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

Dohvolle wrote: »

It's an outdoor socket, has been used constantly since I moved in for power washers, leaf blowers, cement mixers, christmas lights without issue. Only problem is I have no idea where it goes to, i.e if it's on the main socket loop or if it's direct to the board. It shares a line with the outdoor lights. If I could figure out where it is isolated (if at all) I would upgrade it, but I have had no issues with heat.
I'll be using granny charger for Outlander, I'm told it reduces load it draws from the mains to avoid overheating.

Easiest way to find which circuit it's on is to plug something in and start turning of fuses one by one until it stops working


You'll still need to be careful with the granny lead. It'll be drawing a constant 10 amps until any of the other stuff you mentioned which only operate for a few mins at a go (or draw low current)


First few times, try plugging it in during the day and charging so you can keep an eye one it. Once you're happy there's no issues then you can probably leave it unattended


I still think it's worth getting an electrician to assess whether they can install a charger or not. They'll likely want some sort of load balancer or priority switch so using the charger and power shower together doesn't overload the house.


You could also look at getting cabling installed for a 32A charger but only install a 16A once with a 16A breaker. That'll halve the load of the charger to 3.6kW (I think the outlander can only draw 3.3kW anyway) and give you some breathing room with the rest of the house.


If you decide to upgrade the wiring in future, you'll already have the 32A cable installed for the charger and will be able to upgrade to a 7kW charger easily (assuming you go for a higher power BEV at some point)


Overall however, I think you're very stuck in general with the wiring in it's current state. You'll be very limited as to what you can change in the house until it's fixed.


I know you just bought the house and savings are probably looking grim (I've been there) but you'll probably need to start thinking about some upgrade works in the next few years. As I said, they can tie in with other renovation works quite nicely, so it might be good to start putting a wish list together

cruisey1987 wrote: »

The Outlander uses a 10A cable, so there should be a bit of breathing space

Sure, but it's still a lot of draw when it's running for 7 hours on a circuit of unknown quality. An external socket is also susceptible to corrosion. I'd say it's fine for occasional use, but I wouldn't want it as a medium/long term solution.

Dohvolle wrote: »

Thanks folks, Electrical rewire is on the priority list once we find our feet. Its a big pricetag item, and we don't want to do it until we know what other alterations we may need. (extra sockets, relocate 2nd bathroom etc)
Many years ago I chased for a spark friend who was rewiring a house of similar vintage, He had concrete walls, he used lots of conduit, this house is 1960s style timber frame. Lots of hardboard panels that aren't the easiest to fix once you punch holes in them. If I'm going down that route I want to move the meter box outdoors too, maybe some solar panels etc. We want to do it right, but we also want to do it once.
The Story above is interesting for sure, but the extension lead seems to be the problem, as in so many cases.

I'm working from home at present, so I'll be keeping a close eye on charging, when I do it anyway.

If you are rewiring I'd suggest running CAT cables as well, going to be super handy in the future with the way things are going.

slave1 wrote: »

Run a rake of CAT cabling everywhere, for EV setup in the attic you'll need three minimum to cover PV generation, battery feed and Grid feed, run another as a spare.

Run appropriate cabling for an EV, the cable will not be expensive and will save a lot of hassle in the future

Sorry I just meant run CAT cable to every room.

We have a house built in 2013 and I'm raging there's no CAT cabling run now. It'd be so handy for plugging in all my home automation devices and adding additional WiFi access points and connecting all the other devices.

Dohvolle wrote: »

They already quoted 9 grand not including plastering. The panels will all be coming off, whenever we do it. Switch heights have to be changed, sockets, immersion switches moved, etc

Last guy repairing the broadband said the same about cabling.

Ouch, that's pretty steep

Hopefully you'll be able to do it around the next recession, prices might drop a bit then

It's definitely worth shopping around with electricians. In my experience you'll get wildly different quotes, a lot of the time they'll quote high when they don't want the job.

Rewiring is big money anyway but you could save a couple of grand with a different electrician

rx8 wrote: »

Race ya!
Mine is going in the post this evening.
Don't you just know that one of us will be told that it's incomplete in some way or other.
Best of luck us!

Well Well, didn't I just know it..... My application came back today saying that it couldn't be processed as the dealer hadn't yet uploaded the grant application details. I phoned them to enquire what to do and I'm told to either contact the dealer and get him to upload the paperwork or send them a copy of the log book.
I said, that I included a copy of the log book with the application and it's even stamped as received so I was told to just send it back to them. It must have been an oversight, and she apologised. The dealer also gave me the details of their grant application and the reference numbers where they applied for the grant and where they were already paid for it.
Seriously, they don't have a clue what they're doing!!

rx8 wrote: »

Well Well, didn't I just know it..... My application came back today saying that it couldn't be processed as the dealer hadn't yet uploaded the grant application details. I phoned them to enquire what to do and I'm told to either contact the dealer and get him to upload the paperwork or send them a copy of the log book.
I said, that I included a copy of the log book with the application and it's even stamped as received so I was told to just send it back to them. It must have been an oversight, and she apologised. The dealer also gave me the details of their grant application and the reference numbers where they applied for the grant and where they were already paid for it.
Seriously, they don't have a clue what they're doing!!

I remember having the same issue nearly six months ago!

Jumping into the PHEV world from January myself, and thus have lots of questions. Car dealership is offering a home charger install (tethered, don't know what brand though) for €900 and for other charging needs, a Type 2 lead for just over €300 (one isn't included with the car it seems). It would be someone else getting the €600 back in grant money though for the charger, dealer/electrician I guess, not me, so doesn't seem like a good deal. Am I right saying that?

Type 2 lead...where and what to buy? What should they cost? Needed mostly for charging at work, would prefer a tethered charger at home.
Home charger, I'm assuming I'd get a decent tethered one supplied and fitted for less than €900 cost to me after claiming back the €600?
May not be a totally typical install in that our driveway is down a full flight of steps from the house, if that's a factor.

Any help and suggestions appreciated!

cruisey1987 wrote: »

The home charger grant is between you and SEAI, the dealer can't apply on your behalf or receive the payment. Basically you'd get the grant offer letter, buy the charger & installation (from dealer or whoever), get it installed, and apply for grant money.


Main thing is to ensure you get the grant offer letter before purchasing anything, as any purchases or works before the offer aren't eligible


Regarding Type 2 leads, search around the internet. Try to get one that matches the charging power of your PHEV, no point in spending extra for a 32A cable if your PHEV only charges at 16A.


What PHEV did you go for?

Thanks for that. This was all over the phone so maybe I didn't pick up all the details correctly. Going for a 3008 Hybrid2, coming from a 3008 Petrol.

I would have assumed that a PHEV would come with a charging cable as standard no??

Given it’s a Peugeot, I’d say do as much homework as you can as most likely the dealer will know very little about it all given its Peugeot’s 1st PHEV.

Definitely trawl YouTube for tips and tricks.

Regarding the home charger, that price seems quite high!! I’d certainly investigate getting it bought/installed on your own. Don’t Electric Ireland do one for €1,050 so €450 after grant?

cruisey1987 wrote: »

Well the Peugeot site wasn't any help, literally the worst car website I've come across, no useful info about the car

They also managed to mispel the word badge (apparently you get a special bagde on the car???)

And the configurator just redirects to google.fr

https://www.peugeot.ie/range/find-your-vehicle/3008-suv/peugeot-suv-3008-hybrid-hybrid4.html

Seriously am I on the wrong page or something???

Oh it's shocking alright. Which is nuts especially now when dealerships are closed and websites are the main sources of info for consumers. The UK site is marginally more useable, but the specs don't line up with Irish specs anyways (and you'd need to know that). The couple of dealerships I've been in contact with have been very helpful over email and phone, and even dealer specific websites are more up to date with new prices and specs etc, but obviously don't have full configurators.

Dohvolle wrote: »

Kryten tested the Pure elec recently and loved it, but he hates PHEVs,
This german lad does good honest tests too.
https://youtu.be/H_6EUwoO7qs

He does very in depth reviews alright, pretty boring but always handy if you're looking for some smaller detail about something that most reviewers would gloss over. That's the current/pre facelift model he's reviewing there by the way, he's reviewed the new version too: https://youtu.be/9v9iyi274rQ

Craazysteve wrote: »

Jumping into the PHEV world from January myself, and thus have lots of questions. Car dealership is offering a home charger install (tethered, don't know what brand though) for €900 and for other charging needs, a Type 2 lead for just over €300 (one isn't included with the car it seems). It would be someone else getting the €600 back in grant money though for the charger, dealer/electrician I guess, not me, so doesn't seem like a good deal. Am I right saying that?

Type 2 lead...where and what to buy? What should they cost? Needed mostly for charging at work, would prefer a tethered charger at home.
Home charger, I'm assuming I'd get a decent tethered one supplied and fitted for less than €900 cost to me after claiming back the €600?
May not be a totally typical install in that our driveway is down a full flight of steps from the house, if that's a factor.

Any help and suggestions appreciated!

There is usually very little difference in cost to getting a 32A type 2 cable over a 16A one. The upgrade is worthwhile for future proofing.

In the the case of the one I linked to below it is only £10 more, £129 instead of £119 for a 5 metre cable. You would also need this if you choose to opt for the 7.4kW updated charger in your Peugeot 3008. It's a little mean of them to ask for £6 extra for a bag, delivery to Ireland is normally £15 stg & fairly fast with DPD. Unfortunately I haven't found any Black Friday offers on these but still alot cheaper than 300e you were quoted by dealer.
https://evonestop.co.uk/collections/type-2-cables/products/ev-public-charging-cable-type-2-to-type-2-16-32-amp-3-6-7-2-kw-5-10-metre?variant=9690528874543

Conba wrote: »

My local Peugeot dealer supplied a Type 2 for my e-208 for €228 incl vat. I then went for a tetherless Zappi charger to avoid the redundancy.

Wait, so the charging cable didn't come with the car as standard?

Thats fairly shocking no??

AndyBoBandy wrote: »

Wait, so the charging cable didn't come with the car as standard?

Thats fairly shocking no??

I think a lot of car makers do this, seen Nissan and BMW do it, they'll supply the granny lead and make the charging cable an extra, or vice versa.

Glad some of them have grown up and started supplying both