New EV - advice please

[Cushie]

Rather than a fixed 7kW wallbox I bought a "portable" 7kW with 32a Commando plug (round industrial standard), then paid £250 for an electrician to install the corresponding socket in the front part of my garage to a spare consumer unit RCB.

It easily reaches under the locked garage door to my ZS LR, saved £500 over the fixed option and allows me to carry the charger to a second home in France.

I've chosen a similar option. Paid for 32 Amp commando socket in series with a WiFi timer controlled trip. I follow the green reduced price charging mostly overnight. A big smile when occasional -ve pricing they pay me to charge!

 

[Tangoed Man]

That's really helpful, thank you.


Thanks for your comments. Realistically we might only be doing 300 miles a month, on average, so for us it makes perfect sense to plan for one 6h overnight charge per fortnight just to keep it topped up to 80-90%, using just 7p/kwh. If my calculations are correct, if I'm topping up 50% a fortnight, around 30kw, it might only cost £4-5 per month. A tank of petrol would cost ten times that. I'll only fully charge it if I know we're going on a long journey. I'm already an Octopus customer so I can imagine the switch over to one of their EV tariffs being reasonably painless, even more so if I get them to fit one of 'their' wall chargers (circa £1000 purchase/install). Interestingly, an electrician friend of mine said although Octopus recommend upgrading my meter to a smart meter, he said that due to my expected low miles and charging frequency I probably wouldn't need to. Does that sound right or does the EV tariff stipulate that the meter feeding the charger must be 'smart'?

You will certainly save money on the fuel, but it will not be anywhere near 'ten times' compared to ICE; more like 4.5 times. At least, that is my precise calculation over all the seasons, charging losses, and thousands of miles comparing our three Mercedes E-class estates and our three MG4's. When the 3p/mile robbery charge comes into play (thank you, Rachel) that multiplier becomes more like two times.

 

[Joningy]

I've chosen a similar option. Paid for 32 Amp commando socket in series with a WiFi timer controlled trip. I follow the green reduced price charging mostly overnight. A big smile when occasional -ve pricing they pay me to charge!

I used to be on that tariff, and often charged the car and ran household appliances during the half hour slots, but things changed and those slots became fewer, so I switched to Intelligent GO, now I don't have to keep a look out for the cheap slots, it's every night at a steady 7p, OK its perhaps not the same, but I'm pleased I'm not scrabbling to save a few pennies.

 

[Joningy]

All caused by EVs? or other stuff?
Almost certainly didn't do there homework and didn't have the correct socket, etc.

Or cabling

My first 'long' trip is coming up soon. I want to use Electroverse such that I can stop after (say) 2hrs for a coffee & charge break. I expected that putting in a waypoint would allow me to do that, but can't at the monument see how that's done. (I get the stop, but not a suggestion for charging).

Any advice?

There is loads of routing info on the net, just look at EV routing maps, it'll bring up lots of info and hopefully not yer breakfast through worrying
size

 

[TimothyN]

I think I disagree. My diesel car at 40 mpg, and £1.46 per litre results in about 17p per mile, and at 6.7p per kWh and approximately 3.5 miles per kWh, let's call that 2p per mile, so a ratio of eight times.

Unless I'm being stupid?

 

[Tangoed Man]

I think I disagree. My diesel car at 40 mpg, and £1.46 per litre results in about 17p per mile, and at 6.7p per kWh and approximately 3.5 miles per kWh, let's call that 2p per mile, so a ratio of eight times.

Unless I'm being stupid?

All my three Mercedes' have run at 10p/mile. You also need to factor in about 20% charging loss.

 

[Ian Key]

All my three Mercedes' have run at 10p/mile. You also need to factor in about 20% charging loss.

That's a good average of 65.4 miles per gallon. In my diesel Focus I was lucky to get 40 mpg on a long journey but only 28 mpg day to day.

 

[Everest]

That's a good average of 65.4 miles per gallon.

Maybe he lives at the top of a big hill

 

[TimothyN]

...and, like Mr Mountbatten Windsor, is no longer the Grand Old Duke of York

 

[Bam Bam]

Maybe he lives at the top of a big hill

And also at the bottom!

 

[Joningy]

That's a good average of 65.4 miles per gallon. In my diesel Focus I was lucky to get 40 mpg on a long journey but only 28 mpg day to day.

A lot of people are using those new fangled "tuned" calculators from China

 

[Joningy]

I remember someone who boasted 6 or 7 miles per kWh on this forum, even posted a photo, we can all do that if we zero the reading and freewheel down a hill as @Everest suggested.

 

[TimothyN]

That was me. It was from the eponymous Biggin Hill down into Bromley, and hit over 20 at one point!

 

[Ruislip Resident]

That was me. It was from the eponymous Biggin Hill down into Bromley, and hit over 20 at one point!

I got about 17 miles per kWh once on the Isle of Wight going downhill on a warm day.