EV Tariff or not?

Netexporter

The whole ev environment seems to be very confusing with little consensus on most things currently

Like domestic energy, we all have differing needs when it comes to EV charging. Different strokes for different folks. It does require a little effort to find a tariff that suits, although the answer is usually Octopus, because they offer the biggest selection of tariffs.

lohr500

MeteredOut said:

Reed_Richards said:

MeteredOut said:

Reed_Richards said:

kpk2000 said:

...I've had a 7KW charger installed at home which is an Indra Smart Pro).

Given that you do so little charging, how long is that going to take to pay for itself?  

How long does a new petrol car take to pay for itself?

I should have made my point clearer.  The alternative to a 7 kW charger is a 2.3 kW charger that plugs in to a normal socket and costs a fraction of the price.  I don't feel that a 7 kW charger is worthwhile unless you want to charge your EV a lot, and quickly.  But people seem to get railroaded into getting a 7 kW charger without thinking if the benefit justifies the cost.

I'd agree it isn't necessarily an obvious decision. We're a little over 1 month into our first EV ownership and charge with a granny charger at home, or a fast charger at work (around 20% at work). I'm still running the numbers, but I'm not rushing to get a 7kW charger installed. I'm currently trying to work out what the losses are with a granny charger (seeing figures between 10-20%) and see if that changes the result.

I wonder where the losses come from when using a granny charger?

When I had my Mitsubishi PHEV I always used the granny charger. I don't ever recall it getting warm, let alone hot. Perhaps some internal charging circuits inside the car were getting hot without my knowledge.

If the losses don't manifest themselves as wasted heat, where else could they go?

Would a 20% loss on a device drawing typically 10 amps at 240 volts equate to around a continuous 480 Watt loss? If so and the loss is dispersed as heat, that would be noticeable somewhere.

MeteredOut

lohr500 said:

MeteredOut said:

Reed_Richards said:

MeteredOut said:

Reed_Richards said:

kpk2000 said:

...I've had a 7KW charger installed at home which is an Indra Smart Pro).

Given that you do so little charging, how long is that going to take to pay for itself?  

How long does a new petrol car take to pay for itself?

I should have made my point clearer.  The alternative to a 7 kW charger is a 2.3 kW charger that plugs in to a normal socket and costs a fraction of the price.  I don't feel that a 7 kW charger is worthwhile unless you want to charge your EV a lot, and quickly.  But people seem to get railroaded into getting a 7 kW charger without thinking if the benefit justifies the cost.

I'd agree it isn't necessarily an obvious decision. We're a little over 1 month into our first EV ownership and charge with a granny charger at home, or a fast charger at work (around 20% at work). I'm still running the numbers, but I'm not rushing to get a 7kW charger installed. I'm currently trying to work out what the losses are with a granny charger (seeing figures between 10-20%) and see if that changes the result.

I wonder where the losses come from when using a granny charger?

When I had my Mitsubishi PHEV I always used the granny charger. I don't ever recall it getting warm, let alone hot. Perhaps some internal charging circuits inside the car were getting hot without my knowledge.

If the losses don't manifest themselves as wasted heat, where else could they go?

Would a 20% loss on a device drawing typically 10 amps at 240 volts equate to around a continuous 480 Watt loss? If so and the loss is dispersed as heat, that would be noticeable somewhere.

I should have worded it better. I also read some (perhaps majority) of the losses are in the car inverter AC to DC, so there will be losses in "proper" wall chargers too (assuming they are also AC). But, my calculated losses at my work charger are around 9.5%, though there is a margin of error in that. I know from the bill what was charged in kWh, but the most I can get from the car is an assumed kWh based on the % increase in batter x the battery capacity (which is what the free EEVEE app gives too).

My granny charger (or the socket it charges from) does not get hot either, and I select the 13A option on my charger. But it is plugged into an outside wall socket directly the other side of a consumer unit in my garage, so the cable run from the CU is easily less than 20cm.

330d

kpk2000 said:

Have just got a new EV (Kia Niro 64KWH) and am currently on a standard variable energy tariff with Sainsburys Energy as just come off a nice 2 year fix rate. I've had a 7KW charger installed at home which is an Indra Smart Pro).

Considered all the main EV tariffs (Octopus Go/BG/Eon etc.) with overnight rates but complicated as my charger is not compatible with Octopus Intelligent so seriously considering the Octopus Go and the BG EV tariffs. I only need to charge every 3 weeks as my work commute is quite small and only do long drives every 6 months or so. I am a teacher so away from home 5 days a week from 7am-4/5pm and at home most of the weekend.

I cannot really decide if I need to move to an EV tariff as my charging needs are quite small and the extra 3p per KWH in peak times is quite a lot. I can move roughly 5 washing loads & 4 dishwasher loads overnight as well to benefit from the off-peak rate when not charging. Current electricity usage is 3100 KWH in the past 12 months and will add another 1000 KWH through charging (approx). The Smart Meter says we use 4-5KWH per weekday and 7-8 on a weekend (without any charging).

Anyone got any thoughts or advice on whether I should stick with a standard variable tariff or move to an EV tariff as trying to work out which will be better.

Have you considered OVO? 7p per kWh to charge an EV and no change in the standard rates.

Reed_Richards

330d said:

Have you considered OVO? 7p per kWh to charge an EV and no change in the standard rates.

Looks to me that for OVO you need a compatible car and/or charger and the cheap rate applies only to charging your car.  But you can do this "anytime", according to the publicity.

Dandytf

Slightly off Topic, I often think if a  EV Charger is Technically possible for blocks of Flats to workaround Public Walkways/Paths Laws. other than Communal solution.
Meanwhile I'll follow OP thread with Interest.
At least I'll be able to use SP's TOU Tarif for heating.

kpk2000

Update from OP - took the jump and moved to the 4 cheap hours on Octopus Go at the weekend. Trying to move all washing and dishwasher cycles overnight as well and the first ev charge is tomorrow.

 Will monitor the costs for a couple of months and then weigh up moving to Tracker or something else if it comes along (hopefully my Kia or wall charger will become compatible with Intelligent at some point !)

JamesCG26

kpk2000 said:

Update from OP - took the jump and moved to the 4 cheap hours on Octopus Go at the weekend. Trying to move all washing and dishwasher cycles overnight as well and the first ev charge is tomorrow.

 Will monitor the costs for a couple of months and then weigh up moving to Tracker or something else if it comes along (hopefully my Kia or wall charger will become compatible with Intelligent at some point !)

I finished a 2 year fix with Sainsbury’s in October and was wondering what my best option would be. I have owned a EV since April 22.

In the end I used a referral and move to octopus and the octopus go. My car needs a software update before it can use go intelligent.

I charge maybe once every 10 days and have moved everything I can to the 4 hours night period(dishwasher, washing machine and tumble dryer). 

I work from home on the computer all day but that does not seem to use very much. 

Between the 9p over night and 29.9p day rate I think my unit rate for usage per day averages out at about 20 to 21p per unit (that excludes the days I charge)