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

slave1

Huge amount of folk in the US do exactly that and use the Granny Cable/UMC on a permanent basis as the home charge solution.
No need for an EV Charge Point in such cases, complete waste of money.

graememk

slave1 wrote: »

Huge amount of folk in the US do exactly that and use the Granny Cable/UMC on a permanent basis as the home charge solution.
No need for an EV Charge Point in such cases, complete waste of money.

Yeah sure look at Ohme, they have a commando version for €450, Some dealers charge that for a type 2 cable!

Cona

Hi folks
Not sure if asked before so apologies in advance?

Two questions in relation to an EV charger install?:
- I have an electric shower. I think I read that you can get an EV charger that does load balancing and this takes care of that problem. Is that correct?
- Interested in the Andersen EV. Anyone know the cost roughly speaking and if it is load balancing capable?

KCross

Cona wrote: »

Two questions in relation to an EV charger install?:
- I have an electric shower. I think I read that you can get an EV charger that does load balancing and this takes care of that problem. Is that correct?

Correct, although to be more accurate you need load sensing/limiting rather than load balancing.

load balancing is balancing the load between two charge points.

Load sensing/limiting is where you have a monitor on the whole house load and it feeds that data back to the charge point so that it can reduce its draw to ensure the fuse doesnt blow while the shower is on and then ramps back up wihen it goes off. 100% automated, no priority switches required.

Cona wrote: »

- Interested in the Andersen EV. Anyone know the cost roughly speaking and if it is load balancing capable?

Dont know cost but I know they are very expensive.. at the top end price wise.

They have the ability to load sense but I believe its an optional extra so ensure you request it when buying.

See the "Adaptive charging" section on their site
https://andersen-ev.com/andersen-a2/specs/

Gael23

How do you decide tethered vs unthethered?

KCross

Gael23 wrote: »

How do you decide tethered vs unthethered?

Personal choice.

Tethered is more convenient, cleaner, faster.

Untethered is neater looking.

the_amazing_raisin

If your car is type 2 and a tethered unit wouldn't be in the way then I'd recommend going that route. On cold rainy days the time difference between plugging in one end or both ends of the charging cable feels like an eternity

Gael23

Can’t help thinking untethered looks tidier

Gumbo

Gael23 wrote: »

Can’t help thinking untethered looks tidier

It does, by a long shot.
No cable etc to mess with.

There’s benefits of the tethered option as described above though.

KCross

Gael23 wrote: »

Can’t help thinking untethered looks tidier

Depending on how often you will be using the charge point you have to balance that "neater" look to the inconvenience of getting a cable in/out of the boot in the wind/rain etc.

Getting a wet cable into a bag and into your boot in bad weather is not fun. If thats something thats going to be rare for you then fine.

eagerv

Gael23 wrote: »

Can’t help thinking untethered looks tidier

Also bear in mind that you may wish to plug in your car many nights even if you are not charging it, to avail of pre-heating the car in the morning on your home power.(As my wife often does).



I don't think she would like the inconvenience of getting cable out of boot each evening.


Tethered works better for us, but the charge point is not on front of house.

slave1

If you are thinking of getting a second EV then tethered is the way to go, I'll be taking out my untethered and putting in a tethered in a few weeks seeing as we've gone to a two EV household

TitianGerm

Order placed for my charger install. Hopefully be done in the next two weeks.

Will be €1300 including VAT with a tethered EO charger, ALM, 40 meters of cabling and labour.

Now just hoping for my ID3 to arrive early November.

ustari

Would any of you have pictures to share of your tethered set up?

I've a 3 pin type 2 charger but interested in cable management. Thinking of using a hose reel holder and a couple of straps along with a holder for the type 2 end but would like some inspiration. Can't find a whole lot out there online.

chewed

ustari wrote: »

Would any of you have pictures to share of your tethered set up?

I've a 3 pin type 2 charger but interested in cable management. Thinking of using a hose reel holder and a couple of straps along with a holder for the type 2 end but would like some inspiration. Can't find a whole lot out there online.

This is my setup. I have a Wallbox Pulsar Plus tethered cable.

slave1

That's a mad sized isolator switch, they come much shallower

ustari

Granny charger for new car (to me), wanted to have something neat and off the ground but relatively easy to connect each day. Hose reel holder, couple of straps through it to hold charger pack and type 2 holder for around 20 euro. Happy with it for the cost. I know it isn't a chargepoint so apologies considering the thread but had asked for photos here and thought I should share how I went.

dionsiseire

I've got a lot of varying quotes and looking on here in old threads the prices seems to have been 600-800 back in 2016/2017 but quotes I'm getting at the moment never come in under 1200 and I've had at high as 1700

Is this just the normal price range now?

slave1

Yep, installers pulling the piss on the €600 grant

ddarcy

dionsiseire wrote: »

I've got a lot of varying quotes and looking on here in old threads the prices seems to have been 600-800 back in 2016/2017 but quotes I'm getting at the moment never come in under 1200 and I've had at high as 1700

Is this just the normal price range now?

It looks like I’ll be going through electric Ireland. Im getting quoted between 900-1200. I’ll probably go the cheapest one. It’s also able to handle the electric shower with no additional work, which I’m getting a stock 200 quote add on for. I don’t need all the special wifi etc so can’t see the worth asking on the extra 200 for it.

Not sure if you have to be an electric Ireland customer to get those rates though.

Others have quoted me in the 1600-1800 range as well among with a 2-3 month wait for install.

cannco253

Hi All

I had a Zappi installed about 2 months to provide charging for my 2016 Leaf.
Today when I plugged in the car, I noticed a fairly loud buzzing noise from the fuseboard in the utility room.
Never happened before so am wondering what's happening now.

I disconnected the car, powered off the Zappi from the fuseboard (hard reset), plugged everything back in and the buzzing is still there.

The car is charging fine, but I'm not sure if this is safe or what might be causing the problem - loose connection, bad fuse, ?

Has anybody experienced this and is this something I need to get the installer back to check or my own electrician?

Thanks

stimpson

cannco253 wrote: »

Hi All

I had a Zappi installed about 2 months to provide charging for my 2016 Leaf.
Today when I plugged in the car, I noticed a fairly loud buzzing noise from the fuseboard in the utility room.
Never happened before so am wondering what's happening now.

I disconnected the car, powered off the Zappi from the fuseboard (hard reset), plugged everything back in and the buzzing is still there.

The car is charging fine, but I'm not sure if this is safe or what might be causing the problem - loose connection, bad fuse, ?

Has anybody experienced this and is this something I need to get the installer back to check or my own electrician?

Thanks

Who installed it? Did you get a Safe Electric cert? I'd have him back if he's legit.

the_amazing_raisin

cannco253 wrote: »

Hi All

I had a Zappi installed about 2 months to provide charging for my 2016 Leaf.
Today when I plugged in the car, I noticed a fairly loud buzzing noise from the fuseboard in the utility room.
Never happened before so am wondering what's happening now.

I disconnected the car, powered off the Zappi from the fuseboard (hard reset), plugged everything back in and the buzzing is still there.

The car is charging fine, but I'm not sure if this is safe or what might be causing the problem - loose connection, bad fuse, ?

Has anybody experienced this and is this something I need to get the installer back to check or my own electrician?

Thanks

Yeah that buzzing could be arcing inside the fuse board, you definitely need an electrician to check it out.


Get the installer back and if they're saying it's nothing and you aren't happy then get an independent electrician to look at it.

meercat

cannco253 wrote: »

Hi All

I had a Zappi installed about 2 months to provide charging for my 2016 Leaf.
Today when I plugged in the car, I noticed a fairly loud buzzing noise from the fuseboard in the utility room.
Never happened before so am wondering what's happening now.

I disconnected the car, powered off the Zappi from the fuseboard (hard reset), plugged everything back in and the buzzing is still there.

The car is charging fine, but I'm not sure if this is safe or what might be causing the problem - loose connection, bad fuse, ?

Has anybody experienced this and is this something I need to get the installer back to check or my own electrician?

Thanks

I’d get a rec out to check this asap. Don’t wait on your zappi installer.

Don’t charge your car or use big loads(cooker/electric shower/immersion)till this is checked.

Gael23

If you have no intention of getting solar panels is the Zappi not what you want?

the_amazing_raisin

Gael23 wrote: »

If you have no intention of getting solar panels is the Zappi not what you want?

Well, never say never

The Zappi has some neat features like load balancing and smart control, although you often need to buy additional accessories to use this.

But truth be told if you don't need any of the smart features you can save your money and get a dumb charger

The cabling to supply the charger is the most difficult part, once that is done to a good standard you can change charger at any time

Gael23

cruisey1987 wrote: »

Well, never say never

The Zappi has some neat features like load balancing and smart control, although you often need to buy additional accessories to use this.

But truth be told if you don't need any of the smart features you can save your money and get a dumb charger

The cabling to supply the charger is the most difficult part, once that is done to a good standard you can change charger at any time

I’d like one that has an app and things but no plans to install solar.

On the subject of changing charger, say if you move house can you disconnect the charger and take it with you? Obviously things like cabling and whatever priority switches etc would stay behind.

Gumbo

Gael23 wrote: »

I’d like one that has an app and things but no plans to install solar.

On the subject of changing charger, say if you move house can you disconnect the charger and take it with you? Obviously things like cabling and whatever priority switches etc would stay behind.

You can control most charging options from the car nowadays so may not require a smart charger.

If you move house, remember the grant is tied to the MPRN so the next owner can never apply for the grant. You could in theory take the charger with you and replace with an external socket and just leave notes about the cabling etc so the new owner knows they can hook up.

the_amazing_raisin

Gael23 wrote: »

I’d like one that has an app and things but no plans to install solar.

On the subject of changing charger, say if you move house can you disconnect the charger and take it with you? Obviously things like cabling and whatever priority switches etc would stay behind.

Basically, that's between you and the buyer (assuming it's not rented accommodation). It's simple enough to take the charger, and possibly the priority switch. You're correct that the cabling isn't worth the hassle. I'll add the usual disclaimer here that you'll need a qualified electrician to completely mess the job up and charge you lots of money for the privilege.

Realistically, it's probably not worth the hassle. You might want to upgrade to a newer one when moving. Chargers are a pittence compared to the price of a house, the expensive bit is the cabling.

On a side note, people get some odd notions when moving house and deciding what to take. I know one guy who viewed a house where the owner had ripped the alarm system out and pulled up the decking in the garden.

The house looked great in the photos, but looked like a wreck in real life. The owner had probably wiped €10k off the value of their house just to save maybe €3k.

Felexicon

slave1 wrote: »

Yep, installers pulling the piss on the €600 grant

Out of curiosity, how much, excluding the cost of a charger would you expect to pay/feel is reasonable