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

Thanks that looks very handy. UK only atm but the FAQ says theyre working on establishing in other countries.

As a single car household Id love to number spots but it isnt a go-er, theres 46 parking spots for 37 houses and a good few have 2 cars and a couple of houses have 3 so they are not going to vote themselves into a system that would only allow them 1 spot per house.

However it being a small estate most people know each other and I know the thing stopping a few people getting an EV is the lack of a charger. Im of the feeling that managed estates without designated parking have to come up with some sort of EV charging solution be it using a community charger or else installing charging points on lamp posts when the tech becomes a bit cheaper. So I hope to come up with some sort of solution using a dedicated EV parking & charging spot, otherwise I can never get an EV either.

Are you saying the infrastructure is there to put in a charger and have it linked to your consumer unit? If that's the case I'd just put it in and work around charging when the space is free, have it app locked otherwise. The other option is to install a few and have them on the communal supply, each user would have to report their usage and pay thay amount across to the managemt Co, it's messy either way.

Any option here is not really sustainable or planable. Other cars will be left in the spot even after charging. No way to enforce people moving. It's all supremely messy, hence my push to asign 1 spot to spot. People with 2 cars will have to sort it. Why you'd have 2 cars in such a small area is not sustainable anyway. So many compromises.

I'd stick with a petrol hybrid.

Thanks for this, seems like exactly what I am after. A platform that handles payments and bookings would solve pretty much all the problems with this idea.

thanks lister, I hear you and 1 space per 1 house would be the most equitable solution for all. Problem is the 2 car households are in the majority and turkeys dont vote for Christmas, etc. Ive a neighbour nearby in a cul de sac who has 3 cars and when I get home I cant park within about 70 metres of my own house because of this and others with 2 cars. Its a bone of contention because I work late hours and am last home so its like a giant game of musical chairs where Im always the one to lose out. And especially annoying as some houses are almost never up to date on their management fees and for us as Directors its like pulling teeth to get it out of them. And to make matters worse every car parked has to do so with 2 tyres up on the footpath, if they dont there isnt enough space for cars to drive through the place. The whole place is a disaster for parking after 7pm every day, it was tolerable up until last year until 4 single car households sold up/tenants moved out and they were replaced by 2-3 car households.

Do I have to get the charger I specified on my grant application?

Our house was fully rewired a few months ago, every cable in the house was taken out and the meter box was replaced along with a new distribution board. So hopefully it's all good to go.

Anyone had a BG SyncEV charger installed?

Looking at potentially getting one in. Don't need anything fancy, about the only things I'd like to have is the ability to charge over night and have an app.

Firstly, the 3.2kw is notional based on your circuit max load of 16A. In practice it's usually restricted by the car or charger to 10A and about 2.3kw.

Is there anything else running on that circuit you've plugged into? This could limit the power that the charger will draw.

Thanks for the responses guys, I put in a dedicated circuit for that exterior plug today, so there's nothing else on the circuit. My voltage is nearer 240v. so a bit surprised at only 1.6-1.8kw of a draw.

You could check the charger using a different socket and if no change, try a different charger to rule out the charger itself. I wouldn't worry about it personally, but maybe you need the extra juice/time

Thanks, I will check out a different socket tomorrow, and see if there's any adjusting possible with the charger.

Depending on the use case, granny charging can be quite adequate. If you're not doing more than 50-100km a day, it may be quite sufficient and a home charger may not pay for its cost and installation in comparison.

I don't really have any option, after I plugged the granny charger and the car said charging time of 45 hours!

It's a question of either the SEAI route(quote €1400*) or a charger off amazon.de at about €370 plus wiring and breakers.

I don't need load balancing as we don't have a heat pump or electric showers, so I'm inclined to go the amazon route.

*This is for a Zappi on our detached garage with a bluetooth to the harvi unit in the ESB box. If you're looking at amazon.de be sure to choose single phase, as it's not unusual for homes there to have a 3 phase supply.

I suffered granny charging for about 2 weeks when I had a phev with a 13kw battery, it was torture and that was getting the full 10A. In a big battery EV it would be dreadful it would be like driving in the 80s with £3 of petrol in the tank.

I never bothered with AC public charging @ 3.6kw max it took too long it was easier just to use some petrol.