Brite Rapid Charge

CivilEx

I haven't come across Brite Rapid Charge before - the site at Curry's in Galway seems pretty much ready to go - line marking going down today.

https://www.plugshare.com/location/528835

Calahonda52

https://www.advertiser.ie/galway/article/135941/brite-mobility-to-launch-several-high-powered-ev-charging-sites

good to see

dsandson

Another new network. Its a tough one to start up but does look like good hardware. Hopefully they have their branding sorted out.

Its a Siemens charger. Larger one is the actual charger, and the smaller unit is a secondary charger. Depending on the power units installed then max up to 300kW in the specs. Load share therefore likely 75kW each if all in use. EasyGo used 2 of the main units in Belfast & Downpatrick for the Faster Project at 180kW.

CivilEx

This sign seems to have gone up recently, so they must get getting ready to go live. The variable pricing is good to see, but the overall power available on site of 190kW is a bit disappointing.

Mad_Lad

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121941246#Comment_121941246

In reality on average how many cars are going to take advantage of this 190 Kw ? even two cars together might only pull 100 Kw max.

CivilEx

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121941281#Comment_121941281

This will be a busy location. There are 4 bays, so if 4 cars are charging at the same time, you might have three cars at 50kW and one at 40kW. It's not great really for a new location, is it? None of these will be a Leaf either, there is no CHAdeMO.

Mad_Lad

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121941307#Comment_121941307

If the power isn't available then there's not a lot they can do. It would be great if all chargers were 350 Kw 10 on each site and had the power available but that's just not going to happen probably and even better if cars could charge that fast.

Calahonda52

Have we an eircode for the site pls?

CivilEx

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121944428#Comment_121944428

H91 P5Y2

https://www.plugshare.com/location/528835

Red Silurian

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121941246#Comment_121941246

Interesting that they are more expensive at the weekend when there is less pressure on the grid (and wholesale delivery is presumably cheaper) trying to target the weekend trippers presumably

ffocused

I am staying in Galway next week and I was hoping to use this charger as my car can hoover up all 199kw on its own.

I heard it is supposed to go live by end of March, but the Fuuse app registration is not sending a confirmation email.

Also the QR code on the sign points to a random 22kw unit in UK, so not a good first impression of a new CPO.

Looks like I will go to Applegreen instead and make do with 180kw

CivilEx

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121944862#Comment_121944862

The Applegreen unit on the Tuam Road is never that busy and I've received 150kW+ of a couple of occasions. I had no issue signing up with Fuuse, but I think I had registered a number of months back for a destination charger somewhere. The new Brite units are supposed to be contactless in any event so you don't need the app (in theory anyway).

ffocused

I was able to login to the app but the email with confirmation code never arrived.

The chargers seem to be live now according to app and one of them is in use.

CivilEx

I was able to try these out this morning for the first time and had a positive experience - a few points:

1. The €45 pre-authorisation applies to the app as well as contactless, but it was immediately refunded back to my credit card upon completion of the charge.
2. I had a peak speed of 164kW before settling at 150kW for the 10mins or so that I was there.
3. There was nobody else charging at the time, but the two ESB 100kW bays on the other side of the car park were both in use (50kW each as the 100kW is shared). Habits must be hard to break it seems, even when the cost is quite a bit lower on these units. One of these was a taxi, so it's hard to understand why someone who drives for a living wouldn't be sensitive to their costs. 🤷‍♂️
4. Cable lengths are good, particularly on units 3&4, where you can drive into the bay and still reach the charging port. This reduces the chance of not being able to charge because the bay you need to suit your car charging port is taken.

ffocused

I just tried to charge here with no joy via app or contactless.
Charger unavailable message in app after plugging in.
Then tried the contactless option and nothing happened.
Went over to ESB instead and it worked a treat.

CivilEx

Good to see some positivity in the EV space!

https://www.irishevassociation.ie/news/a-warm-welcome-to-brite-rapid-charge-as-corporate-sponsor

McGiver

I welcome this development. I like the painted bays, signage and the units - good gear. Although a full petrol station layout would have been better (i.e. the charger sideways and in the middle of the bay). As long as the cables are long enough, it's fine. Still better than the ESB. The pricing is very competitive. Flat overstay fee is a mistake and I think it will be adjusted to per min.

Smart way to reduce their costs by using only 200 kW power but load balance to 4 connectors. Given the charging curves dependent on the SOC this could work. They can monitor the charging stats and eventually bring more power on site when profitable.

zg3409

Not great reports from users.

I find these non esb sites struggle to get noticed as in drivers don't know they exist, and 99% of EVs simply don't know they are there.

On terms of time based pricing there was another site in NI that had similar time based pricing and they switched to same price 24/7. I know multiple providers vary price depending on speed of charger especially maxol where they have a hub in Belfast with different prices on different peak speeds to try get users to move away from fastest chargers if the car can't take it.

I'm not a big fan of the Brite name, but at least the sign is big with a large petrol pump EV logo so some people may figure out what this is. I wish them best of luck but it will be hard to get the word out they exist. Also teething problems with app, payments etc. won't help the potential hundreds of first time users to get a good experience. I really like they went for a hub in a city.

PenguinForce

We used this yesterday while we are in Galway. We didn't use the app and just did tap and charge. On my revolut card. We charged for like 15 minutes or so before we start driving towards Athlone.

€50 was charged or preauthed(?) straight away from my revolut. It said €45 on their site so not sure why is €50. I still haven't got the preauth minus the cost charged back yet. Their website did say that the release of the preauth hold does get delayed at weekends. So will see what happens next few days.