Which EV charger?

Reed_Richards

Are you sure that you need anything more than a basic "granny charger"?  The higher power charges can be massively more expensive and are only worthwhile if you use a lot of charge each day and so need to replenish it overnight.  In the excitement of getting an EV and seeing how low the running costs will be, people often lose sight of the economics of what charger to get.

By the way, any charger will charge your car.  So it's not 

dharm999 said:

... certain chargers say they are only compatible with certain energy company smart tariffs....

but rather certain energy company smart tariffs are only compatible with certain chargers...

Screwdriva

I recommend the Zappi - it is the best Solar PV compatible EV charger on the market. For perspective, the PV installers I use charge £700 to fit a Zappi as part of a Solar installation. 

dharm999

Keep_pedalling said:

Are you buying a new EV? Many offer a free charge point.

No, a used one, no more than 3-4 years old

dharm999

Exiled_Tyke said:

One thing not considered here is that Octopus can integrate with some EV's (mainly VW group cars, BMW, Mini, Jag, and Tesla)  in which case it doesn't matter which charger you get - although you may want to futureproof this by getting a compatible charger anyway. 

Am looking at a Mini or Fiat 500.  What do you mean that Octopus can integrate with some EVs?

dharm999

Reed_Richards said:

Are you sure that you need anything more than a basic "granny charger"?  The higher power charges can be massively more expensive and are only worthwhile if you use a lot of charge each day and so need to replenish it overnight.  In the excitement of getting an EV and seeing how low the running costs will be, people often lose sight of the economics of what charger to get.

By the way, any charger will charge your car.  So it's not 

dharm999 said:

... certain chargers say they are only compatible with certain energy company smart tariffs....

but rather certain energy company smart tariffs are only compatible with certain chargers...

Will be a relatively low use, as wehave another car for longer journeys that isn’t LEZ compliant, so the need for one that is

dharm999

Screwdriva said:

I recommend the Zappi - it is the best Solar PV compatible EV charger on the market. For perspective, the PV installers I use charge £700 to fit a Zappi as part of a Solar installation. 

I was thinking of using Octopus for the charger, cost is around £1000 installed for the Zappi

Netexporter

dharm999 said:

Exiled_Tyke said:

One thing not considered here is that Octopus can integrate with some EV's (mainly VW group cars, BMW, Mini, Jag, and Tesla)  in which case it doesn't matter which charger you get - although you may want to futureproof this by getting a compatible charger anyway. 

Am looking at a Mini or Fiat 500.  What do you mean that Octopus can integrate with some EVs?

If you look at the Intelligent Go tariff it will tell which cars are compatible. It just means that the Octopus API can control the charging schedule of the car itself m rather than controlling the charger.

Exiled_Tyke

Netexporter said:

dharm999 said:

Exiled_Tyke said:

One thing not considered here is that Octopus can integrate with some EV's (mainly VW group cars, BMW, Mini, Jag, and Tesla)  in which case it doesn't matter which charger you get - although you may want to futureproof this by getting a compatible charger anyway. 

Am looking at a Mini or Fiat 500.  What do you mean that Octopus can integrate with some EVs?

If you look at the Intelligent Go tariff it will tell which cars are compatible. It just means that the Octopus API can control the charging schedule of the car itself m rather than controlling the charger.

The Mini is one such car so any 7kWh charger will do in that case. BUT if you then change the car you may need an Octopus compatible charger.     Personally I would never use a 3-pin (granny) charger except as a back up - which is what it's intended for.   

Reed_Richards

dharm999 said:

Screwdriva said:

I recommend the Zappi - it is the best Solar PV compatible EV charger on the market. For perspective, the PV installers I use charge £700 to fit a Zappi as part of a Solar installation. 

I was thinking of using Octopus for the charger, cost is around £1000 installed for the Zappi

So that's approximately £900 more expensive than a "granny charger", which might be all you actually need.  

Exiled_Tyke

https://wepoweryourcar.com/3-pin-plug-charger-vs-dedicated-home-charger/

But using a granny really isn't recommended and doesn't give you access to the best tariffs.  Some of the reasons given above are a bit weak but the safety reason is the key one. Whilst issues with either way of charging are going to be very rare the risks are still much higher using a granny.  

 My car would take about 30 hours for a full charge and there's a half decent chance that any EV owner will need to full charge once in a while.