2nd home charger
Discussion
Sorry if this has been asked before ....
The wife has a BMW i3 which we have a chargemaster charger installed (with the grant). I have now taken delivery of a Cayenne hybrid which I would like to charge at home from time to time. The first charger is in a garage which is perfect for the I3, but is a very tight squeeze for the Cayenne and there are likely to be times when we would wish to charge both at the same time.
My first thought was get a second charger installed, by BP Chargemaster have said the Porsche doesn't qualify for the OLEV grant so BP chargemaster was £354 installation + £800 for the charger, plus another £75 for the site survey (even though they fitted the original one !!). SO my questions are :
1. Is there a more affordable option ?
2. Does anyone offer a dual socket charger
3. I work from home, so could I fit a 'work' charger ?
When the original unit was fitted, we had to get an electrician to run a separate supply direct from our house fuse box to the detached garage which has its own fuse box.... i dont think we have 3 phase.
When I spoke to chargemaster, they mentioned that we may have to have a 3.5kw charger rather than a 7w charger as the second one. Any help graefully received !!!
The wife has a BMW i3 which we have a chargemaster charger installed (with the grant). I have now taken delivery of a Cayenne hybrid which I would like to charge at home from time to time. The first charger is in a garage which is perfect for the I3, but is a very tight squeeze for the Cayenne and there are likely to be times when we would wish to charge both at the same time.
My first thought was get a second charger installed, by BP Chargemaster have said the Porsche doesn't qualify for the OLEV grant so BP chargemaster was £354 installation + £800 for the charger, plus another £75 for the site survey (even though they fitted the original one !!). SO my questions are :
1. Is there a more affordable option ?
2. Does anyone offer a dual socket charger
3. I work from home, so could I fit a 'work' charger ?
When the original unit was fitted, we had to get an electrician to run a separate supply direct from our house fuse box to the detached garage which has its own fuse box.... i dont think we have 3 phase.
When I spoke to chargemaster, they mentioned that we may have to have a 3.5kw charger rather than a 7w charger as the second one. Any help graefully received !!!
With the hybrid having a much smaller battery doesn't it also come with a 3-pin plug granny charger? Not worth just installing a weatherproof socket somewhere and charging it with that? Or get a longer 10m cable?
The OLEV grant afaik is one per household - so even if the Porsche was an eligible vehicle itself, you aren't eligible for another grant.
We're having some dual-head untethered 22kW AC chargers installed at work - but they're several thousand pounds.
The OLEV grant afaik is one per household - so even if the Porsche was an eligible vehicle itself, you aren't eligible for another grant.
We're having some dual-head untethered 22kW AC chargers installed at work - but they're several thousand pounds.
Think it'll only charge at 16A (3.6kW) anyway so no real benefit to a 7kW one other than flexibility for any future cars. Outside socket and use the granny lead is the cheap way, but unless you have somewhere weatherproof for the lead and unit to live (or faff about unplugging and putting away every day) it may not last a long time.
Had a look at the OLEV list and it's odd that the Panamera is on there, but not the Cayenne. You can have two grant-funded points per household as long as you have two qualifying cars.
If you don't qualify then better to go to an electrician than one of the big charging companies, who are mostly interested in grabbing the OLEV money on straightforward quick installs. You also won't need to meet the OLEV requirement for a "smart" charging point which will reduce the cost of the unit - plus with companies like Rolec they offer more colours (as they only went through OLEV approval for one model) which can look smarter on the outside of your house. And a general electrician will probably do a much neater job for you, and work through any other issues - two cars pulling 32A each may cause issues if you have other high-demand stuff in the house but this can be mitigated with things like priority units that can cut power if everything was on at once.
When I was looking for one Rolec put me in touch with a local electrician who installed for them - didn't use them in the end as the job was simpler than I though and I did qualify for OLEV but worth looking further than the big charge point companies if you do have anything more complex.
Had a look at the OLEV list and it's odd that the Panamera is on there, but not the Cayenne. You can have two grant-funded points per household as long as you have two qualifying cars.
If you don't qualify then better to go to an electrician than one of the big charging companies, who are mostly interested in grabbing the OLEV money on straightforward quick installs. You also won't need to meet the OLEV requirement for a "smart" charging point which will reduce the cost of the unit - plus with companies like Rolec they offer more colours (as they only went through OLEV approval for one model) which can look smarter on the outside of your house. And a general electrician will probably do a much neater job for you, and work through any other issues - two cars pulling 32A each may cause issues if you have other high-demand stuff in the house but this can be mitigated with things like priority units that can cut power if everything was on at once.
When I was looking for one Rolec put me in touch with a local electrician who installed for them - didn't use them in the end as the job was simpler than I though and I did qualify for OLEV but worth looking further than the big charge point companies if you do have anything more complex.
Edited by sjg on Tuesday 21st May 10:41
Your home has approx 100amps going to it. A typical 7.2kW fast charger uses up to 32amps. You cannot have another charger that charges at the same rate because the rest of your power is required for your home.
We do not fit Chargemaster chargers but with ours we fit 2 x 7.2kW chargers and connect with an automatic load management device which means two cars will either be charged at half the rate at the same time or one charged first and then the other. I don't know if Chargemaster have this option.
Hope that helps.
We do not fit Chargemaster chargers but with ours we fit 2 x 7.2kW chargers and connect with an automatic load management device which means two cars will either be charged at half the rate at the same time or one charged first and then the other. I don't know if Chargemaster have this option.
Hope that helps.
kuro68k said:
It's probably either the emissions or the range on battery alone that disqualify it.
£800 is rather a lot, you should be able to get a charger for a lot less than that.
Its the engines. Same as the RR Hybrid. You can't just put a battery in car with a big petrol/diesel engine and call it 'green'. £800 does sound a bit pricey though.£800 is rather a lot, you should be able to get a charger for a lot less than that.
sjg said:
Think it'll only charge at 16A (3.6kW) anyway so no real benefit to a 7kW one other than flexibility for any future cars. Outside socket and use the granny lead is the cheap way, but unless you have somewhere weatherproof for the lead and unit to live (or faff about unplugging and putting away every day) it may not last a long time.
Had a look at the OLEV list and it's odd that the Panamera is on there, but not the Cayenne. You can have two grant-funded points per household as long as you have two qualifying cars.
If you don't qualify then better to go to an electrician than one of the big charging companies, who are mostly interested in grabbing the OLEV money on straightforward quick installs. You also won't need to meet the OLEV requirement for a "smart" charging point which will reduce the cost of the unit - plus with companies like Rolec they offer more colours (as they only went through OLEV approval for one model) which can look smarter on the outside of your house. And a general electrician will probably do a much neater job for you, and work through any other issues - two cars pulling 32A each may cause issues if you have other high-demand stuff in the house but this can be mitigated with things like priority units that can cut power if everything was on at once.
When I was looking for one Rolec put me in touch with a local electrician who installed for them - didn't use them in the end as the job was simpler than I though and I did qualify for OLEV but worth looking further than the big charge point companies if you do have anything more complex.
Always buy a 7.2kW one even if you don't need it now. You'll have a care with a bigger battery in the future and you don't want to pay again to upgrade.Had a look at the OLEV list and it's odd that the Panamera is on there, but not the Cayenne. You can have two grant-funded points per household as long as you have two qualifying cars.
If you don't qualify then better to go to an electrician than one of the big charging companies, who are mostly interested in grabbing the OLEV money on straightforward quick installs. You also won't need to meet the OLEV requirement for a "smart" charging point which will reduce the cost of the unit - plus with companies like Rolec they offer more colours (as they only went through OLEV approval for one model) which can look smarter on the outside of your house. And a general electrician will probably do a much neater job for you, and work through any other issues - two cars pulling 32A each may cause issues if you have other high-demand stuff in the house but this can be mitigated with things like priority units that can cut power if everything was on at once.
When I was looking for one Rolec put me in touch with a local electrician who installed for them - didn't use them in the end as the job was simpler than I though and I did qualify for OLEV but worth looking further than the big charge point companies if you do have anything more complex.
Edited by sjg on Tuesday 21st May 10:41
You don't need a smart charger ...yet. And yes, the main players may just want to fit the charger and if any other electrical work is required you have to sort that yourself, hence why other players may be better options.
Thanks for all your comments and help ....
The outside plug option, probably will be cheaper, but don't fancy leaving all the 'porsche' charging cables etc outside to the elements ... I suspect the cost of replacing these would make the £800 look cheap !!
Frimley111R - do you fit these ? You mention in your post that 'we do not fit...' Having two charges which 'manage the charge between the two cars seems like a good solution. Any recommendations of who may sell /supply/fit this kind of arrangement ?
Many thanks
The outside plug option, probably will be cheaper, but don't fancy leaving all the 'porsche' charging cables etc outside to the elements ... I suspect the cost of replacing these would make the £800 look cheap !!
Frimley111R - do you fit these ? You mention in your post that 'we do not fit...' Having two charges which 'manage the charge between the two cars seems like a good solution. Any recommendations of who may sell /supply/fit this kind of arrangement ?
Many thanks
powling said:
Frimley111R - do you fit these ? You mention in your post that 'we do not fit...' Having two charges which 'manage the charge between the two cars seems like a good solution. Any recommendations of who may sell /supply/fit this kind of arrangement ?
Many thanks
Chargers yes but not the Chargemaster ones. The tech that connects them will be bespoke for their own chargers so see if they have a device to connect them. If they don't you either need 2 new chargers and an ALM to connect or you simply charge one at a time. You'll have used your OLEV grant up on one car too don't forget.Many thanks
You can install what chargers/capacity you like within reason as long as you manage your load and it all complies with the various regs.
You can also ask the electricity board to upgrade your main fuse etc if practicable and within the consumer board ratings etc.
When I had 3 phase installed Power Grid were going to put in 60A fuses per phase. I asked the man nicely and he put in 100A ones.
You can also ask the electricity board to upgrade your main fuse etc if practicable and within the consumer board ratings etc.
When I had 3 phase installed Power Grid were going to put in 60A fuses per phase. I asked the man nicely and he put in 100A ones.
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