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

Muahahaha

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121936995#Comment_121936995

thanks lister, I hear you and 1 space per 1 house would be the most equitable solution for all. Problem is the 2 car households are in the majority and turkeys dont vote for Christmas, etc. Ive a neighbour nearby in a cul de sac who has 3 cars and when I get home I cant park within about 70 metres of my own house because of this and others with 2 cars. Its a bone of contention because I work late hours and am last home so its like a giant game of musical chairs where Im always the one to lose out. And especially annoying as some houses are almost never up to date on their management fees and for us as Directors its like pulling teeth to get it out of them. And to make matters worse every car parked has to do so with 2 tyres up on the footpath, if they dont there isnt enough space for cars to drive through the place. The whole place is a disaster for parking after 7pm every day, it was tolerable up until last year until 4 single car households sold up/tenants moved out and they were replaced by 2-3 car households.

listermint

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121941613#Comment_121941613

That's an all round ouch. Feel that pain. 😟

TheMilkyPirate

Do I have to get the charger I specified on my grant application?

Our house was fully rewired a few months ago, every cable in the house was taken out and the meter box was replaced along with a new distribution board. So hopefully it's all good to go.

Clareman

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121942342#Comment_121942342

Nope, I put Zappi down on my application and got an EQ, no issues with the grant.

grennscreener

Anyone had a BG SyncEV charger installed?

Looking at potentially getting one in. Don't need anything fancy, about the only things I'd like to have is the ability to charge over night and have an app.

Skyfloater

Hi All, I just plugged in our new BYD Seal into a 13 Amp fused socket with the supplied granny charging cable. But it's only charging at 1.6kw even though the battery is only at 7%. Does anyone know why it would not be drawing closer to the 3.2kw max?

I understand that there are some AC->DC losses in the car of say 10%, but this would only bring the wattage through the socket to 1.8kw.

prawnsambo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121947192#Comment_121947192

Firstly, the 3.2kw is notional based on your circuit max load of 16A. In practice it's usually restricted by the car or charger to 10A and about 2.3kw.

Is there anything else running on that circuit you've plugged into? This could limit the power that the charger will draw.

...Ghost...

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121947192#Comment_121947192

It may have a 13A fuse, but it draws about 10A on the granny lead, so just a bit over 2.2kW.

3.3-3.6kW is drawn with 16A EVSEs. 6.6-7.2kW with 32A EVSEs.

So, the 1.6 is a bit low, but not that far off the expected draw if anything else is on the circuit. The state of charge on the battery doesn't really matter when you are talking such low charging speeds. You can get right up past 95% SOC before there is any change to the charge curve profile.

Skyfloater

Thanks for the responses guys, I put in a dedicated circuit for that exterior plug today, so there's nothing else on the circuit. My voltage is nearer 240v. so a bit surprised at only 1.6-1.8kw of a draw.

Gumbo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121947283#Comment_121947283

Somethings wrong along the line. It should be 2.2-2.3kw on a standard 13a plug pulling 10a.

...Ghost...

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121947283#Comment_121947283

You could check the charger using a different socket and if no change, try a different charger to rule out the charger itself. I wouldn't worry about it personally, but maybe you need the extra juice/time

witnessmenow

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121947218#Comment_121947218

On some of the granny chargers you can set the current draw, maybe yours is set to 6 Amp? It's ballpark around what your actually getting.

Skyfloater

Thanks, I will check out a different socket tomorrow, and see if there's any adjusting possible with the charger.

CoBo55

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121947192#Comment_121947192

Check the car isn't set to a reduced current in the settings. Granny charging is a waste of time. Are you planning on getting a proper house charger?

prawnsambo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121947888#Comment_121947888

Depending on the use case, granny charging can be quite adequate. If you're not doing more than 50-100km a day, it may be quite sufficient and a home charger may not pay for its cost and installation in comparison.

...Ghost...

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121948691#Comment_121948691

Agreed...as long as you have an outdoor socket, or are willing to hang the granny out the window. Using an extension lead is not safe over several hours unattended.

Skyfloater

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121947888#Comment_121947888

I don't really have any option, after I plugged the granny charger and the car said charging time of 45 hours!

It's a question of either the SEAI route(quote €1400*) or a charger off amazon.de at about €370 plus wiring and breakers.

I don't need load balancing as we don't have a heat pump or electric showers, so I'm inclined to go the amazon route.

*This is for a Zappi on our detached garage with a bluetooth to the harvi unit in the ESB box. If you're looking at amazon.de be sure to choose single phase, as it's not unusual for homes there to have a 3 phase supply.

prawnsambo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121948712#Comment_121948712

Yeah, outdoor socket is best and easily fitted. Just find an inside socket backing onto where you would ideally like your outdoor socket (also preferably with little draw - bedrooms or a hall for example) and drill through the back, connect with a length of 2.5 squared, foam fill and mastic and you've the job done.

And even if you subsequently get a home charger, an outdoor socket is always useful.

CoBo55

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121948691#Comment_121948691

I suffered granny charging for about 2 weeks when I had a phev with a 13kw battery, it was torture and that was getting the full 10A. In a big battery EV it would be dreadful it would be like driving in the 80s with £3 of petrol in the tank.

...Ghost...

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121948784#Comment_121948784

Even more frustrating when an outlander PHEV was left plugged into a CHAdeMO fast charger and left there for hours, blocking everyone from using the charger.

CoBo55

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121948878#Comment_121948878

I never bothered with AC public charging @ 3.6kw max it took too long it was easier just to use some petrol.

slave1

I worked of a Granny for 3 months whilst waiting for proper chargepoint, it's just a hump first world problem that will be sorted in time, no big issue plugging it in every night for a while

Buffman

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121947283#Comment_121947283

Is that the car telling you 1.6-1.8kW or the socket? When I was working off a 10A granny charger on a 'smart' socket which showed actual consumption, it was always pulling around 2.0-2.1kW. Allowing for transmission losses along the fairly 'thin by EV standards' granny charger cable, AC-DC converter and battery pack, a fairly normal 10-20% transmission loss would have you down around 1.6-1.8kW.

listermint

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121949147#Comment_121949147

This exactly.

TheMilkyPirate

Picking up a 2020 e golf this week and getting home charger installed next Wednesday. It's a sync ev from forkearn. Just wondering should I get the tethered or untethered? Two cables come with the car a granny cable and the other one. Would they be sufficient or should I go tethered? I'm fairly clueless

It's an extra 100e for the tethered. Basically does anyone know if the type 2 cable that comes with an e golf a 32amp? I've read some places saying 16amp

micks_address

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121949339#Comment_121949339

totally depends... is the charger very visible and you want it to look 'tidier' then go untethered.. will you use it much? do you care about times you want to charge and its raining etc.. and you might get wet? tethered is handy just to be able to plug in and not be taking the cable out of your boot and plugging in and unfurling etc.. some will say its no big deal.. very subjective.. i have a tethered zappi and i charge at night a fair bit just to get the night tariff so its handy to be able to plug in/out and my charger is on the side of the house so you can't really see it.. an installer once told me always go untethered as the cables will eventually get damaged coiling/uncoiling... and with untethered you can get just get another cable... but that's true of tethered as well, you'd just need to get it wired into the the wall unit. also tethered usually means the cable is sticking out in some direction.. might be an issue for example in a narrow passageway where you have to bring bins past.. but i just take mine out of the mount when bringing things by that it might get bashed by...

witnessmenow

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121949339#Comment_121949339

I have a tethered charger at home and there is a untethered charger at work.

Personally I think tethered is the way to go unless you have a specific reason to have untethered (maybe like your also using or potentially using an older car with type 1).

Taking out the cable from the boot and uncoiling it and the reverse when putting it away, potentially while raining, is a bit of faffing I would happily pay a once off €100 to avoid! For the few weeks I'm not in work I can throw the cable under the floor in the boot, if I was using it regularly it would either take up room in the boot or take extra time to put it under the floor every time.

...Ghost...

Tethered all the way. Take the easy life option

TheMilkyPirate

Thanks! Is anyone here using a BG sync?

prawnsambo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121948720#Comment_121948720

You should definitely be getting more than 1.6-1.8Kw. I checked my granny charger today and was getting 2.3Kw. One thing to note though, cold weather can adversely affect the charge you get as some of the power can be diverted to keeping the batteries at the correct temperature. And it was very cold last night.