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

graememk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118367664#Comment_118367664

Yeah it's pretty **** of safe electric to come out and "approve" it in a news letter that the public can see.

Then installers start installing it.

Then quietly roll back with whispers, only months later with a maybe not and not being clear and concise with their advice.

Is there anything public that has been released rolling back on their march newsletter? What's to stop an installer from saying "oh I didn't hear about that, I've been going on the updated advice in March"

No wonder the general public are confused with the situation. Accurate and clear guidance of the codes let the customers know why things are done.

I had my consumer unit replaced, I needed a new earth rod and bonding to the hot press. That was fine by me, I knew the reasons behind it and expected it. Maybe not to someone who just wants a charge point installed for their new car.

(I also found the old earth when digging the trench for a new cable.. not surprised it needed replaced!)

Andrea B.

Good morning an Merry Xmas all.

Researching self install of a type2 charger for a Leaf.

I already have a dedicated 40A/10sq supply in place.

Based on cost/quality, has anyone experience of this unit, or can recommend same/better under same price?

QUBEV - EV CHARGING UNIT | TYPE 2 SOCKET | 32 AMP/7.2 KW | IP65 | (17th Edition) https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07WW6ZWVN/ref=cm_sw_r_awdo_navT_g_H7SPVX3JJMFW8VEVDJHX

handpref

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118371908#Comment_118371908

You won’t get much for less but the Rolec is not much more expensive. Trusted brand that’s been around a long time and all parts are easily serviced and replaced. I’ve put a couple of hundred thousand kilometres of charging through my chargers and only had to replace a €20 contactor that was starting to show signs of wear.

Dumb charger but unless you’ve got 8kwp or more of solar the much much higher priced zappi will never pay for itself. Nice toy to have though if cost is not a factor.

The 10sq sometimes isn’t the easiest to work into the small chargers, more room in the Rolecs bringing the cable in from the bottom.

Self install but unless qualified get a certified electrician to run a test on your finished circuit and throw an eye over things.

Andrea B.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118372705#Comment_118372705

Thanks for all that.

Yes, qualified electrician, but not rec.

ELCAT2009

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118340163#Comment_118340163

So I have a harvi and ct clamp ordered so I can display the solar on myenergi app. But it has occurred to me now that my battery storage will probably be counted as solar and therefore the zappi will draw from my battery thinking its solar. Was googling and found below image which shows another graphic for battery storage. I presume I could have this if I get another ct clamp on the feed from the battery? If I do this I will need to put the harvi in my attic to connect the ct from the solar and ct from the battery. Does the above make sense or does anyone have pictures of this set up so I can see where to fit the ct clamps or is there a simpler way to prevent the Zappi pulling from my battery? Thanks

graememk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118423744#Comment_118423744

As you have a hybrid, you can't put a CT on your battery to monitor it.

The zappi will only kick in when the battery is full and start to export (it needs 1.4kw excess to start)

ELCAT2009

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118423854#Comment_118423854

That's great thanks. Hopefully will have the harvi all set up before my 1st ev arrives in about 2 weeks time🙂

Bigmac1euro

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118335533#Comment_118335533

Can I ask where you got the quote for the car charger install?

I’m about to bite the bullet with Electric Ireland and get the EO mini untethered.

but it will cost me 599 after the grant which is quite expensive for a powerful outdoor plug.

ted1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118428033#Comment_118428033

From Electric Ireland if you don’t need a smart one ask them about the basic

Bigmac1euro

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118428079#Comment_118428079

They advised I’ll need the balance loader because I have an electric shower. I don’t really care about the smart features to be honest.

slave1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118424693#Comment_118424693

Be careful on car charge point install if you are applying for the grant, if you have the grant approval then grand but they do not allow any works to be completed prior to grant approval and the form the RECI has to complete for grant does contain a "were any works completed prior" section, don't remember exactly the way it's phrased

mailforkev

So what's a decent choice/price for a reasonably standard tethered 7kW charger with load management? I'm currently under contract with Energia if that makes any difference.

Gumbo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118249200#Comment_118249200

Pulsar Wallbox allows PV integration too.

ELCAT2009

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118432365#Comment_118432365

Thanks yes was aware of that and only did the install once I got the grant approval letter. There's paperwork from the approval letter the installer had to complete.

Sam the Sham

Charged my new car for the first time on the EO Mini Pro 2. I entered the SoC from the car in the EO app and set the charger to come on when night rates were in effect. That worked perfectly.

However, once it was charging, the EO app screens looked like this (my highlights):

Obviously, the car couldn't be charging at 33A/7.6KW given that the charger is only rated for 32A/7.2KW. It also is impossible for the EV charge rate to be higher than the site consumption.

I had set the car to stop charging at 80%. When I saw in the EO app that the charging was continuing when at 82%, I stopped it. Went out to the car and saw that it was only at 76% SoC. So obviously the app thinks it's delivering 7.6KW when it's delivering less than that.

Any idea what the issue might be? I have a call in with the installer and with EO, but wonder if I'm overlooking something obvious.

slave1

Car is correct, the charge point must be looking at electricity delivered whereas the car is telling you what went into the battery (exc. losses due to cable/heat/AC to DC conversion etc.).

I could be wrong in that but I thing the explanation has something to do with losses

graememk

Also the charge point doesn't regulate the current flowing, it only instructs the car what to take, The car regulates.

wait, Site consumption is 2 amps lower than ev charge.

I wonder are the cts wired corrrectly. - @Sam the Sham , Next time the car is charging stick on the kettle and see how things change.

over night a house load of 2 amps, would be 400-500w, Is quite normal.

Possibly the car is charging at 31amps, and the house load is 33.

Sam the Sham

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118443718#Comment_118443718

That would make a lot of sense: car at 31, house at 33. Obviously it can't, as a matter of logic, be the other way around. If CTs are wired incorrectly, I wonder if that means the load balancing is also not going to be working properly. Will have to get the installer to sort this.

graememk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118443878#Comment_118443878

Very easy thing to test, charge the car (even now) for 5 minutes and like i said turn on the kettle. it will be clear as day if its wrong.

Manion

From what I remember of electrical engineering from my undergrad metering power is not trivial in terms of AC. Some devices will simple take current times voltage to calculate watts, but that's that's apparent power as opposed to real power. From memory you'd expect these measures to be within 5% of each other in Ireland, all things being equal. Key thing, even ignoring losses, there are lots of ways power can be calculated and it's perfectly reasonable for one device to show one power level and another to show something different as they are potential not talking about the same measure, this is especially true when talking about DC battery power versus house AC load.

Sam the Sham

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118444176#Comment_118444176

True, but it’s really a discrepancy within the one device (the EO), which is supposed to be able to measure both the total load on the house and the amount drawn by the car.

joujoujou

Firstly. apologies if already answered, search function after boards' downgrade to vanilla doesn't work as I expected it to.

Will have Zappi + Eddi installed in near future, but no empty modules in my fuse box. How many modules are needed for the installation? Would 12 module box be enough? And future proof maybe?

Not sure if installers would provide one if necessary, and if they will, I'd rather avoid being ripped off for one. Seeing 12 module boxes @ approx 40 quid delivered perhaps I just buy one myself?

Thank you.

mfceiling

How far away from your fusebox can you install a pedestal charger?

graememk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118457611#Comment_118457611

As far as you want. The installer may need to put in a heavier cable to account for the voltage drop on a long run.

russelldlee

Can anyone recommend the best value EV Charger on a pedestal?

tweek84

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118455591#Comment_118455591

I find it shocking hard to navigate compared to the old set up.

It would depend on whether you need a priority unit or not, I installed a Zappi that required a mini db due to no room in the main distribution board it was €1260 all in.

@mfceiling as far away as you want but as stated above it may require a heavier cable.

@russelldlee A pedestal can be used for any charger, I have provided custom pedestals for chargers.

PenguinForce

Hi guys, I'm looking to get an EV charger installed but got some questions about the process.

Do installers usually come out and survey the your house or do you have to provide them with the info? There is a part of me thats a bit worried that the house can't support 7kW charging.

How far away can you install charger from the fuse box?

tweek84

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118465192#Comment_118465192

Depends on the company, I fail to see how they can give an accurate price from a few pics. A on site survey should need to be completed to ensure that there are no underlying issues or any hidden additional costs. You can install the charger as far away as you want but the cable would need to be sized accordingly.

russelldlee

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118465123#Comment_118465123

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118465123#Comment_118465123

Thanks - I guess my question is then, what is the best value charger out there. Looking at Rolec, Zappi and EO? All seem pretty punchy. Was hoping to get all in for 600 EUR (eg. 1200 with the grant)

Cyrus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118468658#Comment_118468658

you can get a zappi or an EO for that, the pedestal will cost extra though.