[Kaggers]

Hi,

We have just launched ChargeBound, a quick and easy to use web app that helps UK EV owners to access, contact and order from local OLEV approved charge point installers. The website also includes a simple to use OLEV charge point grant check that allows you to check if you meet OLEV's grant requirements (speeding up the checking process with installers).

ChargeBound is built it with new EV owners in mind. We automatically generate the required charging point connector type (type 1 or type 2) and charging power level (16A = 3.5kW or 32A = 7kW) that your EV needs - ensuring your choice of charging point and installer are filtered for optimal compatibility.

We have also ensured users have a single site to access all OLEV approved chargepoint manufacturers/brands... i.e. Rolec, Podpoint, Viridian, New Motion, EO, etc.

See how it works here. Try it out and always happy to hear thoughts and answer any questions.

www.chargebound.com

Hope it makes life easier for many looking for a smooth installation process and local ongoing support - and hope it contributes to speeding up the number of charge points and charging infrastructure in place across the country.

 

[noiseboy]

Could be useful. You need to add the mk2 LEAF. Would be nice to search for local installers regardless of manufacturer.

 

[HandyAndy]

Your poll seems to assume everyone has a hard time in some way. I didn't. Decided what I wanted, the man came & fitted it no probs, and none since. Possibly you could add a "N/A" option to the poll?

 

[Spiny]

Needs a bit of sorting, should offer the 7 and 3.3 to cars that use the 3.3 for future proofing. My next EV will have a 7kW charger on board so I would not like to get caught with a 3.3 requiring replacement.

As an aside I can not get past the first option as I want one with a socket and it insists the ampera can not use one.... I have an EVSE with a socket! and a type 2 to type 1 cable duh. Future proofing you know, next EV will be type 2 as this is europe.

So, far more work to do.

 

[AnotherJoe]

Agree with the comments about selecting a 3.3 when usually you can get a 7 for the same price or a small increment.

Also, for a Kia Soul it forced me down to selecting only a tethered "because you cant get a type 1 socket".
Whats wrong with (again this is future proofing) getting a type 2 socket ? The Soul comes with a type 1 to type 2 cable. And then when i get my next car which will be a type 2, I'm not lumbered with a type 1 tethered i have to change.

And before that, if a friend or colleague wants to charge their type 2, well they cant.

AI Fail. Misleading newbies fail.

 

[trees]

I just tried this out, and looked at the resulting links to the suggested installers. Most of them are the generic link to the home page of the installer. Some of these have some help (i.e. mention EV installs), some are useless (e.g. Actemium UK Home | Actemium UK | Solutions for Industry) some are broken, (e.g http://www.ktelectricalservices.com should be Bicester Electricians Services in Oxford & Aylesbury).

I guess I like the enumeration of charge point types for my car, but I would also like to see the types of points installed by a specific installer., and what I REALLY want is an example price, and the basics that are included in that price.

 

[AnotherJoe]

Thinking about this, I believe you've gone about it the wrong way, or at least, theres another way to do it.

You've started with the car and worked back to the wall. However with a few exceptions, you can start at the wall, giving people advice on choosing tethered or not, what colour, what size, price range. Once thats narrowed down to a handful, pretty much any choice they make will work with most cars and you'd just have to offer restriction at that point "if you choose a XYZ model for your car it would need to be untethered

So, I think you could at least also offer an alternative option of starting with a price point (under £x) or charge point type (small, colour, post mounted etc) and then mention restrictions or conditions.

At the moment you get to a point where you provide a list of charge points you can choose (which i suspect would be the same list for nearly all cars) but no reason to choose any of those manufacturers and no guidance on the pros and cons of tethered or not.

Finally the link in your first post "see how it works here" isn't any use to me. Takes me to ChargeBound but nothing on that is clickable. Is it meant to be? It doesn't give any links back to the selection process. Is it meant to?

 

[Trevor Larkum]

I think it's a bit wrong way round too. Why ask someone which manufacturer they want? They don't care, they just want one with certain features at a particular price point - they want you to tell them who makes that.

 

[Kaggers]

Could be useful. You need to add the mk2 LEAF. Would be nice to search for local installers regardless of manufacturer.

Hi NoiseBoy...thanks for your response. I agree with the need to include the new Leaf. I should add that our EV car list is in line with OLEV's most current EVHS published list.

We are still very much in our soft launch phase and continue to tweak the site and we will overtime ramp this up to include newer model versions and perhaps non-OLEV approved vehicles. Same on the manufacturer list: although we very much want the user experience to build from an initial very easy response of car & postcode we are also working on how we can alter the site for users who may want to go straight ahead to different points e.g. manufacturer list.

 

[Kaggers]

Agree with the comments about selecting a 3.3 when usually you can get a 7 for the same price or a small increment.

Also, for a Kia Soul it forced me down to selecting only a tethered "because you cant get a type 1 socket".
Whats wrong with (again this is future proofing) getting a type 2 socket ? The Soul comes with a type 1 to type 2 cable. And then when i get my next car which will be a type 2, I'm not lumbered with a type 1 tethered i have to change.

And before that, if a friend or colleague wants to charge their type 2, well they cant.

AI Fail. Misleading newbies fail.

Needs a bit of sorting, should offer the 7 and 3.3 to cars that use the 3.3 for future proofing. My next EV will have a 7kW charger on board so I would not like to get caught with a 3.3 requiring replacement.

As an aside I can not get past the first option as I want one with a socket and it insists the ampera can not use one.... I have an EVSE with a socket! and a type 2 to type 1 cable duh. Future proofing you know, next EV will be type 2 as this is europe.

So, far more work to do.

Thanks Spiny and AnotherJoe for your points on future proofing. We completely agree and have now updated the site following your thoughts! We are still very much in 'beta' stage and those insights are much appreciated in letting us keep tweaking and improving the site. Try checking it out now..you should be able to tweak the power levels you want to use and for Type 1 evs...we are no longer 'forcing you to choose a tethered charge point'. We absolutely would not want to mislead any newbies!

 

[Kaggers]

I just tried this out, and looked at the resulting links to the suggested installers. Most of them are the generic link to the home page of the installer. Some of these have some help (i.e. mention EV installs), some are useless (e.g. Actemium UK Home | Actemium UK | Solutions for Industry) some are broken, (e.g http://www.ktelectricalservices.com should be Bicester Electricians Services in Oxford & Aylesbury).

I guess I like the enumeration of charge point types for my car, but I would also like to see the types of points installed by a specific installer., and what I REALLY want is an example price, and the basics that are included in that price.

Thanks trees for the broken links heads up...fixed the example you have provided and combing through the other 500 odd installer site links!

With regards to using generic website links, this is simply for the site's initial iteration (eventually we hope to have the 'more info' section populated with some installer-provided summaries and user reviews..from great folks like yourself). PRICE information is our target so watch this space (will try and give you a heads up once that's in place) and good point on being able to show list of all charge brands by each installer..we will work on adding that asap as we have the underlying data.

 

[Kaggers]

All great points everyone..particularly on issues experienced and different thoughts on how we should organise it. We are working through applying a good number of your points (already made some changes so far).

Thinking across the UK EV home charging sector...would be great to know of any other useful resources/websites/apps you may have used or know about that are popular for home charge point installations?

 

[Stephen_O]

You must have read my mind from Monday. Having trudged through the olev list last summer to find an installer who has stalled at every point and not replied to emails I needed to find another but where to start...Will try it now. Hopefully it will help me out.

 

[Stephen_O]

Worked very well and very useful for me, would be easier to have a "no preference" option for chargepoint manufacturer to enable me to see by locality as personally speaking - I don't have a preference, I want someone local to do the work because the house will require upgrading as well.

 

[Stephen_O]

add installer not interested in doing the work to the poll please.

 

[Kaggers]

Worked very well and very useful for me, would be easier to have a "no preference" option for chargepoint manufacturer to enable me to see by locality as personally speaking - I don't have a preference, I want someone local to do the work because the house will require upgrading as well.

add installer not interested in doing the work to the poll please.

Thanks Stephen_O for checking it out. Glad to hear it was useful. Great idea on the no preferences as I'm sure a number of people like yourself care more about who is local and OLEV approved! (with reviews the obvious next iteration).

Also added your point on cant-be-bothered installers to the poll.

 

[Stephen_O]

Thanks. I have voted, I will revisit the site once you have updated it to show "no pref" because the only local installer showing for a few chargers is one I have left a voicemail with already.

 

[Kaggers]

Thanks. I have voted, I will revisit the site once you have updated it to show "no pref" because the only local installer showing for a few chargers is one I have left a voicemail with already.

Thanks will give you a shout when updated. In the mean time, try using the 'Send Message' option when the installer map icons are clicked. This goes straight to the installer with pre-populated details about your requirements, which might speed up a response when the installer has all details about your specs and potential EVHS eligibility to hand.

 

[Kaggers]

Worked very well and very useful for me, would be easier to have a "no preference" option for chargepoint manufacturer to enable me to see by locality as personally speaking - I don't have a preference, I want someone local to do the work because the house will require upgrading as well.

A few updates to the ChargeBound site to check out. As suggested before by Stephen_O, we now offer the option of searching for installers without selecting a manufacturer preference. Allows you to view for each installer, a list of the charge point brands they are authorised to install. Thanks again for all the great points, we're very happy to receive and to continue to make the right changes to the site where it makes it more useful.

 

[Trevor Larkum]

That's better.