Home charging point

[MGCamb]

Ohme Home Pro here too. I think it's nice and neat, it's physically robust and the software seems reliable.

£999 install through Octopus - I could have got it cheaper probably, but since I intended to get Intelligent Octopus, I thought it would smooth the support.

There have been some very slight teething problems with Intelligent Octopus (when it split the charge schedule into two blocks some time apart, the car went to sleep and refused the second block), but this gave Ohme the opportunity to show how good their support is - top marks.

The stats the app gives you are pretty nice - e.g. CO2 savings compared to an ICE car - but could go further.

It's a awful shame that Ohme can't use the MG API. We therefore miss out on features -- the charger can't make smart decisions based on the current SOC. I really hope they get this sorted. It's hugely annoying that the whole industry is a mish-mash of competing, often proprietary, API standards. See also Plug & Charge for public charging.

My other gripe, as with MG iSmart, is password sharing. If you want two people to control the charger with the phone app, they have to share a username and password. If you start off by authenticating using a Google/Apple/Facebook account, you have to wipe that account and start again with email/password authentication, so you can share. This is pretty pathetic in 2023.

(Come to think of it, this would be a real problem if I wanted to do something like Co-Charger, and I wanted to lock the charger... Do PodPoint home chargers have a solution for this?)

There is a lock you can buy from them (£38.99) and obviously you would not advertise the charger on their map. Not too bothered as in a small cul-de-sac and everyone knows who is who and a number of (other) pensioners about.
Will be looking to lock the system out during times it is not on cheap rate
Guy is here with electricity off - I first enquired Tuesday evening. Still waiting for a quote from Ohme and went to a local electrician on the HMG site who offered a range of chargers but none I have heard of. Relatively painless experience. Just have to get my car back from the wife who is a lady who coffees during school holidays.

 

[ukslim]

There is a lock you can buy from them (£38.99) and obviously you would not advertise the charger on their map. Not too bothered as in a small cul-de-sac and everyone knows who is who and a number of (other) pensioners about.

See, the Ohme has an "Approve each plugin-in" option which you can enable if you think strangers "borrowing" your charger while you're away is a risk. I don't enable it -- it just adds an extra slight inconvenience to plugging in -- but you can see how some people would want to. I've enabled it while away on holiday.

But if you were letting someone else share it on a regular basis, you'd want them to be able to self-serve. But I wouldn't want to share a password with them. Oh well.

 

[MGCamb]

Installed with tariff input and restricted to only charge during off peak, I will have to be up at 1 to see what happens. Bit like Christmas. Will be interesting to see how the MG reacts and whether charging stops at 80.

Jingle Bells - according to the app the car is charging. Went out at 0102 and the Pod was green and at 0105 as planned the MG went blue then started flashing green. Only gone up 2% in 20 min and wont reach 80 tonight but process appears to be working. Pod point APP not showing anything and has a charge now button but let's see what happens later

Time I took to type this it is now 5% up in lees than half an hour so happier now.

Tada
Woke up at 0545 to find car charged to 80% so successful scheduled charge. Car app gives no other details. Pod Point tells me 26.2kWh added that charging started at 0107hr and it was free.
So no idea when 80% was reached to measure speed of charge and Pod Point cannot be bothered to tell me EDF have charged me 26.2 multiplied by 8p as while PP know these numbers it is EDF that have charged me.

 

[wandle MG4 trophy]

Am happy with my Easee charger. Small. Untethered so it looks tidy and uncluttered (though you can lock a cable in if you wish). Works on a phone SIM card so dodgy Wi-Fi is not a problem.

 

[Waterstoney]

Installed Ohme ePod from Octopus for £895+SPD for £80. I waited two weeks for installation.

I switched from EON after 17 years. It took 6 weeks to confirm switching, to get smart meter reading on Octopus app and to start using Octopus Intelligent tariff.

I enabled "do not pay more than 7.5p/kWh" feature without creating charging schedule on Ohme app. This feature is available on "change target" screen when charging is started.

 

[mg4mc]

I enabled "do not pay more than 7.5p/kWh" feature without creating charging schedule on Ohme app. This feature is available on "change target" screen when charging is started.

But you should leave that disabled with IO. You will never be charged more than 7.5p, even outside the core 6 hours unless you override the IO schedules and use the charge now feature.

 

[squirrelz]

But you should leave that disabled with IO. You will never be charged more than 7.5p, even outside the core 6 hours unless you override the IO schedules and use the charge now feature.

Can you explain more please? That's how I've got mine set

 

[mrmatt]

I have a Sync EV I stalled by Ascent Energy Services about 18 months ago when I had an IONIQ Electric. Service was good but the charger occasionally crash / didn't charge and needed to be restarted. Was never sure if it was the charger or car - but it did show as offline in the app. Only done one charge on it with my MG4 so we'll see if it's any better.

I get a free charger with Octopus so having it changed for an Ohme ePro so I can switch to IO.

 

[Waterstoney]

But you should leave that disabled with IO. You will never be charged more than 7.5p, even outside the core 6 hours unless you override the IO schedules and use the charge now feature.

Charging EV or charge us 7.5p/kWh on IO tariff?

For Octopus to make money and to save us money, I think we should leave car longer on charger. So Octopus can choose charge our EVs when there is less demand. Peak electricity cost the most. Octopus still need to pay for electricity as commodity if there is surplus.

I wanted to get charged for 7.5p/kWh electricity if I am not hurry for getting my EV charged.

 

[Koomi]

Can you explain more please? That's how I've got mine set

I assume (and only because I have this turned off one mine)
Using the "do not charge outside 7.5p" will look at what the charging rates are for your plan, and see that 7.5p is from midnight until 5:30
I don't think there is any way for IO or Ohme to know your car's current SOC, so it doesn't know how much to add, only that the car will say "stop I am full"

If Intelligent over-rides this then that is great - but I don't recall seeing anyone say it does... maybe a question to Ohme or Octo to confirm.

However - turning "limit to 7.5p" off, and setting a charging Schedule within Ohme for the amount of energy you need (+ a few % to be sure), the charger will then know it needs xx.xxKWh before the time you have set, and Octopus can supply that at any time from the point of plugging in (e.g. 6pm) and the time of requirement (e.g. 6am), costing 7.5p, even if it is outside of the core 12:00-05:30 cheap hours

 

[ukslim]

Yep. Your Ohme and IO will negotiate a charge schedule based on what the schedule asks for (e.g. "add 80% by 7am") and when Octopus thinks it has access to cheap power. That will usually include the core 11:30 - 5:30 hours, but might also include other times, picked dynamically by Octopus. Still at 7.5p.

That's helping Octopus and green generators, by using their excess generation when the wind is blowing.

Bonus: at these times, the whole house is on the low rate. So if you see the chance, stick your washing machine on!

 

[Kithmo]

Deed done, Pod Point are recommended by MG, EDF and number one on a Which list. THey are coming tomorrow

I have a Pod point (free with the 2020 MG "peace of mind" deal) it's been faultless so far.
I love the simplicity of it and the app is so easy to use and has aquired some useful features over the last three years.
The scheduled charging was a bit clunky in the early iterations but is now so simple to use.
I have schedules set for the times of my cheap rate EDF ev tariff and you can override the schedules any time if you need a charge outside the times set by switching to "manual" in the app.
Having schedules set every day also acts like a security lock, nobody can use the charger outside my schedule times without my app.

 

[ukslim]

Sort of a tangent. The reason Octopus can offer such a cheap off-peak rate, and the reason they only offer it to EV owners, is that they know we'll consume lots of those off-peak units.

Say it's 7.5p/unit, and their overall costs at night are 3.5p/unit. 4p profit per unit. Fine.

If you're a normal domestic customer, you might use that for a washing machine once or twice a week. Perhaps 6kWh if the dryer's used, 1.5kWh otherwise. A paltry 24p profit.

If you're an EV customer, you're likely to use 80kWh a week or more of that off-peak energy, so they're making an appreciable profit, and using power from windmills which wouldn't otherwise be used.

It's sort of helping out Octopus (and green generation in general) to plug in early and often, so they have more chances to give you power when it's most available. And, if you don't have a cheaper source of charging, there's no reason not to.

Of course the other scenario for large amounts of off-peak usage is storage heaters -- the main application of Economy 7 tariffs since the 1970s. But that's seasonal, and EVs are year-round.

(My wife has free charging at work -- for the timebeing at least -- so we're a bit more circumspect about when we let Octopus charge us!)

 

[MGCamb]

I have a Pod point (free with the 2020 MG "peace of mind" deal) it's been faultless so far.
I love the simplicity of it and the app is so easy to use and has aquired some useful features over the last three years.
The scheduled charging was a bit clunky in the early iterations but is now so simple to use.
I have schedules set for the times of my cheap rate EDF ev tariff and you can override the schedules any time if you need a charge outside the times set by switching to "manual" in the app.
Having schedules set every day also acts like a security lock, nobody can use the charger outside my schedule times without my app.

Quick question as PP have not responded. I have set up night time only charging. In my manual it states the default colour of the light should be a blue while mine is green during the day and blue between 1 and 0600hr. Never really looked at 0100hr the one time I have charged so far . DOes this reflect your light colour?

...

If you're a normal domestic customer, you might use that for a washing machine once or twice a week. Perhaps 6kWh if the dryer's used, 1.5kWh otherwise. A paltry 24p profit.
...

Dish washer as well.
Ours works on the start time so is set to 0100hr while the dish washer works by end time. Suits us as it lets the dishes dry and the laundry does not lie in the washing machine.
All I have to do is persuade my son to get earlier to use his shower which is electric and sets our smart meter as high as my blood pressure when he uses it.

 

[WonkoTheSaneUK]

Am happy with my Easee charger. Small. Untethered so it looks tidy and uncluttered (though you can lock a cable in if you wish). Works on a phone SIM card so dodgy Wi-Fi is not a problem.

Easee seem to be going through a few things right now

Easee is in economic trouble - electrive.com

www.electrive.com

 

[tsedge]

Easee seem to be going through a few things right now

Easee is in economic trouble - electrive.com

www.electrive.com

Oh joy, Motability have just installed an Easee charger for my mother-in-law. I better not show her this!

 

[WonkoTheSaneUK]

Oh joy, Motability have just installed an Easee charger for my mother-in-law. I better not show her this!

I was recently watching a youtube video where they installed 30 (including Easee's "dummy" chargers for future expansion) in an underground car park at a block of flats.

 

[ukslim]

All I have to do is persuade my son to get earlier to use his shower which is electric and sets our smart meter as high as my blood pressure when he uses it.

10kW shower for 5 minutes = 0.83kWh. And 10kW is more powerful than normal. Probably not worth getting up at 5am to save 25p.

Yeah, we run the dishwasher on a smart plug timer. Thats less than 1.5kWh per use, but it's most nights, so I guess it adds up. After 10 weeks it'll have paid for the smart plug...

 

[Ian Key]

10kW shower for 5 minutes = 0.83kWh. And 10kW is more powerful than normal. Probably not worth getting up at 5am to save 25p.

Yeah, we run the dishwasher on a smart plug timer. Thats less than 1.5kWh per use, but it's most nights, so I guess it adds up. After 10 weeks it'll have paid for the smart plug...

That's where the dubious maths becomes interesting. I guess I pay more for my cheap rate electricity than you but I get 7 hours ending at 7:00 so I can take a shower and save 25p. That saving spread over the 7 hours means I'm paying the equivalent of 5.9p/kWh

Waits for experts* to blow a hole in my calculations

*expert = Ex is something that has been and Spurt is a drip under pressure.

 

[tsedge]

That's where the dubious maths becomes interesting. I guess I pay more for my cheap rate electricity than you but I get 7 hours ending at 7:00 so I can take a shower and save 25p. That saving spread over the 7 hours means I'm paying the equivalent of 5.9p/kWh

You are showering for 7 hours!? No wonder you are on the cheap rate.

Best solution for family members taking long showers is a remote shutoff value or shower disconnect for the hot water, preferably on a 3 minute timer.

Waits for experts* to blow a hole in my calculations
*expert = Ex is something that has been and Spurt is a drip under pressure.

I'm definitely a has been but also a never-was!