Which EV charger?

anon_ymous

Looking at chargers, and I'm wondering what charger I should buy?

I'm upgrading to a Sigenergy solar system. Now the predicament I have is, should I also get a Sigenergy AC charger and have the system work "as a single pane of glass" or should I perhaps get something cheaper that's perhaps compatible with Octopus IOG and Ovo electricity? 

If so, what chargers do people recommend? 

Thanks 

QrizB

The Myenergi Zappi gets a lot of love on this forum. My neighbour has one and it passes the Ronseal test - it does what it says on the tin.

I've got an Ohme which I'm entirely happy with and is compatible with IOG (it was even fitted by Octopus). I've recently learned that after 3 years there might be a £2/mo charge for the mobile data service it runs on, but I'll worry about that when it happens.

Others will point out that, with IOG at 7p/kWh and "dumb" OG at 8.5p/kWh, you'll need to buy 60,000 kWh before you earn back the £1000 cost of having a charge point installed - and for a typical EV driver doing 10k miles per year, that's getting on for 20 years of charging. If you don't need 7kW x 6 hours every night but can get along with 3kW x 5 hours, you might be happy with a 13A plug-in EV charger plus a suitable outdoor socket.

anon_ymous

QrizB said:

The Myenergi Zappi gets a lot of love on this forum. My neighbour has one and it passes the Ronseal test - it does what it says on the tin.

I've got an Ohme which I'm entirely happy with and is compatible with IOG (it was even fitted by Octopus). I've recently learned that after 3 years there might be a £2/mo charge for the mobile data service it runs on, but I'll worry about that when it happens.

Others will point out that, with IOG at 7p/kWh and "dumb" OG at 8.5p/kWh, you'll need to buy 60,000 kWh before you earn back the £1000 cost of having a charge point installed - and for a typical EV driver doing 10k miles per year, that's getting on for 20 years of charging. If you don't need 7kW x 6 hours every night but can get along with 3kW x 5 hours, you might be happy with a 13A plug-in EV charger plus a suitable outdoor socket.

Understood that the Ovo one doesn't necessarily make financial sense for now but it might make sense in the future 

I've already got my outdoor socket installed for just one hour or labour. In total, my outdoor socket (rated to BS13632 EV) wasn't expensive at all but it is obviously a very slow charger

The main aim behind getting a proper charger is that well it charges at 7kW/hr and this way, I have a backup too

As it stands, the 13A socket will suit my needs for now at least but it'd be nice to get something that can charge it a bit quicker especially if I'm off to my parent's house or going down south or whatever. Otherwise I have to plan maybe three days in advance lol

MattMattMattUK

anon_ymous said:

QrizB said:

The Myenergi Zappi gets a lot of love on this forum. My neighbour has one and it passes the Ronseal test - it does what it says on the tin.

I've got an Ohme which I'm entirely happy with and is compatible with IOG (it was even fitted by Octopus). I've recently learned that after 3 years there might be a £2/mo charge for the mobile data service it runs on, but I'll worry about that when it happens.

Others will point out that, with IOG at 7p/kWh and "dumb" OG at 8.5p/kWh, you'll need to buy 60,000 kWh before you earn back the £1000 cost of having a charge point installed - and for a typical EV driver doing 10k miles per year, that's getting on for 20 years of charging. If you don't need 7kW x 6 hours every night but can get along with 3kW x 5 hours, you might be happy with a 13A plug-in EV charger plus a suitable outdoor socket.

Understood that the Ovo one doesn't necessarily make financial sense for now but it might make sense in the future 

I've already got my outdoor socket installed for just one hour or labour. In total, my outdoor socket (rated to BS13632 EV) wasn't expensive at all but it is obviously a very slow charger

The main aim behind getting a proper charger is that well it charges at 7kW/hr and this way, I have a backup too

As it stands, the 13A socket will suit my needs for now at least but it'd be nice to get something that can charge it a bit quicker especially if I'm off to my parent's house or going down south or whatever. Otherwise I have to plan maybe three days in advance lol

Do you really need to charge at 7kW though? You can get 18kWh/70-80 miles a night on your existing plug. For a backup just use a different socket if really needed. 

If you are able to get one installer with other work where it might not cost as much it might make sense, otherwise it is an expensive vanity for most people.

If you are travelling a long distance you can build up the charge over a few days when you get back, or fast charge on the occasions when you need to travel hundreds of miles on consecutive days.

Rodders53

NB  Granny Chargers aka Type 2 EVSEs (Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment) are a max of 10 Amps on a (ideally specially rated for EV use) 13A socket.  That is 2.4 kW maximum. 

Circuits designed for EV charging outlets should have suitable RCDs or RCBOs to detect DC leakage as well as AC.  {Otherwise a DC leakage can prevent an AC only RCD from tripping, as I understand it.}

Even at 10 A current the fuse(s) and pins run pretty warm to the touch in the Granny chargers (and they have over temp cut-out sensors in the plugs).  There are also concerns expressed about exporting the Earth from the home to the vehicle bodywork and whether or not they have effective Protective Earthed Neutral loss protection built in.

Their use is very much deprecated on EV Speak except for very occasional use at "Grannys" and similar locations.

Go read up on the issue there (and other places perhaps).

That said some Caravanners now use the granny lead on their caravan wiring to charge the tow EV with the Caravan and Mptorhome Club's explicit permission and a suitable charge for the electric consumed.

QrizB

Rodders53 said:

NB  Granny Chargers aka Type 2 EVSEs (Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment) are a max of 10 Amps on a (ideally specially rated for EV use) 13A socket.  That is 2.4 kW maximum.

Type 1 and Type 2 are connectors. Even domestic wallboxes are still Type 2.

You're thinking of Modes 1 through 4.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEC_61851

13 amp Mode 2 chargers are quite easy to get hold of. Note that with a suitable connection (eg.a 32A CEE socket) you can do 7kW Mode 2 charging. Or 22kW if you have three-phase.

(Mode 1 isn't allowed in the UK, which seems rather unsporting.)

anon_ymous

MattMattMattUK said:

anon_ymous said:

QrizB said:

The Myenergi Zappi gets a lot of love on this forum. My neighbour has one and it passes the Ronseal test - it does what it says on the tin.

I've got an Ohme which I'm entirely happy with and is compatible with IOG (it was even fitted by Octopus). I've recently learned that after 3 years there might be a £2/mo charge for the mobile data service it runs on, but I'll worry about that when it happens.

Others will point out that, with IOG at 7p/kWh and "dumb" OG at 8.5p/kWh, you'll need to buy 60,000 kWh before you earn back the £1000 cost of having a charge point installed - and for a typical EV driver doing 10k miles per year, that's getting on for 20 years of charging. If you don't need 7kW x 6 hours every night but can get along with 3kW x 5 hours, you might be happy with a 13A plug-in EV charger plus a suitable outdoor socket.

Understood that the Ovo one doesn't necessarily make financial sense for now but it might make sense in the future 

I've already got my outdoor socket installed for just one hour or labour. In total, my outdoor socket (rated to BS13632 EV) wasn't expensive at all but it is obviously a very slow charger

The main aim behind getting a proper charger is that well it charges at 7kW/hr and this way, I have a backup too

As it stands, the 13A socket will suit my needs for now at least but it'd be nice to get something that can charge it a bit quicker especially if I'm off to my parent's house or going down south or whatever. Otherwise I have to plan maybe three days in advance lol

Do you really need to charge at 7kW though? You can get 18kWh/70-80 miles a night on your existing plug. For a backup just use a different socket if really needed. 

If you are able to get one installer with other work where it might not cost as much it might make sense, otherwise it is an expensive vanity for most people.

If you are travelling a long distance you can build up the charge over a few days when you get back, or fast charge on the occasions when you need to travel hundreds of miles on consecutive days.

Maybe not but it didn't cost me much at all to get the EV granny charger installed outside, so I figure hey why not get a proper charger down the line. 

NigeWick

anon_ymous said:

Looking at chargers, and I'm wondering what charger I should buy?

My Zappi went bangphut after some five years. I've now got an Ohme Home Pro that is connected to my Octopus Go account so that it will charge at the cheapest rate available. Two hours free from 12:00 - 14:00 today.

Netexporter

There's a new Octopus branded one. Speak to the Geek has a Youtube video of his being fitted. Quite a neat little unit. Not sure what would happen if you changed supplier, though.

Screwdriva

Incase it isn’t too late, I’d look long and hard on the Sig system (vs. the PW3 as an example).

There is alot of misinformation floating around on both sides of the argument and lack of access to the intelligent flux tariff is a deal breaker IMO.