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

corkandproud

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121896365#Comment_121896365

I think it might be that the power meter is reading from the entire house supply. Installers are back next week so hopefully they will confirm this or fix it.

masterK

Would anybody have any recent experience of how long between completing a survey and order on the Ohme website how long it took for the installation to be arranged and done?

I have a car ordered which is ready for collection but would prefer the charger in first

irishchris

Just picked up a Nissan leaf 30kwh and looking around at zappi prices. Very hard to get installers to give quotes on installing . Did everyone here buy through installer and if so what was the combined price? Hard to find prices including installs online.

Can you purchase the zappi direct online from any online store and get any reci electrician to sign off for the grant? Or do you have to buy direct from installer for grant

Gumbo

Ring around. There’s set prices but that’s on the assumption of the house being capable and set up. Decent wiring, no strange loading etc

Check out Fokearn, Eco Plex, Nigel Daly etx

Then look into buying the charger yourself and getting RECI to install locally and see if there’s any savings.

zg3409

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058342077/ev-charger-installation-prices

Typically installers get discounts on chargers. Even eBay is cheaper than zappis own website.

The above ad says house must be built in last 2 years, as in be prewired for an EV charger.

To be devil's advocate it can be hard to price the job depending on distance from fuse board, age of home, extra work if fuse board tails need upgrading etc. and distance from their home.

Some can give a quote over the phone but may want picture of fuse board and charger location. Some do this with a WhatsApp video call so you can walk them through their check list.

Typically prices include the 300 euro SEAI home charger grant already taken from the price, so expect to pay the full minimum or more.

listermint

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121911523#Comment_121911523

This thread is brimmed with quotes though. Pages and pages of them. Literally a few clicks back

Apothic_Red

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121898810#Comment_121898810

I agreed to a quote on a Friday & the meter was installed the following Weds.

They did ring me to see if it OK to push it a week but when they learned my car was arriving early they actually pulled it forward a day.

Kevin Sharpe

SOTA Electrical have posted an interesting video on YouTube regarding Zappi installation;

"Today I want to share with you some interesting information that has come my way regarding the Zappi EV charger and the fact that it is a requirement to install a double pole Type A RCD upstream in order to carry out a compliant installation."

listermint

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121912192#Comment_121912192

Irish installations have this and also isolators.

He's based in the UK

allinthehead

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121912192#Comment_121912192

From the Zappi manual.

"Warnings  WARNING! An electric shock can be fatal; electrical connection work may only be carried out by a competent person 

 The earth conductor must be correctly installed and reliably connected 

 This device must be equipped with an over-current protection device of maximum 32 Amps (B32) Supply

The single phase zappi should be connected to a 230V/240V nominal AC supply. The supply should run from a dedicated 32A circuit breaker. 

The 3 phase zappi should be connected to a 400V, 4 wire, 3 phase supply. The supply should run from a dedicated 3 pole 32A circuit breaker. 

We recommend the use of curve B circuit breakers.

 The zappi features an integral 30mA Type-A RCD with 6mA DC leakage detection in accordance with IEC 62955. Local wiring regulations should consulted to confirm whether an additional upstream RCD is also required."

Standard practice to install a Type A RCD here with a chargepoint that has DC detection.

daveyjoe

I'm looking to get a quote for a home charger installer so that I can send the quote to my landlord. I have the €600 grant because I applied the day before it went to €300.

I've tried Bord Gais and I rang a couple of others but I couldn't get through to anyone today. Any advice on who I should contact for a quote? I'm based in Ballincollig, Cork.

irishchris

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121915128#Comment_121915128

Carcharger.ie we're the best price I found and install booked in

listermint

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121915128#Comment_121915128

Fokearn are based in Cork.

daveyjoe

I applied for the SEAI grant on 31/12/2023 but I didn't get the letter of approval until 2/1/2024. Do I have access to the €300 or €600 grant?

Dav010

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121916902#Comment_121916902

It should be on the email you recieved

daveyjoe

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121916954#Comment_121916954

No, it doesn't seem to be. Where would I see it? This is all I could find relating to the grant amount:

This seems to imply that I would have the €600 but it also says "Letter of Offer Start Date: 02/01/2024".

Dave

daveyjoe

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121917002#Comment_121917002

I rang them. I have the €600.

Muahahaha

Just wondering the best way to solve this problem. I want to get an EV later this year but live in a managed estate with unassigned parking, its basically a free for all on a first come, first served basis and as many households have 2 and sometimes 3 cars getting parking anywhere is tricky. The gable side of my house is currently used to park two cars, theres a footpath of about 75cm wide along its length which is unused as it only leads to my back garden gate. At the front end of the gable is all the infrastructure for a EV charger- my fuse box & ESB meter are on that wall. So an EV parked next to it would be quite close to the charging unit, about a metre maybe 1.5m of charging cable from home to car charging port.

What Ive thought of is one of two ways

1. I buy the charger and the space next to my gable is painted green and marked out for EV only. Space can then be used by neighbours to charge an EV with them paying me for the kws used. Although the footpath isnt used for public liability reasons Id install a swinging arm on my gable to bridge the gap between it and the car. Or
2. We get a company to set up a space somewhere else in the estate and again marked out green for EV only. People charging pay the company direct for use.

Either way the only way Im getting this past the Board of Directors (of which I am one) is a set up where neighbours can use the charging. Theres no way I can just commandeer a parking space for myself when everyone else is unassigned and the spaces are common ground owned by everyone. But with a community use EV charging point I can get it past the Board because they too want to buy EVs in the future.

Couple of questions- on 1 is there tech available to effectively create accounts/profiles so if a neighbour uses it I know their usage and so do they and can charge them accurately? Like is there an app which recognises what model car it is charging? And on 2 are there companies out there who do this, ie install EV infrastructure and then charge fees to use it? Any names would be helpful.

prawnsambo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121930739#Comment_121930739

This might be what you're looking for: https://co-charger.com/

listermint

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121930739#Comment_121930739

EV may not be the best choice .. that's my first thought they can't suit all circumstances.

Or

You start numbering spots and get rid of the free4all. That's a poor system.

Gumbo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121911668#Comment_121911668

You’re assuming people want to out any sort of effort in 😂

listermint

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121931064#Comment_121931064

I am often guilty of this, I put it down to hunger ! (Snickers)

Muahahaha

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121930830#Comment_121930830

Thanks that looks very handy. UK only atm but the FAQ says theyre working on establishing in other countries.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121931015#Comment_121931015

As a single car household Id love to number spots but it isnt a go-er, theres 46 parking spots for 37 houses and a good few have 2 cars and a couple of houses have 3 so they are not going to vote themselves into a system that would only allow them 1 spot per house.

However it being a small estate most people know each other and I know the thing stopping a few people getting an EV is the lack of a charger. Im of the feeling that managed estates without designated parking have to come up with some sort of EV charging solution be it using a community charger or else installing charging points on lamp posts when the tech becomes a bit cheaper. So I hope to come up with some sort of solution using a dedicated EV parking & charging spot, otherwise I can never get an EV either.

prawnsambo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121931218#Comment_121931218

This one is available in Ireland, but your sharing is open to the rest of the community who are signed up. Probably wouldn't be a problem in a private estate though. https://www.goplugable.com/

Cyrus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121931218#Comment_121931218

Are you saying the infrastructure is there to put in a charger and have it linked to your consumer unit? If that's the case I'd just put it in and work around charging when the space is free, have it app locked otherwise. The other option is to install a few and have them on the communal supply, each user would have to report their usage and pay thay amount across to the managemt Co, it's messy either way.

Muahahaha

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121934979#Comment_121934979

yeah that is an option but would leave me exclusively charging the car during the day time when the space beside my house is free. I may well go down that route but it would mean never being able to charge on the cheaper night rate as the spot beside my house is always occupied by the time I arrive home

listermint

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121936791#Comment_121936791

Any option here is not really sustainable or planable. Other cars will be left in the spot even after charging. No way to enforce people moving. It's all supremely messy, hence my push to asign 1 spot to spot. People with 2 cars will have to sort it. Why you'd have 2 cars in such a small area is not sustainable anyway. So many compromises.

I'd stick with a petrol hybrid.

Dav010

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121936791#Comment_121936791

With your other approach, there is no guarantee that someone else won’t park there at night and take advantage of your cheaper electricity rate.

I really think you are leaving yourself open to problems if you start letting people charge their cars off your residential supply.

Fit your own charger, lock the app so that only you can use it, park your car there when you can, that’s about the best you can do.

Muahahaha

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121934517#Comment_121934517

Thanks for this, seems like exactly what I am after. A platform that handles payments and bookings would solve pretty much all the problems with this idea.

prawnsambo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121937897#Comment_121937897

Yeah, it seems to tick all the boxes. Might be worth your while to sign up as a user first and try it out that way.