EV chargers- having to bite the bullet

Fisaplisap

After a few years of an EV charger at my workplace at 12p kwh, it's being replaced and cost is increasing to 40p kwh. On odd occasion we just plugged in to our 3 pin plug overnight at home. We think we've got to bite the bullet and install a home charger (always put it off as worked out cost vs work charger and the latter was cheaper.) Any advice on the most cost effective way? We got a quote last year about the £1200 mark. And we'll probably move to a EV tariff, not the best time but hey ho. Thanks!

WellKnownSid

If you are changing tariff, then look for suppliers like EDF who will offer a discount on home EVSE.

If you are changing to a new EV soon there are plenty of offers with free EVSE included.

Some EVSE makers have offers which include installation which may work out cheaper.

sheenas

Yes move to edf and they will supply and install a charger for £500

Frozen_up_north

I think Octopus does the same. If you know an Octopus customer, they can send you a link which if you take up the service gives you and them £50 each. Did that with a neighbour who was an electrician and he installed a charger himself a couple of weeks ago, not sure how much the charger cost but I guess a lot less than £500.

WellKnownSid

Also factor on whether the EV tariff also gives you off peak for the whole house. We saved enough to cover the purchase of the EV, not just the EVSE…

Rodders53

Be careful. Very careful. EV tariffs are cheap for 5-6 hours at night and some 'smart' ones (1/2 hourly smart meter essential) give extra unpredictable cheap times in the day… but you pay a penalty in higher off peak rates…
You need to do the sums on your own records for electric use and how much energy you put into the car (excluding long trip fast charges). Then put those numbers into the tariffs you can find including your current one.

My current supplier is Octopus and I moved in March from EoN…

With EoN it was 6.7p for 7 hours off 27.02p peak. When I switched you don't go straight to a TOU tariff so I took a 12mth fixed rate at 25.6p (22.09p since 1st April). Octopus' TOU EV tariff is today 8p off and 33.32p peak (it keeps changing, was 34.32 in early April!)…
For my use that'd be roughly 10% more expensive than the cheap single rate costs!

Your mileage will vary but do some sums for your own situation.

The EVSE will likely never pay back the £1k cost. It's a convenience / safety thing… I charged from 25% to 90% on return from a week's holiday… 46.25 kWh at 7 kW (30 Amp) rate taking 6 1/2 hours. On a 2.4 kW (10 Amp) 'granny charger' that would have taken three times as long. 13 Amp sockets and plugs get pretty warm with such loads for a fraction of that time, with occasional horror stories of damage and even fires!
But enough people use them regularly; so it is an option if kept under supervision / regular inspection for heat damage.

born_again

The EVSE will likely never pay back the £1k cost. 

Mine took 9 months in the difference between petrol & electric I used.

7p kWh @ 4 mile/kWh Compared to £1.40 LTR 8 mile per ltr

WellKnownSid

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81985798#Comment_81985798

Switching to EON before Winter - our electric bill went from £800-900 a month to £300-400 over the coldest 2-3 months.

By the time Spring came it was paid for!

Granny charging is also inefficient in many cars - the Zoe is the standout worst example here because it uses the motor as the big inductors in the OBC - a 2.3kW Granny charge may put 1.6-ish kW into the car, so perhaps adding only 30 Winter miles in a six hour overnight rate.

lordmountararat

I have a looped electricity supply and an awkward landlord, so have stuck with a granny charger. I limit the charge to 8 amps and monitor the plug, socket and cord, but it is all in good condition and never gets hot. Of course it is very slow, but I do under 3000 miles a year and only need to charge up every three weeks or so.

Iceweasel

When or how could I have an EV?

I did over 3000 miles last week.

I have a 3 litre mild hybrid which does a tad under 63mpg.

I'm only at home at the weekends.

I don't have the time to waste at expensive motorway recharging points.

WellKnownSid

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81986636#Comment_81986636

So you do 150,000 miles a year? Wow - at a guess you would be £15,000 a year better off with an EV if you could charge at home.