Home charger recommendations

[Splash-Man]

Hi all - I ordered an ID3 Family Pro Performance last month so thought it was time to start looking at home chargers. I drive about 80 miles a day so regular top ups will be needed.
Yes I know I have plenty of time before the car arrives but best to be ready !
I have plenty of space on my consumer unit so no issues there, a 100amp main incoming fuse was also fitted during a recent upgrade, and a clunky non-smart E7 meter.
Interested to hear feedback from those lucky enough to already their cars. What unit have you got, pros and cons of it etc
Anyone heard anything about the Elli ID charger coming to the UK, I ordered my car through work so haven't spoken to dealer ?

[Daveion]

Hiya Splash- Man
Welcome to the forum.
It's wise to sort a charger now as I believe the Gov grant ends in March likely before you get your car.
You will need to update to a smart meter.
I dont know the Ellie charger. I have charged my car with a granny for best part of a year but get a Pod Point this week. My shortlist was the Wallbox or Podpoint Point Solo but tbh it was dictated by a difficult cable run and a supplier who could get me accross the line at a fair price.
I see you have an order No. I ordered another Life Pro early Sept and my dealer still hasn't provided an order No. I'm lucky to have a car already but a bit concerned the dealer is long-fingering the order No. He said VW are not giving out order numbers as the tracking system is off line. I dont know if that applies to certain models. I am going to call them today.

[daesimpso]

Based on my personal experience I’d avoid Pod Point.

I purchased directly from them. Communications were terrible and they’re incredibly slow to respond, if they ever do. My charger was installed 27/10 and it’s faulty. I’m still waiting for them to sort it out. They claim they need the installer (that they subcontracted the install to) to replace the unit. The subcontractor claims they’re waiting for Pod Point. 2 weeks post install and still can’t charge.

Also, the scheduling on the unit is entirely controlled from Pod Point’s servers and not stored locally on the device. If the device loses Internet connection it defaults to dumb (always on) charging. This could get costly if you’re expecting it to charge overnight at 5p/KWh and it charges through the day at a more expensive rate.

[Daveion]

Based on my personal experience I’d avoid Pod Point.

I purchased directly from them. Communications were terrible and they’re incredibly slow to respond, if they ever do. My charger was installed 27/10 and it’s faulty. I’m still waiting for them to sort it out. They claim they need the installer (that they subcontracted the install to) to replace the unit. The subcontractor claims they’re waiting for Pod Point. 2 weeks post install and still can’t charge.

Also, the scheduling on the unit is entirely controlled from Pod Point’s servers and not stored locally on the device. If the device loses Internet connection it defaults to dumb (always on) charging. This could get costly if you’re expecting it to charge overnight at 5p/KWh and it charges through the day at a more expensive rate.

I find Pod Point the same. No response unless chased. I wish I had had more options but went with them in the end. They provided me cables which I have run ready for them this Friday.

[duncsand]

I've recently had my charger installed and wrote up my experiences and findings here:

My experience with PodPoint was very positive - they were by far the promptest of those I contacted and I had it installed only a week after submitting all my info through their website. I suspect I was lucky and got in a cancellation, as this timing seems quicker than I've heard elsewhere. Regardless, my experience was a very positive one.

[Leccy]

My Pod Point experience was initially frustrating, but I also appeared to benefit from a cancellation, install went well and charger works fine.

There is a glitch with scheduled charging with mine in that if you set the schedule first in the app and then plug the car in, it will disconnect from the car (cable will unlock and car thinks the charger has a fault which isn't ideal) until the scheduled charge time and then it will charge as per the schedule fine. However, if you plug the car before activating the schedule, it will establish a connection with the car and begin charging momentarily, then activate the schedule in the app it stops charging until the schedule charge period starts, with no further problems such as fault light or cable unlocking. A small glitch but an easy workaround. I don't usually use scheduled charging as it happens as my 5 hour cheap tariff period starts at 9:30pm, so I just plug in after that time and the car stops drawing charge when it has reached 80%.

[Jamh2000]

I like my EO/Octopus charger. It’s very small and discrete and the app works well. You can toggle a simple switch which sets it to charge during Octopus Go off peak hours. Those hours are not always sufficient to charge fully, however. Custom scheduling works well too.

[Deleted User 192]

I got my Pod Point through Mr Charger: https://mrcharger.co.uk

Never had an issue in the last 12 months, either with manual or timed charging.

[StuartT]

Hello there,
Everyone's charging needs will be different, 99% of my charging is done at home, and I've got a BP Pulse charger. My car is supplied through Motability and they fit BP Pulse chargers. I'm happy with what it does but, I'm not looking to operate it via an app. You maybe, I don't know
Also, I don't have a smart meter.
Happy motoring, when your car arrives.

[Bromsgroveuser]

I've had a pod point for 11 months , fairly quick installation and so far no problems with unit or timed charging ( touch wood)

[Indyfras]

Hi, we're planning on ordering a Zappi, because we installed solar panels years ago. Also, we don't have (and can't get) a smart meter.

[Splash-Man]

Cheers for all of the replies so far.
There was mention about changing to a smart meter, I guess this is only required if you want to a system to look for a specific price tarriff rather than just using the standard E7.
So surely more like a 'would like' rather than a 'must have'.

[Leccy]

Yes, a smart meter isn’t a requirement unless you want your charger to use smart tariffs

[Splash-Man]

Anyone here have an Indra Smart Pro Tech charger ?
They are being offered by OVO, my current provider.

[Splitty]

Things to consider before ordering:

Do you have a strong mobile signal where your charger will be located? If not you will likely have problems with chargers that rely mobile signals to set up scheduled charging and management (mobile Apps etc) for example Pod Point and Ohme.

Is there a decent WiFi signal? Again if not you need to steer clear of chargers that use WiFi to connect.

Zappi has an add on box that allows you to locate it in the house and connect to your WiFi network so should be good, but again some people have has issues with Zappi scheduled charging.

You might want to check out this forum as well https://www.speakev.com/forums/home-cha ... views.388/

[Daveion]

Cheers for all of the replies so far.
There was mention about changing to a smart meter, I guess this is only required if you want to a system to look for a specific price tarriff rather than just using the standard E7.
So surely more like a 'would like' rather than a 'must have'.

I cant recall this for sure but is the grant available without a smart meter? Quotes I had all reqd me to have a smart meter.

[IDontknow]

We don't have a smart meter but had a Hypervolt charger installed and we qualified for the grant.

[daesimpso]

You don’t need a smart meter, but you do need a smart charger to qualify for the grant.

[Daveion]

Yes, I remember now Octopus said I needed the smart meter for Octopus Go tarrif and their Wallbox charger.

[Gordiek]

how many Solar panels you think you would need for a Zappi to work from Solar? Anyone? Wondering if it might be an option