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

I think they might be processing them in batches or something, I submitted mine on 27 Jun and it got paid on the 31st as well.

Hi folks,

We had the house surveyed back in April/May but delayed installation as dealer was providing FOC and car was delayed.

With delivery hopefully getting closer Installer reached out to survey again as he said the regs had changed. When I queried what had changed he gave the following:

The regulations have changed regarding taking the power from the ESB metering box, and having to position a modular box and surge protection unit outside of the ESB metering box.

Can anyone point out what exactly had changed as not much in the above.

Thanks I advance

Hypervolt replied to me today. They are happy remove VAT and send to Ireland.

Ecar infra quoting 1300 for prewired install. Told them others had quoted 1000. If they do 1000 and can install soon, I will go with them as they have good reviews

I was dealing with Go Electrical as a last ditch effort to have a CP installed. The lady (Kamilla) I was dealing with via whatsapp and phone was really helpful and I would have gone with them except the electrician was insisting I first have my tails upgraded from 10 to 16^2 which would cost me around €400-500 when all is said and done. They don't do the tails upgrade themselves either.

I have just ordered a Hypervolt 2.0 and will install this myself, as I already have a charge point. I emailed them to request an invoice with VAT removed and they quickly obliged. Costing £560 including delivery.

I already have a charge point installed, so I am simply removing and replacing with the hypervolt. It’s a glorified socket at the end of the day. I’m an engineer and work with electrics daily.

regarding the tails….I do want to upgrade but it’s not necessary right now. It’s an immediate extra cost I would rather delay for a couple of months. There’s more to it than just the ESBN cost. Tails to consumer unit needs doing too. The load is remaining the same, so it’s all good.

Just got a quote for an untethered Zappi v2.1 install in a house pre-wired for a charge point. €1399 (€50 extra to go tethered). Sound a bit expensive given majority of wiring is already in place?

Have you tried an regular domestic electrician who charges by the hour ?

Yes it does. I think it’s a relatively straight forward install, but was just wondering if it’s in the right ballpark price wise. I know I can order the Zappi for €999 plus about €20 for delivery myself.

What are you waffling on about? If it was safe enough to install on 10^2 tails less than 5 years ago, it's safe enough now to replace the existing unit with a newer one. There is no need to upgrade the tails at this time. Or do you think €800-1000 for an hours work changing out a glorified socket is fair game?

When I am having the tails upgraded (prior to solar being done) I will go down that route. As of now, it seems there is a free for all on any charger installs, including from a few who don't have it advertised on their site. They always ask about the grant before quoting.

I had all the wiring done for the EV charger on my new build even, had an isolator on the external wall and all cables including Cat6 brought back to the main board and it cost me €1350 (tethered) a couple of months ago.

There still is a bit of fiddling around including testing and then issuing test certs they submit stuff to SEAI as well etc so that price seems about right...

Mine is getting installed tomorrow 1250 all in before then grant. Should have went with a load balancing one but I’ll survive.

No it is eligible for the grant. I mean it's a pretty straight forward job as far as installs go. I'm not an expert but from what I have been told the Zappi is the easiest charger to install. Wiring is already in place so they just need to install a rotary isolator, RCD, CT clamp and hang the unit itself. Obviously they have to test and certify afterwards too!

dress it ip all you want and dramatise it as much as possible. But it’s still over priced.

highly skilled and qualified electrician = just an electrician, hourly rate = €25 a hour at union rates or about €60 for domestic sparks

piece of equipment that output 7.5kw on an external wall = a certified ip charge point that connects to the wall with 3-4 screws and has 3 cables to terminate

paperwork, testing and certification= not much testing required =A multimeter and about 2 minutes to do the test, paperwork and certify = 5 minutes

IIRC you're moving from a Leaf 24. Was that a 3.3kW or 6.6kW model, because if it wasn't the 6.6, then you were only drawing 16A and will now be drawing 32A.

If you're getting the tails upgraded for solar, why not do that now and get the electrician to swap the charge points? As an aside, 1, how much solar are you planning on and 2, when are you planning on installing. I've seen people get quotes for solar and being told next Jan/Feb for installation.

If you get a REC to change the charge points, they may not be able to certify the installation without upgrading the tails. Since 1st August, all installations have to be certified to the 2020 standards.

On prices, you have to remember that €350 includes VAT, so is only a little over €300. To do a proper job, the electrician will be there about 2 hours, and they have to pay for their van, all their business expenses (accountant, RECI registration, insurance, etc.) as well as whatever parts are required on site, tools, certification of their testing equipment, etc. €350 is possibly a little high, but not by much.

What's bloating the prices isn't the grant, it's availability. We have a capitalist economy, which creates the imperative for companies to charge as much as the market will carry. If the price is too high, people won't pay. If they're charging that, it's because that's the point at which they maximise their income for the amount of time they're willing to work.