Taking the plunge into the world of EV

jasonb

Hi all,

I’ve been hijacking a couple of threads recently, so I thought I should start my own!

I currently drive a 08 Prius. I’ve been interested in moving to a full EV but wasn’t certain, and was confused by all the options.

Realistically I can probably spend around €15-€16k. I ‘decided’ a while ago to not go EV yet, and upgrade to a newer Prius, as I could only afford a Leaf in that budget and I wasn’t sold on the look of them.

However, a couple of days ago I told myself to not be hasty and at least sit in a Leaf before making my mind up. Seeing 2015 Leafs for sale for the same price as 2014 Priuses showed me there might be a point to this!

So, I had a test drive today in a 141 SVE and I was very impressed with it, very smooth and comfortable (the Leather seats help there!) and actually roomier than I thought. I even liked the look of it.

So, I’m back in the market for a Leaf. And that leads me to my first question...

If you had a straight choice between a 30kWh SV or a 24kWh SVE, which would you go for? Obviously the extra range is huge, but are there any features that come with the SVE that are really good/almost essential?

Next question, I got a ‘sight unseen’ suggested guide price of €2,500 for my 08D Prius (Dark Mettalic Blue with 208k miles on it). A quick look online suggests I could get maybe €4K or more for it, based on asking prices, if I sold it privately. What do people think, take the easy, and less, money, or go with a private sale and hope to get more?

That’s it for now, plenty of more questions to come!

Thanks...

KCross

jasonb wrote: »

If you had a straight choice between a 30kWh SV or a 24kWh SVE, which would you go for? Obviously the extra range is huge, but are there any features that come with the SVE that are really good/almost essential?

The SVE will have leather seats, heated steering wheel and heated seats (front and back).

I cant say they are essential but you get attached to them very quickly.

The SVE looks nicer as well with the larger alloys with the downside that the tyres for them are a good bit more expensive.

The SVE also has 360 degree camera. Not essential either but some people love that. Personal decision that you need to decide for yourself really.


Ultimately its down to whether you need the extra range of the 30kWh and the price for each.

jasonb

Thanks for your reply. Yeah, I need to decide what’s more important to me. I’m not sure if the extra 30km or so would make that much of a difference to me. Of course, maybe I just got my head turned by the lovely features of the SVE!

A couple more questions. How often does the Leaf need a service? What’s the warranty on the battery? And the €600 grant for the home charger says ‘up to €600’. Does that mean that I might get less, or does it mean that if it costs me less than €600 then they’ll only cover the cost, but if it costs me more than €600 I’ll get the full grant?

Should I go 32Amp at home, and if so, what’s a Priority Switch (I have an electric shower).

Ooh, and how much is a Granny Cable?

Thanks!

icom

jasonb wrote: »

Thanks for your reply. Yeah, I need to decide what’s more important to me. I’m not sure if the extra 30km or so would make that much of a difference to me. Of course, maybe I just got my head turned by the lovely features of the SVE!

A couple more questions. How often does the Leaf need a service? What’s the warranty on the battery? And the €600 grant for the home charger says ‘up to €600’. Does that mean that I might get less, or does it mean that if it costs me less than €600 then they’ll only cover the cost, but if it costs me more than €600 I’ll get the full grant?

Should I go 32Amp at home, and if so, what’s a Priority Switch (I have an electric shower).

Ooh, and how much is a Granny Cable?

Thanks!

How often does the Leaf need a service? Every 30,000 km or 12 months whichever comes first.

What’s the warranty on the battery? 8 years or if the capacity drops to 9 of the 12 bars on the display, Nissan will replace free of charge.

The grant will pay the exact amount under the 600 euro limit (eg. 400) or if over 600 euro (eg. 800) the grant will only pay the 600

If possible go 32 amp, as this will future-proof if you ever upgrade the car, remember you can only get the grant once.

what’s a Priority Switch? Most houses have a 60amp main fuse, if you're running a 32amp charger and the electric shower at the same time, it's possible to blow the main fuse. With a priority switch, if you are charging at 32 amp and someone uses the shower at the same time the priority switch will stop the charger and allow the shower to operate, once the shower is switched off, the car will start charging again. I'm fortunate enough to have an 80amp main fuse so I can charge at 32 amp and use the electric shower at the same time without the need for a priority switch. Maybe you have 80amp too, worth checking.

How much is a Granny Cable? New around 350 euro, but check e-bay, I have seen genuine Nissan granny cables for 200.

KCross

The warranty is different between 24kWh and 30kWh Leafs.

5 vs 8 years iirc.

unkel

And just get rid of your pathetic electric shower and get a pumped one

jasonb

Great, thanks for your answers! I’ll check the main fuse in my house and see.

So, with all the reading I’ve done, it seems to me that ideally I should get a 6.6kWh Leaf and have a 32 Amp Charger at home. And get a Granny Cable as well, just in case (my longest journey, about once a month, is around 90km one way, and the house I’m visiting wouldn’t have a charge point, so the Granny Cable would come in handy!), though there’s also some charge points in a service station on the way.

I still can’t decide if I should go for a 30kWh or 24kWh. I don’t know if the extra 30km range would be essential or not for me. My average day’s driving would be approx. 32kms (the school run and work) and one day a week it would be 58km. That’s my usual week. Some occasional days you could add another 20 or 30kms to that, but not that frequently at all. And even more rarely I might go up to West Dublin, which would be what, another 40 or 50km round trip, depending on where I’m going. All of which means that the only time I’d *need* to charge a 24kWh away from home would be if it was a Dublin trip on the same day as the one day a week that I do 58km, or on the same day as one of the occasional 20-30km days.

Of course, the 30kWh does give more peace of mind. But it costs more, both because of the better battery and because of having to buy a 161 for it. For example, the cheapest 30kWh I’ve found so far is €16,200 for a 161 6.6kwh SV with 40k miles on it. I’m tempted by it, but it’s breaking my budget and I don’t get the SVE features. So I’m breaking my budget just to get the 30kWh, when I’ve seen good 24kWh SVEs for under my budget.

Sorry, long post, just struggling with this decision!

A very quick question to end, what’s the easiest way to check the status of the battery. If I see 12 bars on the dash then it’s doing well? Do those bars start to disappear when it gets older? And is it 12 ‘big’ bars on the left half of the readout on the right of the dashboard (i.e. it needs to be fully charged to see them) or is it 12 ‘little’ bars on the right half of that same readout?

Thanks!

ewj1978

If the 24kwh works then why worry about the 30kw.

jasonb

ewj1978 wrote: »

If the 24kwh works then why worry about the 30kw.

Yeah, that’s what I’m thinking, especially as the 30kWh is bringing me over budget.

I’ve found a 151 SV with 6.6 charger and the cold pack. 77k km and they’re asking for €12,500. The mileage is a little high, but not stupid high. From what I’ve read, the heated seats/wheel seems to be a great feature as it means you’re not relying on heating the cabin which eats into the range more. And the 16 inch wheels are cheaper for Tyres than the SVE ones. So I think I’ll take that one out for a test drive and see how it goes, and how it compares to the SVE I already drove...

Thanks...

ewj1978

12500 is a lot of money for a leaf with 77k/kms.

Gumbo

jasonb wrote: »

Great, thanks for your answers! I’ll check the main fuse in my house and see.

So, with all the reading I’ve done, it seems to me that ideally I should get a 6.6kWh Leaf and have a 32 Amp Charger at home. And get a Granny Cable as well, just in case (my longest journey, about once a month, is around 90km one way, and the house I’m visiting wouldn’t have a charge point, so the Granny Cable would come in handy!), though there’s also some charge points in a service station on the way.

I still can’t decide if I should go for a 30kWh or 24kWh. I don’t know if the extra 30km range would be essential or not for me. My average day’s driving would be approx. 32kms (the school run and work) and one day a week it would be 58km. That’s my usual week. Some occasional days you could add another 20 or 30kms to that, but not that frequently at all. And even more rarely I might go up to West Dublin, which would be what, another 40 or 50km round trip, depending on where I’m going. All of which means that the only time I’d *need* to charge a 24kWh away from home would be if it was a Dublin trip on the same day as the one day a week that I do 58km, or on the same day as one of the occasional 20-30km days.

Of course, the 30kWh does give more peace of mind. But it costs more, both because of the better battery and because of having to buy a 161 for it. For example, the cheapest 30kWh I’ve found so far is €16,200 for a 161 6.6kwh SV with 40k miles on it. I’m tempted by it, but it’s breaking my budget and I don’t get the SVE features. So I’m breaking my budget just to get the 30kWh, when I’ve seen good 24kWh SVEs for under my budget.

Sorry, long post, just struggling with this decision!

A very quick question to end, what’s the easiest way to check the status of the battery. If I see 12 bars on the dash then it’s doing well? Do those bars start to disappear when it gets older? And is it 12 ‘big’ bars on the left half of the readout on the right of the dashboard (i.e. it needs to be fully charged to see them) or is it 12 ‘little’ bars on the right half of that same readout?

Thanks!

The 24kwh Leaf will do the 90km trip all day long once you have charging at the destination. I done 80km up the M1 at 100kmh (dash indicated) and it uses 80%.

Also, the 6.6kw charger can be handy but don’t over pay for it if you will be charging at home over night anyway.

jasonb

ewj1978 wrote: »

12500 is a lot of money for a leaf with 77k/kms.

How much would be a good price? I've looked a bit online, and while I admit it hasn't been an exhaustive search, that price is the cheapest I can see for a 151 SV with Cold Pack and 6.6 charger for around that mileage. There are ones with less mileage, but they're asking for another €1,500 - €2,000.

kceire wrote: »

The 24kwh Leaf will do the 90km trip all day long once you have charging at the destination. I done 80km up the M1 at 100kmh (dash indicated) and it uses 80%.

Also, the 6.6kw charger can be handy but don’t over pay for it if you will be charging at home over night anyway.

That's a fair point. I think my reasons for liking the 6.6 charger is 'cos, as a newbie to EVs, I like the idea of anything that reduces charging time, as I'm not used to breaking up longer journeys right now, so if I have to break them up I'd prefer a faster charger if need be! Also a lot of people on the forums I've read do like them, though obviously there are some who are perfectly happy with the 3.3. one.

KCross

jasonb wrote: »

That's a fair point. I think my reasons for liking the 6.6 charger is 'cos, as a newbie to EVs, I like the idea of anything that reduces charging time, as I'm not used to breaking up longer journeys right now, so if I have to break them up I'd prefer a faster charger if need be! Also a lot of people on the forums I've read do like them, though obviously there are some who are perfectly happy with the 3.3. one.

There are two charge ports in most EV's.... AC and DC.

AC is for slow charging (3.3kW or 6.6kW). Primarily at home but also destination chargers. This is where the 6.6kW charger comes into play. It does not really help for long journeys as it still takes hours to charge to 100%.

DC is rapid charging (45kW) for long journeys. It doesnt matter whether you have a 3.3kW or a 6.6kW Leaf they all charge at the same speed on DC with the exception of some early Leaf's which had no DC port at all.


An example of when the 6.6kW is useful is when you come home on low charge and you want to go out again that night. An hour with a 6.6kW Leaf plugged in at home will add about 33% in an hour. It will only add half that on the 3.3kW car which wont take you far.

Gumbo

jasonb wrote: »

How much would be a good price? I've looked a bit online, and while I admit it hasn't been an exhaustive search, that price is the cheapest I can see for a 151 SV with Cold Pack and 6.6 charger for around that mileage. There are ones with less mileage, but they're asking for another €1,500 - €2,000.



That's a fair point. I think my reasons for liking the 6.6 charger is 'cos, as a newbie to EVs, I like the idea of anything that reduces charging time, as I'm not used to breaking up longer journeys right now, so if I have to break them up I'd prefer a faster charger if need be! Also a lot of people on the forums I've read do like them, though obviously there are some who are perfectly happy with the 3.3. one.

On longer juourneys it will make no difference as you’ll be using the fast charge point. The 3.3 V 6.6 on board charger is for the slow chargers.

But, if the 6.6 is the same price, spec and condition as the 3.3, id also pick the 6.6 just to have it I suppose.

jasonb

Thanks everyone, I do appreciate the advice on this. And I do think the 6.6. would come in handy for those times, like you say, where you come home and then go out again an hour or so later, which I sometimes do.

I've a test drive in the 151 SV/Cold Pack/6.6 tomorrow so I'll see how it goes...

J.

jasonb

Me again...

Test drive all done, it's a lovely car and I'm well impressed. The 'cloth' interior is lovely and the seat was comfy, didn't miss the leather at all really. It helps that the Prius is cloth anyhow, so it's what I'm used to. Heated seats/wheel will be a nice feature to have.

So a deposit has been paid! Waiting to hear back from the bank now.

Next question, home chargers. The Garage themselves had two options, the 'EO' (basically just an untethered external socket is how I'd describe it) and the Zappi, which is tethered and will do 32A (which I want) and can also handle the fact that I've got an electric shower, so I won't need a priority switch. The Zappi is about €50 more than the EO, but seems worth it for the features it gives me. I get the feeling from reading online that tethered/untethered seems to be personal preference, though I would have to get an adaptor in future if I wanted to go from Type 1 to Type 2 (am I using the right language here?). I think I like the idea of it being tethered so I don't have to keep putting a cable in and out of the boot every day, but the EO is a lot less conspicuous.

So, more advice please? Pros and cons about home chargers, and also how much should they be, can I get them somewhere else myself for cheaper etc? And any recommendations for an Electricians in the Naas area?

Thanks!

KCross

How much are they charging for the EVSE's?

I'd imagine you could get the cable swapped on a Zappi from Type 1 to Type 2. Adaptors are not recommended.
Worst case scenario you could sell the Zappi a few years down the road and get a new one that is Type 2.

Getting cables in and out of the boot everyday will get old fast. Tethered is the way to go or else untethered but leave the cable in it all the time.

jasonb

I'm going to guess the 'EVSEs' are the Zappi/EO boxes? So many new words/TLAs to learn!

I think they said something like €575 for the Zappi and €525 for the EO. I can't remember the exact figure, but they were both in the €500s anyhow, and the Zappi was only a little more expensive. I am tempted by the Zappi in terms of it taking care of the Priority Switch for me. Of course I've no idea if they're good prices or not, haven't had a chance to research it (apart from posting here!).

Thanks...

KCross

Thats a normal enough price for the Zappi and it is a good option for you as it removes the need for the priority switch and it has some other useful features as well (e.g. SolarPV integration, which might be something you'd do in the future).

jasonb

Great, thanks for the reply. Good to know it's a decent price, and I do think it's a good option for me and my set up. Happy to give the Garage the money for it too, as they've been very helpful and friendly to me and that means something. Now to find someone to install it, assuming I get the car.

KCross

jasonb wrote: »

Great, thanks for the reply. Good to know it's a decent price, and I do think it's a good option for me and my set up. Happy to give the Garage the money for it too, as they've been very helpful and friendly to me and that means something. Now to find someone to install it, assuming I get the car.

FYI: This is the price (£495) if you buy direct from the manufacturer....
https://myenergi.uk/product/zappi/

Congrats on the new car. You'll be wondering why it took so long to get into an EV. A 6.6 kW is a good choice as it will open you many more charging opportunities in towns if you ever venture past the range and there are no quick (rapid) chargers around that area.

jasonb

samih wrote: »

Congrats on the new car. You'll be wondering why it took so long to get into an EV. A 6.6 kW is a good choice as it will open you many more charging opportunities in towns if you ever venture past the range and there are no quick (rapid) chargers around that area.

Thanks! But it's not mine yet, on hold to the Bank as I type...

jasonb

A nice little update...

Got loan approval at 5:50 this evening, and the money's already in my account. Not bad at all, considering I only asked at about 11am today, and I never even signed a piece of paper! How times have changed.

Have also applied for the grant for the Charger, so will wait to get that sorted. And have decided to get a Day/Night rate meter installed, I sussed it out and it's free for the install and the Standing Charges will increase by about €48 a year. I will easily get that back from the cheaper rates at night when I'm be charging the Leaf the most. At my rates a full charge of the Leaf would cost approx. €4.30 at standard rates, and about €2.20 at night rates. Am I right in thinking that I can plug the Leaf in at, say, 10pm, but tell it not to charge until midnight for example?

So next step is paying for the car, and then sussing out how soon I can get it, considering it'll be a few weeks before I have the charger at home (I'd imagine) and I can't apply for a card to use the public chargers until I own the car! I still need to find an electrician as well, and I also need to sell my own car!

But all in all, great progress considering I only first sat in a Leaf on Saturday. Of course, I've spent a LOT of time online looking at options and advice, and that's helped a lot. So thanks to everyone here for all the help and encouragement, I appreciate it!

jasonb

Okay, I've a stupid and basic question, as I'm getting a little confused.

Basically, which Charge Points on the eCars map can I use? The Leaf I'm getting has two ports, the CHAdeMO, and the Type 1. That's right, isn't it?

Am I right in thinking that the CHAdeMO chargers are tethered and they have the cable with them? So basically I can use all the CHAdeMO chargers on the map (there's one at Tesco in Monread in Naas)?

And am I right in thinking that I get a Type 1 Cable with the car? So, apart from my home charger, which will probably be tethered anyhow, what other public chargers can I use the Type 1 cable with, and what are they called on the eCars Map? Or can I only use CHAdeMO public chargers?

Thanks!

KCross

You can use all ChaDeMo rapids. They are tethered.

You can also use all the green icon charge points but they are slow charge points and require your own cable.

jasonb

KCross wrote: »

You can use all ChaDeMo rapids. They are tethered.

You can also use all the green icon charge points but they are slow charge points and require your own cable.

Brilliant, thanks! I was getting confused as those Charge Points are called 'Type 2', but the Leaf says it's a Type 1 port. But that's good to know, opens up a few more chargers for me!

KCross

The green charge points have a type 2 socket which one end of your cable will fit.

The other end of your cable is type 1 which fits the car.

jasonb

Thanks, that makes sense, but you can see how it would be confusing to a newbie! I'm guessing the Type 2 cars basically have a cable with a Type 2 socket at both ends?

Gumbo

Get onto eCars in the morning. Give them the ref of the car you are buying and they’ll send you out a registration pack and cards. You can then send the VLC by email once bought to keep your cards active.

They are quite open and fair when it comes to this in my experience.

Otherwise you can call (01) 258 3799 at any charger you pull up to. It’s a 24/7 manned number and they’ll switch the charge on and then off for you.

KCross

jasonb wrote: »

Thanks, that makes sense, but you can see how it would be confusing to a newbie! I'm guessing the Type 2 cars basically have a cable with a Type 2 socket at both ends?

Yes, both ends are type 2 plugs for a type 2 car.

jasonb

kceire wrote: »

Get onto eCars in the morning. Give them the ref of the car you are buying and they’ll send you out a registration pack and cards. You can then send the VLC by email once bought to keep your cards active.

They are quite open and fair when it comes to this in my experience.

Otherwise you can call (01) 258 3799 at any charger you pull up to. It’s a 24/7 manned number and they’ll switch the charge on and then off for you.

Great idea, thanks I’ll ring them tomorrow. By Ref of the car I presume you mean Reg Plate?

Thanks...

_dof_

KCross wrote: »

FYI: This is the price (£495) if you buy direct from the manufacturer....
https://myenergi.uk/product/zappi/

Exactly, it's actually cheaper to buy from Electric Autos (I assume that's the garage OPs dealing with?) since you'll have no shipping charges. I'd recommend the Zappi for you, since the priority switch along would be 200 euros to add on if you get the EO.

I got the Zappi from Electric Autos and got local electrician to install it and I would recommend that route.

Note, don't buy the charger until after you get the offer letter from the SEAI for the grant, the invoice for the charger needs to be after the date of the offer letter.

jasonb

Thanks _dof_, yeah, I’ll wait ‘til I have the Grant approved.

If you don’t mind, could you PM me the name of the Electrician you used, and an idea of how much it cost?

Thanks...

_dof_

I don't think my local electrician would be any use to you, since I'm not near Naas, which it seems you need. Mine charged around 200 to install, it was a fairly straightforward job. If you're buying of Electric Autos, they might know someone in the Naas area who would do it.

jasonb

_dof_ wrote: »

I don't think my local electrician would be any use to you, since I'm not near Naas, which it seems you need. Mine charged around 200 to install, it was a fairly straightforward job. If you're buying of Electric Autos, they might know someone in the Naas area who would do it.

Ah, I misunderstood, sorry! Thanks for the advice though, it’s good to have an idea of installation costs!

If your fuse board has any unused slots the installation will be really simple. Just a 40 A MCB and 6 mm2 cable run to the Zappi. Parts excluding the Zappi cost less than a hundred and maybe 1-2 hours of labour.

jasonb

samih wrote: »

If your fuse board has any unused slots the installation will be really simple. Just a 40 A MCB and 6 mm2 cable run to the Zappi. Parts excluding the Zappi cost less than a hundred and maybe 1-2 hours of labour.

Good info, thanks! I'm pretty certain there are free slots, so fingers crossed it'll go easily.

All going well I'll be collecting the car tomorrow. I booked the day off last week so I could go looking at cars, and now I'm hopefully collecting it!

jasonb

Another update... Everything falling into place, money is transferred to the Garage and I have the receipt, insurance is being organised and I'm collecting it tomorrow morning!

As I have the day off, I've decided to use it to get used to the car, and to do some messages. So I'll basically be doing a round trip from Naas to Sandycove, then Dunboyne, then Newbridge and then Naas! Approx. 150km in total! Jumping in at the deep end so to speak! Have confirmed with eCars what kceire said, I can charge by ringing them from the charger, they've now got my Reg Plate on their records at least. So now to have a look at where the charges are on this route and see where I might stop!

BigAl81

Sounds like a great day out, best of luck with it!!

jasonb

Well I collected the car yesterday and I've been having a lot of fun with it. It's in great condition, and really comfortable to drive. In the end the Dunboyne portion didn't have to happen, so it was just to Sandycove and back. It was a good mixture of motorways (M50) and smaller roads, and while I haven't got into figuring out the best way to drive etc (Eco, B and all that!) I reckon I was getting about 40km or so per third of battery power, so I'm happy with that, though it was an estimate!

I charged in the Fast Charger in a shopping centre in Glenageary. It was being used when I got there, but that gave me a chance to suss it out, confirm which one I wanted etc. Ringing eCars couldn't have been easier. Also got chatting to another Leaf owner when I was there, he was impressed that I only owned the car 3 hours!

I charged again back in Naas, and by then I was much more comfortable with what I was doing.

I got a Granny Cable from the garage as well, as I have a journey once a month that it will come in very handy for. And my Grant letter arrived yesterday, so I was able to buy the Xappi off them. I've an Electrician coming this evening to have a look at what's needed.

So, so far so good! I got Carwings all set up, but haven't tired using it yet. My phone is dead at the moment and I'm using a temp one, so no access to Apps for me yet.

The process has all been so smooth and quick, thanks to everyone for the help and patience on here, it made it so much easier for me. All I have to do now is sell my other car and I'm all done!

Of course, the day I bought the car they announced EV charges for next year, which a couple of people have pointed out to me. Funny timing, but I don't think it will effect me too much, I'll be charging at night rates at my house, and it'll still be cheaper than the €35-€40 a week I was spending on Petrol!

Thanks everyone...

jasonb

Another quick question. I had an electrician come to give a quote for installing the Zappi. He works with EVs and seems to know exactly what he's talking about.

Anyhow, he mentioned putting something into the fuseboard that the Zappi would 'talk' to to help keep an eye on the load being used while charging. He knew about the Zappi not needing a Priority Switch, but still advised this 'part' (that wasn't a priority switch) being added to the fuseboard. For the life of me I can't remember what he called it, but he did say it would cost about €100. Any ideas what he might be talking about? I got the Zappi thinking it took care of all of this itself and didn't need anything 'extra' on the fuse board. I have emailed him asking for clarification, but with the long weekend I won't hear back until Tuesday at the earliest.

Also, I've read of issues with getting the Zappi to work with the Charge Timers on the Leaf, that if the Zappi tries to charge and the Leaf doesn't accept (due to a Timer) then it doesn't try to charge again later. My plan is to use the Zappi and the Leaf Timers so that it only charges at the night rate (i.e. midnight-8am), and for the Zappi to take advantage of my 6.6kw Leaf so that it only takes a few hours to charge (another reason I picked the Zappi was to get 32Amp charging). I assumed this can be done, is anyone out there doing it, and if so, what settings on the Zappi are being used?

Thanks!

_dof_

jasonb wrote: »

Another quick question. I had an electrician come to give a quote for installing the Zappi. He works with EVs and seems to know exactly what he's talking about.

Anyhow, he mentioned putting something into the fuseboard that the Zappi would 'talk' to to help keep an eye on the load being used while charging. He knew about the Zappi not needing a Priority Switch, but still advised this 'part' (that wasn't a priority switch) being added to the fuseboard. For the life of me I can't remember what he called it, but he did say it would cost about €100. Any ideas what he might be talking about? I got the Zappi thinking it took care of all of this itself and didn't need anything 'extra' on the fuse board. I have emailed him asking for clarification, but with the long weekend I won't hear back until Tuesday at the earliest.

He's probably talking about the current sensing CT Clamp but it comes with the Zappi. That clamps around the main ESB cable so that Zappi knows how much electricity the whole house is using, or if you have Solar PV, whether you are sending electricity back to the grid. If the Zappi is too far away from the consumer unit, you can wire the CT clamp into a Harvi which communicates to the Zappi wirelessly.

Also, I've read of issues with getting the Zappi to work with the Charge Timers on the Leaf, that if the Zappi tries to charge and the Leaf doesn't accept (due to a Timer) then it doesn't try to charge again later. My plan is to use the Zappi and the Leaf Timers so that it only charges at the night rate (i.e. midnight-8am), and for the Zappi to take advantage of my 6.6kw Leaf so that it only takes a few hours to charge (another reason I picked the Zappi was to get 32Amp charging). I assumed this can be done, is anyone out there doing it, and if so, what settings on the Zappi are being used?

Thanks!

Yes, there are some settings needed. I'm going to create a new thread for Zappi dicussion and I'll put it in there.

jasonb

Thanks for your reply. It might be the Clamp he’s talking about, though he did say it cost about €100 and the Clamp doesn’t cost that (and it comes with the Zappi?). I guess I’ll wait ‘til Tuesday and hear back from him.

Thanks for starting the Zappi thread too!

jasonb

So I'm two weeks into driving a Leaf now and I'm really enjoying it, though I had my first stressful EV day yesterday.

It was a very unusual day for me, I had the school run in the morning, and then I was going from Naas to the Navan Road for a meeting. Then back to Naas, then Newbridge, then Naas, and then back into Dublin city centre and then back to Naas! All in all about 200km.

I had a plan, which involved a trip to a CHAdeMO charger on the way back from the Navan Rd and topping up there. However, the one in Newlands Cross was out of order, and when I got to Tesco Naas it was also down. So I did a quick trip to the car park in Sallins Train Station, and spent about a half an hour there, grateful of my 6.6kWh charger. Back in Newbridge then, I even used the Granny Cable in work for an hour and a half, thinking every bit would help (how right I was!). My plan was to use the CHAdeMO in Tesco (which was back up) before heading into Dublin that evening.

I was running in Dublin at 8pm near the Customs House, but when I got to Tesco Naas a little after 6, there was a queue! Quickly realised that if I waited until it was my turn, I wasn't going to make the run at 8. Got out the eCar app, and spotted a charger in Rathcoole so off I went. I had a dodgy moment when I realised, a couple of kms from Rathcoole, that if the Charger wasn't working, or had cars parked in it, then not only was I not going to make the race, but I also wouldn't be able to get home, and that's not something I'm used to!

Anyhow, got into Rathcoole just after 6:30 and at 9% battery and got charging, again happy for my 6.6KwH charger. Used this time to get ready for the race, as I knew I was never going to make the bag drop or anything like that now. Left it as long as I could, and at 7 I hit the road, aiming for the Q-Park on Cathal Brugha Street, which had another charger.

I was kinda stuck between a rock and a hard place, I needed to go easy to save power, but was also stuck for time. I made it to the Car Park at 7:40 with '---' showing as the % battery charge, not something that made me feel very comfortable! But I was delighted to see the chargers available and plugged in and then quickly got myself to the start line, at about 2 minutes to 8.

So all in all, very stressful, and not something I'd go through with a ICE car. That said, doing that distance in one day is very rare for me, and I was very unlucky with the CHAdeMOs either being down or used. Not having access to my own charger at home yet really didn't help either, as the Granny Cable is too slow when in a rush (but fine when not). Though thankfully my 'what else can I do' plan just about worked. And I suppose it's good that I know that I can push the Leaf to that '---' limit.

The good news is that my Zappi was installed today (would have loved it yesterday!) and is working perfectly. And when the install was happening I saw that my Day/Night meter is in, and has been for 13 days. It would have been nice for them to tell me it was done, I was going to ring today to ask for the status of its install! So I have my Charge Timers set up now too.

Last step now is getting the €600 grant back, hopefully that won't take too long?

TLDR; Sometimes EVs can stress you, but only on rare unlucky days. Otherwise they're cool...

slave1

You’d think two CHAdeMO being down is unlucky but it’s not, I got scuppered on the way back from Enniskillen last year, the Enniskillen, Carrick-on-Shannon and Longford ones all out of action, 6 hours at slow chargers on the way home, what should have taken 2.5hrs took 8hrs

peposhi

First - well done for getting an EV!
You had a great escape there

We’ve nearly 100k EV only km so far and never got stranded, but had a few close encounters and stressful moments, so to speak...
There’s a lot ahead of you to get used to but it is not that bad unless you need to use the public charging points very often. There are a lot more EVs out there now and it would be a lot busier at the already busy (and tired ESB) charge points.
The L24 is a great starter EV especially if it suits your everyday journey.
You’d end up buying a longer range one for sure .
Home charging is the way to go and you mentioned the day/night tariff. What we did for our Ls is to set up a timer in the car NOT to allow charge from 6pm to 11.10pm which allows us to plug the cars when we get home after work and let them start the charge automatically at 11.10pm to avail from the cheaper leccy. It has worked for us for the last 4 years and I see no issue to share with you to try, especially if your daily routine is there. The only thing is to remember to bypass the timer on occasions when you need to charge between 6 and 11.10 regardless if it’s at home or at PCP.

Happy Motoring and post some pics

jasonb

Yeah, I do think depending on the Public Chargers (rather than just taking advantage of them) can leave you open to issues.

I've set up my timers to only start charging at 12:10. That way I don't have to change it between Summer and Winter time, and it still gives me plenty of time to charge, especially with having a 6.6kHw Leaf, so it will always be done before the next morning. I will have to remember to bypass the charge timers when needed though, as you say. And I do like the display on the Zappi telling you when it's charging, at what rate, how much it's used so far etc.

Will be posting the paperwork for the Grant on Monday, so I'll see how long it takes to get the €600. That's my last step in my journey to getting set up with an EV, everything else is done now!

KCross

slave1 wrote: »

You’d think two CHAdeMO being down is unlucky but it’s not, I got scuppered on the way back from Enniskillen last year, the Enniskillen, Carrick-on-Shannon and Longford ones all out of action, 6 hours at slow chargers on the way home, what should have taken 2.5hrs took 8hrs

Thats shocking. How the govt expect to hit ther EV targets with their snails pace development of the infrastructure is beyond me.

You simply cant recommend an EV right now unless its all within the range of the car (all home or work charging).

peposhi wrote: »

Home charging is the way to go and you mentioned the day/night tariff. What we did for our Ls is to set up a timer in the car NOT to allow charge from 6pm to 11.10pm which allows us to plug the cars when we get home after work and let them start the charge automatically at 11.10pm to avail from the cheaper leccy.

As jasonb said, do you then switch it to 00:10 when the clocks change? If you dont you are using day rate for an hour all during the summer.


FYI... what I do is I set the end time only to 8am in the timer rather than a start time. The car then decides itself when to start the charge to ensure it is fully charged by that time. Upto 8am is within night rate 365 days of the year so you never have to change it. If you leave for work earlier just set it earlier.

I think, rightly or wrongly, that that is better for the battery and your efficiency because it means the car gets to 100% just before you leave rather than having it sitting at 100% for maybe 4 or 5hrs. The less time it spends at 100% the better.

The battery will also be a tad warmer if it finishes charging closer to your departure time rather than starting it at 11pm, maybe finishing at 3am and then sitting at 100% for 5hrs and cooling in the process.... warmer battery=better efficiency.

Even if I'm wrong, as long as the car is charged before you leave you have what you need either way. I just want to limit the time the car spends at 100%.

jasonb

That's a good point KCross, but I didn't realise that if you only set an end time that it then will only start at the time it needs to finish at 100% by the end time (did I get that right)? In other words, if all I have set is 'End at 8am', and I plug it in at 6pm when I get home, I didn't realise it will wait until say, 2am before charging, as it knows it only needs four hours to fully charge?

slave1

I never knew you could do that, is that with a L30 KCross?