EasyGo public chargers

zg3409

https://www.independent.ie/regionals/wicklow/west-wicklow-news/residents-in-quaint-wicklow-village-question-location-of-eye-sore-electric-vehicle-charger/a1007887445.html

Hollywood North West co Wicklow.

cc

In fairness it looks a pretty fugly set-up, especially in the easygo colours.

CivilEx

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121571539#Comment_121571539

Response from EasyGo on the charger in the Grove, Belfast.

Hi CivilEx, We apologize for the inconvenience, but the charger at the Grove is not in communication. So, we cannot start the charging through the mobile app, but can be used with the fob. The fault has now been logged on our dispatch board and an engineer will sort the issue as soon as possible. Regards,

VikingG

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121571947#Comment_121571947

Of course the petrol station in Hollywood is a thing of beauty...

CivilEx

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121540082#Comment_121540082

Just to Circle back on this one, the charger seems to be fully operational, but it's location is poor as it's located within the primary paid car park as you noted, but it is open for use now.

I had to wait (about 5 mins for someone to leave) to get through the barrier, only to find a Polestar 2 plugged in / abandoned at the charger. It had been there over 100mins getting their 60kw according to the screen on the charger. My own fault I suppose for not checking the EasyGo app in advance.

It would have been an expensive charge for them - probably over €60 if they ran to the 120min mark. Overstay fees on EasyGo are not high enough it seems!

Miscreant

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121591760#Comment_121591760

Thanks for that. I ended up using an ESB charger over by Smyths/McDonalds which was not too bad.

SharkMX

I cant start a charge. When i log into the app it doesnt show me any credit. It doesnt even let me put in payment details. The reviews in the app store (android) are full of people with the same experience.

Contacted their help and they just told me to sellect the wallet option. I dont have that option. They didnt believe me. Again reviews from tohers with the same issues.

Now i just dont bother with them anymore. Im not going to another easygo charger.

10-10-20

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121699427#Comment_121699427

So you don't see the wallet under Payments and Sessions at all?

I'm on software version 4.1.55 on Android.

SharkMX

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121699524#Comment_121699524

It doesnt apear on mine. When i sign in it brings up my favorites and still in the burger menu it says sign in. I tried changing my password too. Still the same after that. Its like its not signing me in, but there is no feedback to say why. Definitely the worst app i have ever used.

10-10-20

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121699534#Comment_121699534

Yeah, getting a lot of bad reviews for crashing too I see.

SharkMX

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121699544#Comment_121699544

It worked for a couple of weeks last year but its totally useless now for me. Would be handy as there are easygo chargers that i would use often but ive just given up on them now and filtered them out when looking for chargers.

Their support is woeful altogether. Dont listen to the question and answer a totally different question instead.

kippy

Hi all,

Can I ask, out side of a preference for free charging - which provider would you prefer to use for charging your car and why?

Also, does anyone know if any company will deal with community groups who wish to host an electric charger on their premises and what the business model around this might look like (I'd assume the group would provide space and electrical connection, the company would install their charger and reimburse the organisation for the electric useage - but correct me if I am wrong here)

Thanks in advance for any advice,

10-10-20

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121699663#Comment_121699663

Ironically, EasyGo do this; have a look at their maps and you'll see that they have community groups and companies listed. They had better get the app working first though.

https://easygo.ie/partner-with-us/

oscarBravo

I use EasyGo all the time but pretty much never use the app, just a smartcard.

innrain

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121699574#Comment_121699574

I always use the RFID fob but you can use the website if the app doesn't work

https://mycarcharger.etrel.com/#/portal/locations

dsandson

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121704853#Comment_121704853

you can also log into the website to add a payment method. I needed to do this as the UK app wouldn't let me add a card. Just kept erroring out.

markpb

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121704876#Comment_121704876

I've never been able to add a payment card (from any bank) using the EasyGo app. I suspect it doesn't support 3DS and falls foul of SCA rules. The website works but it's a pain to use on a mobile device. Their call centre and support team were zero help too.

SharkMX

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121701732#Comment_121701732

I had a smart card and it worked for about months. Just stopped working. Their support is totally useless.

zg3409

I see charger manufacturer tritium has gone out of business. Easygo use them heavily for their 50 & 75kW chargers. It looks like they may have issues getting support and spares long term.

10-10-20

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122037653#Comment_122037653

Wow, that's surprising. Australian company, if memory serves. That's going to cause some fluctuations in the ongoing support and service-space alright.

sh81722

The company must have gotten those chargers very cheaply. Creating these 50 kW SPOF locations doesn't make sense otherwise. They could be used while visiting a town but the fact that there is only one per town doesn't make them very appealing in 2024.

oscarBravo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122037845#Comment_122037845

I'm not sure I understand your point. Take Newport in Mayo: pre-EasyGo there was no charger there. If I'm passing through Newport and need a charge, I can use the 50kW. If I lived in Newport and didn't have home charging, it would be useful for routine charging.

I get that we'd all like lots of 350kW chargers everywhere, but given the choice between no chargers in Newport and one 50kW charger in Newport, I know which is more appealing to me.

sh81722

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122039133#Comment_122039133

Any chargers are better that none but you can't really rely on a single charger being online when you really need it.

And 50 kW is not good, in my opinion, in 2024 when the best selling models in Ireland charge between 2x and 5x peak charging speed. It just results in needlessly long charging times and therefore waiting times on this one single charger.

10-10-20

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122039342#Comment_122039342

EasyGo did what they needed to do to go to market with a charger. The 50kW chargers were a strategic decision on the basis the lack of existing DC chargers across the country at the time as well as the electrical infrastructure and the cost of local upgrades to supply a larger load. It wasn't feasible to go larger in most locations and also the market for DC chargers was only semi-mature, so the technology wasn't what it is today. It hasn't aged well by virtue of the country needing a lot more charging capacity, but we are where we are.

oscarBravo

I would prefer to see eight 350kW chargers in Newport to one 50kW, but I would also prefer to see one 50kW to none. If there was a business case for multiple high-speed chargers I'm sure they would have deployed them.

Don't get me wrong, I want to see more charging infrastructure, but if it's going to be left to the market to provide, then the market will only provide what it thinks it can make money from, not what we think it would be nice to have.

markpb

I assume the reason for 50kW chargers is because they don’t normally require a lot of work from ESB Network so they’re cheaper and quicker to get installed. EasyGo aren’t ESBN with their (relatively) vast budget and infinite timeline for return on capital.

I’m no fan of EasyGo at all but they have chargers fitted at my parents and my in-laws small towns in the west & north west where there are no alternatives. They’re not en route chargers where speed is a necessity - they’re the kind where you plug in when you’re working, shopping or visiting people. They support people who don’t have off-street parking but still want to own an EV.

zg3409

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122040354#Comment_122040354

The easygo DC chargers have overstay fees after 60 minutes and with the relatively slow charging rate and modern EVs with 60/70kWh batteries it could easily be a 60 minute + mid trip stop which is far from ideal.

As said it's highly likely at peak times someone else might be there instead of you for 1+ hours, so you can't rely on getting filled up there. They have some 75kW units that can share a load across 2 cables and some sites have more than one DC chargers. I personally would prefer less chargers and instead double up in less towns. I would tend to avoid these single units and instead plan my trip to charge elsewhere. Also with newer cars with bigger batteries people have multiple options of where to stop with say 300km range, so they can avoid 50kW units and use a 150kW unit 100km away. I don't see the easygo chargers being that busy, so I don't know how financially viable they are as a business, even if they are number of sites wise ahead of many others.

yer man!

I wish they would focus more on hubs are at the very least sites with minimum 2 CCS. I purposefully avoid these single sites and opt for hubs when I need them as I don't want to risk getting to the charger and having someone else connect to it and I'm left waiting then. At least with a hub if I see a few open I know there's a good chance I'll get a plug when I arrive.

markpb

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122047462#Comment_122047462

2 x 50kW CCS means a network supply of 100kW which I guess would mean more (expensive) work by ESB Networks and also more delays by ESB Networks. EasyGo could have a very expensive charger sitting for months waiting for a connection while the charger is being paid for and not able to make money. I always wondered why CPOs don't get the network connection first and fit the charger second - I assume ESB Network's timelines are a mystery even the client so there's no way to schedule around them.