I need to get some things sorted!!!

[chowbenter]

Hello Good people of this knowledgable forum , I mentioned in another thread that I'm getting a MG ZS EV to co-inside with my Kia Niro lease finishing at the end of January 2021 and I'm at a bit of a loss what I'll need to charge at public chargers. I'm hoping to do the majority of charging at home & as I'm retired & have no daily commute, I wont be needing regular public charging as I don't do high mileage these days but it would be good to have the basic requirements in hand if I need them.

I'm something of a troglodyte regards new technology What RFID cards will I need? I don't think I've even got a contactless payment debit card I have a mobile phone.....somewhere but it hasn't even got a data plan I need to get my old backside up to date before January & would be grateful as to what I will need.

Thank you.

 

[Mark Holmes]

What sort of daily mileage do you complete and what would be the most distance you’d travel in one, perhaps seeing friends or going on holiday.

 

[chowbenter]

What sort of daily mileage do you complete and what would be the most distance you’d travel in one, perhaps seeing friends or going on holiday.

To be honest 15 miles would be the max in any one day but if the occasion presented itself where I'd need to go out of my comfort zone I'd like a 'Plan 'B' of alternatives just in case.

I still use my Bus & Rail concessionary travel pass quite a lot but with aged parents & wheelchair(s) I need a car for the endless Dr/Clinic/Hospital appointments.

 

[Mark Holmes]

To be honest unless your going to travel over a total of 120 miles in anyone day you can easily survive on the granny charger alone...you will not need a 7 kWh charger at home for less than 120 miles a day...

 

[Dave S]

@chowbenter

Hi, regarding public chargers, you can download the ZapMap app on to your phone and it is very easy to locate the nearest public charging places or indeed plan a journey with charging points on the way.

I'm not best placed to assist with RFID cards as I'm in Scotland and we have our own somewhat quirky system up here called Chargeplace Scotland, but it seems to be linked to Charge Your Car.

 

[ARealHuman]

Yes, agree, try the granny charger. It's very slow but for your needs it might make sense. Just make sure the socket is plugged into doesn't get too hot (see other posts on the forum). Also, some chargers are free to use at places like supermarkets so if you have one near you, have a look and see what chargers they have, then look into what you need to do to set up an account with them. For example, Pod Point have chargers local to me, but you need to start/stop the charge on an app on a mobile device. If you have a mobile phone with even a small data allowance, this would be sufficient. Be warned though, that these free chargers aren't quick at charging (22KWh in my case) - 1.75 hours for me added just 40 hours range. 50KWh chargers will be much quicker and will get you from next to no charge to about 80% in 45 minutes or so but they can be comparatively expensive to use.

Zap Map have a website you can use too - Charging points and electric vehicles UK 2020 - Zap Map - this will help identify public chargers near you.

Hope that helps.

 

[chowbenter]

@chowbenter

Hi, regarding public chargers, you can download the ZapMap app on to your phone and it is very easy to locate the nearest public charging places or indeed plan a journey with charging points on the way.

I'm not best placed to assist with RFID cards as I'm in Scotland and we have our own somewhat quirky system up here called Chargeplace Scotland, but it seems to be linked to Charge Your Car.

Yes, agree, try the granny charger. It's very slow but for your needs it might make sense. Just make sure the socket is plugged into doesn't get too hot (see other posts on the forum). Also, some chargers are free to use at places like supermarkets so if you have one near you, have a look and see what chargers they have, then look into what you need to do to set up an account with them. For example, Pod Point have chargers local to me, but you need to start/stop the charge on an app on a mobile device. If you have a mobile phone with even a small data allowance, this would be sufficient. Be warned though, that these free chargers aren't quick at charging (22KWh in my case) - 1.75 hours for me added just 40 hours range. 50KWh chargers will be much quicker and will get you from next to no charge to about 80% in 45 minutes or so but they can be comparatively expensive to use.

Zap Map have a website you can use too - Charging points and electric vehicles UK 2020 - Zap Map - this will help identify public chargers near you.

Hope that helps.

Thanks Guys , I just wanted to know what RFID, cards etc I need to join in advance just in case I needed them If I had to go beyond the range of a return journey of the car. I didn't want to roll up to a charging post & got the "Computer says NO" scenario
I downloaded the ZapMap & found there is an Instavolt about three miles from me, Quite expensive as you say.
Thanks.

 

[ARealHuman]

Zap Map are trying to roll out a "pay by Zap Map" initiative whereby all payments go through Zap Map for charging so you don't have to have 374 cards and accounts. I hope this takes off as it's the sensible solution.

I haven't set up any other accounts yet - I'll only do that when I know I need to make a trip that involves stops for charging at places where I need to set up more accounts.

 

[Mikalosh]

Also Octopus energy are doing the same with their electric juice card and you don't need to be a customer