Just purchased a New Leaf SVE.. ESB Install timeframe??

simdan

Hi All

I'm new to posting on boards, although I have been reading through this awesome forum for a while now. Hopefully I am posting in the correct place.

I recently had my 07 Passat 2.0TDI serviced and was told I needed a lot of repairs including new tyres all round. With the 700euro road tax renewal coming up it made me look at the leaf far more seriously. I weighed up the numbers and realised with my daily round trip of 100km the Leaf worked out perfectly. I visited Hutton & Meade in Blanch and left an hour later after placing an order! They have my car in stock, grey with all the extras and that lovely leather. I was so surprised how well built and well finished the cars are.

I ordered the car on Tuesday 17th Feb and received the ESB email saying they would contact me soon to arrange the Home Charge Install.

My questions are,

1. How long does it take for the ESB to contact you and install the device at your home?

2. How long does it take to receive the SEI Access Card for public charging?

3. Is there anything I need to know or should be aware of when collecting the car?

Cannot wait to get it at this stage, it's the first time I've bought a new car or spent this amount of money!

Cheers and thanks in advance

Dan

shanemkelly

Congrats Dan!
I received my confirmation from the ESB that I'm entitled to a home charging point on last Monday 16-Feb with the standard "works will be carried out in no more than 2 working weeks" & that my RFID Charging Card was in the post. I haven't heard anything yet about the home charging point but will rattle their cage tomorrow if I don't hear anything.
I picked up my Leaf last Wednesday and the RFID Charging Card arrived in the post the same day.
I'll update you on the home charging point when I hear something...

simdan

shanemkelly wrote: »

Congrats Dan!
I received my confirmation from the ESB that I'm entitled to a home charging point on last Monday 16-Feb with the standard "works will be carried out in no more than 2 working weeks" & that my RFID Charging Card was in the post. I haven't heard anything yet about the home charging point but will rattle their cage tomorrow if I don't hear anything.
I picked up my Leaf last Wednesday and the RFID Charging Card arrived in the post the same day.
I'll update you on the home charging point when I hear something...

Awesome, Thanks very much Shane! I received my 1st confirmation saying that they'd contact me shortly on Wednesday, so maybe a week behind you? I think I will do the same, as soon as the RFID Access Card arrives I will pick the car up. There is one charging port at work, but 4 Leaf drivers so may have to use the dealer's fast charger. Looking forward to picking it up!!

shanemkelly

Just spoke to ESB; they say they're swamped and can't fast track any applications :-/
It could be next week before I get the home charging point installed; over 2 weeks since I received confirmation that they'll install it for me. Hmmm... it is what it is...

Benny_Cake

Hmm, if I'm going to get a Leaf then I'd better get moving before all the free installations run out!

Bit of a nuisance that it's taking so long all the same. How are you managing with the Leaf in the meantime Shane? Hope there's a fast charger near you.

simdan

shanemkelly wrote: »

Just spoke to ESB; they say they're swamped and can't fast track any applications :-/
It could be next week before I get the home charging point installed; over 2 weeks since I received confirmation that they'll install it for me. Hmmm... it is what it is...

Thanks for the update Shane.. That's not too bad I suppose. My colleague ordered the Leaf last Monday, received the ESB approval mail today and has been told 2 weeks, hopefully I will have my confirmation tomorrow. I'm thinking of buying a Granny Cable online to allow me to pick up the Car this week!

How are you getting on not having access to a home charge?

simdan

Benny_Cake wrote: »

Hmm, if I'm going to get a Leaf then I'd better get moving before all the free installations run out!

Bit of a nuisance that it's taking so long all the same. How are you managing with the Leaf in the meantime Shane? Hope there's a fast charger near you.

One of many reasons I made the purchase

simdan

So.. I spoke to the dealership today.. They are awaiting the acceptance letter from the SEI for the government grant. They expect this by Friday and have said that I can take the car from then as they wouldn't register the car before this is received.

Unfortunately they only have one granny cable and can't loan it as it's paired with the demo car. He assured me that the ESB would install the home charger will be installed by the end of next week and said would put pressure on them to prioritise.

I now have high hopes, although will be happy to live without the home charger for a few weeks I suppose. Finger's crossed that I will have the car by Saturday

shanemkelly

Benny_Cake wrote: »

Bit of a nuisance that it's taking so long all the same. How are you managing with the Leaf in the meantime Shane? Hope there's a fast charger near you.

A "bit of a nuisance"? Understatement of the year!
Unfortunately I live nowhere near a public charging point (nearest standard charging point is about 20km away with the nearest fast-charging point about 32km away). Fortunately though I can charge at work but as my daily commute is around 122km, it doesn't leave much in the tank for journeys outside this.
Thankfully I have a loan of a granny cable from a friend but I'm not fond of using an expensive piece of kit that's not my own for too long. Anyway, I may have to return it tomorrow.
Here's hoping I get a call from the ESB today :rolleyes:

Markcheese

How much are the granny cables? If a share of boarsdsies clubbed together would they be able to get them more reasonably ?
And should they really come as standard with the car - seem like pretty essential kit to me

shanemkelly

They're essential kit if you don't have a home charger. The reason I have a loan of one is because my friend reckons they never use theirs and only have it for emergencies (I think they've only used it once in two years)...

simdan

Markcheese wrote: »

How much are the granny cables? If a share of boarsdsies clubbed together would they be able to get them more reasonably ?
And should they really come as standard with the car - seem like pretty essential kit to me

They are €800 from Nissan which is quite expensive.. I'd be happy to club together if we could get a significant discount...

shanemkelly

Might be worth contacting this guy (somewhere around Naas); http://theevcompany.com/product/evse-3pin-plug-10amp-charger-nissan-leaf/...

simdan

shanemkelly wrote: »

Just spoke to ESB; they say they're swamped and can't fast track any applications :-/
It could be next week before I get the home charging point installed; over 2 weeks since I received confirmation that they'll install it for me. Hmmm... it is what it is...

So, I received a call from the ESB installer this morning. He is coming out at 10am tomorrow. I was shocked and happy at the same time. He said it will take 1.5 hours to install. I will let you know how it goes. The strange thing is I haven't received the confirmation email from ESB which includes the SEI confirmation yet?

The dealer said that I should hopefully be able to pick the car up on Friday.. EXCITED!

simdan

shanemkelly wrote: »

Might be worth contacting this guy (somewhere around Naas);

Cheers bud, I have already. He is expecting to have spurious Granny Cables in mid March for around the €400 mark

shanemkelly

simdan wrote: »

So, I received a call from the ESB installer this morning. He is coming out at 10am tomorrow. I was shocked and happy at the same time. He said it will take 1.5 hours to install. I will let you know how it goes. The strange thing is I haven't received the confirmation email from ESB which includes the SEI confirmation yet?

The dealer said that I should hopefully be able to pick the car up on Friday.. EXCITED!

Great stuff! I suppose you couldn't send him down the N81 after he's finished, could you?

simdan

shanemkelly wrote: »

Great stuff! I suppose you couldn't send him down the N81 after he's finished, could you?

lol!! I will tell him to take a spin down to you!!

I still haven't received the confirmation from ESB, so unsure if the card has been dispatched yet.

Congrats ! well done , I missed this, I should check for new threads now and again !

Do a full review.

I love my SVE , drove it today while I'm off shift and it's a lot of fun with eco off, in normal drive, twisty roads are brilliant in the leaf.

Plugged into the Standard street points in Carlow Town and Athy, still glad I got the 6.6 Kw charger.

Do a full review with pics.

simdan

Deleted User wrote:

I love my SVE , drove it today while I'm off shift and it's a lot of fun with eco off, in normal drive, twisty roads are brilliant in the leaf.

Cannot wait to take it for a proper drive! looking at your pics I'm really happy with making the same choice as you. Hopefully will have it by Friday 😊 Will definitely be doing a review 😉

shanemkelly

Still waiting on the ESB to install my home charging point. Halfway through the 3 week waiting period they say the work will be done in...

This is starting to take the gloss of my venture into EV-land :mad:

shanemkelly

shanemkelly wrote: »

Still waiting on the ESB to install my home charging point. Halfway through the 3 week waiting period they say the work will be done in...

This is starting to take the gloss of my venture into EV-land :mad:

Make sure you measure the cable run, the contractor will not run the cable beyond 10 meters.

I had to run the cable myself through the house and he put a junction box and ran another cable from that, threw it over the shed roof rather than tack it along the wall. I wasn't impressed.

I'd really like to know how much the contractor gets paid for such a tiny simple cable run.

shanemkelly

Meter box is less than 10m from main fuse board so I should be alright... I hope.

shanemkelly

OK, the installation of the home charging point is complete! Yay!!
It seems the installation procedure has changed in that I've seen older installs where there was no wiring from the fuse board but rather *all* from the meter box. A warning sticker then went on the charge point saying it was still live even if the main switch was tripped.
Now, it's all done from the fuse board; nothing to do with the meter box. Obviously a safer system...
The Engineer ran a cable (way less than 10m needed) from the fuse board to outside (for the charge point). A very tidy job. If anyone reckons the cable run from their fuse board to the outside wall (to locate the charge point) needs conduit (or at least, you want to hide the cable), then do this in advance.
I wanted a tethered cable (it'd save having to load up a wet cable into the boot at 5:15am of a weekday morning) but all he had was 3m cables, so I didn't bother; the 3m cable is very restrictive when I measured it.
Total job took about an hour. All good...

stesaurus

Can the home charge points be moved to a different house? I'm renting at present so wondering if/when i eventually move can the unit be taken out and installed at another house.

simdan

shanemkelly wrote: »

OK, the installation of the home charging point is complete! Yay!!
It seems the installation procedure has changed in that I've seen older installs where there was no wiring from the fuse board but rather *all* from the meter box. A warning sticker then went on the charge point saying it was still live even if the main switch was tripped.
Now, it's all done from the fuse board; nothing to do with the meter box. Obviously a safer system...
The Engineer ran a cable (way less than 10m needed) from the fuse board to outside (for the charge point). A very tidy job. If anyone reckons the cable run from their fuse board to the outside wall (to locate the charge point) needs conduit (or at least, you want to hide the cable), then do this in advance.
I wanted a tethered cable (it'd save having to load up a wet cable into the boot at 5:15am of a weekday morning) but all he had was 3m cables, so I didn't bother; the 3m cable is very restrictive when I measured it.
Total job took about an hour. All good...

Nice one Shane, glad it's finally done!! The installer is a knowledgeable and decent guy! I have been driving all over the place and use every excuse to take her for a spin!

For some reason the carwings still hasnt been set up, so I will continue to chase the dealership.

Next action is to get more chargers at work as we now have 6 leaf drivers with only one standard charge point. My 120Km round trip, especially in this cold weather is a tight run so have been charging up with a local fast charge on the way home, just to be safe of course! I don't want to get stuck! I have major Range anxiety.

One of the guys at work showed me that you can add the battery percentage on the dash by repeatedly pressing the "2 square" button next to trip until it displays what you would like to display. Far more accurate than the Km reading..

cros13

s.welstead wrote: »

Can the home charge points be moved to a different house? I'm renting at present so wondering if/when i eventually move can the unit be taken out and installed at another house.

No reason why any electrician couldn't move it for you.

But charge points have got cheaper in recent years. You can now get a 32Amp Rolec charge point (better than the 16Amp the ESB provides) for €350-€450 from the UK. Really simple, Any electrician can fit them.

stesaurus

cros13 wrote: »

No reason why any electrician couldn't move it for you.

But charge points have got cheaper in recent years. You can now get a 32Amp Rolec charge point (better than the 16Amp the ESB provides) for €350-€450 from the UK. Really simple, Any electrician can fit them.

Brilliant, cheers for that. I've a few electrician friends so shouldn't be an issue doing that.

Benny_Cake

I applied to the ESB to have a home charger fitted today. I'm hoping that it won't take too long, it's good see that people are happy with it once it's done.

shanemkelly

shanemkelly wrote: »

I wanted a tethered cable (it'd save having to load up a wet cable into the boot at 5:15am of a weekday morning) but all he had was 3m cables, so I didn't bother; the 3m cable is very restrictive when I measured it.
Total job took about an hour. All good...

Did you get a tethered evse ? I was told I couldn't have one even If i pay for it because they don't do them.

They also won't give you a 32 amp EVSE in Ireland either for some stupid reason, not even if you pay for it unless the contractor way telling porkies !

simdan

simdan wrote: »

Next action is to get more chargers at work as we now have 6 leaf drivers with only one standard charge point. My 120Km round trip, especially in this cold weather is a tight run so have been charging up with a local fast charge on the way home, just to be safe of course! I don't want to get stuck! I have major Range anxiety.

Employers and employees need to understand that it wastes a lot of resources and money if employees that do not need to charge are using the charge points.

It should be understood that only those like you and I who travel long distance be allowed to use them. How ridiculous does it sound that someone who drives up to 50-55 miles round trip be allowed to tie up a charge point for someone who needs it ? I have said this here at work that there is no point if 2 people are local and using the charge points and I can't if they get there first. I would gladly share a charge point with someone if needs be, they plug in in the morning and I in the afternoon and so on.

I know other EV owners might see it as favoritism, getting something for free but that's childish,.

It's costing them 8,000 Euro's to have two charge points installed and I told them they didn't need to spend 2 grand if they had listened to what I said was needed, but let them on. I don't care as long as I can charge.

simdan wrote: »

One of the guys at work showed me that you can add the battery percentage on the dash by repeatedly pressing the "2 square" button next to trip until it displays what you would like to display. Far more accurate than the Km reading..

yeah the range indicator or GOM (Guess-O-Meter) as it' otherwise known isn't the most accurate. If you're driving along and then suddenly put the foot down or climb a big hill 20 Kms could disappear very quickly then you could end up getting 30 Kms back.

I find a general rule is about just over 1Km for every 1% of the battery percentage meter at 100 Kph. Strong headwind could be less in cold weather temp set to 19 deg C. I don't like too much heat in the car and with my coat on i find this plenty inc the heated seat. In fact with the heat pump the heater after the initial warm consumes very little energy <800 watts at 0-3 degrees C. The heated seats are great.

So about 100 Kms at 100 Kph and you'd want to be less than 10 Km from a charge point. In summer this could be 130 Kms at 100 Kph, I have yet to test this.

toadfly

So no chance of tethered charge point at home? I will be pushing for one when I get the call, the fuse box is less than 10m from where charge point will be and can park the car very close to it so the 3m should be loads. I will wait for one rather than get a non-tethered one installed as I have the granny cable as backup. Only applied this morning so will be a few weeks I guess.

Do they just install during office hours? Dont particularly want to take a half day to get it done!

shanemkelly

Deleted User wrote: »

Did you get a tethered evse ? I was told I couldn't have one even If i pay for it because they don't do them.

They also won't give you a 32 amp EVSE in Ireland either for some stupid reason, not even if you pay for it unless the contractor way telling porkies !

Apparently, "they" (I assume the ESB) supplied 5m tethered cables to the Installer "in error" a while back, so those who asked for tethered cables got a 5m cable. When the Installer ordered more 5m cables, he was told about the error and was then supplied with only 3m tethered cables, so that's all he can get now.

I decided to go with the standard non-tethered installation in the end; yeah, I can park within the 3m of my charging point, but I just want the extra couple of meters for handiness (basically, I just want to be able to park my car 'straight' rather than at an angle (to enable the 3m cable to reach))...

Main reason I wanted the tethered cable was so I wouldn't need to be wrapping up a wet cable into the boot at 5am! Meh, I'll put up with it! I got a nice rubber/plastic 'bucket' type thingy in Lidl that fits in my boot to put the cable in if it gets wet.

Markcheese

toadfly wrote: »

So no chance of tethered charge point at home? I will be pushing for one when I get the call, the fuse box is less than 10m from where charge point will be and can park the car very close to it so the 3m should be loads. I will wait for one rather than get a non-tethered one installed as I have the granny cable as backup. Only applied this morning so will be a few weeks I guess.

Do they just install during office hours? Dont particularly want to take a half day to get it done!

What's tethered or untethered ?

toadfly

Markcheese wrote: »

What's tethered or untethered ?

Cable attached to the charge point or not..

shanemkelly

shanemkelly wrote: »

he was told about the error and was then supplied with only 3m tethered cables, so that's all he can get now.

I was told I could not have a tethered EVSE even if I paid extra for it.

What is the contractors name ? first name of course ? Or PM it to me,

toadfly

[Deleted User] wrote: »

I was told I could not have a tethered EVSE even if I paid extra for it.

What is the contractors name ? first name of course ? Or PM it to me,

Isn't it the one guy from Waterford that has the contract?

toadfly

toadfly wrote: »

Isn't it the one guy from Waterford that has the contract?

Think that might be him. First name begin with N ?

toadfly

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Think that might be him. First name begin with N ?

Think so. Waiting on a call from him so will let you know how I get on.

toadfly

toadfly wrote: »

Think so. Waiting on a call from him so will let you know how I get on.

Ok, cheers.

shanemkelly

Yes, you're right... Same installer all round I think...

So do they install a tethered evse or not if you ask for it ?

shanemkelly

I asked him about it and he gave me the chapter & verse (outlined in a previous post). I had a choice; if you say nothing, you get the non-tethered. I assume if you ask for it, you'll get tethered.

I'm reluctant to say with 100% certainty that he had 3m tethered cables in the van with him when he visited, but I got the impression he had...

I had specifically requested a tethered evse and told they don't supply tethered.

toadfly

Deleted User wrote: »

I had specifically requested a tethered evse and told they don't supply tethered.

I replied to the email I got from ESB telling me it would be two weeks for install asking for the unit to be tethered. Just got a reply that they dont do tether anymore.

"We no longer stock the tethered units.

Due to the different types of in-lets at the vehicle side we have had to purchase the socket type units only.
ESB ecars have committed to installing the 1st 2000 charge points free.
It would be unfair if we are not able to provide a charge point to those customers because the vehicle does not have the correct in-let.
The socket type units are universal to all major manufactures of electric vehicles and this is why we have adopted it for our Domestic and Public charge points."

shanemkelly

toadfly wrote: »

"We no longer stock the tethered units..."

Yes; key phrase is no longer.
A mate of mine has a tethered cable and he finds it mightily handy... Pity they're not an option anymore.
It does perhaps indicate that I may not have had the option last week either...

toadfly

toadfly wrote: »

Due to the different types of in-lets at the vehicle side we have had to purchase the socket type units only.
ESB ecars have committed to installing the 1st 2000 charge points free.
It would be unfair if we are not able to provide a charge point to those customers because the vehicle does not have the correct in-let.
The socket type units are universal to all major manufactures of electric vehicles and this is why we have adopted it for our Domestic and Public charge points."[/COLOR]

I can understand why the public standard charge points are un-tethered but no reason the home evse's can't be.

The offer this in the U.K just BS from the ESB ! Surely they know the majority of electrics sold are leaf's and Zoe's but the vast majority are leaf's so they should have x amount of thethered in stock and offer them if requested or at least give you the bloody option even to pay extra, but Oh no it can't be done and that's that. Same as Apartment owners are being told no by management companies and people by Co. Councils, always the same in Ireland, "can't be done, now please don't bother me with silly nonsense"

For the rest of ev's, they can order a certain amount and have them in stock.

I mean , we are paying for them in a way through taxation so surely we should have the option ?

simdan

shanemkelly wrote:

I asked him about it and he gave me the chapter & verse (outlined in a previous post). I had a choice; if you say nothing, you get the non-tethered. I assume if you ask for it, you'll get tethered.

shanemkelly wrote:

I'm reluctant to say with 100% certainty that he had 3m tethered cables in the van with him when he visited, but I got the impression he had...

Same here Shane, he said I could have the tethered option but he convinced me against it.

3m is surprisingly short and cannot be updated in future if you change your car.

Loving my leaf, the passed 2 weeks have been great. I'm doing my 120km round trip on a single home charge with 25km range left(12-15% charge) when I get home. I do not use motorway anymore as it destroys your range, using back roads is actually a slightly shorter journey. I've realised the constant power required for motorway driving really doesn't help with little or no braking/recharge ability. You can cruise at the speed limit on 60, 80 & 100kmh roads and the car really does well. The main thing to remember is check the sat nav for alternatives to motorway routes.

Another tip in the cold weather is to set the temp to 17.5 degrees and press the auto button. It barely affects the consumption unlike setting the aircon/heat system yourself.

If you really don't want any range loss you should use the heated steering wheel and seats which use the 12v battery and don't affect range.

Off to work!

I set the heat to 19 deg and it doesn't consume much at all after it's warmed up, less than 800 watts and sometimes it doesn't consume power at all, in fact mostly with the heat pump the rest of the electrics in the car are consuming more power than the heater, who would have ever thought that ? Turn on the heated mirrors and rear defog and your consumption will be far greater than the heater. The real range killer are strong winds and a cold battery !

I travel the motorway and old N9 and travel at about 100-110 Kmh mostly, when i get to work I've 45-50% battery after 64 Kms and by the time I get to Naas I have 20-23% after 84 Kms.

I top up at Naas from about 20-60% and find it much faster than going from 40-80%, why ? because the charge current is always greater at lower charge % than high. For instance at 50% you could be charging at 28-30 Kw and 80% maybe 10-12 Kw but at 20% it could be 45 Kw.

You'll warm the battery up faster in Summer when you charge up at a lower charge %.

I get home with around 20% battery, meaning I could get away instead of a 15 min QC maybe 5-10 mins but i don't want to arrive home with a very low battery which isn't so good, but fast charge top ups are better too from 20-30% to 60% only use what you need.

Moral of the story is, I don't have to drive slow or avoid the motorway and I probably drive a bit faster than in the Prius because I'm not concerned about the fuel costs !

Benny_Cake

On the subject of waiting time to get the home charge point installed, I completed the form on the ESB site on Tuesday of last week, and I received a call earlier to say that the contractor will be calling to fit it tomorrow morning. Not bad at all, and it means I'll have the charger when I pick up the car which is exactly what I wanted.

I'm getting my night meter installed tomorrow ! :-)

simdan

Benny_Cake wrote:

On the subject of waiting time to get the home charge point installed, I completed the form on the ESB site on Tuesday of last week, and I received a call earlier to say that the contractor will be calling to fit it tomorrow morning. Not bad at all, and it means I'll have the charger when I pick up the car which is exactly what I wanted.

Nice! I can't believe how used to the car I am after only 2 weeks. Loving it! Good luck