that there are regulations and guidelines relating to fitted external EV chargers, especially regarding earthing. Our new build had a charger fitted that was completely dumb and had inadequate earthing and was replaced - I was prepared to pay extra to get a charge rate of 7kWh and scheduling via an app so I wouldn’t have to go out in the pouring rain and dark to fiddle with a live cable if I wanted to charge or stop charging.
I wouldn’t want to be taking even 3kWh for more than 10 hours (for a half charge) from an extension cable plugged into a 13 amp socket several metres away.
I'm assuming the best charging points for home vehicles are sort of battery packs which can store and charge the car faster than the normal limits from domestic supply, and so give you a home 'super charger' which, say, charges overnight on cheap electricity, and then allows you to top up your car when you get home. Is this how things work?
Main thing is to not leave the cable rolled up if it's a long lead at full power, most of them mark the current allowed rolled and unrolled on the side.
We use them for months sometimes.
The work can be carried out by a registered electrician, providing the scam they are registered with allows them too, they may also have to sit a short course and pay another annual fee for the privilege. Further, the government grants available are accessible via certain companies.
It's therefore easier and cheaper to use one of these companies to install your charger, you can rest assured that they won't send out some 16 year old spotty imbecile to survey the job and talk complete bollocks about why it can't be done for the quoted fee. They also won't send a house trained gibbon to install it who doesn't understand how a spirit level works and only has a hammer and a bag of nails. Good luck.
cutting42
Arrived at B4 Hacker Ergo
Any qualified electrician can get some additional training to install EV's. I believe there are some regs than need to be understood and adhered to but from a basic knowledge perspective if they can work on incoming mains then they can install a charger although they will need to sign it off so I am sure most would prefer some certification to support that.
I don't think it is recommended to routinely plug an EV into your regular ring main 13a sockets but a dedicated spur should be fine.
cutting42
Arrived at B4 Hacker Ergo
There are home battery systems - Tesla PowerWall is one - that use off peak energy and maybe if you have solar/wind gen at home they can help you manage power and therefore charging but not at supercharger levels. 99% of people don't need this, you just charge at nighttime when the car is parked anyway so you don't need fast charging and the chargers can be set to only charge at certain times.
Ah, right, so you plug in and it does a charge when it's cheaper. That makes loads of sense - i was overthinking it.
Much as with an immersion heater i guess, you can either use a flash plug saying immersion heater or car charger on the front or a Tesco time switch; three for a tenner last time i got some.
cutting42
Arrived at B4 Hacker Ergo
If you use Octopus (I don't currently) you can use smart charging based on grid load which is a bit more sophisticated and you always get the lowest rates. I think as EV's become more common and fuel duty needs to be factored in we will see smart chargers get more and more common.
Mike Reed
pfm Member
Radial? Spurs can't be dedicated in the electrical sense and probably not a good idea for an EV socket, I'd've thought.
cutting42
Arrived at B4 Hacker Ergo
Whatever the word for a single wire from the distribution board with a socket on the end of it is.
Mike Reed
pfm Member
A cable emanating from a c.u. is a radial circuit (radius, spokes from a wheel hub etc.) A spur can only come from an existing circuit. Same cabling; different uses and terminology.
