Which EV Charger to get?

Qyburn

thegentleway said:

I didn't realise you could switch to Octopus Go without a charger. That's brilliant.

Octopus Go terms and conditions state it's for customers who have an EV or hybrid and charge at home. Nothing about type of charger.

"2.1.3 Octopus Go is designed for customers who either own or have a long-term lease of a battery electric vehicle or a plug-in hybrid vehicle that they will be charging at their home that we supply. "

silverwhistle

Being a cheapskate and MSEr I got an untethered Ohme with a commando plug and my bestie wired it and put in the PEN fault protection. Handily at the time of meter change the DNO had already installed a separate circuit/isolator for free  at my request so that my electrician didn't have to break the seals when she did the work. That was 4.5 years ago and, touch wood, it's still working well.

I have solar panels but no batteries (apart from the large one in the car!) and in the recent weather I've also used the granny charger through a window and yesterday topped up 35~ miles for free. I can keep an eye on potential overheating at the plug as I only do this when I'm around the house. I get FITs and the panels have long paid for themselves so haven't bothered about signing up for any export tariff.

The V2L (vehicle to load) has come in useful occasionally to keep peak loads down, although now I'm off Agile the incentive isn't quite so great.

thegentleway

Qyburn said:

thegentleway said:

I didn't realise you could switch to Octopus Go without a charger. That's brilliant.

Octopus Go terms and conditions state it's for customers who have an EV or hybrid and charge at home. Nothing about type of charger.

"2.1.3 Octopus Go is designed for customers who either own or have a long-term lease of a battery electric vehicle or a plug-in hybrid vehicle that they will be charging at their home that we supply. "

Oh. How do they check if you have an EV!? 

thegentleway

silverwhistle said:

Being a cheapskate and MSEr I got an untethered Ohme with a commando plug and my bestie wired it and put in the PEN fault protection. Handily at the time of meter change the DNO had already installed a separate circuit/isolator for free  at my request so that my electrician didn't have to break the seals when she did the work. That was 4.5 years ago and, touch wood, it's still working well.

I have solar panels but no batteries (apart from the large one in the car!) and in the recent weather I've also used the granny charger through a window and yesterday topped up 35~ miles for free. I can keep an eye on potential overheating at the plug as I only do this when I'm around the house. I get FITs and the panels have long paid for themselves so haven't bothered about signing up for any export tariff.

The V2L (vehicle to load) has come in useful occasionally to keep peak loads down, although now I'm off Agile the incentive isn't quite so great.

Excuse my ignorance but what is FITs?

Qyburn

thegentleway said:

Qyburn said:

thegentleway said:

I didn't realise you could switch to Octopus Go without a charger. That's brilliant.

Octopus Go terms and conditions state it's for customers who have an EV or hybrid and charge at home. Nothing about type of charger.

"2.1.3 Octopus Go is designed for customers who either own or have a long-term lease of a battery electric vehicle or a plug-in hybrid vehicle that they will be charging at their home that we supply. "

Oh. How do they check if you have an EV!? 

They don't appear to, at the moment.

Reed_Richards

thegentleway said:

silverwhistle said:

Being a cheapskate and MSEr I got an untethered Ohme with a commando plug and my bestie wired it and put in the PEN fault protection. Handily at the time of meter change the DNO had already installed a separate circuit/isolator for free  at my request so that my electrician didn't have to break the seals when she did the work. That was 4.5 years ago and, touch wood, it's still working well.

I have solar panels but no batteries (apart from the large one in the car!) and in the recent weather I've also used the granny charger through a window and yesterday topped up 35~ miles for free. I can keep an eye on potential overheating at the plug as I only do this when I'm around the house. I get FITs and the panels have long paid for themselves so haven't bothered about signing up for any export tariff.

The V2L (vehicle to load) has come in useful occasionally to keep peak loads down, although now I'm off Agile the incentive isn't quite so great.

Excuse my ignorance but what is FITs?

Feed-in Tariff; it's the old payment system for people with solar panels that were installed before April 2019.  A quirk of this system is that (by default) you get the same payment no matter how much or how little of your solar electricity that you actually use.

gefnew

Yes the quirk of the fit system earned me £346.77 this month plus all of the electric to run the house and hot water and electric heaters without any use of the grid during daytime.

QrizB

Qyburn said:

thegentleway said:

Qyburn said:

thegentleway said:

I didn't realise you could switch to Octopus Go without a charger. That's brilliant.

Octopus Go terms and conditions state it's for customers who have an EV or hybrid and charge at home. Nothing about type of charger.

"2.1.3 Octopus Go is designed for customers who either own or have a long-term lease of a battery electric vehicle or a plug-in hybrid vehicle that they will be charging at their home that we supply. "

Oh. How do they check if you have an EV!? 

They don't appear to, at the moment.

Although they have in the past said they'd ask for a V5 or a confirmed order for a car from a dealer.

For Intelligent Go you need to actually perform a charge with a compatible charge point and car.

thegentleway

gefnew said:

Yes the quirk of the fit system earned me £346.77 this month plus all of the electric to run the house and hot water and electric heaters without any use of the grid during daytime.

Wow that's amazing! I was pretty pleased with my £96.95 for exporting 684.3kWh (but had to pay £20.51 for import and £50.42 for gas).

born_again

consrecsite said:

Before choosing a charger, check with Octopus Energy or the charger manufacturer to confirm compatibility with your Mini and specific home setup. Also, consider installation costs, warranty, and after-sales support to ensure you get the best value.

All chargers with Type 2 plug will work with a Mini.
Or just get a untethered charger & use Mini's cable.

If wanting to use Octopus Intelligent tariff. Better to get a charger that works with it. Rather rely on car being compatible. 
Which I think are the 4 you listed 👍