Is it silly to go for an EV with no homecharging?

innrain · 11-03-2023 07:42PM

I'm not into philosophy myself but Plato's cave allegory really suits this subject.

Newoven · 11-03-2023 08:08PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120346499#Comment_120346499

You seem to be missing the broader point - it’s possible to live with an EV using only public chargers as long as they’re reasonably accessible. It would be better to have access to chargers at work or the gym or wherever you regularly visit, it’d be even better to be able to charge at home, and it would be ideal to have all three. But sometimes we have to compromise and as I explained in my earlier post, and I prove every day, the compromise is perfectly possible if those public chargers aren’t too far away.

liamog · 11-03-2023 08:09PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120345266#Comment_120345266

Very dependent on your local area, where I live there's lots of availability on eCars chargers. This is why it's important for any user to check their local charging situation.

liamog · 11-03-2023 08:12PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120346499#Comment_120346499

What's your personal experience of running an EV without home charging and what area are you in that makes it so impossible?

The ability to do so successfully is very different dependent on the area a person is in. Not every one can afford to move to a house with a driveway, having to charge a car once a week is much easier than moving house during a housing crisis.

listermint · 11-03-2023 08:21PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120346782#Comment_120346782

Well I was the instigator of getting EV charge points installed when we moved office. Also admin the ev comms channel even with WFH the swapping around of vehicles and chargers across the available charge points is laughable.

Don't tell people this is an easy or good option without home charging. That's a lie. Your setting people up for frustration and being disingenuous. Yes this is the EV forum but don't lock people into failure.

listermint · 11-03-2023 08:22PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120346769#Comment_120346769

Don't compromise when you don't need to. The OP doesn't need to .

What if they hate their job next month or let go. Are you going to swoop in and say get a job with an ev charger.

Come on now lads be real.

Buddy Bubs · 11-03-2023 08:35PM

I bought a cupra born in September and haven't installed a home charger yet because I charge at work, it works perfectly fine for me. There are only 2 of us with EVs.

Charge to 80% on a Monday and 80 or 100% on a Friday depending on what my plans for the weekend are. Its an 11kw charger and it's usually plugged in for about 3 or 4 hours.

If I didn't have the work charger reliably I'd say I'd have sold the car already and gone back to ICE. There are a few public chargers near me in supermarkets but always seem to be in use.

I've only used public chargers 3 times, once on a trip to Belfast and once on a trip to Cork. The 1st time was Ionity in Kill just to figure out how to use them, didn't even need a charge.

liamog · 11-03-2023 09:00PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120346819#Comment_120346819

So your saying you don't actually have any experience of running an EV without a home charger.

I've been doing so since April of last year and do not have work charging. The situation is very much dependent on the car driven and the charging situation in the persons locale.

The discussion is not as black and white as you seem to think.

unkel · 11-03-2023 10:23PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120346499#Comment_120346499

How about the €5k he is saving per year from not having to pay for petrol or diesel? You must be either insane, rich or both 😂

I'm neither and I wouldn't mind a little bit of inconvenience once in a while for such a massive saving.

Red Silurian · 12-03-2023 12:37AM

Silly is probably the wrong term, very difficult would be the term I'd use

Savings in servicing are huge, even before savings in fuel are taken into account I was putting about a grand a year into my old diesel, nothing the last 12 months into my leaf, not including tyres in either calculation above

joe1303l · 12-03-2023 08:47AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120344263#Comment_120344263

Apologies if this has been covered before but is BIK applicable to free charging at work or has revenue not picked it up yet ?

...Ghost... · 12-03-2023 08:57AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120348012#Comment_120348012

At the moment, it's treated like a fee coffee machine at work. Technically it's a BIK but it's not been targeted. Some companies charge a flat fee for access. Some workplaces restrict access to a certain grade of employee.

Cyrus · 12-03-2023 09:06AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120346404#Comment_120346404

How many people with a bev are plugged in every night? Most people pre heating are doing it off battery surely, in my case even if the car was charging night rate is over by the time anyone is leaving.

Cyrus · 12-03-2023 09:07AM

Anyway to the ops question personally I wouldn't but other posters with experience reckon its doable so I'd go in with your eyes open

ted1 · 12-03-2023 09:20AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120348043#Comment_120348043

Night rate finishes at 8. What time are you leaving ?

Cyrus · 12-03-2023 10:54AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120348060#Comment_120348060

Besides the point but I'm gone I take public transport its my wife doing school run.

So are you plugging your bev in every night so that you can preheat off the mains?

...Ghost... · 12-03-2023 11:30AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120348043#Comment_120348043

I charge off night rate leccy almost exclusively. I plug in every 3rd or 4th night. Sometimes my car pre heats when plugged in and sometimes it doesn't. Pre heat is always on night rates because that's the rate I charge at. I mostly preheat the car when leaving work too in the evening. Still night rate cost

10-10-20 · 12-03-2023 11:50AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120345657#Comment_120345657

Not to be cynical or critical, but this concept has many faults. Firstly - it only takes a single other EV user in your neighborhood of terraced houses to take on the same charging strategy as you to completely ruin your EV experience. Secondly, the chances of that are very high as EV ownership are increasing and the rate of installation of new AC or DC chargers is not keeping up, and you're already in a location where driveway ownership is low. But I will add that if it's working well for you at the moment, then long may it last.

On the other hand I'd recommend that you start engaging with your local elected councilperson on the matter as there needs to be a step-change in terms of how we manage and make charge available to residential users without a driveway.

10-10-20 · 12-03-2023 12:06PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120346499#Comment_120346499

I 100% agree. Unless you're the president or CEO of a company and have a marked charging space, or your charger to parking spot ratio is pretty high, it's going to fail.

We actually had one lad in our place who bought an EV on the premise that he was "guaranteed" charging in work. He had a 50km trip each way and no home-charging. He bought an original 24kW leaf, the charger in work was 3.5kW. He needed to charge for 6 to 7 hours on a normal day and on a cold day he couldn't use the heating on the journey home so that he'd be able to get back in the next day. 😂

...Ghost... · 12-03-2023 01:28PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120348393#Comment_120348393

That lad very obviously bought the wrong EV for the job. But then again, maybe he didn't mind as long as it covered his commute. What was everyone else spending on their diesels while that lad basically had free travel after the capital spend?

The average commute from people I work with is about 50km each way. When I hear what they are spending on petrol and diesel, I shudder.

unkel · 12-03-2023 05:03PM

I used to spend €50 a week on petrol. For less than average annual mileage. The first year in my EV cost me about €30 in electricity. Yes, for the year 😁

slave1 · 12-03-2023 05:41PM

Ah we're no longer on those electricity rates, things are not looking good for night rate charging now in the mid-long term versus last year or so

...Ghost... · 12-03-2023 07:28PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120349917#Comment_120349917

WTF is happening with bonkers? I just ran a search for the best deal on Gas & Electric. We use about 15,000kWh per year (60% on night rate). The only 2 offers that came up were Electric Ireland (our current provider) and PrePay Power.

slave1 · 12-03-2023 08:49PM

Energia pulled their EV plan, big kick in the nuts for us

Cyrus · 12-03-2023 08:56PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120350767#Comment_120350767

I only signed up to it 2 weeks ago

slave1 · 12-03-2023 11:54PM

You did well, in before the end, nice buffer for the next yr

VikingG · 13-03-2023 12:11PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120348029#Comment_120348029

Just as an FYI revenue has said that there is no BIK on charging as long as it is available to ALL employees. Page 13 below

https://www.revenue.ie/en/tax-professionals/tdm/income-tax-capital-gains-tax-corporation-tax/part-05/05-01-01b.pdf

waterwelly · 13-03-2023 12:26PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120349615#Comment_120349615

How did you manage that?

waterwelly · 13-03-2023 12:28PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120349917#Comment_120349917

Hopefully electricity prices start to fall soon and with duty coming back on petrol we will begin to see divergence.

unkel · 13-03-2023 12:38PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120352632#Comment_120352632

This was 6 years ago, back then all public charging was free. Also my home electiricty provider was "Just Energy", a Canadian based utility provider, who in their ultimate wisdom, offered me an unlimited electricity plan for the same money I paid my previous provider 😁

Is it silly to go for an EV with no homecharging?

Comments