EV Charger Cost.

piperm87

I'm currently looking at having an EV charger installed at my house for my PHEV Kuga although I'm struggling to find any decent prices, Everywhere so far has quoted me around 1k to supply and install. the cheapest been Hive / British Gas who have quoted £879 online with 'free' install, this is still more than i can afford and Hive dont have the option to pay back over time unfortunately.

Was wondering if any EV owners have had better luck at finding decent quotes from companies ?

Many Thanks

Matt Piper

MX5huggy

Do you need one? I presume it’s not a big battery just use the granny charger. 

piperm87

Its a 14.4KW battery but according to the Ford App it takes 10KW per night from 1 or 2 % usually. I use the granny charger now but it takes an age to charge, usually 5 - 5 1/2hrs per night where as a 7.3KW would do it in half the time. The granny charger is ok but of a particular inconvenience when I'm using the car of an evening as it takes an age to charge and i hate using the petrol engine if i can help it as its a 2.5l engine and drinks it when its running.

 

Grumpy_chap

I am confused as to why the "granny charger" is too slow here.  If it takes 5 or 6 hours to charge, then simply charge while asleep - going to be longer asleep than charging most nights.

Freecall

piperm87 said:

usually 5 - 5 1/2hrs per night 

 

Wow, I can't survive on that little sleep.

grumiofoundation

piperm87 said:

Its a 14.4KW battery but according to the Ford App it takes 10KW per night from 1 or 2 % usually. I use the granny charger now but it takes an age to charge, usually 5 - 5 1/2hrs per night where as a 7.3KW would do it in half the time. The granny charger is ok but of a particular inconvenience when I'm using the car of an evening as it takes an age to charge and i hate using the petrol engine if i can help it as its a 2.5l engine and drinks it when its running.

 

As above why is this a massive issue?

Rodders53

14 kiloWatt-hours on a 10 Amp 'granny charger' (2.4 kW) charge rate would take nearer to six hours to re-charge from exhausted, if not longer.  

https://www.ford.co.uk/cars/new-kuga/features/charging and other places suggest the max charge rate on a Kuga is 3.75 kW per hour (16 Amps) and take around 4 hours. 

So a 7 kW charge point would be wasted but more future-proof when you change for pure EV.

CKhalvashi

piperm87 said:

Its a 14.4KW battery but according to the Ford App it takes 10KW per night from 1 or 2 % usually. I use the granny charger now but it takes an age to charge, usually 5 - 5 1/2hrs per night where as a 7.3KW would do it in half the time. The granny charger is ok but of a particular inconvenience when I'm using the car of an evening as it takes an age to charge and i hate using the petrol engine if i can help it as its a 2.5l engine and drinks it when its running.

 

5 hours shouldn't be a massive issue.

I'm currently involved with a company that charges £899 for unit plus install, so the price you've been given seems fairly reasonable and in the ballpark of what most companies are charging.

piperm87

Its abit of an issue if i come back from work with an empty battery and have to go out again on the evening and dont want to use my petrol. 

Petriix

As others have pointed out, the car's on board charger is a limiting factor. A dedicated EVSE is a good idea from a safety point of view and will shave a third off your charging time, but it hardly seems worth it for your PHEV.

As you dislike using the engine so much you're probably better off going for a full EV as soon as possible. Depending on your driving pattern, you might find the cost is minimal (or even negative). 

piperm87

DrEskimo said:

piperm87 said:

Its abit of an issue if i come back from work with an empty battery and have to go out again on the evening and dont want to use my petrol. 

But as @Rodders53 highlights, the car can only accept a maximum of 3.75kW, so you would only increase the charging speed by around 1kW. It may shave an 1-1.5hours off at best....

In any case, where are you based? My Father-in-Law fits EV chargers, so if local would be happy to pass his details to see if he can give you a good quote.

I'm Dudley in West Midlands. Ive tried everywhere and they are all around 1k. Hive is best offer with free install. It's also future proofing too. Were all going to need them eventually and i can see prices going up more as demand increases