What EV charger to install

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124451539#Comment_124451539

be mindful prices have increased and the new Zappi Glo will replace the older Zappi as time goes by.

ted1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124451539#Comment_124451539

that’s taking the piss. What price is he charging for the solar. ?

tom1ie

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124452158#Comment_124452158

It’s coming in at €16k for 15x 460w panels, 9 kWh Sigen batteries, 1x 5kW Sigen inverter and optimisers.

HOWEVER, for that price we are getting a veranda over our patio area consisting of 12 panels plus 1 panel facing south on the west side of our dormer, and 2 panels facing south on the eastern side of the dormer.

The veranda alone (with just a glass roof no solar) was coming in at €15k so we are getting two birds with one stone if ya get me.

I would like to have stuck 8 panels on the dormer but our Architect advised against putting panels on the dormer due to the weight of the ballast system etc.

@Gumbo thanks for sending on that price list.
Am I right in thinking I actually need an EV first before I can get the EV charger?
I hope to purchase an EV as soon as funds allow.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124455280#Comment_124455280

Nope, the grant is available to every house in the county. EV owners or not. Assuming off street parking available.

tom1ie

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124455600#Comment_124455600

Ah right.
Thanks I’ll give Fokearn a shout so!

I'm looking at the sigenergy bi directional dc charger. Its more expensive but allows for EV battery to power house at peak times or in case of power cut.

Interested to hear other people's thoughts on it

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124455742#Comment_124455742

Is it legal here, yet.
I thought it wasn’t allowed due to downstream risk.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124455800#Comment_124455800

Once installed with the sigenergy gateway they seem to be ok or are certainly being installed in the country anyway

Gluon

I think the dc charger itself is fine, not allowed to go in reverse though.

ted1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124455742#Comment_124455742

is that the one that uses DC? I know that VW have DC bidi ( is it actually available), do others ?

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124459211#Comment_124459211

Yes sigenergy DC 12.5kw bidirectional charger. It will work with from 2024 ID4 which is what I'm looking at purchasing. Must have Sigenergy stack and gateway installed.

Obviously it's more expensive and payback time will be greater but its a good option for home power back up with the 77kwh VW battery.

Hoping to have a company out this week to price so I can report back then

ted1

you must keep us updated on how you get on

Gluon

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124459211#Comment_124459211

The dc charge point is very interesting

looking to buy a Kia E Niro up north and wondering what charger to get. Does the grant cover everything so nothing in small print if buying a second hand electric car still eligible for grant?

Got home rewired and asked sparks to future proof it for charger so have this

Asked electrician if he could install it and he said depends on car what charger is needed

So if we do get a Kia E Niro what's recommended charger and can we apply for grant pre purchase?

Whom are best third parties to install or do we buy charger and ask sparks to install it?

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124477484#Comment_124477484

Unless you’re buying a 10 year old Leaf, it’ll be a type 2 charger. It’s nearly impossible to find a type 1 tethered charger and typically you’ll only get granny chargers that are type 1.

The grant is tied to the house, specifically the MPRN. EV is not a pre-requisite for the grant.

When was the home re-wired? Do you know what size breaker (if any) is on the fuseboard for the EV ready termination? If you’re future proofed, there should be a 40A breaker and the wiring should be 6mm^2 for a 7kW charger.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124477484#Comment_124477484

Makes no difference what car you buy. The EV charger install is the same. Only difference is the connection point if you go tethered or non tethered.

If you have the cabling there already, it’s a piece of pi55 to connect the charger. But you’ll need RECI testing and sign off for the grant.

witnessmenow

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124455742#Comment_124455742

TL;DR: it doesn't make financial sense for charging and has some major negatives. As a big backup battery, maybe!

While the export rate is much higher than the EV rates we can buy electricity for, a DC charger doesn't make financial sense for using the solar. From a purely financial sense you need to think of the power coming from solar as costing you 18c, cause that's what you get if you exported it. Ev rates are as little as 6c

the major negatives about a DC charger is that

When charging off the grid, like on an EV rate, it will be limited by your inverter to 5kW. A regular AC charger is 7kW
you can't charge your house battery at the same time (as your inverter will be at capacity). I only have a 12kW connection to my house and I should still be able to charge my house battery at 5kW and the car at 7kW at the same time.

The only advantage from a consumption point of view is it could help with clipping if your generating more than 5kW from the panel and if your house battery is full.

But as a giant backups battery, maybe! I was talking to a fella on the Facebook solar owners group and he installed a DC and AC charger to get around the negatives. The downside of that is he would to swap out the cables from the DC charger to the AC to charge the car at night.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124478263#Comment_124478263

So is it a case of buying charger online and getting Sparx to install it does he do the RECI testing?

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124482731#Comment_124482731

As long as it’s a charger on the SEAI list. So basically any of the smart chargers, except the Tesla branded ones. You could get Hypervolt, Zappi, Ohme, Sync EV etc. Just keep receipts.

or forego the grant and pick whatever charger you want.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124482731#Comment_124482731

Yes.
If going for Grant then you apply online first. Select the charger. You then get an email with a link you have to send to your RECI for them to fill out and upload test documentation to after installation.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124481150#Comment_124481150

Thanks for response and I hear what your saying .There are definite limitations to the DC charger especially when I have a 3 hour charging window and house battery also needs to be charged and immersion runs during this time.

However I like the idea of the EV as a backup for the home and for avoiding clipping as solar system is over sized. I could drive on otherwise clipped power a few months of the year.

I'll need to crunch some numbers before committing fully.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124455742#Comment_124455742

I’d skip the Sigenergy completely and just get more battery storage rather than rely on bi-directional charging. You’re either getting a nice system, or a financially sound one. If you want fancy extra functions, then the Sigenergy is the obvious choice. For a system that makes the numbers work, it’s not Sigenergy.

If you already have the nice fancy system, then it’ll be nice to add the extra functionality as it’s less about cost and more about options.

I'm already tied into Sigenergy with inverter and 8kw battery. That's why I'm thinking I'll go the whole hog on bidirectional. It's the future proof option I think.

The Sig system has been flawless in fairness I'm really happy with it. But the cost of adding extra battery storage is a real turn off compared to other providers that are not brand locked.

Anyway it's just another EV charging option for OP to think about.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124499416#Comment_124499416

Where online is best to buy charger and get sparx to install it rather than going through a third party like fokearn

User1998

Define best? Alibaba or Aliexpress is probably cheapest

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124499422#Comment_124499422

I mean reputable and reliable website with known brands

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124499459#Comment_124499459

If you don’t mind untethered, then masterplug is available on Amazon for around €300. Same charger as the BG Sync.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124499508#Comment_124499508

Thanks mixed reviews on this suppose as cheaper option. For reliability better to go with reputable devices from fokearn or can you buy these online see if my sparx can install it

Gerard93

Worth nothing if u buy and install separately u will pay 23% Vat on the charger where as buy and install together should be 13.5% won’t be a hugh saving but still something