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

fafy

Just got the Andersen A2 installed, i told EVPower Ireland, i wanted zero cables visible, outside the house, and no issue, they went the more difficult route, into an attic, into another room, and out just behind the unit position. Very happy, and its so tidy and discrete.

galaxy12

the_amazing_raisin wrote: »

Well to answer your first question, they all charge EVs, it's what else they do is where the differences are

I've both an EO Mini and Zappi at the moment, both are great, haven't missed a beat

The EO Mini is very simple and discreet, no display at all and minimal config

The Zappi is somewhat bigger but has a lot more smart features built in. It's particularly optimised towards using Solar PV to charger your car

Regarding load management, you'll need to get a CT clamp around the mains feed to your house. The charger will use this to monitor the current load of your house and adjust the charging speed if your house is getting close to the limit

In the case of the Zappi, the CT can be wired directly to the charger or can be connected to an add-on wireless module called a Harvi which connects to the Zappi

AFAIK, the system for the EO Mini is pretty similar except the CT clamp is connected to the ALM module which is then hardwired to the EO Mini. I don't think there's a wireless option available

The CT clamp can either go in your CU or the meter box outside. The meter box is generally more popular since there's more space and the charger is probably going nearby anyway

Since you can now wire the charger directly to the meter box instead of the CU, the wiring for the CT clamp can just run alongside this, so the installation could be a lot simpler

Thanks . I didn't know that the charger can now be directly wired to meter. Has this been a very recent change ?
I was in the phone with electric Ireland just now for the eo mini and they weren't too sure ?!he said that all their current installs are charger to CU.

Cyrus

fafy wrote: »

Just got the Andersen A2 installed, i told EVPower Ireland, i wanted zero cables visible, outside the house, and no issue, they went the more difficult route, into an attic, into another room, and out just behind the unit position. Very happy, and its so tidy and discrete.

is there any trunking inside? and where is the isolator switch?

looks great btw

KCross

fafy wrote: »

Just got the Andersen A2 installed, i told EVPower Ireland, i wanted zero cables visible, outside the house, and no issue, they went the more difficult route, into an attic, into another room, and out just behind the unit position. Very happy, and its so tidy and discrete.

Let us know how you get on with that charge point.

It is a nice unit but not alot of people installing them due to the price.

Would still be interested in your opinion on app support and whatever other features it has.

Did you get the add-on which does the load sensing... i.e. if you turn on another high powered device in the house the charge point will reduce its draw to protect the house fuse?

Gumbo

galaxy12 wrote: »

Thanks . I didn't know that the charger can now be directly wired to meter. Has this been a very recent change ?
I was in the phone with electric Ireland just now for the eo mini and they weren't too sure ?!he said that all their current installs are charger to CU.

Yes. Since March.

fafy

Cyrus wrote: »

is there any trunking inside? and where is the isolator switch?

looks great btw

Some conduit inside the toilet, downstairs, as was only way to get cable, directly in the back of the unit, at my chosen location, its fairly discrete, and was totally unavoidable, as i specified zero cabling visible, at the front. Isolator switch is high above the unit, lucky i have a single story attic adjacent to unit, so handy for the cabling all round. Andersen unit is located around centre of driveway, we can drive both our two cars in, as we widened it years ago, so i went with the 5m tethered cable, as thats all i’l ever need, so ready for EV #2 in the near future.

fafy

KCross wrote: »

Let us know how you get on with that charge point.

It is a nice unit but not alot of people installing them due to the price.

Would still be interested in your opinion on app support and whatever other features it has.

Did you get the add-on which does the load sensing... i.e. if you turn on another high powered device in the house the charge point will reduce its draw to protect the house fuse?

Yes, agree it is quite pricey, but spent a lot of time looking at all the options, and for me, i’m fussy on how things look, and for me, i wanted something very discreet, that looked good, and was willing to pay for it. Appreciate its not for everyone, I also see it as a long term investment, as we will be getting a 2nd EV shortly.

Yes, the load management addon is there, i think EV Power Ireland insist on it. From start to finish these guys were sharp and reliable, and knew their stuff,two of them came, and were ontime, in and out in just under 4 hours, as it wasn’t the easiest of cable runs. A neighbour (same house)got a zappi, but used a different run, and some cable is visible, i didn’t like the look of it.

I have no electric showers, Getting 6.7 kw, which is what the Andersen Konnect app is telling me, easy & quick to setup, and got a demo before they headed off.

So far so good on the app, but early days

meercat

fafy wrote: »

. Isolator switch is high above the unit,

It must be accessible and between 400-1200mm above finished floor level and within 2mts of appliance to comply with regulations.

fafy

KCross wrote: »

Let us know how you get on with that charge point.

It is a nice unit but not alot of people installing them due to the price.

Would still be interested in your opinion on app support and whatever other features it has.

Did you get the add-on which does the load sensing... i.e. if you turn on another high powered device in the house the charge point will reduce its draw to protect the house fuse?

Got the invoice there, and reminded me it cones with a 3 year warranty, i doubt that is standard ?

Had a query setting up app on 2nd phone, emailed Andersen support last night, they came back with the solution at 10am this morning, i had a follow up query, they came back straight away. Still finding my way around the app, has the fairly standard “disable” option. Cost of charge where you enter your electricity rate.
As its charging, it tells you whats going into car, and also what the total kw into the house is, assume this is a function of the load management.

slave1

fafy wrote: »

As its charging, it tells you whats going into car...

Just in case you are unaware there are AC to DC losses on charging, you are likely looking at best 92% efficiency so if 6.6kW going into car, battery getting ~92% of that

fafy

slave1 wrote: »

Just in case you are unaware there are AC to DC losses on charging, you are likely looking at best 92% efficiency so if 6.6kW going into car, battery getting ~92% of that

Cheers, I didn’t know that, i did check what was happening inside the car, and did notice it was flicking between 6.6 & 6.7 at one point, but its all new to me

slave1

Even what the car says on the dash is not 100% accurate e.g. I can get 22/23kW readings on my Tesla dash but it's actually 20.8/21.2kW that gets into the battery from detailed scanning

the_amazing_raisin

slave1 wrote: »

Even what the car says on the dash is not 100% accurate e.g. I can get 22/23kW readings on my Tesla dash but it's actually 20.8/21.2kW that gets into the battery from detailed scanning

There's a definite trend of rounding to the best number with car manufacturers

Same probably applies to everyone really

mun1

Good link to compare charging speeds including losses and different charging methods, ac/dc etc

Ac charging losses are around 10-12%

https://evcompare.io/cars/audi/audi-q4-e-tron-40/charging/

Liam2021

Anyone know what length the 3 pin plug charger on the id4 is?

the_amazing_raisin

Liam2021 wrote: »

Anyone know what length the 3 pin plug charger on the id4 is?

Wouldn't that be better posted that in the ID.4 thread?

I think it's about 5 metres from plug to plug

Liam2021

the_amazing_raisin wrote: »

Wouldn't that be better posted that in the ID.4 thread?

I think it's about 5 metres from plug to plug

That's great thanks. I'll be back to the id4 tread on Thursday with my 212

the_amazing_raisin

Liam2021 wrote: »

That's great thanks. I'll be back to the id4 tread on Thursday with my 212

Excellent, looking forward to pictures

Safehands

My Son lives in Marino with very small front garden. No room for a car. He wants to buy an electric car, install a home charger and run a cable to the car. I told him he can't do that, even if he covers it. How can he charge his car safely.
Sorry if this has been covered before, but I couldn't find any info on it.

Felexicon

Safehands wrote: »

My Son lives in Marino with very small front garden. No room for a car. He wants to buy an electric car, install a home charger and run a cable to the car. I told him he can't do that, even if he covers it. How can he charge his car safely.
Sorry if this has been covered before, but I couldn't find any info on it.

Run cable underground in ducting and mount post for charger beside car space.

electrofelix

I'd guess it would require discussions with the local authorities as to what the rules are with either the installation of a cable gully (with permission) or use of a cable ramp to go over.

Cyrus

electrofelix wrote: »

I'd guess it would require discussions with the local authorities as to what the rules are with either the installation of a cable gully (with permission) or use of a cable ramp to go over.

I'd be surprised if either are permitted

heartofwhite

Cyrus wrote: »

I'd be surprised if either are permitted

I a wondering about this too. We live in Dublin city centre and have no driveway. We are going to be completely renovating the house in the coming months and I think it's a good opportunity to look at getting some sort of home charging solution installed at the same time.

From looking online, Ireland does not seem to have similar options to the UK. If I contacted the council, I wonder if they would allow me to install one under the pavement and have a curbside stand with parking space clearly marked for the permit holder only.

Wishful thinking on my part I reckon.

Dubba

I'm also in a similar predicament - terrace house in an estate with a narrow footpath between my car space and house.
I was thinking about commando granny cable running from my car to an external socket. Also getting an electrician to inspect the house wiring.
This along with a cable gully accross the footpath might be a solution. Anyone done something similar?

finneys13

I have a Tesla Model 3. My girlfriend has put a deposit down on a Peugeot e208. I am sure we can just alternate charging nights usually, but a second charger could be handy. Options would include:

I have a Tesla Wall Charger second generation connected to the fuseboard. I could find another second generation charger and daisy chain them, the chargers would have to be fairly close to each other unless I want to dig up a tarmac driveway. Third generation chargers don't link up with second generation ones, so can't buy off the Tesla website a new one.

Since my charger was installed, regulations now allow the charger to be connected directly to the metre (via a mini fuseboard?). Position wise that would suit the house better, but I am limited to 80 A, running 64 A is a bit much much I would think. Can I connect a 16 A commando to the metre instead? Safer for granny cable charging than through a window to a wall plug, and leaves me with an outdoor plug for other uses.

Any other ideas?

the_amazing_raisin

finneys13 wrote: »

I have a Tesla Model 3. My girlfriend has put a deposit down on a Peugeot e208. I am sure we can just alternate charging nights usually, but a second charger could be handy. Options would include:

I have a Tesla Wall Charger second generation connected to the fuseboard. I could find another second generation charger and daisy chain them, the chargers would have to be fairly close to each other unless I want to dig up a tarmac driveway. Third generation chargers don't link up with second generation ones, so can't buy off the Tesla website a new one.

Since my charger was installed, regulations now allow the charger to be connected directly to the metre (via a mini fuseboard?). Position wise that would suit the house better, but I am limited to 80 A, running 64 A is a bit much much I would think. Can I connect a 16 A commando to the metre instead? Safer for granny cable charging than through a window to a wall plug, and leaves me without an outdoor plug for other uses.

Any other ideas?

I'm in a similar boat, wife has a Leaf and I've an ID.4 now

I've gotten a Type 2 tethered Zappi alongside an EO Mini untethered to charge both cars. In theory by using a CT clamp on the feed to both chargers I can get the Zappi to load balance against the EO Mini so it won't overload the circuit when both cars are charging

I say in theory because I haven't gotten it working yet, the Zappi ignores the limit I'm setting. I've got MyEnergi support on the case so hopefully it'll be resolved soon

In your case you could get 2x Zappis and they can be linked and will share the available power. You can set one to have priority or they can try to split the available power equally

The newer EO Mini also has the ability to load balance as well

finneys13

the_amazing_raisin wrote: »

I'm in a similar boat, wife has a Leaf and I've an ID.4 now

I've gotten a Type 2 tethered Zappi alongside an EO Mini untethered to charge both cars. In theory by using a CT clamp on the feed to both chargers I can get the Zappi to load balance against the EO Mini so it won't overload the circuit when both cars are charging

I say in theory because I haven't gotten it working yet, the Zappi ignores the limit I'm setting. I've got MyEnergi support on the case so hopefully it'll be resolved soon

In your case you could get 2x Zappis and they can be linked and will share the available power. You can set one to have priority or they can try to split the available power equally

The newer EO Mini also has the ability to load balance as well

Thanks, the Zappis are an option. Leaning towards a 16 A commando if it can be installed directly from the metre. Can charge one car at 32 A and one at 16 A then, plus have the outdoor socket for other uses

Safehands

Felexicon wrote: »

Run cable underground in ducting and mount post for charger beside car space.

A couple of things about that. My son does not own the footpath, DCC do. He does not own a parking space on the road. He parks outside the house, if a space is available. So running a cable underground would not necessarily help him. If he owned the space, that would be a possibility. It would be very expensive tough and would require planning permission etc, etc. The way new housing estates are being designed, without driveways or gardens, is very Electric car unfriendly. Maybe developers should be forced to install these points with the plans for the houses. I can see all sorts of problems with insurance and other red tape.
I have told him that if he wants an electric car in the immediate future he will need to move house.

Gumbo

Safehands wrote: »

A couple of things about that. My son does not own the footpath, DCC do. He does not own a parking space on the road. He parks outside the house, if a space is available.

He's snookered then. Will need Permission from Council.

Safehands wrote: »

It would be very expensive tough and would require planning permission etc, etc.

Its not as expensive as you would think. I think it added about €600 to the cost of a user here who done similar in a Management Company Estate. His total cost was about €1850.

Planning is required though.

Safehands wrote: »

Maybe developers should be forced to install these points with the plans for the houses.

Most are putting the provisions in and have been for the last number of years. Grace Park development in Dublin 9 was the first large scale estate i seen getting the provisions and that was back in 2016. Any Apartment development im looking at has the provisions for future shared charging.

The new Building Regulations (Part L) will require it going forward too once thats published.

Tazium

Having my install completed tomorrow. The house is a new build completed in 2020 and is pre-wired for Electric car charging. KN are still talking about drilling through the house to the fuse board so thought I’d ask the knowledge base here, is that necessary? Can the CT clamp and power be drawn from the smart meter box and mains at the front?

I’ve read the links posted for the updates to the regulations but with pre-wiring I don’t know where that will leave me.