Can you just leave car charging

whydoibother

im new to this and I’m old so please be patient with me - thanks - got my PHEV a month ago but I live in the countryside so still didn’t get a chance to charge it because I’m never in town for too long, but this week I have an appointment that should take a few hours so just wondering can I actually LEAVE the car charging and just go to my appointment or do I have to stay in the car the whole time??? Thanks

Buddy Bubs

Yep you can leave the car charging and go about your business. If its a phev it probably has a small battery and public chargers tend to be quicker than home chargers so it won't take long. It will more than likely cost you as much as petrol using public chargers. I wouldnt go near them if i had a PHEV. They are designed to charge at home, do your short daily runs on battery and charge again at home. Far away from home, use the petrol engine.

If you are away for too long you run the risk of the following:

Getting fined on certain chargers for staying too long, ESB for example is 45 mins max then it starts charging you extra for overstaying even if its still charging.

Annoying other EV drivers seeing a fully charged car in a charging spot

Possible, but I'm not sure on this one, a parking fine for not actively charging although even if its possible, its unlikely.

the_amazing_raisin

If you're plugged into an AC charger (presumably you are because most PHEVs only charge on AC) then it'll probably take 3-4 hours to charge

So yes it's perfectly fine to leave the car. As long as you aren't hogging the charger for longer than you need it then there's no problem at all

Most AC chargers have 2 ports, one per space to just ensure you aren't doing anything to block both spaces.

One time I arrived at an AC charger and found a petrol Focus parked across both spaces, wasn't pleased 🙄

Make sure you're actually charging before leaving, nothing more embarrassing than coming back and finding the charger session failed after 30 seconds

Buddy Bubs

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120572085#Comment_120572085

Good point that I missed above, PHEVs charge much slower than EVs. I had forgotten that

whydoibother

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120572068#Comment_120572068

I’d love to charge it at home but I can’t because it would cost me at least 5k to upgrade the electricity system here to be able to do it. I did contact several electricians and that’s what they told me.

the_amazing_raisin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120572183#Comment_120572183

Could you use a granny charger and an outdoor socket? It isn't ideal but should only require about 4 hours

Buddy Bubs

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120572183#Comment_120572183

I know youve just bought it but just do a little evaluation on whether it's the right car for you or whether you'd be better off in a petrol only car, or even a diesel! I'll be shot for that but you might be. Easy mistake to make with all the conflicting info out there but it doesn't sound like you'll be making much use of the battery to be honest.

What car is it by the way?

mailforkev

Deffo try get an outside socket for the 3-pin cable. Otherwise you’ve probably paid a handsome premium for the PHEV version of your car for nothing.

red_bairn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120572183#Comment_120572183

Is that before you get the grant from the gov?

whydoibother

It’s a Kia Niro.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120572226#Comment_120572226

Kia Niro.

whydoibother

The grant is only 600 euro

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120572234#Comment_120572234

whydoibother

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120572210#Comment_120572210

I contacted a company that does those granny chargers. I think it’s called carcharger.ie - they phoned me back and said it would not be safe because it’s an old house and all that. But my physiotherapist actually has something like that outside his house. It’s all very confusing. Some say it’s possible but then when I go to do it I’m told it’s not safe even though I know a lot of people have then installed at their own homes… it’s very hard to get an electrician to call anyway they’re all busy so I just gave up having it installed at home but yeah I’d rather have a charger at home of course.

MojoMaker

Carcharger.ie want to sell you a full system and don't want you using a granny charger, in their own self-interest, not yours.

the_amazing_raisin

Yeah the main issue with the granny chargers is that they can overload sockets that aren't wired properly. There's plenty of older houses out there that have some.... innovative electrical installations

They run at 2.3kW for several hours so while you might get away with running something like a kettle or a hair dryer from a socket, it could overheat if used for a long time

That's generally why they're only recommended for occasional use

One possible work around is to get one that can vary the amount of current it draws, you can knock it down to 6A (approximately 1.3kW) to reduce the load on the socket

Of course this does mean the car will take longer to charge

The other drawback is that you'll probably won't want to leave the granny charger unattended, given your house isn't to the latest spec. So charging at night rates probably isn't an option

TitianGerm

Why did you by a PHEV if you can't charge the thing at home?

whydoibother

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120572593#Comment_120572593

think and you might find the answer

TitianGerm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120572697#Comment_120572697

I actually can't think of any reason why you'd buy one without the ability to charge it.

You'd have been better buying the ice version.

whydoibother

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120572711#Comment_120572711

I was actually going to buy the HEV version, which charges itself while driving but then opted for the PHEV because in Ireland you cannot buy an HEV 4 (latest version), you can only get HEV 3. My PHEV is the latest version (4) and it drives without being charged, unlike an EV. I don’t think it was a bad purchase. I can always charge it in town like many people do, so I can’t really see how your comment may be helpful, other than annoying. Thank you.

ted1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120572183#Comment_120572183

If you get a 16A charger you shouldn’t need all the upgrades

whydoibother

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120572860#Comment_120572860

do you mean like this?

https://amzn.eu/d/a5LxUD9

Sharp-tec 6-13A Adjuatable EV Charger, Type 2 - UK 3 Pin, High Compatibility Electric Car Charger, Digital Led Screen, IP65 Water Proof with Bag (IEC61851|IEC62196, 5M)

kanuseeme

https://evonestop.co.uk/collections/mode-2-charging-cables/products/ev-home-charging-cable-type-2-to-3-pin-plug-10-amp-5-10-metre-mode-3

That charger can charge your car at 6 amps, as amazing raisin stated above, it will take the best part of 8 hours to charge, charging at ecars will depend on the onboard charger, if its 3.6 kw, it will take 2,5 hours, if it has a 7 kw charger then about 1.5 hours.

kanuseeme

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120572068#Comment_120572068

The 45 min fine applies to rapid chargers, for a kia phev it would only be possible if using the AC 43 kw, a lot of rapid chargers have a 22 kw socket on the side, and a '' fine '' only applies after 10 hours for 22 kw chargers.

whydoibother

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120572879#Comment_120572879

Thanks a million to both of you. I will look into this.

kanuseeme

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120572874#Comment_120572874

That one is cheaper than the link I posted, some cars have the ability to set the charging rate, I am not familiar with the niro, I know on my BMW, it has max, reduced and minimum, I believe its 3.6, 3 and 2 kw, I never bothered to find out.

Berty

I have been granny charger my Tucson at home since I bought it as I cannot get a charger installed until my cabinet is upgraded which I'm still waiting on from ESBN. My Tucson did come with a granny cable but I bought a Type2 cable as well for public usage. I only used it once, really to test it. I found a charger in TUS Midwest which is a 16kw charger(Tucson can only suck in half of that per hour) and was only 30c per KW and no connection charge through chargepoint.

I had the local sparks install an outside socket a few weeks back, all in €100 for a double outside socket. 40 mins labour incl parts, I think that is good enough value. 10amp granny cable max wil push 2.1kw into the car so the Tucson being 14.8KW takes some time but I never have the battery down at 0%. Anyway with Hyundai and Kia they go into HEV mode around 25% so not often you will see the car run down near 0% as you'll be using Regen braking as it is.

The Granny cables aren't cheap though, especially OEM ones. By default the Hyundai/Kia supplied ones arrives set to 6 amps but they can be changed to 10amps quite easily(by design) so I have mine at 10amps which is 2.1kw into the car.

eltoastero

Get an electrician out (not a company who specialise in installing EV chargers, as other posters have stated they will want to sell you a 7kW - 11kW wallbox and any associated upgrades needed). A (qualified/certified) spark should easily be able to tell you if your existing wiring can handle a low but continuous load of using the "granny cable" (3 pin plug).

For example, the current Niro PHEV has an 11kWh battery. 6Amps (at 230volts) is about 1.4kW, so that will take about 8 hours to fully charge. If the house can handle 10Amps (at 230volts) which is about 2.3kW so it would take just under 5 hours to full charge.

As long as you don't have to leave a window open all night (i.e. get an external 3 pin socket) you should have no hassle charging your Niro PHEV on the 3 pin/granny cable assuming an electrician can confirm the plug you are using can handle it.

As a previous PHEV owner (now BEV owner) I'd highly recommend trying to sort any type of at home charging, driving in full EV mode most of the time is a more pleasant experience (I would often have plugged my PHEV in multiple times per day if I was doing a lot of journeys because I preferred the electric drive over the hybrid drive).

Miscreant

Did the Niro PHEV not come with a Granny charger? It could be under the boot floor in a plastic bag. My previous car (Ioniq PHEV) came with a Granny charger and I bought a type 2 for pennies so that I could charge at work. More recently, I bought a Kia SOUL EV and that came with the Granny and Type 2 cables together and neatly "hidden" under the floor.

In any case, @whydoibother it will be fine to leave the car at the public charger in town for a couple of hours. The KIA and Hyundai PHEVs usually charge at around 3.3KW max so ~20% to 100% will take about 2.5 hours.

eltoastero

info for OP too, Public charging on AC limited to 3.3kW. Also, no granny cable with the PHEV (which is a bit cheap of KIA to be honest, given a PHEV user might actually benefit from using it, filling the battery in less than 5 hours - by contrast the eNiro, with it's 64kWh battery, would need nearly 28 hours on a granny cable, you'll be a lot quicker finding any sort of public charger).

10-10-20

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120572068#Comment_120572068

"Far away from home, use the petrol engine."

Can I respectfully point out how this is the incorrect mindset. Financially it may be more expensive to charge off public chargers, but the purpose of the PHEV and the added weight of the battery and motor was to offset the petrol emissions where charging is viable. To simply state that charging the battery while away from home should be the default mindset is going against the whole ethos of individuals having the ability to choose the least harmful power source in a multi-fuel vehicle. I'd suggest that the mindset should be: "Far away from home, charge the vehicle where viable". Whether that be for financial or climate reasons - we'll let the owner decide.

/steps off soapbox.

crl84

...

Red Silurian

Just a thought, why not do a full rewire of the house? It'll cost you more than 5k but in the end your house will have a more modern and up-to-date electrical system and then you can get the proper charger in