The all things EV chat thread

[PJ87]

Had a test.drive of the Honda HRV hybrid today whilst the civic was being serviced,.was quietly impressed.
I had chat with the salesman we knew and got a quote to trade in and purchase a new HRV, which has some decent discounts atm.
He asked if I've considered the eNy1, which is the full electric version of the HRV.
Honda are.really trying to push this with even better deals and it would actually work out cheaper to buy one of these even though it's book price is higher.
So I'm taking one out next week for a test run .

What are the costs involved in getting home charging fitted , just so I know in advance ?

Do they do an offer to have one installed?

If not who are your energy supplier?

Octopus will install one for roughly £1000

Most local sparks will do for roughly the same

Ohme would be my recommendation for a charger as they are compatible with majority of smart tariffs (which get you the best prices) for example OVO (@jim8flog is with them) do one that anytime you plug in and ask for a charge it's done at the cheap rate (think it's 7p a kWh) https://www.ovoenergy.com/compatibi...rtNcNgcnwrDLbguuYuxoC8BMQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Octopus one gets 6 cheap hours but your whole house gets cheap energy at that time where as OVO is just the car. Need to see what suits you

However you need a smart meter for the smart prices otherwise you will be standard prices .. whilst that's not too bad the lower prices are even better

Eon also have a car tariff that's 7 hours cheap but it's just at night as opposed to smart

£1000 is for a standard install, I'd fully recommend getting a tethered (charger with lead attached) for ease of use .. you might need extras if say the cabling needs to be long or if they need to upgrade some of your wiring

 

[spongebob59]

Do they do an offer to have one installed?

If not who are your energy supplier?

Octopus will install one for roughly £1000

Most local sparks will do for roughly the same

Ohme would be my recommendation for a charger as they are compatible with majority of smart tariffs (which get you the best prices) for example OVO (@jim8flog is with them) do one that anytime you plug in and ask for a charge it's done at the cheap rate (think it's 7p a kWh) https://www.ovoenergy.com/compatibi...rtNcNgcnwrDLbguuYuxoC8BMQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Octopus one gets 6 cheap hours but your whole house gets cheap energy at that time where as OVO is just the car. Need to see what suits you

However you need a smart meter for the smart prices otherwise you will be standard prices .. whilst that's not too bad the lower prices are even better

Eon also have a car tariff that's 7 hours cheap but it's just at night as opposed to smart

£1000 is for a standard install, I'd fully recommend getting a tethered (charger with lead attached) for ease of use .. you might need extras if say the cabling needs to be long or if they need to upgrade some of your wiring

With Octopus, will ask about charging leads at the test drive

 

[cliveb]

He asked if I've considered the eNy1, which is the full electric version of the HRV.
Honda are.really trying to push this with even better deals and it would actually work out cheaper to buy one of these even though it's book price is higher.

I think manufacturers and dealers are falling over themselves to shift full EVs in order to avoid punitive fines if they miss the 22% target set by government. So some great deals might be around the corner for new and nearly new EVs.

 

[PJ87]

With Octopus, will ask about charging leads at the test drive

If your with octopus already

Get an EV charger with Octopus Energy

Get an EV charger with Octopus

octopus.energy

They can install a charger for you

If they do offer a free install ask what one it is. Because if it's a bog standard one you will only be able to get onto octopus go which is a fixed 5 hours at 9p a kWh where as if you can get these chargers it's 6 hours at 7p

 

[spongebob59]

With Octopus, will ask about charging leads at the test drive

Octopus do not support the make/model

 

[PJ87]

Octopus do not support the make/model

Don't worry about that. Get yourself a compatible charger. That's key

More and more EVs are being taken off the supported list because manufacturers don't want to allow 3rd parties access to their systems for security

However charging companies it's easier and more secure

Ohme home pro is compatible, get that and you won't get issues

If you don't get that you can always go on classic octopus go which any EV can be on. That's 9p at night. You charge from 0030-0530 and it's that price



All those chargers are company with octopus intelligent go as it stays and the ohme home pro 8m lead is the best for ease of use

 

[jim8flog]

With Octopus, will ask about charging leads at the test drive

make sure your car comes with the lead
1. You will then not need a charger which has one. (the ones with leads are known a tethered) Saves about £100 on charger cost.
2 Some commercial chargers do not have leads (our local Tesco s does not).

Also make sure it comes with a charger that plugs in to the mains.
Useful when staying with family friends who will let you charge overnight etc

 

[PJ87]

make sure your car comes with the lead
1. You will then not need a charger which has one. (the ones with leads are known a tethered) Saves about £100 on charger cost.
2 Some commercial chargers do not have leads (our local Tesco s does not).

Also make sure it comes with a charger that plugs in to the mains.
Useful when staying with family friends who will let you charge overnight etc

All cars will come with a type 2 lead, they have to supply them, it's granny chargers they don't (Screwfix £150 ISH can pick them up)

Id fully recommend a tethered lead and it saves having to put the lead away in the car come rain or shine which can be a faff and just easier.

Just an example re the above for easier. If I want to charge my car when I come home or say now I just unlock it and plug it in, if I had a non tethered lead I'd have to go to the boot and get it out which is just more faff then more faff getting it neat again in the boot where as the home charger it's easy to wrap it neatly and clip onto the wall

 

[adasko]

Hypervolt v3 charger is now compatible with intelligent octopus

 

[Mudball]

So my first experience with EV on holiday. Went down to North Devon and I must say i have been very apprehensive about it. My car's claimed range is 240m.. I will be lucky to get 200 before the battery and my stress runs out.
Coming from Surrey, to get to North Devon, we had 2 options - via Stonehenge car park or M4/Bristol way. Both are about 190-200 miles but Bristol route is faster despite being longer. However, I had a lot of range anxiety
Before setting off, i did my research to see if there are any EV chargers around. None in the village. Luckily the resort said they had 4 chargers!!

1) Overnight, I used my home charger to charge to 100%. I generally only do 80%. Fed the route into the car GPS, and it told me that I should charge somewhere outside Bristol (Chippenham Services) for 10 mins. That way i would arrive at my destination with about 55% charge.
2) We did well, and I thought i could push on. However, needed a break, so got into Chippenham Services 58% battery. plenty of chargers there. Loads of Teslas, but I plugged into one. Was planning 10 mins, but since we had Coffee + lunch, we stayed about 40 mins. Car charged back to 100%.
3) Easy drive to resort and then the dance began.
4) 4 chargers on site, but 1 was broken. Also it was a domestic 7KW charger. Every evening, I would try and find a charger. There was plenty of faffing around - its occupied, some non-EV moron parks there, trying to register and pay by scanning QR code every time.
5) Nowhere did they mention that the chargers dont have any cables, luckily i was carrying our cable. (Our cable is usually attached to our home charger)
6) Slowly got into the routine of plugging it in overnight, but go first thing in the morning and move my fully charged car. My BIL has a Tesla, and it was not that thirsty, so he would only charge every 2-3 days.
7) Went to get some supplies into the village and lo and behold there was an Osprey charger near a Sainsbury. None of my apps were showing it. So went and plugged it in
8) Last day out, got it back to 100% and this time I was less anxious. Car GPS predicted we could get home without having to recharge, but would get in with about 10% battery. Not a problem, since i have a charger at home
9) On our way back, stopped at Hauser & Wirth for some culture and food. They have PodPoint Chargers, so i thought I should give it a go. Unfortunately, none of my apps work with Pod point, so I had to download a new app, ADD 10 quid as pre-pay top up to use it. It was not a very pleasant experience.
10) Got back without any dramas.

Cost:
1) I charged 100% at home overnight. I pay 7p. Assuming 70Kw battery, that is about £5 to charge
2) I used 2 public fast chargers to top up - Total costs about £17 but thanks to BMW deal, it came included.
3) I charge every night at the resort.. total £22
4) The Hauser & Wirth Pod point pre-pay: £10
Total: £37 paid for about 600 miles or so. I reckon we could have skipped some sessions if i was less anxious, and also the Tesla was even cheaper.

Key learning
1) Always carry your own charging cable/jerry can.
2) It requires planning - is like planning a journey before GPSs were invented - you need to know where you take a break or where to charge a car etc.
3) Not all charging stations will take your app. So be prepared to download a new app.
4) Not every station is on the map either. The brilliant Osprey Charger near the Sainsbury in South Molton is still not on Zapmap
5) Be ready to kick your tyres in frustration, when you realise that your mobile does not work near a charger
6) Get ready to kick some luddite non-EV driver who parks in an EV bay or another EV driver who does not move their car after it has been fully charged. (feels like standing in a rationing queue)

There needs to be better EV charging infrastructure at locations. Also resorts should start putting a 22kw charger outside cabins, rather than 7k chargers. Some of these places have swimming pools and 3 phase supplies. Putting 22k chargers should be easy, and it would mean more residents can charge rather than just a few overnighters.
Will i do it again. I think so. I think we got a bit lucky, because we did a week before all the schools broke up, so chargers were available. On our next one, I think I am better prepared and can take a few gambles of skipping some service stations. Will be less stressful.

 

[PJ87]

So my first experience with EV on holiday. Went down to North Devon and I must say i have been very apprehensive about it. My car's claimed range is 240m.. I will be lucky to get 200 before the battery and my stress runs out.
Coming from Surrey, to get to North Devon, we had 2 options - via Stonehenge car park or M4/Bristol way. Both are about 190-200 miles but Bristol route is faster despite being longer. However, I had a lot of range anxiety
Before setting off, i did my research to see if there are any EV chargers around. None in the village. Luckily the resort said they had 4 chargers!!

1) Overnight, I used my home charger to charge to 100%. I generally only do 80%. Fed the route into the car GPS, and it told me that I should charge somewhere outside Bristol (Chippenham Services) for 10 mins. That way i would arrive at my destination with about 55% charge.
2) We did well, and I thought i could push on. However, needed a break, so got into Chippenham Services 58% battery. plenty of chargers there. Loads of Teslas, but I plugged into one. Was planning 10 mins, but since we had Coffee + lunch, we stayed about 40 mins. Car charged back to 100%.
3) Easy drive to resort and then the dance began.
4) 4 chargers on site, but 1 was broken. Also it was a domestic 7KW charger. Every evening, I would try and find a charger. There was plenty of faffing around - its occupied, some non-EV moron parks there, trying to register and pay by scanning QR code every time.
5) Nowhere did they mention that the chargers dont have any cables, luckily i was carrying our cable. (Our cable is usually attached to our home charger)
6) Slowly got into the routine of plugging it in overnight, but go first thing in the morning and move my fully charged car. My BIL has a Tesla, and it was not that thirsty, so he would only charge every 2-3 days.
7) Went to get some supplies into the village and lo and behold there was an Osprey charger near a Sainsbury. None of my apps were showing it. So went and plugged it in
8) Last day out, got it back to 100% and this time I was less anxious. Car GPS predicted we could get home without having to recharge, but would get in with about 10% battery. Not a problem, since i have a charger at home
9) On our way back, stopped at Hauser & Wirth for some culture and food. They have PodPoint Chargers, so i thought I should give it a go. Unfortunately, none of my apps work with Pod point, so I had to download a new app, ADD 10 quid as pre-pay top up to use it. It was not a very pleasant experience.
10) Got back without any dramas.

Cost:
1) I charged 100% at home overnight. I pay 7p. Assuming 70Kw battery, that is about £5 to charge
2) I used 2 public fast chargers to top up - Total costs about £17 but thanks to BMW deal, it came included.
3) I charge every night at the resort.. total £22
4) The Hauser & Wirth Pod point pre-pay: £10
Total: £37 paid for about 600 miles or so. I reckon we could have skipped some sessions if i was less anxious, and also the Tesla was even cheaper.

Key learning
1) Always carry your own charging cable/jerry can.
2) It requires planning - is like planning a journey before GPSs were invented - you need to know where you take a break or where to charge a car etc.
3) Not all charging stations will take your app. So be prepared to download a new app.
4) Not every station is on the map either. The brilliant Osprey Charger near the Sainsbury in South Molton is still not on Zapmap
5) Be ready to kick your tyres in frustration, when you realise that your mobile does not work near a charger
6) Get ready to kick some luddite non-EV driver who parks in an EV bay or another EV driver who does not move their car after it has been fully charged. (feels like standing in a rationing queue)

There needs to be better EV charging infrastructure at locations. Also resorts should start putting a 22kw charger outside cabins, rather than 7k chargers. Some of these places have swimming pools and 3 phase supplies. Putting 22k chargers should be easy, and it would mean more residents can charge rather than just a few overnighters.
Will i do it again. I think so. I think we got a bit lucky, because we did a week before all the schools broke up, so chargers were available. On our next one, I think I am better prepared and can take a few gambles of skipping some service stations. Will be less stressful.

Id like to add to the "always carry charger" comment. They are designed to live in the car. Nowhere else. It's why I strongly recommend getting a tethered home charger. A. Less fannying about and B. Can't leave your lead plugged in and forget to put back in car

It's very rare to find a type 2 charger tethered as if it's untethered you can connect the old type 1s to it (think the MK1 leaf is only car about still using them) but still gives more options

One thing I've noticed about traditional "premium" manufacturers like Audi, Merc and BMW is their cars aren't as designed to be efficient as the Tesla's and the Koreans / Chinese .. seem to have built their cars for looks first and forgot to build them efficiently VW are learning more with the ID range slowly

Ice cars in EV bays should be finned same as an EV not plugged in. I think the way to make the bays less attractive to park in is to put them far end of car parks. They put them in premium spots so just temps people in. My golf club tucked them out the way longest walk from the course so they never have ice cars in. Great idea

Would future proof putting 22kwh chargers in however ATM the max car charging for AC is 11kw on most cars . So would only speed it up a bit at present. Even offering 7kw outside would be good because you could leave the car overnight and be fine.

We are off to Bournemouth in a couple weeks. The hotel doesn't have charger but few dotted about nearby. If I don't manage to plug in to them and top up I'm just gonna use grid serve on the way home as they have 20% via their app until October

My playing partner just got a Tesla, no home charger , he's on a road trip around Norfolk ATM . The superchargers for Tesla are outstanding. They are another level compared to traditional manufacturers. If I was doing regular long distance I'd get a Tesla without question

Quick add, do you use electroverse from octopus? All charging away from home at their paired chargers taken from your home balance .. today they have an offer for these chargers

 

[Slime]

Cost:
1) I charged 100% at home overnight. I pay 7p. Assuming 70Kw battery, that is about £5 to charge
2) I used 2 public fast chargers to top up - Total costs about £17 but thanks to BMW deal, it came included.
3) I charge every night at the resort.. total £22
4) The Hauser & Wirth Pod point pre-pay: £10
Total: £37 paid for about 600 miles or so. I reckon we could have skipped some sessions if i was less anxious, and also the Tesla was even cheaper.

That all sounds like such a faff that it must have sucked so much enjoyment from the holiday.
I'd also like to know how much time was wasted in the regular charger merry-go-round.
Presumably you had to take a lie-in free holiday.
I'd have paid around double that in my diesel, but my God, it would just have been soooooooooooo much more relaxing, surely the whole point of a holiday.

P.S. Did you visit Woody Bay? Absolute heaven on earth.

 

[jim8flog]

When it come to keeping the cable with the car mine has another shelf just under the main rear storage shelf for the cable, it comes with a carry case if you want to put it away fully and one shelf further down there is a dedicated slot for the mains charger.

 

[PJ87]

When it come to keeping the cable with the car mine has another shelf just under the main rear storage shelf for the cable, it comes with a carry case if you want to put it away fully and one shelf further down there is a dedicated slot for the mains charger.

When I go on a road trip where I might actually need the type 2 charger I move it from under the boot to the "frunk" where I normally keep my 3 pin plug. That way whenever I pull up to a charger I pop the bonnet and connect it.

I haven't actually used the type 2 charger that came with the car yet as the one at home does majority of my charging

Wife's chargers are all under her boot aswell

I had 61% left on the car after doing 115 miles since I left work Tuesday night. We are doing 80 miles today but for the sake of £1.98 I charged it to full then I won't need to charge until Tuesday night at the earliest, more of a meh might aswell top up

Wife's car will be topped up end of month for her monthly charge

 

[Lord Tyrion]

Can't disagree with @Slime on this. The cost saving doesn't come close to outweighing the stress and hassle involved.

On the selfish parking front, a friend of my wife's has been fined twice at Scotch Corner whilst charging her tesla. She is playing dumb about it but I assume it's for being fully charged, not moving and so blocking the charger. If so, it sounds as though more of that is needed.

 

[Mudball]

That all sounds like such a faff that it must have sucked so much enjoyment from the holiday.
I'd also like to know how much time was wasted in the regular charger merry-go-round.
Presumably you had to take a lie-in free holiday.
I'd have paid around double that in my diesel, but my God, it would just have been soooooooooooo much more relaxing, surely the whole point of a holiday.

P.S. Did you visit Woody Bay? Absolute heaven on earth.

Indeed it can be a hassle till we get better in infrastructure. Diesel is easier. However, this is a big shift. I am sure the same challenges when we moved from horse carriages to cars/steam trains. Unlike horse drawn carts, steam trains have to carry their own fuel or cars could not just go anywhere like a horse

Did not go to Woody Bay, but we went to Lynton and Lynmouth and rode down the Funicular.. It was brilliant.

When it come to keeping the cable with the car mine has another shelf just under the main rear storage shelf for the cable, it comes with a carry case if you want to put it away fully and one shelf further down there is a dedicated slot for the mains charger.

I have a lower shelf too.. but i keep mine tethered at home. For what we do, we recharge every night, so dont need to carry it around and add to the weight. if we longer rides then I might get a spare one.

Agree with @PJ87 .. Tesla Frunk is brilliant to carry all the cables + bag. Trying to take the cable from underneath a fully loaded boot was a real pain. I read the BMW CEO discuss it. He said, customer research showed them that people are not using frunks. I am not sure which customers they spoke to!! (also i did use Electoverse, but it did not work for some reason)

 

[Mudball]

Can't disagree with @Slime on this. The cost saving doesn't come close to outweighing the stress and hassle involved.

On the selfish parking front, a friend of my wife's has been fined twice at Scotch Corner whilst charging her tesla. She is playing dumb about it but I assume it's for being fully charged, not moving and so blocking the charger. If so, it sounds as though more of that is needed.

Tesla is very clever.. if the superchargers are busy, then they will start start charging a premium for every min that you are plugged in beyond your charge limit. They dont want people to hang around.. charge and get going..

 

[Arthur Wedge]

That all sounds like such a faff that it must have sucked so much enjoyment from the holiday.
I'd also like to know how much time was wasted in the regular charger merry-go-round.
Presumably you had to take a lie-in free holiday.
I'd have paid around double that in my diesel, but my God, it would just have been soooooooooooo much more relaxing, surely the whole point of a holiday.

P.S. Did you visit Woody Bay? Absolute heaven on earth.

Spot on for me

In 8 days we are off down to Somerset to have time there with the parents , whilst there we will be going all over , there will be not one single worry about the car beyond popping into the garage before we go to ensure it’s got a full tank

It’s a holiday , all about relaxing , shouldn’t need a full blown military organisation to take into account where and when to plug a car in

 

[Lord Tyrion]

Charging apps, parking apps. There should be one over riding app that the pays the provider. The multiple app system is a real pain and an error of a system.

We need a governing body, govt or trade association to clank some heads together

 

[PJ87]

Charging apps, parking apps. There should be one over riding app that the pays the provider. The multiple app system is a real pain and an error of a system.

We need a governing body, govt or trade association to clank some heads together

This is where Tesla basically wins the debate. Use their chargers which are fast and affordable. Also well located

They are just plug and play , the app has your card stored and just charges you when you plug in.

If people drive distance, Tesla is the choice

We don't do mega distance often so a quick route plan for Bournemouth in couple weeks and I've got charger a b and c lined up in my head.

@Mudball BMW are talking out their bum. Frunks are useful for all kinds of things. Considering how much spare space is available under the hood due to the lack of engine parts it's wasted to not do something with it!

I found electroverse card didn't work when I tried it but the app instantly started the charger which was odd, I'd of had it the other way round

Back from our 80 mile day, we have 73% so easily could have done with the 61% left .. would have had 34% now which could have got me to golf tomorrow, to swimming Monday and park Tuesday and then to work Tuesday night before charging there .

I been tracking my milage and charging costs across both cars since Feb

The Kona has done 550 miles and I've spent £10.15 charging it at home

The Kia has done 5868 miles and I've spent £79.93 charging it.. (£60.19 at public chargers £19.74 at home)

But my mates enjoying his Tesla and he is just using public chargers. Suiting both of us. Him doing more miles and using public charging and me doing half the miles and just charging at home. If you have a rapid charger near your home or work it does help.