First EV, need a charger - any deals or electric suppliers?
Discussion
Hey gang,
Have a new Tesla coming next week, and need to sort a home charger.
Before I just buy one for £££ and pay for a sparkie to install it, i recall a deal with a energy supplier (octopus?) a year or so ago where they would install the EV charger and offer you cheaper night charging.
So, 2 questions:
1. Rather than buying a £500 Tesla charger and then a local sparkie to install it, are there any all in deals to consider for the charger alone?
2. We are due an energy supplier change anyway, any to consider/avoid for home EV charging?
Thanks
Have a new Tesla coming next week, and need to sort a home charger.
Before I just buy one for £££ and pay for a sparkie to install it, i recall a deal with a energy supplier (octopus?) a year or so ago where they would install the EV charger and offer you cheaper night charging.
So, 2 questions:
1. Rather than buying a £500 Tesla charger and then a local sparkie to install it, are there any all in deals to consider for the charger alone?
2. We are due an energy supplier change anyway, any to consider/avoid for home EV charging?
Thanks
1) There are fixed price offers of around £900 installed floating around, but they tend to have limitations (no more than 10m of pipe, XX holes, etc). You sometimes get a choice of chargers. Nobody is giving them out free, unless it’s from the manufacturer or part of the vehicle lease.
2) There are a few options, but may be worth waiting until post 1st April as prices are changing (apparently). Some suppliers need a certain charger, plus a smart meter. Some can do it off the car and the charger doesn’t matter.
FYI - the Tesla charger is good, but it doesn’t have built in pen fault detection. This is a requirement (unless you are on a TT earthing arrangement) so you will either need a separate device to provide this upstream, or an earth rod fitted. Most other chargers have pen fault detection built in so it’s just extra cost.
2) There are a few options, but may be worth waiting until post 1st April as prices are changing (apparently). Some suppliers need a certain charger, plus a smart meter. Some can do it off the car and the charger doesn’t matter.
FYI - the Tesla charger is good, but it doesn’t have built in pen fault detection. This is a requirement (unless you are on a TT earthing arrangement) so you will either need a separate device to provide this upstream, or an earth rod fitted. Most other chargers have pen fault detection built in so it’s just extra cost.
Hi. I am in a similar position as just got my tesla and trying to sort out home charging.
When purchasing a new tesla, you usually get some credits/points on your account depending on the offer at the time - I received 15000 credits - you can then use these to redeem for rewards such as "free supercharging miles" or accessories. One of options is to get a Tesla wall connector (costing 9000 credits) so I think I will end up doing this - effectively I will get a charger for free and will just have to pay for installation.
There may be other options but thought I would mention the above.
When purchasing a new tesla, you usually get some credits/points on your account depending on the offer at the time - I received 15000 credits - you can then use these to redeem for rewards such as "free supercharging miles" or accessories. One of options is to get a Tesla wall connector (costing 9000 credits) so I think I will end up doing this - effectively I will get a charger for free and will just have to pay for installation.
There may be other options but thought I would mention the above.
I'm not sure if it's a "deal" exactly, but Octopus will supply and install Ohme chargers and put you on Intelligent Octopus which gives six hours cheap every night (and sometimes more).
https://octopus.energy/get-an-ev-charger/
I've got the Ohme ePod and it's great.
https://octopus.energy/get-an-ev-charger/
I've got the Ohme ePod and it's great.
A Tesla should come with a Tesla Mobile Connector (TMC). It’ll plug into a 3 pin plug the same as a granny charger but it will also do the full 7kw/32 amps that a home charger would do, if you add the Commando socket adaptor which some cars also came with.
Cheapest option for fast home Tesla charging would be adding a 32 amp circuit to your consumer unit, terminated with a 20 quid switched blue commando socket. I did mine like this and it worked fine.
Cheapest option for fast home Tesla charging would be adding a 32 amp circuit to your consumer unit, terminated with a 20 quid switched blue commando socket. I did mine like this and it worked fine.
Do you think you will stay with Tesla for the foreseeable future? If not, it may be worth looking at an alternative like an Ohme, Zappi or Wallbox which are compatible with octopus intelligent even if the car isn't. Tesla can communicate with Octopus and take advantage of smart tariffs with any charger but many other manufacturers can't as they do not have access to the API. For the small difference in cost it may be worth future proofing at this stage rather than having to replace it 3 years down the line.
I have an Ohme which I use with my Polestar and Octopus Intelligent with no issues.
I have an Ohme which I use with my Polestar and Octopus Intelligent with no issues.
sidekickdmr said:
"When purchasing a new tesla, you usually get some credits/points on your account"
No mention of that anywhere in my buying process, how did you get the points and when?
I wasn't aware but saw the credits under the tesla app under "refer and earn tab". Was a welcome surprise. No mention of that anywhere in my buying process, how did you get the points and when?
I noticed points about a week after I received the car (they may have posted earlier but I never specifically checked and only stumbled upon them by accident).
There is more information here (https://www.tesla.com/en_gb/support/refer-and-earn) but best to go on your app/to your account where they will have more information.
I would recommend Octopus Intelligent as this gives you 6 hours (at least) at 7.5p / kWh. If you need more, e.g. going from 5% to 100% then it will adjust your cheap rate period accordingly.
If you have, or planning to have solar, the Zappi charger is generally seen as the preferred option.
For just a basic charger, there are deals such as this one, so you are looking at about £800
https://evec.co.uk/7-4kw-domestic-ev-charger-insta...
The Tesla charger is a decent unit, but does require additional PEN protection for the install e.g. an earth rod
If you have, or planning to have solar, the Zappi charger is generally seen as the preferred option.
For just a basic charger, there are deals such as this one, so you are looking at about £800
https://evec.co.uk/7-4kw-domestic-ev-charger-insta...
The Tesla charger is a decent unit, but does require additional PEN protection for the install e.g. an earth rod
Mo-mo said:
sidekickdmr said:
"When purchasing a new tesla, you usually get some credits/points on your account"
No mention of that anywhere in my buying process, how did you get the points and when?
I wasn't aware but saw the credits under the tesla app under "refer and earn tab". Was a welcome surprise. No mention of that anywhere in my buying process, how did you get the points and when?
I noticed points about a week after I received the car (they may have posted earlier but I never specifically checked and only stumbled upon them by accident).
There is more information here (https://www.tesla.com/en_gb/support/refer-and-earn) but best to go on your app/to your account where they will have more information.
df76 said:
These are still good value. https://marketing.powerverse.com/powerverse-limite...
I got mine just over 2 weeks ago. Seems fine so far and as you said, good value. Been meaning to post a review of it on here. Took about 5 weeks from initial order to install. andy43 said:
Cheapest option for fast home Tesla charging would be adding a 32 amp circuit to your consumer unit, terminated with a 20 quid switched blue commando socket. I did mine like this and it worked fine.
Noting that the Commando socket needs to be installed with suitable PEN fault mitigation, or an earth rod.Sockets intended for EV charging should be installed to the same standards as a 'full' EVSE.
No ideas for a name said:
andy43 said:
Cheapest option for fast home Tesla charging would be adding a 32 amp circuit to your consumer unit, terminated with a 20 quid switched blue commando socket. I did mine like this and it worked fine.
Noting that the Commando socket needs to be installed with suitable PEN fault mitigation, or an earth rod.Sockets intended for EV charging should be installed to the same standards as a 'full' EVSE.
SeeNoWeevil said:
The lead time for charger installs is insane from what I've seen so far. Octopus quoted me 12-16 weeks. I've booked a Zapi with myenergy directly although still unsure how long it's going to take, over a month I think.
They put that for me as well when I looked at them. My energy contract doesn't finish until August so it wasn't a show stopper for me, plus I can charge at work.But - I ordered a Zappi from them on the 10th March and it's being installed on the 25th March, so only two weeks in the end.
Octopus quoted me ten weeks to install an Ohme e-pod. Two days after I paid they emailed to say we’ll be with you next week. I suspect the £899 option will do most people. I think it’s drill through one external wall and ten metres of cabling. They actually drilled through two for mine so they could feed the cable into the porch where I wanted it installed. First charge coming up this afternoon.
Dolf Stoppard said:
Octopus quoted me ten weeks to install an Ohme e-pod. Two days after I paid they emailed to say we’ll be with you next week. I suspect the £899 option will do most people. I think it’s drill through one external wall and ten metres of cabling. They actually drilled through two for mine so they could feed the cable into the porch where I wanted it installed. First charge coming up this afternoon.
I was similar timing with octopus. Paid slightly more though as I went for tethered with the longer cable and surge protector andy43 said:
Based on the Tesla charger being capable of plugging into a 13 amp socket as well as a 32 amp commando socket run off the same rcd in the same consumer unit I can’t see the difference, unless I’m missing something?
The risk is there for either - see below: (borrowed from the excellent Jeremy Harris on Speak EV)...Jeremy Harris on Speak EV said:
The open PEN fault risk is the same with a granny lead as it is with a non-open PEN fault protected charge point. All outlets intended for charging EVs (not just charge points) are supposed to comply with BS7671:2018 Section 722, but the reality is that many do not, and anyway, there is an argument that an outlet installed to run a Class 2 appliance (like a lawnmower) doesn't need open PEN fault protection (as there are no exposed conductive parts), so the outlet could be said to be compliant with the regs if it wasn't put in specifically for car charging.
The regs do not apply to the granny lead itself, as it's not installed electrical equipment, it's classed as an appliance. That doesn't change anything in terms of the possible risk, but does mean that there is no obligation on granny lead manufacturers to put in any protection measures that may be required by the wiring regs.
In practice, the view regarding appliances that connect to any outdoor exposed conductive part is that the outlet supplying them should have open PEN fault protection. This goes back way before EVs, and includes things like metal framed greenhouses, metal buildings, caravans and hot tubs, all of which really need open PEN fault protection and have done for many years (not that it's ever been formalised in the wiring regs, though, it was always just a "good practice" thing, or sometimes in the MIs for things like hot tubs and caravan hook up boxes).
In terms of risk, no one has yet really done much about the risk that granny leads present, because the assumption is that they are really a "get out of jail" device, that won't be used very often. The theory is reasonable, we get around 300 to 500 open PEN faults a year, and each only usually lasts a very short time. The probability of someone using a granny lead at the same time as their supply has an open PEN fault, and at the same time as someone is standing on the ground and touching the car, is assumed to be very low, much lower than for a fixed charge point that may be in use for several hours every day. Of course, if someone chooses to use a granny lead as their only, or primary, means of charging then the risk is actually greater than that from a fixed charge point, just because the charge rate is lower so the time plugged in is much longer.
The car being a big metal thing, worst case, an open PEN fault will make the body live and you will get a whack (being stood on earth).The regs do not apply to the granny lead itself, as it's not installed electrical equipment, it's classed as an appliance. That doesn't change anything in terms of the possible risk, but does mean that there is no obligation on granny lead manufacturers to put in any protection measures that may be required by the wiring regs.
In practice, the view regarding appliances that connect to any outdoor exposed conductive part is that the outlet supplying them should have open PEN fault protection. This goes back way before EVs, and includes things like metal framed greenhouses, metal buildings, caravans and hot tubs, all of which really need open PEN fault protection and have done for many years (not that it's ever been formalised in the wiring regs, though, it was always just a "good practice" thing, or sometimes in the MIs for things like hot tubs and caravan hook up boxes).
In terms of risk, no one has yet really done much about the risk that granny leads present, because the assumption is that they are really a "get out of jail" device, that won't be used very often. The theory is reasonable, we get around 300 to 500 open PEN faults a year, and each only usually lasts a very short time. The probability of someone using a granny lead at the same time as their supply has an open PEN fault, and at the same time as someone is standing on the ground and touching the car, is assumed to be very low, much lower than for a fixed charge point that may be in use for several hours every day. Of course, if someone chooses to use a granny lead as their only, or primary, means of charging then the risk is actually greater than that from a fixed charge point, just because the charge rate is lower so the time plugged in is much longer.
Edited by guitarcarfanatic on Saturday 16th March 14:11
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