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Home charging installation cost vs. Rapid charge (Living in a Flat)

ksadd123

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Location
Sheffield
Just moved into a flat. It going to cost £570 after tax credit for Rolec charging box.(Landlord forcing me yo use the own electricians)
  1. Is it worth it if I stay here maybe a year or can I depend on rapid charge and few hours of Tesco 7kw charge per week?
  2. Is the money saved charging at home makes it worth the £570.
  3. Can someone with an EV only depends on Rapid charge stations or battery suffers? Thanks
 
If you are paying for the installation, you are just putting value on the landlords property. If you can get away with public charging go that way. This depends on your daily/weekly driving range. Have you got a handy outside point for the granny charger for a top up at home
 
1. If you use Tesco charger, although it's generally free to use you were to use it for an hour you wont get a great deal of charge (mileage)
2. It will be depending on the amount of miles you do
3. Not sure what you mean? Do you mean is it ok for the battery to rely on rapid charging?
 
The landlord is being tight, a 7kw charger would add value. But it all Depends on miles covered per week.

If your using BP Pulse - its 15p or 27p (if it is a 150kw unit) and £8 per month and cover 150miles (50kw based on 3miles per kw), you would pay £486 or £798 on rapid charging. If you do two charges at home for 4 hours (56kw) and on octopus go 5p - The electric cost is £146. Without miles, it's hard to say....
 
Thanks.

I normally do about 30+ miles week day when working in office. Not now but probably be back in office in April.

I also travel to London 1x a month. +/- 175miles.


I am worried if I do not charge at home , does using rapid charging 2x a week degrades the battery quicker.

I would like to own car for a long time.

Thanks
 
Thanks.

I normally do about 30+ miles week day when working in office. Not now but probably be back in office in April.

I also travel to London 1x a month. +/- 175miles.

I would like to own car for a long time.

I saw the 3months free for BP. I live near Sheffield City center area and there is no BP Pulse point close enough for me or along my work route.
 
For the Granny charger I was happy for landlord to give me approval to install point before I knew about using they win electrician but I live on the 1st floor so would have get an approve extension running out my window.

Maybe it might be better to have electrician install a regular outlet and use it for granny charging.

Thanks for help.
 
The BP pulse free for 3 months is the £8 per month subscription for free, not the electricity as well unfortunately. Thats only a £24 saving....

The above maths is virtually spot on, so if you are staying in that flat, either get something fitted for under £400, or rapid charging will be cheaper.

Or get that landlord to fit a proper 7kw charger. Tell the landlord that if he fits one, on the next tenancy he can charge more in rent (like £10-25 per month more) as it will be an added feature and pay itself off easily after 3years in extra rent at £25 per month. "And i can help you get an extra £300 off the charger with the olev/ozev grant" might help as well.
 
Thanks.

I normally do about 30+ miles week day when working in office. Not now but probably be back in office in April.

I also travel to London 1x a month. +/- 175miles.


I am worried if I do not charge at home , does using rapid charging 2x a week degrades the battery quicker.

I would like to own car for a long time.

Thanks
I don’t know but might be worth asking a separate question on here and I’m sure you’ll find an answer
 
Hi

I just moved into a flat. It going to cost £570 after tax credit for Rolec charging box. (Landlord forcing me yo use the own electricians or |I would have gone to one of the online installers that offer lower upfront cost)
  1. Is it worth it if I stay here maybe a 1 yr to 18 months or can I depend on rapid charge and few hours of Tesco 7kw charge per week?
  2. Is the money saved charging at home makes it worth the £920 (before gov grant if qualified).
  3. Can someone with an EV only depends on Rapid charge stations or will the battery suffer in the long run? Thanks
I do have off street parking where a charging point can be installed.
Hi,
I also live where I cant charge at home. I am fortunate that the local council have been a bit proactive and have a program of installing Polar 7kw posts with protected parking bays which means instant removal of ICEcars). They are funded from the government's public charging subsidy scheme. I contacted the council and learned that they are prioritising areas where people own electric cars.
I pay Polar just under £8 p/m and so far there has been no charge for the energy. I know that PodPoint are also supplying the borough next door on a similar basis.
It might be worth contacting your local council and asking them what plans they have before paying out - I have managed 1p per mile over the past year including a few rapids when on long journeys.
 
Firstly, I moved your thread here assuming you have a ZS EV. If you have an MG5, let me know and I'll move it to that forum instead.
If you can edit your preferences to select which car you have from the list, it will help in the future.

Just moved into a flat. It going to cost £570 after tax credit for Rolec charging box.(Landlord forcing me yo use the own electricians)
I was in this situation. I was about a mile from a free public car park with multiple free 7kw chargers in it. I would park there and plug in and walk or cycle back, leaving the car there for 4-5 hours. And then occasionally charge at rapids when needed.
Is it worth it if I stay here maybe a year or can I depend on rapid charge and few hours of Tesco 7kw charge per week?
Only you know whether it's worth £570 to avoid the hassle of not being able to charge at home. And only you know how much inconvenience it's going to be to rely on public chargers.
Would your landlord chip in because leaving the charger there will increase the value of the property?
Is the money saved charging at home makes it worth the £570.
That depends on the cost of charging publicly vs the cost of charging at home plus £570. In 1 year, I doubt it would be cheaper to charge at home. Do you have a smart meter? can you go on a tariff which is cheaper at night and charge then? Are there any free 7kw chargers near (walking/cycling distance from) your home or work? You're going to have to do some maths based on what you expect will happen to get a rough idea.
Can someone with an EV only depends on Rapid charge stations or battery suffers? Thanks
It's better for battery health not to rely on rapids, but it won't kill your car. You could also ask you employer whether they could install a charge post in their car park if they have one.

If it was me, and there is no way you can get an extension lead out of a window to charge your car with a normal 13a supply (is what I did in my last 2 places before this one and now I put the granny lead under the garage door), and I knew I was going to be living somewhere for a year, I would get the cheapest wall charger possible.
I would try my hardest to persuade the landlord to go halves.
 
Last edited:
If its any help, I don't have on street parking but do have a granny socket on our outside wall, and use a decent cable cover to cross the pavement to charge overnight. But I am using it less and less because of the proximity to street chargers. We have 5 Ecotricity lampost chargers in 5min walking distance and it's just a bit more convenient. Granted we live in London and Hammersmith council have been very proactive about installing them all over. I dont pay a monthly free, just about £10 for each full charge if its completely empty.
 
Thanks guys. I will have a conversation with landlord.

I can at least ask for granny socket to be installed. It will be a lot cheaper.
 
Ask to have one of these installed


And buy one of these so that you can use your granny charger

 
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I live in an upstairs maisonette without access to home charging. However there is a free 7KW PodPoint charger in my village.
Although there are signs saying you only get three hours and that it's camera controlled, it actually isn't.
My advice is to ask at your local store if there is actual parking restrictions.
I've done 2250 miles so far and only had to pay for rapid charging three times at a total cost of about £15 - the rest has all been free at the village charger.
I usually leave my car over night when the shop closes and then pick it up before it opens in the morning. That way I'm not inconveniencing other shoppers and it's fair.

Living without home charging can be done with careful planning and consideration. I've saved £600 in fuel over those 2250 miles.
 
Another option is to get a quote from local electrician to fit you a switched 32amp commando lead and plug in an ohme smart charger with commando plug. That way you can take it with you when you move.

Octopus energy are doing them for £199

Next cheapest I've seen them is from Romatech.

 
Another option is to get a quote from local electrician to fit you a switched 32amp commando lead and plug in an ohme smart charger with commando plug. That way you can take it with you when you move.

Octopus energy are doing them for £199

Next cheapest I've seen them is from Romatech.



 
Firstly, I moved your thread here assuming you have a ZS EV. If you have an MG5, let me know and I'll move it to that forum instead.
If you can edit your preferences to select which car you have from the list, it will help in the future.


I was in this situation. I was about a mile from a free public car park with multiple free 7kw chargers in it. I would park there and plug in and walk or cycle back, leaving the car there for 4-5 hours. And then occasionally charge at rapids when needed.

Only you know whether it's worth £570 to avoid the hassle of not being able to charge at home. And only you know how much inconvenience it's going to be to rely on public chargers.
Would your landlord chip in because leaving the charger there will increase the value of the property?

That depends on the cost of charging publicly vs the cost of charging at home plus £570. In 1 year, I doubt it would be cheaper to charge at home. Do you have a smart meter? can you go on a tariff which is cheaper at night and charge then? Are there any free 7kw chargers near (walking/cycling distance from) your home or work? You're going to have to do some maths based on what you expect will happen to get a rough idea.

It's better for battery health not to rely on rapids, but it won't kill your car. You could also ask you employer whether they could install a charge post in their car park if they have one.

If it was me, and there is no way you can get an extension lead out of a window to charge your car with a normal 13a supply (is what I did in my last 2 places before this one and now I put the granny lead under the garage door), and I knew I was going to be living somewhere for a year, I would get the cheapest wall charger possible.
I would try my hardest to persuade the landlord to go halves.
Thanks
 
Ask to have one of these installed


And buy one of these so that you can use your granny charger

I have the 32 amp socket installed. (I picked up a new Ohme cable via ebay).

This was put in after I had a 13 amp socket installed.

Just one point from your post - I think the 16 and 32 amp connectors are different sizes, so you cannot use a caravan socket adapter with the 32 amp socket.
(The fusing would not be correct as well).
 
As an eBay Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
Just moved into a flat. It going to cost £570 after tax credit for Rolec charging box.(Landlord forcing me yo use the own electricians)
  1. Is it worth it if I stay here maybe a year or can I depend on rapid charge and few hours of Tesco 7kw charge per week?
  2. Is the money saved charging at home makes it worth the £570.
  3. Can someone with an EV only depends on Rapid charge stations or battery suffers? Thanks
When you eventually move out of the flat, if you get a charger installed, take the charger with you. It will be cheaper to move it than to get a new one at your new place as you won't qualify for the credit next time round.
 
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