Anyone running 2 EV's?

[MOBB]

Had the Tesla nearly a month and have now decided to replace my CLS63 AMG with an i3s - considered another Tesla but it would be overkill in all honesty!

So a 100% EV household <gulp>

We do not have a charge point yet as we are about to move house, so are flexible in what we get fitted - we had decided on an EO mini pro, but was wondering what other multiple EV users did for charging?

For our mileage I dont really need to charge the Tesla every night, but the i3 range would probably mean it would be every night.

Does anywhere do double chargers? Or can I just get 2 EO's or is it more complex than that electricity wise?

 

[ACarneiro]

I have two Tesla Wall connectors.
One for my M3, one for my house mate’s i3.

Not a blip at all.
All I did was increase my fuse from 80A to 100A to give me a little more headroom when both cars are charging at night (on Economy 7) just in case I also want to run the dish washer and washing machine as well.

Nothing to be worried about

 

[WannabeOwner]

So a 100% EV household

Well done you. Congratulations

We have Model-S as daily-driver (high mileage), Sprog has an M3 and we are shortly to replace the ICE with Tesla (for me whilst I have no issue with inconvenience on family trips, there are a few tricky business trips which are too difficult so I need a new Raven longer range Model-S to fix that, and then I can replace the tricky-journey/2nd-vehicle ICE with EV). The ICE does relatively few miles, but two EVs will mean that I toggle the daily-driver, which will spread my miles, and the time it takes to use up warranty miles, over the two vehicles.

I also have a second Model-S ... but that's only the toy one

We also have a people carrier used to haul people Natch! and eBay Cargo. It doesn't do many miles a year and I don't have any plans to replace it as yet. Model-X would be a bit precious for "chuck all this muck in the back"

For a usually-at-home 2nd EV, and if you have Solar PV, then there is the option to use that to soak up spare power, rather than getting a PowerWall (£7,500 to move from PowerWall budget to 2nd EV Budget ...) and as such might be worth considering a wall charger that can divert excess PV to EV (such as Zappi)

 

[MrBadger]

Does anywhere do double chargers? Or can I just get 2 EO's or is it more complex than that electricity wise?

Some chargers can load balance the available power on a circuit. For instance, two Tesla wall connectors can connect to a 40A circuit, and share the load and hopefully not upset the DNO who apparently may have a few things to say about a second high powered charge point.

 

[Derek25]

We have an M3 and a Leaf. We’ve got two chargepoints, one 32amp one 16amp. It’s never been a problem charging two cars at the same time.

 

[adsheff]

We have a Model 3 and a 30Kwh Leaf. The Model 3 is only charged once every 3 days, and the Leaf once a week if that, as it is used for around town. So we get by with just one charger and all works great.

 

[PB.Brown]

Bought a Zoe 40Kw in Feb and have had the M3 LR AWD for two weeks now.
When I placed the M3 order in July I sold my BMW X1 so was only using the Zoe for a couple of months. It wasn't to much of a hassle but now feel a bit more comfortable knowing I now have the range and safety blanket of the Tesla Super Charger network. I have done some long road trips on the Zoe (Lincoln to Bristol and back) this worked out ok, needed a top up half way and had destination charging at the hotel near Bristol. I guess it did highlight how unreliable the ecotricity network is.

 

[Obliter8]

Zoe and M3P. One charger at present, VB though will be getting a second and hopefully a powerwall. Asked DNO about two cars charging and they said we shouldn't; the fuse can take it, but it can causes dodgy harmonics on the street's supply apparently.

Someone who knows more about electricity, frequency and phases would need to explain that!

 

[Rockster]

We sold our Highlander when we got our Model 3, making us a two Tesla household. For nearly eighteen months now. I have two wall chargers that share a 100 amp circuit (the S is an older S that can charge at 80 amps, which we sometimes do when we need a fast turnaround to leave town in the evening). We've had no problems at all. We take the S to Costco or Lowe's or to take the dogs to the vet because it has more room.

I don't miss having an ICE vehicle at all.

 

[Big Earl]

100% EV is the way to go. We have three EVs and a plug-in hybrid that almost never runs on gasoline (eventually will be replaced by a Model Y). Charging is done by two Wall Connectors sharing a 50 amp circuit plus two 30 amp circuits for J1772 chargers.

 

[TezzyMod3]

If you can’t afford another Tesla at the moment there’s some decent eGolf lease offers at the moment. We are thinking about it...

 

[MOBB]

Yes those eGolf lease deals are very good, but its just not a car that interests me - its not affording a second Tesla that's an issue, its just a bit of an unnecessary expense with our usage, and as the wife really likes the i3s, everyone is happy.

I suspect we will use both cars like pool cars, whoever is doing the longer journey takes the Tesla

 

[arg]

. I have two wall chargers that share a 100 amp circuit

Charging is done by two Wall Connectors sharing a 50 amp circuit plus two 30 amp circuits for J1772 chargers.

Note that this is the UK forum, so while the spirit of the above posts applies, the detail of charging arrangements will be different from USA practice.

IMO, with two EVs you really want two chargepoints for convenience unless you are really short on budget.

Most homes in the UK have (or can easily upgrade to) enough spare capacity to support a single 32A chargepoint; however, unless you have a 100A supply (only available in some areas) and/or very low electricity usage in the house, then you probably don't have enough capacity for the 64A that would be needed for two 'dumb' chargepoints.

Solution is two chargepoints with some form of load sharing/load control. If you go for the Tesla WC, then you can fit two of them linked together to take only 32A total (so same as a single chargepoint). This is OK for most people as they are unlikely to do a high mileage on both cars on the same day - whichever needs more will get more of the current. Another alternative (offered by Zappi, EO and others) is to monitor the total load on the house and throttle charging to make sure that the total house consumption doesn't exceed the supply capability - so the charging can go up to the full 32A each, 64A total at the dead of night when nothing else is in use, or down below 32A at peak times (if your house didn't really have enough spare to guarantee even one dumb chargepoint - eg. lots of electric showers).

 

[vitesse]

If only. Our off-street parking also features a 2006 Astra 1.6 Club, but at least it isn't a diesel. It's only been driven about 1000 miles this year.

 

[SalisburySam]

Two EVs here: Model 3 and 2012 Nissan LEAF. I charge both from one 32-amp charging station I bought with the LEAF in 2012. The LEAF has essentially no phantom drain so it remains unplugged most of the time until a charge is required. The Model 3 is plugged in all the other times. I might consider a 2nd charging station if I were to get another EV of more current vintage (Y?), and I had the garage electrical panel wired to accommodate that load (two 60-amp circuits available to provide 48-amp max charging of the 3 and presumably the Y in LR configurations).