Cheap rates for EV?

born_again

lordmountararat said:

With some EVs you can dial down the charging current via the software. I limit my granny charger to 8 amps, which is not as much as my tumble dryer.

Except that your tumble dryer does not draw 8 amps for the whole time it is switched on, it's just peak load. Unlike a granny charger which will be pulling 8 amps full time it is switched on.
Something people forget. 

lordmountararat

born_again said:

lordmountararat said:

With some EVs you can dial down the charging current via the software. I limit my granny charger to 8 amps, which is not as much as my tumble dryer.

Except that your tumble dryer does not draw 8 amps for the whole time it is switched on, it's just peak load. Unlike a granny charger which will be pulling 8 amps full time it is switched on.
Something people forget. 

Yes, I understand that, but I check the plug and socket frequently and it never gets warm.

born_again

lordmountararat said:

Yes, I understand that, but I check the plug and socket frequently and it never gets warm.

All's good then 👍

powerful_Rogue

If she's with Octopus for Electric/Gas, sign up for their Electroverse account.

https://electroverse.com/

Cornucopia

It's certainly possible to use a good-quality extension lead and a "Granny Charger".   It'll obviously help if the car was originally supplied with a Charger (some do, some don't).

A home wall charger isn't necessary for low mileage users, and if it is to be funded personally, I'd say check the numbers before doing that.

With either home option, there are a variety of low, overnight tariffs that can make home charging very economical.

Public charging is stablising in price somewhat.    Slow (7-22kW) chargers are typically c. 40p/kWh, although new Aldi chargers are 25p.   Rapid DC Chargers (50kW+) are around 75p, although Tesla are cheaper than that.

I use mostly slow chargers with the advantage that my local Council provides free parking when using their chargers.

lordmountararat

I only need to charge about twice a month so the fact that it takes 12 hours to charge from 20% to 80% (!) doesn't really matter. I would be happy to pay for a proper wall charger, but I have an awkward landlord and a looped electricity supply, so it just doesn't seem worth it. I am on a fixed tariff of 22p a unit, so still a lot cheaper than petrol.

born_again

lordmountararat said:

I only need to charge about twice a month so the fact that it takes 12 hours to charge from 20% to 80% (!) doesn't really matter. I would be happy to pay for a proper wall charger, but I have an awkward landlord and a looped electricity supply, so it just doesn't seem worth it. I am on a fixed tariff of 22p a unit, so still a lot cheaper than petrol.

Why not top up more often?

lordmountararat

born_again said:

lordmountararat said:

I only need to charge about twice a month so the fact that it takes 12 hours to charge from 20% to 80% (!) doesn't really matter. I would be happy to pay for a proper wall charger, but I have an awkward landlord and a looped electricity supply, so it just doesn't seem worth it. I am on a fixed tariff of 22p a unit, so still a lot cheaper than petrol.

Why not top up more often?

I don't need to. I do fewer than 3000 miles a year now I'm retired.

facade

lordmountararat said:

born_again said:

lordmountararat said:

I only need to charge about twice a month so the fact that it takes 12 hours to charge from 20% to 80% (!) doesn't really matter. I would be happy to pay for a proper wall charger, but I have an awkward landlord and a looped electricity supply, so it just doesn't seem worth it. I am on a fixed tariff of 22p a unit, so still a lot cheaper than petrol.

Why not top up more often?

I don't need to. I do fewer than 3000 miles a year now I'm retired.

I suspect born_again is suggesting that you could top up weekly for 6 hours rather than fortnightly for 12.

Ultimately, if you have the right drive it won't make any difference.

I daren't charge in the dark because my car has an ultra bright flashing green light to indicate charging that is visible from the top of the street (probably from the ISS if I jacked the car up on that side) which would attract miscreants like moths to a candle. 

I'd end up with a broken charge socket and no cable....

(There is some debate about not dropping down to 20% regularly- I don't go much below 40% before topping back up to 75% or so, takes about 4 hours on my 20A charger.)

Martyn1981

facade said:

I daren't charge in the dark because my car has an ultra bright flashing green light to indicate charging that is visible from the top of the street (probably from the ISS if I jacked the car up on that side) which would attract miscreants like moths to a candle. 

I know what you mean. Some 'helpful' lights in the house look quite innocent, but at night they shine or flash like the emergency services are visiting. And our Leaf has flashing blue lights on the top of the dash, to helpfully let us (and all others in our postcode) know when it's charging.

You may already have thought of this, but can I suggest a small piece of card for internal examples like the Leaf, or a bit of electrical tape over the offending light if external or small.