Which home EV charger to get?

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Slim

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I'm getting an EV this week. Setting up the order for the charger. Options are, in order of cost:
1. Up to 11kw and integrated charging
2. Add..LAN & WIFI control, via app
3. As above plus RFID acces protection and MID certified energy meter
This will be installed on our private property at the back of the house. I think 1 is sufficient.
Any views?
 
1. Up to 11kw and integrated charging
Only question here would be to check that this is not a three-phase charger while you probably want a single-phase. Single-phase chargers would tend to have a maximum charge rate of 7kW, whereas three-phase gets you 11kW+. Also not sure what "integrated charging" means.

2. Add..LAN & WIFI control, via app
Main reasons you might want this would be to start/stop the charge at specific times, eg. if you have a night rate meter though most cars will have a charge timer as an alternative, or to provide some sort of load balancing/control if for instance you have solar panels or a home solar battery. Do you have solar or plan to get it? I added panels and a battery after getting my EV charger and now regret not having got a smarter unit that could have used the extra solar generation intelligently.

3. As above plus RFID acces protection and MID certified energy meter
Only required if in a public place where others may want to use the charger, with or without your permission. So no to this option.

FWIW I put in two Rolec WallPods a few years ago at home, pretty bog standard but they haven't missed a beat - https://www.rolecserv.com/ev-products/WALLPOD:EV


Maybe you could share the chargers you're looking at?
 
If you already have 3 phase power in the house, great, but can be an expensive option to get it in, you have not, plus, 3 phase chargers are more expensive.

I got a tethered Andersen A2, installed last July, they are one of the more expensive options, but in place at the front of the house, it can reach both our EV’s, and they look like a mail box, and come in a several colours to suit your house, and come with 3 years warranty, the tethered cable is not visible when not charging. It has an inbuilt light for plugging in at night. The “hose reel” look, was not for me !


The app can turn on, or off the charger, no need for RFID as, if its turned off, there is no way to activate, other than via the app. Its all wifi controlled.
 
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When you have it in, can you confirm that you cannot use the electric shower while charging. And I can assume you can only charge one car at a time if there are more cars in the family.
 
Thank you all for your replies. I have assumed (I know) that, as a domestic build, we are single phase. I have thought about installing solar panels but not sure. I will consider option 2 just in case. I have no concerns regarding unauthorised charging or charging more than 1 EV. The appearance of the charger is unimportant. FYI, it's an Elli charger for a VW BEV.
Thanks all.
 
There are several EV chargers that can integrate solar PV charging, i don’t know them all, but do know the Zappi, and the Andersen A2, both can manage PV charging, which is probably the “integrated” you were referring to.
roker said:
When you have it in, can you confirm that you cannot use the electric shower while charging. And I can assume you can only charge one car at a time if there are more cars in the family.
Click to expand...
I don’t have any electric showers, got rid of them years ago, however, my understanding with the Andersen, is that the normal charge output of 7kw, is reduced, if a high demand item/s are turned on in the house. The Andersen has load management built in, many others also have this facility, so it would reduce the charge to the car, until the internal household demand, reduces, or stops. This is all automatically done.

In practice, this is a short temporary reduction in charge to the car, so, i have noticed for example if we had a washing machine on at the same time, and say an electric kettle, the charge to the car will reduce, until those items reduce their demand, or are turned off. In practice, we are talking minutes.

Its not in any way an issue for me, as any reduction, is temporary. In any event, most newish EV’s have at least 40 kw batteries, so its going to take 6 hours minimum to charge from empty, so a washing machine on at full spin, only lasts say 15 minutes, and one can schedule charging via the app, to take place at night, or at a time when those household loads are not happening.

I can only charge one of the cars at a time from the charger, i charge once every 6 to 9 days, so its not an issue at all for me. I do have an external weatherproof 3 pin socket- out front, so could in theory, charge the other EV at the same time. As its 3 pin, its a much slower charging rate of around 3kw,so would take more than twice as long to charge the EV, but have never had to do this.
 
Sorry for basic questions....

1. How much approx would it cost for a single charge of a 40kw battery?

2. How much approx would it cost to install a charging system that could utilise the excess solar energy I get from my solar panels (particularly in the summer)?

Just looking for ballpark to see if (2) is worth exploring in more detail.

Thanks in advance.
 
1. €8 on standard rate, €4 on night rate if you have that option.
2. There’s a €600 grant for getting a car charger installed. The type that support managing the charge rate to facilitate solar are a little more expensive to buy, you can see some of the Zappi units are €8-900. Installation cost will depend on how near the charger is going to the meter box or fuse board, but will be a €2-300 anyway. So after the grant you’re looking at €4-600 or so.
 
Slim said:
I'm getting an EV this week. Setting up the order for the charger. Options are, in order of cost:
1. Up to 11kw and integrated charging
2. Add..LAN & WIFI control, via app
3. As above plus RFID acces protection and MID certified energy meter
This will be installed on our private property at the back of the house. I think 1 is sufficient.
Any views?
Click to expand...
how much are vw charging for their charger? you could get an eo mini which would have 1 and 2 for 1200 installed (600 net of grant)
 
I have an EO Mini Pro 2. You don't need access protection via RFID because you can turn the charger off in the app. Mine is installed with load balancing, so if you put on the power shower and the cooker and the washer and the dryer and the microwave and the stereo and all the lights in the house at the same time you're charging, the EO will reduce the power going to the car temporarily.

As others have said, 11kW is a waste of money unless you have 3-phase electricity.
 
jasdpace@gmail. said:
Thanks Zenith - it seems like having the solar connectivity is worthwhile
Click to expand...
Do the maths on it.

How ofter is your car at home during the day when the sun is shining?

How often are you that sure of the above that you don't allow your car to charge the previous night (when electricity is much cheaper).

May make financial sense in some cases but in most it does not.
 
Alkers86 said:
Do the maths on it.

How ofter is your car at home during the day when the sun is shining?

How often are you that sure of the above that you don't allow your car to charge the previous night (when electricity is much cheaper).

May make financial sense in some cases but in most it does not.
Click to expand...
yep, far more likely to make sense to charge on a night rate.
 
fayf said:
There are several EV chargers that can integrate solar PV charging, i don’t know them all, but do know the Zappi, and the Andersen A2, both can manage PV charging, which is probably the “integrated” you were referring to.

I don’t have any electric showers, got rid of them years ago, however, my understanding with the Andersen, is that the normal charge output of 7kw, is reduced, if a high demand item/s are turned on in the house. The Andersen has load management built in, many others also have this facility, so it would reduce the charge to the car, until the internal household demand, reduces, or stops. This is all automatically done.

In practice, this is a short temporary reduction in charge to the car, so, i have noticed for example if we had a washing machine on at the same time, and say an electric kettle, the charge to the car will reduce, until those items reduce their demand, or are turned off. In practice, we are talking minutes.

Its not in any way an issue for me, as any reduction, is temporary. In any event, most newish EV’s have at least 40 kw batteries, so its going to take 6 hours minimum to charge from empty, so a washing machine on at full spin, only lasts say 15 minutes, and one can schedule charging via the app, to take place at night, or at a time when those household loads are not happening.

I can only charge one of the cars at a time from the charger, i charge once every 6 to 9 days, so its not an issue at all for me. I do have an external weatherproof 3 pin socket- out front, so could in theory, charge the other EV at the same time. As its 3 pin, its a much slower charging rate of around 3kw,so would take more than twice as long to charge the EV, but have never had to do this.
Click to expand...
The shower is only 10 min but a washer machine cycle can take hours
 
roker said:
The shower is only 10 min but a washer machine cycle can take hours
Click to expand...
I have monitored this, on the Andersen app, it shows the amount being used at a given time, both the total inside the house and a seperate reading for the external car charging..

We typically use a 105 minute cycle on the washing machine, but this cycle only reaches peak energy usage, for the fast spin towards the end, which is about 15 minutes. So during at least 90 minutes of that wash cycle, there is zero drop off on the 7kw charging.

As i mentioned before, one can schedule the car charging, to take place during the night,
One can also avail of cheaper night rates. In fact, one could pre set the time the washing machine, to start at 23:00, and the car to start charging at 00:15. Etc etc.

Some people have also got a false impression, that you have to charge your EV every day, i charge every 6 to 9 days, i do about 300kms per week, this will increases outside of winter period, that includes a 5 day roundtrip commute of 100kms per week, so it depends on your weekly commute, and average driving mileage of course.
 
fayf said:
I have monitored this, on the Andersen app, it shows the amount being used at a given time, both the total inside the house and a seperate reading for the external car charging..

We typically use a 105 minute cycle on the washing machine, but this cycle only reaches peak energy usage, for the fast spin towards the end, which is about 15 minutes. So during at least 90 minutes of that wash cycle, there is zero drop off on the 7kw charging.

As i mentioned before, one can schedule the car charging, to take place during the night,
One can also avail of cheaper night rates. In fact, one could pre set the time the washing machine, to start at 23:00, and the car to start charging at 00:15. Etc etc.

Some people have also got a false impression, that you have to charge your EV every day, i charge every 6 to 9 days, i do about 300kms per week, this will increases outside of winter period, that includes a 5 day roundtrip commute of 100kms per week, so it depends on your weekly commute, and average driving mileage of course.
Click to expand...
I would think the heater would take more energy than the spin
 
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