Charging point on driveway.

[Soupy]

Just had a charging point installed on my driveway, looks okay cost £500 fitted with 3 years parts and labour warranty. Works well and is easier than plugging in to a 3 pin outlet. The bloke who installed the unit said the grants are being dropped from the end of march next year so cost will go up to £800.

 

[markjay]

How many kW?

 

[Wearsthefoxhat]

Thank you for the info.

If this or the next bunch of people in charge want ev’s to be the way forward, that price for a charger will have to drop massively imho.

don’t have one on my shopping list though, but happy to have one at a reasonable price, Sunday lunch ££ or there abouts..

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Thank you for the info.

If this or the next bunch of people in charge want ev’s to be the way forward, that price for a charger will have to drop massively imho.

don’t have one on my shopping list though, but happy to have one at a reasonable price, Sunday lunch ££ or there abouts..

Do they really? I don’t think the cost of installing a home charger is even close to the top of the list of reasons people don’t want to buy an EV. For some maybe, but unlikely to be a big proportion.

I dare say that many of those people that think it’s too much have spent a similar amount on TV(s) in recent years, most of which were replacing TVs which were in perfect working order. Priorities.

 

[daveenty]

I had mine (Project EV) fitted the on same day I got the e-Golf back in May by a mate of mine who went on a course specifically to fit them. He is a fully qualified spark but had to attend to achieve the accreditation necessary for domestic and commercial installations apparently.

A lot of complicated things took place in the meter box, I know not what they were as I don't mix well with electric things, but a lot more stuff has appeared in there. All I know is that I now have the ability to charge my car at 7.2kW at no cost to myself as I was basically a guinea pig and he's claimed the rebate back himself to compensate. Apparently someone from the governing body, whoever they may be, will be round to check the installation out in the near future, but no date for that as yet.

To be honest, it's totally unnecessary here as I've not done 250 miles in the car since I bought it 5 months ago. It's been on charge a total of 9.5 hours in my tenure which is actually more that it's needed though will be getting used for a few little trips in the next couple of weeks.

In reality, the 13amp granny cable which came with the car would have been more than adequate but I wasn't going to refuse a free offer. It looks pretty good on the wall as well, under the car port so out of the serious weather but built to handle it allegedly...

 

[Soupy]

The charger is a Pulsar Plus SN 154134 max current 31. Cost is okay, it is an investment and when I sell the house it adds value. How much do people pay for a phone upgrade ? In excess of £800. I have heard that new build property have to have a charger installed but the installers are charging a monthly rental so fitting your own will work out cheaper and you can take it with you if you move.

 

[markjay]

Thank you for the info.

If this or the next bunch of people in charge want ev’s to be the way forward, that price for a charger will have to drop massively imho.

don’t have one on my shopping list though, but happy to have one at a reasonable price, Sunday lunch ££ or there abouts..

As long as they don't start taxing electricity for EVs (and I don't see how they can), the cost of installing the charger at home will be recouped probably within tbe first year (depending on the mileage covered).

My EV averages at 4 miles per kW, which from a home charger will typically cost 17p per kW, so just over 4p per mile.

My W204 with the 1.6L petrol engine does about 6 mile per litre on average, so roughly 22p per mile (at 1.35 per liter).

With the discrepancy in cost being 18p per mile, the £800 installation charge will be paid-off in full after the first 4,400 miles.

After that, it's pure saving of 18p per mile....

And that's before the zero VED, and 1% BIK (if applicable).

Additionally, EVs are considerably cheaper on annual servicing than ICE cars.

That said, the initial buying price is obviously higher.

 

[markjay]

The charger is a Pulsar Plus SN 154134 max current 31. Cost is okay, it is an investment and when I sell the house it adds value. How much do people pay for a phone upgrade ? In excess of £800. I have heard that new build property have to have a charger installed but the installers are charging a monthly rental so fitting your own will work out cheaper and you can take it with you if you move.

The Pulsar Plus is a 7.4kW charger, which is very nice. Charging from a normal wall plug only provides 2.3kW max, so your charging time will now be significantly reduce.

 

[Wearsthefoxhat]

I am still eyeing up my next petrol ICE, just have my own stupid ideas as to why I shan’t get one for the foreseeable..

 

[BTB 500]

Do they really? I don’t think the cost of installing a home charger is even close to the top of the list of reasons people don’t want to buy an EV. For some maybe, but unlikely to be a big proportion.

Regardless of the cost quite a lot of people don't have their own garage or driveway (particularly in urban areas, where EVs make a lot of sense).

 

[Chrishazle]

Despite having a 3 phase power supply to our house, plus a suitable place for the charger and either driveway or in garage charging, the cost to change either of our ICE cars to suitable electrics is prohibitive. Plus if you look at the lifetime cost of batteries for EV's (whether hybrid or pure EV) IMHO electric is not the future, hydrogen is. I'll not be looking to change either car to electric of any variety in our lifetime!

 

[Wagon]

I have an Octavia IV plug in on order as my next company car so I'm interested in the various home charge setups , luckily my company will front the payment.. (should arrive Feb)
I look to be saving around £4500 in tax over the 3 year lease so its a no brainer .
Skoda via VW leasing are doing some mega deals at the moment , over £100 per month cheaper than my quote from Arval , its £345 plus vat a month on a 3 up front 3 year lease @ 30k miles a year for an SE tech/metallic with winter pack and adaptive cruise , a golf style plug in in stock spec was £414.. I'm looking forward to it

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Regardless of the cost quite a lot of people don't have their own garage or driveway (particularly in urban areas, where EVs make a lot of sense).

Agreed, that’s a barrier to entry for some. But not the cost of a charger.

 

[Doodle]

He is a fully qualified spark but had to attend to achieve the accreditation necessary for domestic and commercial installations apparently.

Which is frankly ****ing laughable, as the reality is that it's no different whatsoever to normal sparky work that your mate will be able to do in his sleep.

The "accreditation" is a transparent excuse to print money, no doubt with a fat backhander to the people responsible for cooking up the legislation.

 

[John]

Despite having a 3 phase power supply to our house, plus a suitable place for the charger and either driveway or in garage charging, the cost to change either of our ICE cars to suitable electrics is prohibitive. Plus if you look at the lifetime cost of batteries for EV's (whether hybrid or pure EV) IMHO electric is not the future, hydrogen is. I'll not be looking to change either car to electric of any variety in our lifetime!

I saw a news item recently where they were talking about a bus company converting diesel engines to Hydrogen to trial them.

They stated that as long as the Hydrogen is responsibly made it was seemingly identical in performance (distance to a tank full / ability of the bus / speed to fill up etc.) to diesel without the harmful emissions.

So I'm starting to wonder if Hydrogen cars are the way forward - presumably once Hydrogen can be transported safely in a vehicle although petrol is hardly safe.

Interesting...

 

[markjay]

Agreed, that’s a barrier to entry for some. But not the cost of a charger.

As I mentioned in other threads, here in London, a few years ago Westminster Council introduced lamppost chargers (5.5kW) which work amazingly well for people like myself who live in a flat and park in the street.

The only downside compared to home chargers, is the price of electricity - it's 24p per kWh from the lamppost charger, while (depending on your price plan) home electricity can be as cheap as 12p per kWh.

 

[markjay]

I saw a news item recently where they were talking about a bus company converting diesel engines to Hydrogen to trial them.

They stated that as long as the Hydrogen is responsibly made it was seemingly identical in performance (distance to a tank full / ability of the bus / speed to fill up etc.) to diesel without the harmful emissions.

So I'm starting to wonder if Hydrogen cars are the way forward - presumably once Hydrogen can be transported safely in a vehicle although petrol is hardly safe.

Interesting...

I think you will find that it's not always the better technology that triumphs (e.g. the often-mentioned Betamax vs. VHS).

Both Electrically and Hydrogen powered cars were 'on the cards' for very many years... with prototypes developed for both as early as the nineteenth century.

But the automotive giants were dragging their heels over this, with the odd electric or fuel cell prototype being paraded in front of journalists from time to time, but no real progress made.

Elon Musk was the man who went all-in on electric cars, and changed the automotive industry landscape forever.

Hydrogen might be the better technology, but the future of vehicle propulsion may have already been set by those who went and did it, rather than just talk about it. .

 

[Chrishazle]

presumably once Hydrogen can be transported safely in a vehicle although petrol is hardly safe.

Interesting...

They have been safely transporting LNG under pressure on our roads for years - not just little bottles for caravans and BBQ's, but decent sized tankers for people living where there is no piped gas supply and decide on having a big gas tank in their back garden rather than a big oil tank!

 

[BTB 500]

They have been safely transporting LNG under pressure on our roads for years - not just little bottles for caravans and BBQ's, but decent sized tankers for people living where there is no piped gas supply and decide on having a big gas tank in their back garden rather than a big oil tank!

Hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicles have been around for a good while now - I took the pictures below in London back in 2005. Toyota have been selling their Mirai since 2014, and Hyundai the Nexo since 2019.


their Nexo

 

[markjay]

There are over 9,000 busses in London. About half of them are diesel, and half are hybrid or full-electric.

There were two experimental Hydrogen busses in use, and in July the Mayor of London announced the introduction of 20 new Hydrogen buses, of which 8 are currently operational and the rest will be added to the fleet in 2022.

Given that the full-elecrtic bus fleet is already nearing the 500 mark, Hydrogen will have some catching up to do.