Home charge points (purchase/problems/questions) (See mod note post#1)

KCross

Deleted User wrote: »

Can someone please give me an understanding of the benefits an all-singing-all-dancing chargepoint has vs a bog-standard one?

In my eyes we're talking about a fancy plug socket. I'm not quite sure what WIFI and ethernet connectivity is for, and what sort of additional features/benefits there is to these top-of-the-range Zappis vs the Qubev that's ~ 1/3 of the price.

Am I missing something obvious?

Everything @gumbo said.
The likes of the Zappi also has SolarPV integration which is quite useful if you have plans to install Solar PV.

But also, more importantly, the likes of the Zappi and others have load management built in which means you dont have to pay for a priority switch if you require one.

e.g. If you have an electric shower you will in most cases need to install a priority switch when you add a charge point. That adds significantly to the cost.

So, your bog-standard one becomes a few hundred more expensive which could bring it very close to the price of the more expensive ones and then all the other extra features dont look so expensive. You might not value app support but if the price difference after priority switch is only a hundred or so then its worth it in my opinion.

Tony H

got grant approval this morning will probably go with the pulsar plus , which will cost me 330 after grant , this includes power management and extra cableing ,
any idea how long it takes roughly to get the grant money into account?

Jofspring

Tony H wrote: »

got grant approval this morning will probably go with the pulsar plus , which will cost me 330 after grant , this includes power management and extra cableing ,
any idea how long it takes roughly to get the grant money into account?

My brother in law was waiting well over 6 weeks. I just got my charger installed and sending off the forms asap. Hopefully I don't have to wait that long.

eagerv

Tony H wrote: »

got grant approval this morning will probably go with the pulsar plus , which will cost me 330 after grant , this includes power management and extra cableing ,
any idea how long it takes roughly to get the grant money into account?

I was waiting just over 10 weeks from when they received details after installation.

That was during the first lockdown last year, believe it has speeded up a bit since..

slave1

Tony H wrote: »

got grant approval this morning will probably go with the pulsar plus , which will cost me 330 after grant , this includes power management and extra cableing ,
any idea how long it takes roughly to get the grant money into account?

I posted my form off on November 16th and grant money hit my account December 17th.
Just make sure you send off exactly what is required else it will protact

wassie

KCross wrote: »

Everything @gumbo said.
The likes of the Zappi also has SolarPV integration which is quite useful if you have plans to install Solar PV.

But also, more importantly, the likes of the Zappi and others have load management built in which means you dont have to pay for a priority switch if you require one.

e.g. If you have an electric shower you will in most cases need to install a priority switch when you add a charge point. That adds significantly to the cost.

So, your bog-standard one becomes a few hundred more expensive which could bring it very close to the price of the more expensive ones and then all the other extra features dont look so expensive. You might not value app support but if the price difference after priority switch is only a hundred or so then its worth it in my opinion.

I have an EV Box Elvi installed which allows me to separate & report on my EV charging from the household consumption as my EV is used for work and I am reimbursed charging costs.

Also if I have a visitor who needs a charge, it will split my vehicles charge from the guests charge also.

Jofspring

Just got my install today, as i mentioned before it was awkward because there was a few walls to go through to get to the fuse box.

Electrician arrived with two lads at 9am, they weren't gone until 13:20 so mine is a prime example of one that took a lot longer than 2 hours.

tweek84

owenbutt wrote: »

Hi Gumbo,
So here is my humble setup (See attached pics as well). Hope no one slags me on this as I'm under a tight budget. I know that the grant is available but until I can save up enough to fork out for it and expense it. Simply put, I have the RCBO installed, this goes down to an Isolator box and out to the outdoor 3 pin double socket. The isolater box was almost 4 inches deep so he was able to cut into the plaster board which does not make it stick out too much. The Isolator allows us to cut out the socket outside in case anyone leeches off it or for convenience sake. The granny cable is permanently plugged in like a tethered zappie. I rang Nissan and they confirmed that the granny cable is 100% water proof / weather proof which makes it at least IP66 or IP67. The 3 pin outdoor socket box has it's own built-in RCBO as well.

This was all done by a handyman with 30 years experience. but I'm hoping to get this certified from a proper sparks. I have the 6mm armoured cable running as well. The purpose of the whole setup was to future proof it and if I do end up buying a zappy or equivalent, it's just a matter of adding it beside the 3 pin socket. I always needed a 3-pin outdoor socket anyway so kills 2 birds with one stone.

For the time being it works for us as we are barely doing under 50km every day and the car charges from 50% to 100% in around 7 hours.

Request for Comments?

Should you have an electrical fire in your house or anything to go wrong electrically your house insurance will be void, The insulating tape used on the shroud would not inspire me with confidence and the exposed brass at the top of the gland, isolator must be within 2m of the final connection and not be obstructed.
A little article here to keep people entertained.
https://www.rte.ie/lifestyle/living/2018/0823/987065-5-ways-your-renovation-could-be-breaking-the-law/

Felexicon

tweek84 wrote: »

Should you have an electrical fire in your house or anything to go wrong electrically your house insurance will be void, The insulating tape used on the shroud would not inspire me with confidence and the exposed brass at the top of the gland, isolator must be within 2m of the final connection and not be obstructed.
A little article here to keep people entertained.
https://www.rte.ie/lifestyle/living/2018/0823/987065-5-ways-your-renovation-could-be-breaking-the-law/

Whatever about legality and safety, surely we can all agree that he should be locked up for using white clips on black cable!

Gumbo

Tony H wrote: »

got grant approval this morning will probably go with the pulsar plus , which will cost me 330 after grant , this includes power management and extra cableing ,
any idea how long it takes roughly to get the grant money into account?

I sent in my forms on 28th January for my parents house.
Still waiting.

Calahonda52

Deleted User wrote: »

Can someone please give me an understanding of the benefits an all-singing-all-dancing chargepoint has vs a bog-standard one?

In my eyes we're talking about a fancy plug socket. I'm not quite sure what WIFI and ethernet connectivity is for, and what sort of additional features/benefits there is to these top-of-the-range Zappis vs the Qubev that's ~ 1/3 of the price.

Am I missing something obvious?

IFF you have a HP or elec shower, the smart EVCP will reduce the land without requiring a priority switch

WayneEnterprise

slave1 wrote: »

I posted my form off on November 16th and grant money hit my account December 17th.
Just make sure you send off exactly what is required else it will protact

Gumbo wrote: »

I sent in my forms on 28th January for my parents house.
Still waiting.

When sending the forms in do you send them registered post? Just conscious it’s all original docs that would be hard to replace.

graememk

WayneEnterprise wrote: »

When sending the forms in do you send them registered post? Just conscious it’s all original docs that would be hard to replace.

What original docs?

Send copies of the certs.

WayneEnterprise

graememk wrote: »

What original docs?

Send copies of the certs.

Ah great thanks, I thought you had to send the original certs.

slave1

One of the certs needs to be an original, I forget which one

Gumbo

WayneEnterprise wrote: »

When sending the forms in do you send them registered post? Just conscious it’s all original docs that would be hard to replace.

Standard post in my case. You can always call to confirm receipt.

graememk

slave1 wrote: »

One of the certs needs to be an original, I forget which one

Oh, I think i sent copies.. well they have got it, mid Jan, have heard nothing since. - they haven't come back to me for additional info/send off the correct one yet. We shall see.

jp101

I have quotes for a charger. An EO Mini pro and a Zappi. The Zappi costs €200 more any thoughts on which is the best option. I have a heat pump but don’t intend getting solar panels.

whatawaster

We already have 2 electric showers (one of which has literally never been used in the 6 years we have lived here, but that’s another story) and a priority switch for them on our board.

Would I need to get another priority switch for a home charger (can I even have more than 2)? Would a smart charger like the Zappi make sense/work in my case?

Cyrus

jp101 wrote: »

I have quotes for a charger. An EO Mini pro and a Zappi. The Zappi costs €200 more any thoughts on which is the best option. I have a heat pump but don’t intend getting solar panels.

I can’t see a reason to spend more on the zappi in that case. Electric Ireland do the eo mini pro for 1099 btw

WayneEnterprise

jp101 wrote: »

I have quotes for a charger. An EO Mini pro and a Zappi. The Zappi costs €200 more any thoughts on which is the best option. I have a heat pump but don’t intend getting solar panels.

Load balancing (which I think is recommended if you’ve a heat pump) is included in the Zappi, but it’s an add on for the Mini Pro (€30 to €50 euro I think).

I went with the mini pro because of its size. Just make sure you’re getting the new version 2 of the pro also and not v1 if you’re going with it.

Tony H

KCross wrote: »

Everything @gumbo said.
The likes of the Zappi also has SolarPV integration which is quite useful if you have plans to install Solar PV.

But also, more importantly, the likes of the Zappi and others have load management built in which means you dont have to pay for a priority switch if you require one.

e.g. If you have an electric shower you will in most cases need to install a priority switch when you add a charge point. That adds significantly to the cost.

So, your bog-standard one becomes a few hundred more expensive which could bring it very close to the price of the more expensive ones and then all the other extra features dont look so expensive. You might not value app support but if the price difference after priority switch is only a hundred or so then its worth it in my opinion.

sorry for stupid question , but is load management the same as a priority switch , I'm getting the pulsar plus with load/power management so does that mean I don't need a priority switch ?

the_amazing_raisin

Tony H wrote: »

sorry for stupid question , but is load management the same as a priority switch , I'm getting the pulsar plus with load/power management so does that mean I don't need a priority switch ?

They have the same purpose, but work in different ways


A priority switch will disconnect one load if another switches on. In effect it'll turn off your charger if an electric shower is switched on


Load management/balancing will actively monitor the current load of your house and reduce the charging current to prevent it going over a set limit


Load management is generally better since it won't completely stop your charger unless it has to


If your Pulsar Plus has load management then you shouldn't need a priority switch

Tony H

cruisey1987 wrote: »

They have the same purpose, but work in different ways


A priority switch will disconnect one load if another switches on. In effect it'll turn off your charger if an electric shower is switched on


Load management/balancing will actively monitor the current load of your house and reduce the charging current to prevent it going over a set limit


Load management is generally better since it won't completely stop your charger unless it has to


If your Pulsar Plus has load management then you shouldn't need a priority switch

thanks for the simple explanation , just put in the order and got a date for the 8th April , so enough time herself to get the money together 🙄 .

Rusky rusky

cruisey1987 wrote: »

They have the same purpose, but work in different ways


A priority switch will disconnect one load if another switches on. In effect it'll turn off your charger if an electric shower is switched on


Load management/balancing will actively monitor the current load of your house and reduce the charging current to prevent it going over a set limit


Load management is generally better since it won't completely stop your charger unless it has to


If your Pulsar Plus has load management then you shouldn't need a priority switch

Pulsar plus is installed with a C clamp wired into the unit. You just need to input max load of 63A in the app.

Risteard81

Rusky rusky wrote: »

Pulsar plus is installed with a C clamp wired into the unit. You just need to input max load of 63A in the app.

The CTs or meter are extra - they aren't supplied with the Pulsar Plus. (We are Wallbox accredited installers.)

One thing to watch out for is that your app is set to 32A charging. We had a customer complaining that his Pulsar Plus was only charging at 6A. When investigating this we discovered that he had inadvertently slid the halo around to 6A on his app.

Tony H

Risteard81 wrote: »

The CTs or meter are extra - they aren't supplied with the Pulsar Plus. (We are Wallbox accredited installers.)

One thing to watch out for is that your app is set to 32A charging. We had a customer complaining that his Pulsar Plus was only charging at 6A. When investigating this we discovered that he had inadvertently slid the halo around to 6A on his app.

I'm being charged 100 euro for the ct and another 100 for an extra 6m of cable but im still doing well at a net cost of 320 euro after the 600 grant , being honest I had a plumber charge 350 to install a new water heater 2 years ago for an hours work ,
but you dont really pay good tradespeople for their time , you pay for their training , experience , insurance and the general cost of doing business , and you know they will pick up the phone if you have a problem .

Thanks for the heads up Risteard

Risteard81

Tony H wrote: »

I'm being charged 100 euro for the ct and another 100 for an extra 6m of cable but im still doing well at a net cost of 320 euro after the 600 grant , being honest I had a plumber charge 350 to install a new water heater 2 years ago for an hours work ,
but you dont really pay good tradespeople for their time , you pay for their training , experience , insurance and the general cost of doing business , and you know they will pick up the phone if you have a problem .

Thanks for the heads up Risteard

No bother, or in the immortal words of Stephen Donnelly:

slave1

Tony H wrote: »

I'm being charged 100 euro for the ct and another 100 for an extra 6m of cable

:eek: That’s unreal pricing you’ve been given, the mind boggles

the_amazing_raisin

slave1 wrote: »

:eek: That’s unreal pricing you’ve been given, the mind boggles

Markups mate, it what makes capitalism great