EV (hybrid) At Home Charging Opinions

[Burnsey]

I've entered the world of electric vehicles, with a hybrid and have both a three pin plug and mains charge cable supplied.

Cost of a decent charge point is around £750 installed.

The car does 40 miles on the hybrid battery.

I'm not too fussed on a specific tariff etc, simply seeking opinion on the charging method.

I appreciate the specific charge point is quicker, but can't see me being a daily/overnight plug in sort of person, more of a top up now and again.

Read about overheating on 3 pin etc., so hoping to get opinions from any users.

Thanks

 

[harpo_72]

I have a hypervolt charger, it was £1400 installation. I would say you need to decide whether your in or not .. as this initial outlay is high. So the real question is will you go full electric in the future or have an EV in the household?
I made my decision was based purely on the drive, nothing was based on the environmental factors to have an EV.

 

[Burnsey]

I have a hypervolt charger, it was £1400 installation. I would say you need to decide whether your in or not .. as this initial outlay is high. So the real question is will you go full electric in the future or have an EV in the household?
I made my decision was based purely on the drive, nothing was based on the environmental factors to have an EV.

I never see myself in a full EV, so this is my first experiment.

It’s currently plugged in ti a 3 pin as a test and to top up.

Yes it’s slow and daytime probably dearer, but with the car regenerating, maybe it’s only required now and again, as opposed to make the thing work.

Not opposed to the investment if it’s the safer option.

 

[harpo_72]

I think a physical charger is safer due to it being all specifically designed to meet standards. The 3 pin charger is safer, but you may not plug it properly in, it might not be able to dissipate any heat due to being covered by some stuff .. so it’s less user safe IMO. I have used one but I am not a fan.

 

[Tashyboy]

Outta interest which car did you go for.
The one I am Looking for is a Kia Sportage. PHEV. A pal
Has one and is more than happy with just the three pin normal Plug. He mentioned about upping the amp to 9. Which went straight over my head.

 

[Burnsey]

Outta interest which car did you go for.
The one I am Looking for is a Kia Sportage. PHEV. A pal
Has one and is more than happy with just the three pin normal Plug. He mentioned about upping the amp to 9. Which went straight over my head.

It's the new BMW M5, which has a battery alongside the 4.4 twin turbo V8 and gets it to 727hp.

I am not a fan of EV's, but wanted to swap my old one and the days of all petrol have gone.

 

[Tashyboy]

It's the new BMW M5, which has a battery alongside the 4.4 twin turbo V8 and gets it to 727hp.

I am not a fan of EV's, but wanted to swap my old one and the days of all petrol have gone.

727. What is it a Boeing jet

I think it is a find out yourself kind answer. The battery is going to help
with the performance. How much though I have not got a clue. Greg in Fife may have some input re BMW. He helped massively when helping my lad.

 

[Bagger Vance]

It basically comes down to whether or not you intend to drive on electric. If yes, get a charger but if you plan to use petrol then don't bother. I know a lot of people get hybrids as company cars for tax reasons but drive them purely as ICE vehicles.
We have two EV's as we drive pretty much locally all the time with just the rare long trip. Overnight tariff is 5.5p per kwh so at this time of year it costs just over 1p a mile

 

[Burnsey]

It basically comes down to whether or not you intend to drive on electric. If yes, get a charger but if you plan to use petrol then don't bother. I know a lot of people get hybrids as company cars for tax reasons but drive them purely as ICE vehicles.
We have two EV's as we drive pretty much locally all the time with just the rare long trip. Overnight tariff is 5.5p per kwh so at this time of year it costs just over 1p a mile

I believe not using the battery does not help long term, so I’ll certainly be charging, just whether I need the convenience of a fixed charger etc.

No option at my office, but will see how long it takes to drain the range I think before making a decision.

 

[larmen]

I know a lot of people get hybrids as company cars for tax reasons but drive them purely as ICE vehicles.

I don’t know the exact reasons why, but somehow this is really bad for a hybrid and the reason why you should never buy a 2nd hand hybrid.

I got it from a EV YouTuber, but can’t remember which one.

 

[jim8flog]

If it is a hybrid how big is the battery in KWH hours?

The charger on the mains is normally around a 2kwh hour charger so I assume it would easily charge up a Hybrid battery.

Dedicated chargers charge at up to 7kw and need to charge at that sort of level to put in a big enough charge on an EV

The question is a dedicated charger really worth the cost? I reckon the cost of dedicated charger took me around a year to recoup on a 50kwh battery. It is going to take many years on a hybrid battery.

The mains charger that came with my vehicle is fully automatic and will not overcharge the battery. I have used it overnight at another house without any problem. Just make sure you are using where it has plenty of air flow to stop it overheating.

 

[Orikoru]

We use a three-pin type charger and drape the lead through the window. You can set it to max 10amp so it doesn't overheat. Takes about 9 hours or something to fully charge, but the wife works from home all day anyway so just leaves it plugged in then.

 

[Burnsey]

If it is a hybrid how big is the battery in KWH hours?

18.6kWh I believe fully charged, which provides 42 miles on full EV.

New to this, but understand the engine will recharge, but no idea to what extent.

Two leads with the car - a specific specific charger for public/wall mounted charges and one with a transformer (?) and three pin plug.

The only basic advice is not to use an extension, so that's my garage out, so would have a new outside power socket installed so there's no need to leave anything open.

I'm not going to stress about elec tariffs, when to charge etc I don't expect. I was more concerned about safety.

The recommended charger is about £850 installed, or £700 buying direct and having a local spark wiring up.

 

[BubbaP]

Had similar dilemma when we took on a BEV, still had a diesel as well at the time.
Decided to "3 pin" initially to see how it went. Bought one of these.

https://toughleads.co.uk/collections/ev-electric-vehicle-extension-leads/products/ev-extension-lead-with-timer-manual-wi-fi-and-meter-options?variant=47233605534018

Diesel long gone now, did 12K last year. Occasionally think it'd be nice to have a faster option, but probably wait until next move. Obviously each individual situation should be considered on the safety side.

 

[GreiginFife]

18.6kWh I believe fully charged, which provides 42 miles on full EV.

New to this, but understand the engine will recharge, but no idea to what extent.

Two leads with the car - a specific specific charger for public/wall mounted charges and one with a transformer (?) and three pin plug.

The only basic advice is not to use an extension, so that's my garage out, so would have a new outside power socket installed so there's no need to leave anything open.

I'm not going to stress about elec tariffs, when to charge etc I don't expect. I was more concerned about safety.

The recommended charger is about £850 installed, or £700 buying direct and having a local spark wiring up.

My advice would be slightly contrarian to some of the above. If you are a BMW guy and see yourself sticking with the performance models then PHEV isn’t going away anytime soon.

More and more of the upcoming SKUs will have either MHT or PHEV hybrids. So on that I would say get the charger install done and give yourself a bit of future proofing as well as being able to charge the battery about 3 times faster than a granny charger.

A secondary option would be to install a 16A outlet in your garage (assuming you have a consumer unit out there with a spare way) and use a 16A (3.6kW) cable. Faster but still not 7kW fast but less expensive. 16A charger cables cost around £200.

 

[Deleted member 18013]

It's gonna be great fun for the millions of us who live in houses with no driveways etc. and have to park on street.

I'll be hanging on to petrol for as long as I possibly can...

 

[Lord Tyrion]

It's gonna be great fun for the millions of us who live in houses with no driveways etc. and have to park on street.

I'll be hanging on to petrol for as long as I possibly can...

Petrol, and diesel, aren't going anywhere for some time to come. They may go eventually in my lifetime, no issue with that, but they will still be going strong for the next 15-20yrs minimum imo. Lots and lots of obstacles to be overcome before the masses drop them and they stop being viable.

 

[GreiginFife]

Petrol, and diesel, aren't going anywhere for some time to come. They may go eventually in my lifetime, no issue with that, but they will still be going strong for the next 15-20yrs minimum imo. Lots and lots of obstacles to be overcome before the masses drop them and they stop being viable.

Diesel (beyond commercial vehicles) will be gone from general car manufacturing in the next few years. The emission scandal was the final nail.

Manufacturers will still produce petrol (mostly incorporating MHT) with smaller turbo charged engines that are more efficient but lack torque that diesel provides.

PHEV will also expand further in the next few years as well as BEV options.

ICE isn’t going to disappear for those that want/need them, but as we move in to the ‘30s the options will become limited.

But by then the on street charging options should also have expanded greatly providing more flexibility to on street parkers.

 

[Burnsey]

My advice would be slightly contrarian to some of the above. If you are a BMW guy and see yourself sticking with the performance models then PHEV isn’t going away anytime soon.

More and more of the upcoming SKUs will have either MHT or PHEV hybrids. So on that I would say get the charger install done and give yourself a bit of future proofing as well as being able to charge the battery about 3 times faster than a granny charger.

A secondary option would be to install a 16A outlet in your garage (assuming you have a consumer unit out there with a spare way) and use a 16A (3.6kW) cable. Faster but still not 7kW fast but less expensive. 16A charger cables cost around £200.

Thank you!

Yes, last half a dozen cars were M, with a short flirt into an X5 40d, but wanted the new M5 since release and expect to hold onto this for 3 years and see where we end up in terms of the whole global set up.

If not using a 3 pin, I do think I will go full on wall charger. My set up at home is garage outside wall consumer unit, with meter on same wall, so there is little disruption.

 

[Burnsey]

It's gonna be great fun for the millions of us who live in houses with no driveways etc. and have to park on street.

I'll be hanging on to petrol for as long as I possibly can...

I am still hanging on, for different reasons. I simply want the car in qustion and that means adapting to a hybrid. I still spend £100 filling the tank.