Practical advice for an EV owner to be?
Discussion
Hi All,
In March I'll be joining the Plug In Hybrid fold and the reality has just hit that I haven't really thought it through...
Are there any good resources to help with practical advice like Charging whilst out and about? Overnight charging using a timer perhaps? Perks? Any do's and don't's?
That sort of stuff.
I saw a thread about getting multiple charging payment cards but I will be visiting various places around the country so buying dozens of different cards might be impractical...😳
TIA
In March I'll be joining the Plug In Hybrid fold and the reality has just hit that I haven't really thought it through...
Are there any good resources to help with practical advice like Charging whilst out and about? Overnight charging using a timer perhaps? Perks? Any do's and don't's?
That sort of stuff.
I saw a thread about getting multiple charging payment cards but I will be visiting various places around the country so buying dozens of different cards might be impractical...😳
TIA
Lucky chap still getting your i8 in March ?
Its not really going to need much infrastructure - I reckon most will never need to see a charger as the battery-only range is quite low so they will typically only be used in hybrid ie making their own electricity
There's a few sites covering charging points & companies (eg https://www.zap-map.com/ and its parent nextgreencar)
Having said that the London EV card seems to offer free electricity at charging points & may also be nationwide - run form Paris by Bollore - can't remember its trade name
Its not really going to need much infrastructure - I reckon most will never need to see a charger as the battery-only range is quite low so they will typically only be used in hybrid ie making their own electricity
There's a few sites covering charging points & companies (eg https://www.zap-map.com/ and its parent nextgreencar)
Having said that the London EV card seems to offer free electricity at charging points & may also be nationwide - run form Paris by Bollore - can't remember its trade name
Edited by johnnyreggae on Thursday 1st January 10:19
Source London are offering membership for £5 - lasts until September 15
https://www.sourcelondon.net/subscribe
Lots of web forums. Try
speakev.com
https://www.sourcelondon.net/subscribe
Lots of web forums. Try
speakev.com
johnnyreggae said:
Lucky chap still getting your i8 in March ?
Its not really going to need much infrastructure - I reckon most will never need to see a charger as the battery-only range is quite low so they will typically only be used in hybrid ie making their own electricity
There's a few sites covering charging points & companies (eg https://www.zap-map.com/ and its parent nextgreencar)
Having said that the London EV card seems to offer free electricity at charging points & may also be nationwide - run form Paris by Bollore - can't remember its trade name
Thanks for replying...Its not really going to need much infrastructure - I reckon most will never need to see a charger as the battery-only range is quite low so they will typically only be used in hybrid ie making their own electricity
There's a few sites covering charging points & companies (eg https://www.zap-map.com/ and its parent nextgreencar)
Having said that the London EV card seems to offer free electricity at charging points & may also be nationwide - run form Paris by Bollore - can't remember its trade name
Edited by johnnyreggae on Thursday 1st January 10:19
Yes, it was due in July until they called just before Christmas with a new date....felling a bit unprepared now.
My local commute will almost be able to be be completed on a single charge (circa 28 miles return) and most of that will be at 50mph or less so who knows...
There will be a need to travel up to 250 miles per day at times so again, who knows...hopefully this will work well as my daily driver
Does every town have their own charging scheme or is there a national programme I can sign up to?...(just a note to self as I haven't had time to do much research as yet).
The guy at BMW told me about an aftermarket home charging point, is there a common brand that has emerged yet?
Will check out the links and tips, cheers.
deanobeano said:
Source London are offering membership for £5 - lasts until September 15
https://www.sourcelondon.net/subscribe
Lots of web forums. Try
speakev.com
Cheers for that, although I'm not in London but the site were both useful. https://www.sourcelondon.net/subscribe
Lots of web forums. Try
speakev.com
Ta
Free home charger http://www.chargemasterplc.com/index.php/free_home...
Also I think sourcelondon were the people I was thinking about
Do you know if many i8 orders are coming early ? Have only seen a couple on the road
Also I think sourcelondon were the people I was thinking about
Do you know if many i8 orders are coming early ? Have only seen a couple on the road
If you have petrol I really wouldn't faff about charging up whilst out and about. Not worth the hassle (and I speak as a Leaf driver who has no choice!)
Ecotricity are national, on all the motorways. But most of their points are "Rapids" which the i8 can't use. The "Fast" charger sockets which the i8 can plug into are basically only sipping electricity. If you stopped for an hour's lunch you might pull in 25 miles range.
Other than Ecotricity, the closest to a national provider are ChargeYourCar. Their card turns on a lot of the "Source" points which the government paid for. Source East, Source West, Source London. Some of the Plugged In Midlands. But it's hit and miss whether they really will work or not. So I'd never plan to use one, just treat it as a bonus if you can.
Sorry to sound a bit negative, but having a car where I *have* to charge it to keep going I have been through the mill with all the different cards (I also have Polar/ChargerMaster on top of the ones above). If you value your time, I wouldn't bother :-)
Ecotricity are national, on all the motorways. But most of their points are "Rapids" which the i8 can't use. The "Fast" charger sockets which the i8 can plug into are basically only sipping electricity. If you stopped for an hour's lunch you might pull in 25 miles range.
Other than Ecotricity, the closest to a national provider are ChargeYourCar. Their card turns on a lot of the "Source" points which the government paid for. Source East, Source West, Source London. Some of the Plugged In Midlands. But it's hit and miss whether they really will work or not. So I'd never plan to use one, just treat it as a bonus if you can.
Sorry to sound a bit negative, but having a car where I *have* to charge it to keep going I have been through the mill with all the different cards (I also have Polar/ChargerMaster on top of the ones above). If you value your time, I wouldn't bother :-)
pboyall said:
If you have petrol I really wouldn't faff about charging up whilst out and about. Not worth the hassle (and I speak as a Leaf driver who has no choice!)
Ecotricity are national, on all the motorways. But most of their points are "Rapids" which the i8 can't use. The "Fast" charger sockets which the i8 can plug into are basically only sipping electricity. If you stopped for an hour's lunch you might pull in 25 miles range.
Other than Ecotricity, the closest to a national provider are ChargeYourCar. Their card turns on a lot of the "Source" points which the government paid for. Source East, Source West, Source London. Some of the Plugged In Midlands. But it's hit and miss whether they really will work or not. So I'd never plan to use one, just treat it as a bonus if you can.
Sorry to sound a bit negative, but having a car where I *have* to charge it to keep going I have been through the mill with all the different cards (I also have Polar/ChargerMaster on top of the ones above). If you value your time, I wouldn't bother :-)
Yeah I'm not too pushed about topping up whilst on a journey but wouldn't mind doing so whilst I'm at one office or another, I've just been looking in to the nearest charging points, one is described as a 7Kw with a Type 2 socket - Am I able to use this type and if so does that mean it would charge my 7.1kWh battery in an hour?? Ecotricity are national, on all the motorways. But most of their points are "Rapids" which the i8 can't use. The "Fast" charger sockets which the i8 can plug into are basically only sipping electricity. If you stopped for an hour's lunch you might pull in 25 miles range.
Other than Ecotricity, the closest to a national provider are ChargeYourCar. Their card turns on a lot of the "Source" points which the government paid for. Source East, Source West, Source London. Some of the Plugged In Midlands. But it's hit and miss whether they really will work or not. So I'd never plan to use one, just treat it as a bonus if you can.
Sorry to sound a bit negative, but having a car where I *have* to charge it to keep going I have been through the mill with all the different cards (I also have Polar/ChargerMaster on top of the ones above). If you value your time, I wouldn't bother :-)
johnnyreggae said:
Free home charger http://www.chargemasterplc.com/index.php/free_home...
Also I think sourcelondon were the people I was thinking about
Do you know if many i8 orders are coming early ? Have only seen a couple on the road
Here's hoping it arrives before the deal ends then Also I think sourcelondon were the people I was thinking about
Do you know if many i8 orders are coming early ? Have only seen a couple on the road
No idea about any other i8's I'm afraid....am oblivious as to what's going on with anything at the moment :P
pboyall said:
Yep that point should charge you if you take your cable with you.
It will do it in must over the hour, but on the other hand I think you will be lucky to make 28 miles on electric power
Sweet, cheers.It will do it in must over the hour, but on the other hand I think you will be lucky to make 28 miles on electric power
I found this:
1. POLAR Economy Plus Tariff:
Monthly subscription paid by direct debit of £12 per month to include:
20 hours of free 13 amp socket charging (one charging credit per hour), or
13.3 hours Type 2 socket charging (1.5 charging credits per hour), or
2 x 30 minute sessions of triplex rapid chargers (10 charging credits per half hour), or
Any combination of the above to a total of 20 charging credits.
Charging over the free usage is then charged at the following rates:
£0.95 per hour for 13 amp socket chargers (part hours charged pro rata)
£1.45 per hour for Type 2 socket chargers (part hours charged pro rata)
£6 for 30 minutes for triplex rapid chargers (minimum 30 minutes then pro-rata
There's also a PAYG tariff for Type 2 at £1.50 per hour - but then that is almost the same price as fuel at the moment...hmmm.
It's 14 miles to the office so I could plug in at work and park there for the day - which does seem a little unreasonable to hog a space all day but that's what it says to do on the website :/
...I don't know who I'm kidding, I'll be blasting around everywhere so "electric only" won't get much of a look in haha.
So in summary:
I need to consider/arrange:
1. A Home charging solution - The Chargemaster on 16A looks like a simple fit - the 30A would need a big upgrade at home I think.
2. BMW i have a deal with Chargemaster for charging when out and about.
3. It seems you can program the car to charge at certain times to take advantage of off peak electricity
It's going to be interesting to see how this all works in practice when covering up to 16,000 miles a year!
Cheers All.
I need to consider/arrange:
1. A Home charging solution - The Chargemaster on 16A looks like a simple fit - the 30A would need a big upgrade at home I think.
2. BMW i have a deal with Chargemaster for charging when out and about.
3. It seems you can program the car to charge at certain times to take advantage of off peak electricity
It's going to be interesting to see how this all works in practice when covering up to 16,000 miles a year!
Cheers All.
GJOB said:
It's going to be interesting to see how this all works in practice when covering up to 16,000 miles a year!
In reality you have a great car at low bik tax (I assume its a company car) and you will play with chargers for a few weeks then just use it as normal charging at home - the i8 battery range is so low its hardly worth sitting in a services bunny hopping on electricity when you have a petrol engine. GJOB said:
So in summary:
I need to consider/arrange:
1. A Home charging solution - The Chargemaster on 16A looks like a simple fit - the 30A would need a big upgrade at home I think.
2. BMW i have a deal with Chargemaster for charging when out and about.
3. It seems you can program the car to charge at certain times to take advantage of off peak electricity
It's going to be interesting to see how this all works in practice when covering up to 16,000 miles a year!
Cheers All.
1. Understood.I need to consider/arrange:
1. A Home charging solution - The Chargemaster on 16A looks like a simple fit - the 30A would need a big upgrade at home I think.
2. BMW i have a deal with Chargemaster for charging when out and about.
3. It seems you can program the car to charge at certain times to take advantage of off peak electricity
It's going to be interesting to see how this all works in practice when covering up to 16,000 miles a year!
Cheers All.
2. Last time I looked there weren't many options for charging (Leeds)
3. Only if you have economy 7, and only if it works. On the i3 there is a software glitch which is very anoying because I do have economy7 ,, and a 32 amp fast charger ! Hence my earlier comment
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