Installing a electric charging port at home

Cornucopia

I've been getting fair bit of free charging lately on slow public chargers. No Tesla involved.

Reed_Richards

Okay @MattMattMattUK, as I'm not a Tesla owner or a member I don't see the pricing for that category. In your example where Tesla owners and members pay 22p, everyone ese pays 31p. So you are correct about the differential pricing and I am correct that everybody gets off-peak rates.

P.S. As I don't own a Tesla, "membership" would cost me £9.99 per month.

tim_p

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81984453#Comment_81984453

I used to get 15mins free at Aldi but that seems to have stopped now and I’ve not been aware of other locations doing it. Where were you lucky enough to find a free charge?

Cornucopia

I've used 4 free chargers in recent weeks. Two are Pod(Point) where you authorise your payment but when you've finished charging it just says "free". One is a Pod that you authorise but the charge never appears in the stats on the app. One is a Sainsburys with old school free charging and solar panels on the roof - it just starts charging when you plug in.

I do "Always Be Charging" as far as I can, so I see quite a variety of chargers…

Aldi has recently rebranded their EV charging, so I expect all new rules apply.

MattMattMattUK

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81984471#Comment_81984471

It is one of the best advantages of a Tesla on long journeys, not the actual car but the cheapness of charging.

There is free charging at my gym with a 7kW charging but unfortunately it seems to have been coopted by a few people who between them seem to occupy it all day every day. That being said with currently paying 3.5p per kWh it is so cheap to charge at home it is almost not worth the hassle of plugging in elsewhere.

chillee

I'm currently weighing up the possibility of getting an EV this summer, but I'm not sure what to do about charging. We currently have two petrol hybrid (not plug-in) cars of which one is getting on a bit so looking to replace with an EV. We don't do a lot of mileage as most trips are local (school run, 20 minute commute, shops, etc) so don't envisage needing to charge up much. Our petrol costs are approx £50 per month each car. Is it worth installing a dedicated EV charger? Is one required to make use of EV tariffs? One thing I've seen mentioned elsewhere is that granny chargers aren't safe to use for extended periods, but don't know if there's any truth to that. I think we'd be able to make do with slower charging speeds given our low mileage.

Reed_Richards

Is it worth installing a dedicated EV charger?

If you have read my earlier comments, my opinion is no, it would be a waste of money.

Is one required to make use of EV tariffs?

Every supplier that has an EV tariff has one that you can use a granny charger with. Some suppliers have a second, cheaper, tariff that requires communication with the charger or the vehicle (or possibly both). So you could only use those with a granny charger if you buy a compatible car. By way of an example, compare Octopus Go and Intelligent Octopus Go.

One thing I've seen mentioned elsewhere is that granny chargers aren't safe to use for extended periods, but don't know if there's any truth to that.

You most definitely need a proper outdoor socket with good quality wiring. My house was rewired in 2019 so I am completely confident about that aspect. I have been using my granny charger for almost 3 years now without any problems. I am sure it is safe but it is outside my garage so if it did burst into flames it would only damage a few plant pots.

lohr500

We are contemplating getting our 1st electric car to replace my wife's 13 year old diesel Vauxhall which is now approaching the point where the cost to keep it roadworthy will exceed it's value.

It is going to need circa 30 meters of armoured cable to get from our Fuse Box/Consumer units to an suitable location for a wall charger.
So even if we end up buying a new car with a manufacturer subsidised charger installation, it will be classed as a non standard installation and cost more.

Previously I had a PHEV and charged this on a granny charger from the garage 13amp socket without any issues.

I am with @Reed_Richards on this one. I am sure we can manage the charging of a fully electric EV via a granny charger and avoid the extra cost of having a higher output wall mounted charging point installed.
For the odd occasion we do need more charge on a given day than we can squeeze in overnight from a granny charger, we can use a public charging point. Overall I am sure it will work out cheaper than the cost of having a dedicated charging point installed.

The only thing I don't know is if the charging efficiency of a granny charger is less than using a wall mounted charger.

Am I correct in thinking the granny charger converts mains AC to lower voltage DC to charge the car, whereas the wall mounted chargers supply AC to the car which is converted to DC by the car's internal charge controller. I've no idea which system will have the higher transformer losses.

born_again

Charger every time.

This is for 1 day as rate changed 1st May (no vat) inc sc

No EV charging involved.

Variable rate for me would be £2.17 a day

IOG is £2.29 a day

So 12 p dearer on IOG.

Add in 10 kWh of charge

Variable rate £4.76

IOG £2.99 with off peak rate 0.07p

So Variable rate is £1.77 dearer.

Or to put it another way anything over 20 kWh would make IOG cheaper. Which at 4 mi/kWh would only be 80 miles a month.

April bill

cost for me on Variable rate SC 58.37p - unit rate 23.85 kWh

Reed_Richards

I measured the conversion efficiency of my granny charger two years ago and it was just over 90%. That seemed to be the the same as others with charging points were reporting.

Am I correct in thinking the granny charger converts mains AC to lower voltage DC to charge the car

I thought I knew the answer to this question but the same socket as on my car, Type 2, is used in a variety of different ways and I can't verify what I thought was true