Electric Car Home Charging point

[Deleted User]

Alanp said:

When I was a sparky many years ago I used to pull the main fuse sometimes after some careful snipping of the lead seal so it could be put back virtually unnoticed, never had a problem but I can’t advise anyone to do it..

You just have! 

Grumpy_chap

We had an electrician round this morning to quote to install an EV charge point and he suggested to just install the cable for now to the location where it would need to be, but not to put in the actual charger because you need to be sure to get a charger with the correct plug for the car and we've not yet chosen which EV to get.  Quite bonkers that EV's do not have a standardised plug design.

Ectophile

Grumpy_chap said:

We had an electrician round this morning to quote to install an EV charge point and he suggested to just install the cable for now to the location where it would need to be, but not to put in the actual charger because you need to be sure to get a charger with the correct plug for the car and we've not yet chosen which EV to get.  Quite bonkers that EV's do not have a standardised plug design.

If it's a new or nearly new car you're getting then it's:

• Nissan: Type 1 (CHAdeMO)
• Any other manufacturer: Type 2

In the early days, each country/region picked a different standard.  Nissan still fit Japanese charging sockets even when exporting to Europe.  Everyone else is sensible enough to use the European standard.

Alanp

[Deleted User] said:

Alanp said:

When I was a sparky many years ago I used to pull the main fuse sometimes after some careful snipping of the lead seal so it could be put back virtually unnoticed, never had a problem but I can’t advise anyone to do it..

You just have! 

Lol, it’s up to them

ElefantEd

Ectophile said:

Grumpy_chap said:

We had an electrician round this morning to quote to install an EV charge point and he suggested to just install the cable for now to the location where it would need to be, but not to put in the actual charger because you need to be sure to get a charger with the correct plug for the car and we've not yet chosen which EV to get.  Quite bonkers that EV's do not have a standardised plug design.

If it's a new or nearly new car you're getting then it's:

• Nissan: Type 1 (CHAdeMO)
• Any other manufacturer: Type 2

In the early days, each country/region picked a different standard.  Nissan still fit Japanese charging sockets even when exporting to Europe.  Everyone else is sensible enough to use the European standard.

Nissan Leafs also have a type 2 charger for plugging in at home. You might need a different cable (we've just changed from a Leaf to an MG4, and they have different plugs at the car end, but the same at the house end). The Chademo charger on a Leaf is only relevant when you are charging at a rapid charger (high voltage DC) - you won't have one of these at home. Leafs have two sockets, one for low voltage (240v), relevant for home charging asnd public fast charging, the other high voltage for rapid charging. Other cars also have two sockets, but most other cars use CCS or another one that I've forgotten the initials of for the rapid charging.

Petriix

Ectophile said:

Grumpy_chap said:

We had an electrician round this morning to quote to install an EV charge point and he suggested to just install the cable for now to the location where it would need to be, but not to put in the actual charger because you need to be sure to get a charger with the correct plug for the car and we've not yet chosen which EV to get.  Quite bonkers that EV's do not have a standardised plug design.

If it's a new or nearly new car you're getting then it's:

• Nissan: Type 1 (CHAdeMO)
• Any other manufacturer: Type 2

In the early days, each country/region picked a different standard.  Nissan still fit Japanese charging sockets even when exporting to Europe.  Everyone else is sensible enough to use the European standard.

I'm fairly sure that every EV manufactured for the European market (including the UK) since 2018 comes with a type 2 AC charging port, and it was only the ENV200 and 30kWh Leaf from Nissan that pushed it that late. Anything within the last 4 years does follow the same standard, although most don't precisely follow the spec to the letter. 

Ectophile

You can get chargers with or wihout a "tethered" cable.  The tethered cable is more handy, as you simply unroll it and plug it into the car.

One without a fixed cable is more versatile. Since, as previous posters have said, a Nissan should come with a lead that fits a standard EV charging socket.  But it's less convenient.  You have to go rummaging in the boot of the car to find your charging cable.

ElefantEd

Ectophile said:

You can get chargers with or wihout a "tethered" cable.  The tethered cable is more handy, as you simply unroll it and plug it into the car.

One without a fixed cable is more versatile. Since, as previous posters have said, a Nissan should come with a lead that fits a standard EV charging socket.  But it's less convenient.  You have to go rummaging in the boot of the car to find your charging cable.

Or just leave it plugged in to the socket, and only take it with you if you think you'll need to charge somewhere else.

Grumpy_chap

Ectophile said:

You can get chargers with or wihout a "tethered" cable.  The tethered cable is more handy, as you simply unroll it and plug it into the car.

One without a fixed cable is more versatile. Since, as previous posters have said, a Nissan should come with a lead that fits a standard EV charging socket.  But it's less convenient.  You have to go rummaging in the boot of the car to find your charging cable.

Thank you - I was going to ask exactly that question about "thethered or not" - you've beaten me to it with the answer.

Are the cables long enough to reach any corner of the car for charging?

Do the charge points have a switch inside the house that prevent unauthorised use?

ididgetwhereiamtoday

You can isolate it in the fuse cupboard. I’ve never bothered but my charger is behind a secure gate. The cable for my leaf is about 12 feet long so plenty long enough.