[Davo]

I think you are both much more technical than me. I just got a local electrical firm to install it and they sorted everything. Asked me to take a load of pics of the fuse box and the area and then a quick phone call to check everything. Made sure they were OLEV registered and they sorted the grant etc. personally I plug the thing in and it works.

[Bradders]

I think you are both much more technical than me. I just got a local electrical firm to install it and they sorted everything. Asked me to take a load of pics of the fuse box and the area and then a quick phone call to check everything. Made sure they were OLEV registered and they sorted the grant etc. personally I plug the thing in and it works.

Haha was just thinking if it's this complex I can imagine there being quite a bit of resistance from people to switch to electric cars! Certainly compared to the time efficiency and simplicity of going to a petrol station.

[tomtom]

Most places (including my installer) did what happened to Davo. Found out about most of this stuff after.

We were fortunate that ours was fitted during a house refurb - so we’d had the main consumer unit replaced - and when fitting a smart meter Ovo said ‘we’re not touching that’ when they saw the baker lite fuse - and Nw Electricity had to come and change all that (for free..). Unlooping the supply also is done FOC but can take a while and involve diggers etc.. 😁 our neighbours had to have three phase installed (at quite some expense - £2k) but that was partly as they also wanted to have 30-40a for a heat pump too…

Sam - get a few quotes - most installers will need pics of your consumer unit (fuse box) and elec supply etc.. before giving a quote. Most will fit a range of units (they can get most of them from trade suppliers).

For anyone in the NW wanting a recommendation we used Evolution Solutions based in Haslingden - who were and have been great.

The home charger market is interesting - a lot of small Uk based companies making their own boxes (some with their own boards - some with a raspberry pi inside!) - no major global player or clear market leader yet… everyone seems to have their favourite and typically that’s the one they bought! 😁

[SamT]

Signed up with Evolution Solution yesterday   

Partly cause they had a free slot in January, that I knew about from someone who was unable to have that day, thus I knew they had availability.

[tomtom]

Signed up with Evolution Solution yesterday   

Partly cause they had a free slot in January, that I knew about from someone who was unable to have that day, thus I knew they had availability.

Ace. Michelle was good to deal with there. I had 2 of their fitters come over and they were both great.

[Davo]

I think you are both much more technical than me. I just got a local electrical firm to install it and they sorted everything. Asked me to take a load of pics of the fuse box and the area and then a quick phone call to check everything. Made sure they were OLEV registered and they sorted the grant etc. personally I plug the thing in and it works.

Haha was just thinking if it's this complex I can imagine there being quite a bit of resistance from people to switch to electric cars! Certainly compared to the time efficiency and simplicity of going to a petrol station.

Good point! However now we have a charger and a car I find just plugging in at home and not worrying about getting to a petrol station much easier and less time consuming.

[SamT]

Yeah - its really not that complex, we're just doing a good nerdy job of making it sound complex. 

[SamT]

Update.

Evolution solutions have been back and have spotted an issue with the main incoming supply fuse - old bakerlite jobbie, so it doesn't surprise me.

Which means we have to get Northern Power grid folk in to replace that first, which means a delay to the install date, 

Wish I'd got all this in place before actually getting hold of the car.

Still  - left it on charge using the 3 pin supply for 24h the other day as we're just holed up isolating at the moment and not going anywhere, so back up to a full charge.

BTW - EV solutions have been brilliant at communicating this and are arranging things with Northern Power grid.

[griffer]

 Just thought I'd put my experience in. I've had a Tesla model 3 for 2 years and have charged on a 3pin plug the whole time.
Have been trying to get a charger but covid and time have got in the way.
My wife has bought a Zoe so we now need a charger, however the 3 pin plug is doing fine with 2 cars!(not at the same time)
We have 3 phase to the house so I'm going to install a 21kw charger, I know lots of cars will not use the full 21kw ac but I'm future proofing

[griffer]

Also I would not go back to an ICE car......the hassle of petrol stations is just too much

[Davo]

Just thought I'd put my experience in. I've had a Tesla model 3 for 2 years and have charged on a 3pin plug the whole time.
Have been trying to get a charger but covid and time have got in the way.
My wife has bought a Zoe so we now need a charger, however the 3 pin plug is doing fine with 2 cars!(not at the same time)
We have 3 phase to the house so I'm going to install a 21kw charger, I know lots of cars will not use the full 21kw ac but I'm future proofing

Would you mind me asking you your opinion on the model 3?

We have just bought one and so far it’s great. Just wondering how it is a few years down the line?

[Sidehaas]

Definitely need to check the main fuse to see if its 100A or not*.  Its bakerlite and def old.  However the consumer unit etc etc is all new (c 10yr old).

...

Hadn't appreciated that they light up. (though just checked and you can turn the leds off via the app   
We're going for black, rather than bright white so shouldn't jump out too much. 

Just came across this thread and thought it might be worth adding my recent experience. We have a VW ID3 on order, should be picking it up in January but already have the charger installed. We got an Ohme through their recommended people, who were called 'The Car Charge People' and apart from a boring name were pretty good. However it's worth noting the Ohme Home Pro has fairly bright LEDs that *do not* turn off, at least unless they update the software in future. Otherwise it looks fairly smart. We had an ancient 80A fuse but the installers contacted the DNO (SP Energy Networks in Merseyside) and they came and upgraded it for free inside a week.
I had expected the installation to be a quick job but the leccy took a full 7 hour day.
There are one or two people (electricians I think) on the 'speakev' forum who seem very knowledgeable and happy to critique a before/after photo of an installation if you're unsure about anything.

[tomtom]

@sam we got ours fixed on the same day 😱 by NW electricity (or whoever the DNO are in Manchester). The Ovo guy trying to fit the smart meter spent 30 min on the phone to them and said we were a priority case (children in house) and it needed to be repaired urgently. It only took them 30 min to fix - but required three vans and two visits (first from an old timer who basically looked at our fuse and said it’s shite and gave them the nod to get it done).

@sidehaas had an id3 since July. It’s ace - it’ll be worth the wait 👍👍 I was fortunate to get one already ordered by the dealer so only a 3-4 week wait. It’s 9-12 months at the moment. Good to get the charger in before the grants end in March.

[Davo]

We test drove an ID3 and really liked it. Was just the long wait that put me off. Plus the Tesla drove better.

[Sidehaas]

@sidehaas had an id3 since July. It’s ace - it’ll be worth the wait 👍👍 I was fortunate to get one already ordered by the dealer so only a 3-4 week wait. It’s 9-12 months at the moment. Good to get the charger in before the grants end in March.

We ordered ours in summer - we were told by the dealer a couple of weeks ago that it was built and on it's way So I've been checking out the charging options on the A55 on the way back from Snowdonia this afternoon!

[SamT]

Can confirm the e-niro fits an Organic Full pad, two halves and a slider perfectly in the boot, with just enough space to get you bag down the side of them too. Had it a couple of weeks now and pretty happy so far (yes its not as snazzy looking as some others on the market but it was reasonably priced, fits my pads nicely and gets me to the crag, job done)

I assume that's with the back seats folded.

My moon Warrior fits in the bottom of the boot perfectly, but with no space at the edges, and just about enough space on top for a bag, or two, but no extra pads.   

[Fultonius]

Skoda Enyaq - how is everyone finding them?

Finally considering selling on our old 1998 T4 Diesel and catching up with the latest tech.

Few Qs:  Can you sleep in the back?

Would it be insane to lease one, and then (if possible under the agreement) sub-lease it via Hiyacar or Similar?  Just wondering if it would be feasible to just about cover the cost of owning without it getting trashed?

[tomtom]

Availability seems to be the main issue with all EV's at the moment. Apart from the Stellantis group* (Peugeot, Vauxhall) and for Tesla's**, everything else seems to have a 9-18 month wait at the moment. Many people who ordered ID3's and ID4's in October 2021 (and after) are being told they are unlikely to see them until 2023.

*because they are not as popular as other brands
**because they have far greater production capacity - and their own/different supply chains

[hongkongstuey]

Can confirm the e-niro fits an Organic Full pad, two halves and a slider perfectly in the boot, with just enough space to get you bag down the side of them too. Had it a couple of weeks now and pretty happy so far (yes its not as snazzy looking as some others on the market but it was reasonably priced, fits my pads nicely and gets me to the crag, job done)

I assume that's with the back seats folded.

nope - this is with back seats still in place. it's a tight fit but it does fit.

However, i went and added a Blubber to the mix too now, which means at least one pad has to go on the back seat

[SamT]

And the charger I've just bought, is 100% controlled by an App and Wifi.  Any issue with either of those things and I strongly suspect it becomes a worthless lump of plastic bolted to my wall.

Can I get my car to charge ... can I buggery.

Not sure why, but the phone app will just not talk to the charger.   Wont seem to connect to "Hypervolt" servers, and theres some other message about a firmware update needed to charger, which is being rolled out and may take "a few days".

Luckily, I don't have to be anywhere today, but I feel for anyone caught in a situation where they needed to charge their car overnight for an important meeting in the morning type sceanario.   

I knew it would happen. 

I've turned everything off and on again, wifi router, phone, even the charger itself by tripping the fuse and reconnecting.

No joy.   Hypervolts offices are shut, please leave a message..

I've flipping well done with all this reliance on apps and internet.  Its basically always going to let you down at some point.   
What happens when Hypervolt goes bust, or they stop supporting their app, or their app needs a newer version of android to run on... FFS.

Should have just installed a dumb box like Nik.

[jwi]

The S in IoT stands for security

[spidermonkey09]

Should have just installed a dumb box like Nik.

I thought all electric chargers were dumb boxes. I guess thats not always the case. I thought charging your car was a matter of plugging it in and the cost of the electricity would be added to your household bill, as if I was charging my phone.

Why does it rely on an app? For a timer or somesuch?

[UnkArl]

Run a 13A standard extension out a window? I guess that’s no help now… hope you get the charger sorted soon.

[Paul B]

Run a 13A standard extension out a window? I guess that’s no help now… hope you get the charger sorted soon.

There's a house in Slaidburn on the front by the cafe that I'm assuming is listed; it always makes me chuckle when I go past that the Tesla is being charge by a 13A lead draped out of a sash window that's partially open!

[SamT]

The S in IoT stands for security

Exactly what you replied last year when I first raised my concern 

I thought all electric chargers were dumb boxes. I guess thats not always the case. I thought charging your car was a matter of plugging it in and the cost of the electricity would be added to your household bill, as if I was charging my phone.

Why does it rely on an app? For a timer or somesuch?

Everyting relies on an App now,  Toasters, kettles, central heating.  Wouldn't surprise me if my next toothbrush comes with an App.