Home charging with other high usage electrical devices.

KAGY

Hi, sorry if this has been answered before, but I'm on the boards app and the search is next to useless.
I already have a dual meter which we primarily use for our 4.5kW heat pump. (and washing machine / dishwasher etc). I remember when we were building the house we were advised that if we were to go with a >6kW heat pump we should probably have to get a 3 phase supply. (This was a long time ago, so I'm not sure if this was from an expert, bloke in the pub, or an internet forum!)
So my question is: would there be a problem charing a Leaf while there is also a possible 6-8kW usage.
Thanks

There shouldn't be an issue with the 3.3 Kw charger or even the 6.6 kw charger in the leaf because the ESB will only install the 3.3 kw home charge point and the 6.6 kw charger is especially useful, so much that I would have the mid spec 6.6 kw over the 3.3 Kw SVE if I had to make the choice the extra gadgets would go.

Most homes can take 12-14 kw from the mains. Even if the heat pump is going all night and pulling 4.5 kw all night and the leaf is charging at 3.5 kw that's 8 kw, no problem.

I do strongly feel no one is going to be prepared from EV growth over the next 20 years, German homes for instance all have 3 phase but us Irish have only single phase, you can increase the single phase capability but it would require rewiring to the main ESB lines still probably cheaper than 3 phase.

All future built homes should indeed be at least cabled for 3 phase.

How do you find the heat pump ? I hear a lot of bad things mainly to do with installers that don't know what they're doing half the time, some heat pumps are more expensive to run than oil/gas because of improper installation.

Air to water heat pumps are getting a lot better and I think I read where air to water heat pumps are more efficient today than ground heat pumps of 5+ years ago, I don't know about that so ground heat pumps today must be very good if installed correctly.

BoatMad

At 8kw peak house usage you'll be very close to max capacity ,with a3.3kw charger so you will have to control that. , the key in the future will be DC chargers that are smart wired into your mains and can throttle back charging when it senses peak loads elsewhere
Remember that instantaneous loads can to be accommodated as well. I would seek advice from the ESB or a competent person.

BoatMad

BoatMad wrote: »

At 8kw peak house usage you'll be very close to max capacity ,with a3.3kw charger so you will have to control that. , the key in the future will be DC chargers that are smart wired into your mains and can throttle back charging when it senses peak loads elsewhere
Remember that instantaneous loads can to be accommodated as well. I would seek advice from the ESB or a competent person.

I don't think the OP should be worried charging at night after 11pm or Midnight when 99% of the charging will take place and depending on the amount of driving done the leaf could only be charging for 4 hours or less.

Op what's your daily mileage ?

KAGY

Deleted User wrote:

How do you find the heat pump ? I hear a lot of bad things mainly to do with installers that don't know what they're doing half the time, some heat pumps are more expensive to run than oil/gas because of improper installation.

A bit off topic but since you ask :-). I find it fine, I would say possibly a bit cheaper then oil based on neighbours with similar houses built around the save time, but nothing like the savings promised. Would have been better putting the money into the fabric of the house (or getting a better builder) but I don't regret it.

Deleted User wrote:

Op what's your daily mileage ?

The car it would be replacing would just be school runs and local rural commutes, probably about 10k a year. But like the guy who have me a little spin in his earlier I'm sure it'll start replacing more and more journeys currently done by the main family car.

BoatMad wrote:

At 8kw peak house usage you'll be very close to max capacity ,with a3.3kw charger so you will have to control that...I would seek advice from the ESB or a competent person.

It's still just a pipe dream atm, if we go that route I'll definitely be getting pro advice but at least now I know it's not ruled out before we even start looking.

KAGY

KAGY wrote: »

The car it would be replacing would just be school runs and local rural commutes, probably about 10k a year. But like the guy who have me a little spin in his earlier I'm sure it'll start replacing more and more journeys currently done by the main family car.

10K a year is decent enough mileage, you can always get a 14 next year with the more robust battery. Maybe a UK import ?

You will find yourself driving it a lot more and if you need to keep the old car then you can use it for the odd really long trip this is what I do and I've clocked up 20K Kms in the Leaf since mid January.

KAGY wrote: »

It's still just a pipe dream atm, if we go that route I'll definitely be getting pro advice but at least now I know it's not ruled out before we even start looking.

Yes professional advice is best but in my opinion I see no problem at all if charging after Midnight to 7 am winter and 11 to 8 am Winter.

There could though be the scenario where you have the dishwasher, washing machine and dryer going at the same time and the immersion kicks in, and this makes perfect sense to use all the high consuming devices at off peak times but it could be an issue under these circumstances.

If this is a common scenario then you would probably need to upgrade your supply but I don't think you would need 3 phase but more capacity on single phase. All depends on what's going to your house in the first place.

KAGY

Deleted User wrote:

There could though be the scenario where you have the dishwasher, washing machine and dryer going at the same time and the immersion kicks in, and this makes perfect sense to use all the high consuming devices at off peak times but it could be an issue under these circumstances.

Unfortunately we have a heat pump to heat the house so that is on all night during the winter to take advantage of the off peak rate (it heats the floor slab) and probably during the day too. At least I know that it's something I need to keep in mind now.

ei9go

If you have the 6.6 Kw charger point in the house are you able to set a Leaf with the 6.6 Kw charger to charge at only 3.3 Kw ?

BoatMad

ei9go wrote: »

If you have the 6.6 Kw charger point in the house are you able to set a Leaf with the 6.6 Kw charger to charge at only 3.3 Kw ?

can I ask how anyone is getting a 6k6KW charging point on a domestic circuit. I talked tho the ESB about this and I was flatly told they would not countenance such an installation

ei9go

ei9go wrote: »

If you have the 6.6 Kw charger point in the house are you able to set a Leaf with the 6.6 Kw charger to charge at only 3.3 Kw ?

Unless you buy your own 32 amp charge point the ESB won't install it for you for reasons I won't get in to here.

But no, if you have the 32 amp EVSE and the 32 amp charger in the Leaf then you can't charge at 3.5 Kw, (16 amps) on some more advanced ones you will be able to do this if you can find one.

I would not advise having the 3.5 kw charger in the leaf the 6.6 is far too convenient, even though It's not something I use often it's too convenient and I wouldn't now be without it, while out and about or taking a longer trip it's really nice to be able to get in the car and drive off without having to look for a fast charger and wait to charger or wait for someone else to finish and then wait to charge 30 odd mins.

16 amp home charging is fine for most of the time for me because I charge mainly at night but if you find yourself charging a lot at home during the day then the 32 amp could be very convenient, 25-90% in about 2 hrs.

Because of our really good charging network and the standard charge points being 22 Kw it's a waste of people only go for the 3.5 standard charger and Nissan Ireland should only import the 6.6 Kw and the ESB should be advising them to do so also because it will mean far less trips to and waiting at fast chargers.

if you are buying a new car 900 isn't a huge amount to spend, I'm leasing so that's what 25 quid a month for the convenience ? when you buy the car it's too late to wish you had it. For me it's far better to have it than want it.

Garage owners are wrongly advising people that they don't need to spend the money and that they can use the fast chargers but they're trying to sell what's on the floor and quiet wrongly they're importing 99% of leafs with the 3.3 kw charger just to keep the price cheaper.

BoatMad

Deleted User wrote: »

Unless you buy your own 32 amp charge point the ESB won't install it for you for reasons I won't get in to here.

But no, if you have the 32 amp EVSE and the 32 amp charger in the Leaf then you can't charge at 3.5 Kw, (16 amps) on some more advanced ones you will be able to do this if you can find one.

I would not advise having the 3.5 kw charger in the leaf the 6.6 is far too convenient, even though It's not something I use often it's too convenient and I wouldn't now be without it, while out and about or taking a longer trip it's really nice to be able to get in the car and drive off without having to look for a fast charger and wait to charger or wait for someone else to finish and then wait to charge 30 odd mins.

16 amp home charging is fine for most of the time for me because I charge mainly at night but if you find yourself charging a lot at home during the day then the 32 amp could be very convenient, 25-90% in about 2 hrs.

Because of our really good charging network and the standard charge points being 22 Kw it's a waste of people only go for the 3.5 standard charger and Nissan Ireland should only import the 6.6 Kw and the ESB should be advising them to do so also because it will mean far less trips to and waiting at fast chargers.

if you are buying a new car 900 isn't a huge amount to spend, I'm leasing so that's what 25 quid a month for the convenience ? when you buy the car it's too late to wish you had it. For me it's far better to have it than want it.

Garage owners are wrongly advising people that they don't need to spend the money and that they can use the fast chargers but they're trying to sell what's on the floor and quiet wrongly they're importing 99% of leafs with the 3.3 kw charger just to keep the price cheaper.

I would agree with this , my dealer was at pains to dissuade me as to the bigger charger

However I understand that ESB policy is now not to install anything other then fast chargers in public spaces. So it remains to be seen how useful the bigger chargers are into the future

BoatMad

actually given you can buy and install 7-9kw powered showers, it seems a strange decision by the ESB