Free domestic EV charging points

Pincher

I know it's an old thread. Just updating the subsidy has been reduced.


I was under the impression that there was an up to £700 subsidy until 31st March 2016, so went on holiday in February, coming back first week in March. They moved the dead line! and now it's only up to £500 subsidy.


https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/electric-vehicle-homecharge-scheme-guidance-for-customers-2016


Interestingly, the cost of a Home charging point appears to have come down as well.


http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/domestic-chargepoint-funding


"The typical cost for a home charge point and installation is £1400. As part of its Electric Vehicle Homecharge scheme, OLEV currently offers applicants £500 towards this cost. Provided you meet the funding conditions, OLEV will pay this amount directly to your installer. You would then be required to pay the remainder of costs directly to your installer."






Not mentioning names, I have been quoted, after the £500 subsidy:

1. £395 to install 3kW Homecharge, 16Amp.

2. £490 (£395 + £95 extra) to install 7kW Homecharge, 30Amp

3. If I want an RCBO (combined RCD and MCB) in the consumer unit, it is £50 extra.

Just wondering if this is a good deal. Obviously, it has to be an OLEV approved installer.


Since a domestic socket is 13Amp, why anyone would go for 16Amp is beyond me. Obviously I would go for 7kW.


Plus the RCBO, as it's outdoors. Don't want it to trip the whole house if it rains.

almillar

Since a domestic socket is 13Amp, why anyone would go for 16Amp is beyond me. Obviously I would go for 7kW.

Plenty of cars, the base Nissan Leaf for example, can only charge at 3KW, so the 7kW (32A) is pointless. As you say, prices of chargers have come down a lot though, so 7kW is more of a no-brainer now than it was before. What you plug into a 13A 3 pin standard socket, is more like 10A, so a 16A charger is a good jump on that.

EricMears

Pincher wrote: »

I know it's an old thread. Just updating the subsidy has been reduced.

I paid £195 in October last year. That got me a 32A Wallpod. Although my car can't actually accept more than 16A I might just want to get another some time. Same people currently offering to fit 16A for £299 or 32A for £330 (I don't think differential was anything like that last year)

And (in answer to another point above) the 'granny lead' (which fits into a 13A socket) is indeed limited to 10A (but with a couple of lower rates usually available too). Hence the 16A 'type 2 lead' will charge 60% faster than plugging into a standard household socket. Possibly not significant if you only ever charge overnight (a full 7 hrs of E7 power at 10 A would give 16kWh which is only a couple of kWh less than my full battery capacity) but you might appreciate the improvement if you do a longish trip in the morning and want to go out again that afternoon.

Pincher

I am getting a 2016 Outlander PHEV, and I told the installer,
so the 7kW version should work.


Sounds like charging technology is still developing.


7kW is still not rapid charging though, so will hold off installing one for the moment. The £500 subsidy scheme just started, so should be around a while yet. Who knows, maybe competition will bring the price down more.

EricMears

Pincher wrote: »

I am getting a 2016 Outlander PHEV, and I told the installer,
so the 7kW version should work.

Sounds like charging technology is still developing.

7kW is still not rapid charging though, so will hold off installing one for the moment. The £500 subsidy scheme just started, so should be around a while yet. Who knows, maybe competition will bring the price down more.

According to the Mitsubishi website
http://www.mitsubishi-cars.co.uk/outlander/charging.aspx
the outlander's battery capacity is only 9.8kWh so a 32A supply ought to fully charge it from flat in about 1 hr 20 mins. Or allowing for a few loses in system, still well under 2 hours.

To get a really fast charge rate (a CCS charger as found on motorway service station will deliver around 40 kW and fill such a battery in approx. 15 mins) you'd almost certainly need a 3 phase supply and I understand approximate cost of such a unit is around £20k. But there's another snag on that most manufacturers recommend that ultra fast charging is only occasionally used (some even void the battery warranty if you do 3 fast charges in a row !).

If I were to buy an outlander, I think I'd settle for a 32A charger - indeed it would be unusual ever to need to use it at anything like it's maximum charge rate. A 7hr E7 session at 10A would always be adequate for topping battery up overnight (and you'd get that from a 'granny lead) and even a 5A rate would fill it from quarter full quite happily

almillar

7kW is still not rapid charging though, so will hold off installing one for the moment.

It's the best you're going to get at home though, for any car, but yes, maybe the price will come down. AC is supplied in 3 phases. Industry, and public chargers, get all thee phases, residential generally gets one.
So the best you can do is 240v x 32A = 7680W ~ 7kW. A 22kW charger that we have a lot of here in NI, is simply the same x3 for the three phases - 22kW. I can't see you getting that at home cheap.

For the home, a 32kW is the best you'll get for a while, and if you want to be futureproofed, get an untethered one, with a type 2 (Mennekes) port - this is the port that any AC above 3 pin will use - 3, 7, 22, 43KW.

And yes, the Outlander has a slow type 1 port for at home (is it 3kW or 6kW?) and a CHADeMo fast DC connector for 50kW charging. Won't take long to charge it!

Pincher

If I was in a hurry, one hour or four hours are all too long any way, so I would just drive on petrol. If I'm plugging it in overnight, 7kW is not going to matter, so I will try the public ones first, and just use the regular 13amp socket at home to start with.


If they are dropping the subsidy again, I'll probably jump to get it. Missed the £700 subsidy by two weeks.


It's 12 miles one way to Costco, and 8 miles to central London, so the 32 mile range on the PHEV is perfectly configured for my runs. I shall keep all my petrol receipts, to see how little I use over the course of one year.


Do people steal the cables?


I lost two radio aerials over the years. It just takes one theft, so the victim decides to steal someone else's, for there to be a whole chain of cable thefts. have to get the security camera up and running. Indelible ink on cables?

wildbilly1

Has anyone got a link for the free installation? Thanks

almillar

Do people steal the cables?

When you're using a rapid, the cable is tethered to the charger, so they can't steal that, and it's not yours anyway.
When using your own in public, it varies vehicle to vehicle, but on a Renault Zoe at least, the cable is locked to the car. The public chargers here also lock the cable. I think maybe Leafs unlock when full?

EricMears

wildbilly1 wrote: »

Has anyone got a link for the free installation? Thanks

I rather think that free EV points ceased to be available over a year ago.