Which Home Charger do you recommend I get

[Dave Mc]

Hi Folks, I picked up my ZS Ev last Monday, and enjoying things, looking at getting a 7KW home charger fitted, can you guys recommend a suitable one please?

 

[DangerousDoug]

Hi, if you have an MG ZS EV then there's only one "Smart" charger right now that correctly schedule-charges the MG. It also happens to be the only charger in the UK right now which works properly with Octopus Agile Tariff (the best in the UK for EVs, IMHO). That's the Ohme charger (ohme-ev.com).

 

[Sparqx]

Is anyone using the Rolec Wallpod EV Smart Charger with their MG? This was the recommended charger by the dealership. I am hearing mixed messages about whether this works or not with the ability to schedule for off peak electricity.

 

[Stuart Wright]

Hi, if you have an MG ZS EV then there's only one "Smart" charger right now that correctly schedule-charges the MG. It also happens to be the only charger in the UK right now which works properly with Octopus Agile Tariff (the best in the UK for EVs, IMHO). That's the Ohme charger (ohme-ev.com).

How do you know that is the only one? Has anyone tried any of the others to confirm they don't work? E.g. a Zappi?

 

[MGE]

I had a Pod-Point fitted courtesy of MG as one of the first 1000 ZS EV customers and it works fine. However if I had to have it done again I would have opted for the separate cable rather than tethered one as this could have come in handy for charging at the free-to-use 7kw charges which are springing up. Engineer explained this to me just after connecting the lead in ..... grrrrr

 

[Dave Mc]

I had a Pod-Point fitted courtesy of MG as one of the first 1000 ZS EV customers and it works fine. However if I had to have it done again I would have opted for the separate cable rather than tethered one as this could have come in handy for charging at the free-to-use 7kw charges which are springing up. Engineer explained this to me just after connecting the lead in ..... grrrrr

Thanks for your feedback..... very handy to know about the cable

 

[avhation]

Hi Folks, I picked up my ZS Ev last Monday, and enjoying things, looking at getting a 7KW home charger fitted, can you guys recommend a suitable one please?

I've been sold a Zappi 2 7Kw tethered charger which has a programmer within to enable the start and finish times to be set IIRC. Heck of a price though! Not yet tested.

 

[Stuart Wright]

I've been sold a Zappi 2 7Kw tethered charger which has a programmer within to enable the start and finish times to be set IIRC. Heck of a price though! Not yet tested.

Pricey even with the OLEV grant?

 

[avhation]

Well, the quote for a chargepoint approx 1 metre from the consumer box and from the meter box is:
“Cost to you to install a zappi 2 7kw ,tethered ,ev chargepoint in between your garage door and the front door would be £633 + vat.”
Perhaps the OLEV grant only comes into play when the car has been delivered?

 

[Stuart Wright]

Well, the quote for a chargepoint approx 1 metre from the consumer box and from the meter box is:
“Cost to you to install a zappi 2 7kw ,tethered ,ev chargepoint in between your garage door and the front door would be £633 + vat.”
Perhaps the OLEV grant only comes into play when the car has been delivered?

Pretty sure that if you have the VIN of an ordered EV, you can get the OLEV grant. That's how I got my Podpoint installed before the car arrived. I didn't have to worry about any of it, though as PodPoint sorted it all out for me.

 

[Dave]

 

[DangerousDoug]

How do you know that is the only one? Has anyone tried any of the others to confirm they don't work? E.g. a Zappi?

The issue is with timed (scheduled) charging. All the current chargers that folks have tried with the MG (Zappi, podpoint, rolec, etc) work when charging within 20 mins or so of plugging in. Also, some (like the rolec, and I think zappi) have implemented a work-around for the MG whereby they start a charge at the minimum current level (6A or 1.6kW) until the scheduled time, whereupon they up the current to 32A (7.2kW). This of course wastes costs, as 6A is still quite a lot when you've got several hours before the cheap tariff kicks in.

So far (according to reports and feedback from forums, as well as my own experience) only the Ohme charger has actually implemented a work-around for the MG which doesn't involve a lower current continouous charge. It therefore charges ONLY during cheap tariff periods. It's also reported to be the only charger so far (again, Zappi are working on this) which fully integrates with Octopus Agile tariff, thus saving a LOT of money in car charging.

 

[Dave]

thus saving a LOT of money in car charging.

Assume an annual consumptiin of 3.7miles / kWh. (you will get much better range when summer gets here). Let’s say we do the national average of 8,000 miles a year.

8,000 / 3.7 = 2,162 kWh

Typical cost of day time electric is 15p/kWh.

2,162 x £0.15 = £324.00

If you do ONLY cheap rate at say 6p / kWh

2,162 x £0.06 = £127.56

So that massive annual saving you are making is £197.00. It is a bit of a saving, but a LOT?

Just having an EV creates the fuel saving.

Typical 40mpg car. £1.25/ltr = £5.62 / gallon

8000 / 40 = 200 gallons

200 x £5.62 = £1,124.00

That is where the BIG saving is, having an EV and charging at home, rather than having a fossil car ?

 

[MikeR]

Assume an annual consumptiin of 3.7miles / kWh. (you will get much better range when summer gets here). Let’s say we do the national average of 8,000 miles a year.

8,000 / 3.7 = 2,162 kWh

Typical cost of day time electric is 15p/kWh.

2,162 x £0.15 = £324.00

If you do ONLY cheap rate at say 6p / kWh

2,162 x £0.06 = £127.56

So that massive annual saving you are making is £197.00. It is a bit of a saving, but a LOT?

Just having an EV creates the fuel saving.

Typical 40mpg car. £1.25/ltr = £5.62 / gallon

8000 / 40 = 200 gallons

200 x £5.62 = £1,124.00

That is where the BIG saving is, having an EV and charging at home, rather than having a fossil car ?

... and, if you trickle charge at 1.5kW for 2 hrs before the cheap rate kicks in, it costs you a whole 27p extra for the peace of mind to know it will charge rather than stay asleep! Having said that, it appears the second BMS update extends the time the car stays in doze mode from 2 hrs after locking to at least 4hrs.

 

[Stuart Wright]

If anyone is interested in seeing what home charge point installations look like, I made a couple of videos. One is of the PodPoint installation, the other is the Zappi.
The videos are in this thread: Videos of home charge point installations. Podpoint and Zappi.

 

[greengolf]

I've just had a Zappi v2 installed but can't test till I pick up my Red Exclusive this Sunday. Garage assures me that all updates have been done. Let's see!

 

[Mark Holmes]

Good luck as my one isn’t being delivered until early April.....

 

[Bramsie]

I had installed a Wallbox and for my situation it’s working perfectly

 

[waxy]

Hi Folks, I picked up my ZS Ev last Monday, and enjoying things, looking at getting a 7KW home charger fitted, can you guys recommend a suitable one please?

i have got pod point installed works fine,it is wifi connected and the pod point app on my phone it tells you how much kw used and how much it as cost me

 

[Mark Holmes]

I’ve got a Rolec installed but not tested as I’m still waiting on my car.....