[AndyK]

Hi all,

Long time no see on this forum! I've been happily enjoying my Leaf for over 5 years now with no home charging, and finally kicking off the process of buying a home with an actual driveway!

We've had an offer accepted, but I'm wondering whether anyone has an experience/expertise to offer on things I should look out for in case there are any red flags for an installation? It's a fairly new property - early/mid 2000s I believe, and fairly standard layout of meter box on the front, driveway to the side. I reckon 15 metres of cable would be enough so hopefully a standard installation, just wanted to know if there's anything specific I should be asking to have checked.

I've tried a couple of places but they aren't willing to advise without pictures which obviously I can't provide right now - I don't need quotes necessarily, just would like to get an idea in case I need to make sure anything in particular is done.

Alternatively if it's not going to cost much to get any potential issues sorted that'd be good to know - although I don't think I'm eligible for a grant anymore so I'm keen that the cost doesn't go too far over the £1,000 I'm expecting!

Thanks in advance,

Andrew

 

[Tigga]

this is the starting point for you!
I think you might be elegable if the car is new enough and you've moved to somewhere that hasnt had a charge point installed. I think it is the location not the person.

 

[Howie]

I switched my elec and gas supplier to Ecotricity a few years back and they offered a subsidised Rolec charger installation. Don't know if they still offer it but others might and it was a good deal.

 

[Tigga]

I switched my elec and gas supplier to Ecotricity a few years back and they offered a subsidised Rolec charger installation. Don't know if they still offer it but others might and it was a good deal.

noooooo
rolec were the only choice for years and there stuff is so far behind other products.
I would suggest looking at ohme (subsidised if you get octopus); wall box; zappi (great f you have solar as well); and others which have great functionality.

Depends what you really want.

 

[Howie]

noooooo
rolec were the only choice for years and there stuff is so far behind other products.
I would suggest looking at ohme (subsidised if you get octopus); wall box; zappi (great f you have solar as well); and others which have great functionality.

Depends what you really want.

I've had it 2 1/2 years and it's been absolutely fine

 

[cah197]

I've had it 2 1/2 years and it's been absolutely fine

We had one and it was fine for around three years.

Then the internal RCBO starts to fail.

The good news is it’s about £25 to replace with a decent one.

 

[Tigga]

ive gone through 3 rcbos...but thats not the point... it does the job but there are better ones out there... better functionality and look better

 

[Howie]

ive gone through 3 rcbos...but thats not the point... it does the job but there are better ones out there... better functionality and look better

"Better functionality" Am I missing something here? All I do is plug it into the car and in the morning it's charged.

 

[cah197]

ive gone through 3 rcbos...but thats not the point... it does the job but there are better ones out there... better functionality and look better

You didn’t buy the right RCBO then.

 

[Tigga]

You didn’t buy the right RCBO then.

because I got them to send me a new one for free
The second time they said they changed the design (which they had) but that also went!
then they send another one tail end of last year... but Im just gonna change to take advantage of octopus.

I've had it 7 years so I dont mind... need to update to be 18th edition compliant anyway.

 

[cah197]

Yep, they don’t seem to learn.

 

[Tigga]

"Better functionality" Am I missing something here? All I do is plug it into the car and in the morning it's charged.

YES!
if you have mixed tariffs you can schedule charging to a cheaper time (typically between 12 and 7 depending on your energy provider, octopus is 1230 to 0430 @ 5p per kwh with GO or at 1/2 hourly wholesale rate with agile)
You can set a charge quantity to finish charging and when required (say 80% by 0900) and it will pick the times to charge based upon rates (with octopus agile)
You can choose to take from the grid or the solar excess you produce (so you dont pull from the grid)
You can have the charger throttle back if you are pulling hight demand on the house. (protects the main fuse)
You can track on your app how much you are charging the car

also to comply to 18th edition you dont need earth rod for most new chargers like wall plug and zappi (you do for rolec and others unless you get the matt:e or similar earth protection)

Lots of things but it does depend on your requirements.

Oh and most look nicer than the rolec!

 

[Tigga]

Yep, they don’t seem to learn.

tell me about it...
and their smart charger they expect you to pay a monthly fee for the functionality after (I think) a year, when everyone else has better functionality for free.

And they look rubbish compaired to Wall Box, Anderson, Sync EV, EO, and even zappi (which I dont like) looks more modern

 

[cah197]

I think you’re right.

 

[AndyK]

Thanks for your input everyone.

The video is interesting but probably more basic than I was hoping for! I guess there's not really anything to worry about I know where it'll need to go and it should be a fairly simple installation.

Regards the actual charger, so far I'm most keen on the EO Mini Pro 2 - it seems to be the only option that looks modest, isn't ridiculously big and is available socketed, and it has built in earth fault detection so shouldn't need an earth rod.

I won't be eligible for the grant, the scheme I would have been entitled to is closed now.