7 month lead time for main fuse upgrade (SSEN)

[Aberdeenshire]

Looking forward to delivery of our MG5 LR in March and have been getting things sorted for a home charger in advance. Have agreed to a quote from a local approved electrician for a Sync EV charger (qualifies for OZEV grant) and have had our EST grant application approved (valid for 3 months). With those items ticked we looked getting the house main fuse upgraded from 60A to 100A (includes unlooping as we are at the end of a loop through our neighbours box apparantly) and have been informed by SSEN that the lead time for parts is 7 months, largely because of Brexit and COVID. 7 months!

Looks like we will be on the granny charger for a few months. That's not a deal breaker for us fortunately but I thought I would share in case anyone else might find themselves in a similar situation. Not quite sure what to do with the EST grant yet but I fear this will render us ineligible as the grant will expire before we can get the charger installed (unless we can get it installed before the main fuse is upgraded?).

In summary: 7 months!

 

[Ozzie1989]

Contrary to popular belief you can install and run a charger on a 60a fuse no problem, although this does depend on other household loads as to how suitable that would be in the long rung.

If running on 60a fuse I would always recommend a charge point with built in load monitoring (also referred to as CT clamp, as this is the name of the device that clamps around the live incoming cable) so it will reduce it's power draw if your house uses more to protect the fuse.

As you're on a looped supply this does means they can't upgrade your fuse without unlooping your supply, however it's already rated at 60a so you're ok to have a charger installed as far as I'm aware.

You can further reduce the risk by only charging at night when you're not using oven, electric shower etc. etc. and it's less likely your neighbour will be using much electric either unless they have an EV charger.

 

[Aberdeenshire]

Contrary to popular belief you can install and run a charger on a 60a fuse no problem, although this does depend on other household loads as to how suitable that would be in the long rung.

If running on 60a fuse I would always recommend a charge point with built in load monitoring (also referred to as CT clamp, as this is the name of the device that clamps around the live incoming cable) so it will reduce it's power draw if your house uses more to protect the fuse.

As you're on a looped supply this does means they can't upgrade your fuse without unlooping your supply, however it's already rated at 60a so you're ok to have a charger installed as far as I'm aware.

You can further reduce the risk by only charging at night when you're not using oven, electric shower etc. etc. and it's less likely your neighbour will be using much electric either unless they have an EV charger.

This is helpful, thanks! The EV charger will come with a CT clamp load management kit (for reference this was quoted at an additional £29.50) so I will pursue this with the installer to see if it is a goer. Our house has gas central heating, gas hob and hot water (no electric shower) so that may help toward this being acceptable. May not help toward my green credentials mind you - one step at a time!

 

[Ozzie1989]

Sounds like you don't have a massive electrical overhead anyway so you should be fine. CT kit price seems about the usual so no issues there and ultimately this will give you the protection you need