House needs to be rewired for charger

Seurat · 01-02-2022 8:35pm #1

So I don’t own an ev.

but I see some posters talk about difficulty getting a charge point installed at home and being told they need a house rewiring.

I live in a semi d, 20 years old. Has a priority switch for 2 electric showers, a shed wired and some extra electrical work done for extra lighting.

Are there any major red flags which ye know of where KN guy would say they are not able to wire up the ev charger?

Gumbo · 02-02-2022 1:01am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058230851/house-needs-to-be-rewired-for-charger

No major flags there.

20 year old house puts it at a 2000’s build so the incoming supply and tails should be good.

I live in a 1996 built house and all good.

JohnC. · 02-02-2022 7:46am

My house is from 1977 and there were no issues.

DublinDilbert · 02-02-2022 8:12am

It depends, what power charger? 3kw? 6kw? The biggest issue is the electric showers. Any other large loads like a heat pump, electric cooker or induction hob?

If you don't need a larger charger, getting a 3kw unit would be more straight forward.

Black_Knight · 02-02-2022 9:31am

1940s house, obviously rewired but I think that was in the late 90s. Had no issues, though I did relocate my meter box to outside (from inside) and this would have included replacing the tails to the meter (and a new meter) which an electrician had previously said were inadequate (in general, this was before an EV was on the cards).

There should be no need to rewire a whole house because of an EV. There may be a need to update the wiring into the house (tails) and that's an ESB job. I think when we relocated our meter box it cost €400 once power to the house was above ground, and €400 was pretty much a flat rate. Your fuse box could also need updating (new mains trip switches) or perhaps upgrading if there's insufficient space in it for an additional RCBO. Our fuse box is chock-a-block after our EV was installed, so if we add anything else it's likely a new fuse box required.

I'm no electrician though, so if an electrician has said they can't install a charge point for some reason, get a second opinion from another electrician.

KCross · 02-02-2022 11:49am

The gotchas seem to be

bonding of boilers and pipe work.
earth rod isn’t up to scratch.
tails from meter to board not up to the job

It will be hit and miss as to whether you’ll get caught for those or not. Electrician is expected to check those (and a bunch of other things) and is expected to fix any issues he finds as part of installing the charge point.

The same would apply if you were adding a new circuit anywhere else(or house extension etc), it’s not specifically because you’re adding a charge point.

loopymum · 02-02-2022 9:03pm

17 years old house. Supply is on 65amp fuse. I could upgrade to 90amp but it costs 1500.

I don't have an electric shower though but are wired for them.

You could probably do with a load balancing ev charger if you have 2 electric showers. I bought a zappi & set up load balancing on that. You can also set it to output alot lower than that but no real need with load balancing.

I have seen the load Balancing kick in plenty of times on the myenergi app.

For eg.

3kw heatpump

3kw immersion

Leaf granny charger 2.2kw

Base running 0.6 kw

Load balancing is a wonderful thing.

I would definitely install 32amp cabling & charger though not 16amp unless you are getting a 16amp ev charger given to you for free!

There are quite a few load Balancing chargers available now.

opendoors · 02-02-2022 11:33pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118568641#Comment_118568641

Yeah I agree 👍

slave1 · 03-02-2022 4:14pm

1974 build, no issues whatsoever

Boscoirl · 13-04-2022 7:07am

Deasyb · 18-04-2022 12:20am

My elderly father bought a Leaf and now wishes he hadn’t. House built in 1960s.

Waited a month for KN to come out, only for the guy to say he can’t install it until he gets an electrician and the ESB out first. Surely they could do a quick assessment around the time of booking to prevent unnecessary delays? Either request photos or send someone to take a cursory look.

ESB said they’d charge for the call-out, despite the meter needing to be replaced and a free replacement program currently ongoing.

The electrician came out after a 10 day wait and said the whole house would need to be rewired before a charger could be installed.

Now he has a car he can only charge at public chargers. People should be warned to get their houses checked prior to ordering a car. Everyone talks of how great EVs are but nobody mentions the hassle that can come with them.

Phil.x · 18-04-2022 12:26am

Wiring an ev point is not like adding an extra socket. They can take big power, and with a shower, tumble dryer, hob&cooker, etc can easily overload a main fuse, but that is where their smart element comes into play as it monitors the power usage vs design load.

Atlantic Dawn · 18-04-2022 12:29am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118941409#Comment_118941409

Can you get a 2nd opinion from an independent electrician, money no object a rewire is always best practice but may not be absolutely necessary.

Gumbo · 18-04-2022 3:18am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118941409#Comment_118941409

Get a second opinion. Same happened my father in law and ended up with www.carcharger.ie as they used load balancing etc
Tell him to use the granny cable over night. It’s a 3 pin connection and uses 10a and will save him going to public chargers (more expensive).

Old diesel · 18-04-2022 1:08pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118941409#Comment_118941409

I don't have a home charger - I use the granny cable to charge from a normal socket in my garage.

Would the electrician be willing to fit an outside socket?????.

Yes the granny cable is slow but does mean the car can add charge while sitting outside the house.

In terms of power demand the granny cable is only taking in the region of 1.5 to 2 kw - so if your electrician still says that's unsafe then even if you sell the EV - then you need to get to the bottom of the issue.

Old diesel · 18-04-2022 1:17pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118942668#Comment_118942668

To clarify - my argument is that if the wiring is up to scratch.

Then it should be able to deal with the granny cable.

If not then there's an issue to be looked even if you don't keep the EV.

Also its useful to try and get a handle on what exactly the alleged issue is with the first electrician that came.

Get your 2nd opinion from another electrician without saying what issues the first guy found. And see if the 2nd electrician finds the same issues.

Is the car on a PCP???? - because EVs are in strong demand at the moment so it should be possible to get it sold.

Or reach a settlement of some kind with Nissan to take it back as a trade in against an ICE car.

[Deleted User] · 18-04-2022 1:40pm

https://www.legrand.de/de/produkte/ev-ladestationen/greenup-ladesysteme

Something exists between the speed of a granny cable and a 32A 7KW charger.

green'up 16A x 230V = 3.7KW

Any EV with a battery pack up to 50kWh should be practical with that.

Old diesel · 18-04-2022 1:41pm

On a wider note - is the charger wired directly to the meter.

If so where is the pressure on house wiring coming into play as the power should be able to do a route of.....

7 kw (32 amp) from meter to charger and then charger to car.

...Ghost... · 18-04-2022 4:18pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118941409#Comment_118941409

In fairness, it's up to the the buyer to check what will be needed to charge the car. And in any case, an external socket would be enough if the car is waiting outside most of the time. If an external socket is an issue, then the car is the least of the problems.

Seurat · 22-04-2022 4:40am

Ball park figure for a rewire? I know every house is different but are we talking north of €10k for a standard semi detached?

Black_Knight · 22-04-2022 11:23am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118959228#Comment_118959228

Yup. Sounds about right.

Pretty invasive too. Chasing walls to run cabling. You'd be looking at moving out and renting while it's ongoing. Then decorating after they're finished.

mailforkev · 22-04-2022 1:00pm

My newish next door neighbours (needlessly) rewired their semi-d last year after they moved in. Sounded like the house was being torn apart for a week.

My only consolation was that it turned out that the electricians bungled some part of the job so they needed to wreck some of their walls again after the neighbours had redecorated.

L1011 · 22-04-2022 1:15pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118959228#Comment_118959228

8-10k quotes for a 3 bed terrace last year, cable costs have gone up (albeit they are but a small factor in the total cost) since then so I'd expect higher quotes now. Could have maybe shaved 1500 off that by dropping nice to have bits and future prep work (e.g. wiring for a power shower that I don't yet have). Add on a skip (mostly for stuff I dumped to clear the way!) and 600 for the replastering.

One of the prep work items was the spur for a charger. I don't currently have an EV - well, half my work fleet are but I very very rarely drive them home.

society4 · 27-12-2022 7:08pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118576445#Comment_118576445

Can I ask did you have to get some modifications - new CU, earth rods and bonding and new rails?

society4 · 27-12-2022 7:31pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118941409#Comment_118941409

What happened in the end ?

[Deleted User] · 28-12-2022 3:25am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118960591#Comment_118960591

Wow that 2nd paragraph makes you sound like a jealous and bitter neighbour who takes joy in your new neighbours set backs

House needs to be rewired for charger

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