That is exactly how mine is wired. Just had a letter from the local power supplier who want to do an inspection.
Electric Car Home Charging Point? Which charger/installer?
- Thread starter Gerard124
- Start date
That is exactly how mine is wired. Just had a letter from the local power supplier who want to do an inspection.
Mike Reed
pfm Member
I imagine that it's just like installing dedicated radial circuits for hifi, which incorporates a new (dedicated) consumer unit with tails to a junction box, from which further tails go to the domestic c.u. and to the meter. Sorry that's arse about face; I should have started at the meter
It would be a single c.u. with 32 amp MCB and RCD (or combined RCBO), I'd think. Maybe there are other ways but to me it's simply a dedicated 6 or 10mm2 radial circuit for EV charging. If routing outside, an armoured cable would probably be needed.
cutting42
Arrived at B4 Hacker Ergo
Isn't there an earth wire connecting the mains in to the charger and then on into the house or is that not sufficient?
Aethelist
pfm Member
Erm. Hey , I'm no expert but if you scroll back a bit and take a look at the document I linked to published by the institute of electrical engineers regarding earthing requirements on external installations for electric vehicles (top of page 2)
It does appear to be open to interpretation somewhat.
It does appear to be open to interpretation somewhat.
cutting42
Arrived at B4 Hacker Ergo
This is the response to the lack of an PME earth rod for PodPoint chargers (the one in the photo example).
https://pod-point.com/electric-car-news/earth-rod-details
TL/DR - Fancy electrics to monitor for upstream neutral failure and cut charging power if detected.
ps It is a good question though, not sure I am convinced and I have a PodPoint charger, although instlled traditionally in the garage next to the rest of the consumer units.
JensenHealey
pfm Member
I enquired about getting a supply for my garage - which is down the road from the house and does not have any power at present. The cost of installing was a deal breaker (got to close the road and dig it up apparently) so I have not proceeded. But the local supply co. (Western Power) did tell me that all new installs will be 3-phase, with only 1 phase connected if that is all you need. But 3 phase will be there for future proofing - specifically to deal with car charging.
If the road is to be closed for other reasons I can get a price reduction which I may well take up. It would still be a large one-off cost - but one that you will get over and myself and future residents will appreciate for a long time to come.
If the road is to be closed for other reasons I can get a price reduction which I may well take up. It would still be a large one-off cost - but one that you will get over and myself and future residents will appreciate for a long time to come.
If it's a garage block you might be able to get a group together to split the cost?
We used to get a discount reflecting future power use bills on new supplies.
JensenHealey
pfm Member
Unfortunately - it is not - just a double garage located on a street around the corner from the house. I think previous owners of the house back in the 1930s bought a plot of land and built 2 single garages. Somewhere along the line (50s or 60s I would say) it was rebuilt into a double garage. A valuable asset in this small roaded old town - there are very few other houses with garaging in the old town centre.
Mike Reed
pfm Member
A bit strange; it does mention a caveat of adding an earth spike to a PME earthing system (in most 'modern' urban/suburban houses), but I understood that if you have a PME earth, don't add a rod as it could be potentially dangerous. If you're on a TT system (local earthing generally in older and rural prop's) you can, because you're simply adding more local earthing.
That link info. wasn't that clear about this, or maybe it's just me.
One reason complete physical isolation from the consumer unit is recommended is that many vehicles being sold now are capable of operating in “Vehcile To Grid” (V2G) or “Vehicle To Home” (V2H) mode in the future. This mode allows you to use your car battery as a buffer for a domestic installation, especially one that has generation on-site. For example, you have solar panels on the roof to charge the car during the day; overnight, the car discharges (to a set limit, maybe 95%) some of that energy to meet the base load of your home, and then in the morning, the solar installation refills the car.
Alternatively, you can also use a system like this to save money by signing up for a time-dependent electricity tariff, charging the car on the cheap during low periods, and letting it discharge during the high-period (usually 4~8 pm) to avoid paying the highest unit costs.
The electricity providers are very much in favour of V2H systems: it solves a big problem for them, and saves you money too.
(In case this sounds like a way of wearing out your battery to you, consider the actual quantities involved: a typical UK house consumes between 8 and 12 kWh of energy every day, with 80% of that during daylight hours. The smallest car batteries today are about 25kWh, with 50kWh being the mainstream value. A 2kWh discharge over 10 hours of the evening and night will have almost no measurable effect on the life of a car battery this size)
However, operating in this mode means that your car is actually a power source, and so it will need to be totally isolated from the domestic circuit in case of fire, etc. It’s best to just set it up this way from the get-go.
Alternatively, you can also use a system like this to save money by signing up for a time-dependent electricity tariff, charging the car on the cheap during low periods, and letting it discharge during the high-period (usually 4~8 pm) to avoid paying the highest unit costs.
The electricity providers are very much in favour of V2H systems: it solves a big problem for them, and saves you money too.
(In case this sounds like a way of wearing out your battery to you, consider the actual quantities involved: a typical UK house consumes between 8 and 12 kWh of energy every day, with 80% of that during daylight hours. The smallest car batteries today are about 25kWh, with 50kWh being the mainstream value. A 2kWh discharge over 10 hours of the evening and night will have almost no measurable effect on the life of a car battery this size)
However, operating in this mode means that your car is actually a power source, and so it will need to be totally isolated from the domestic circuit in case of fire, etc. It’s best to just set it up this way from the get-go.