Are smart charge points worth having?

[Glan gluaisne]

Yes, I briefly installed a commando for the few days between getting the car and the charger being installed and it was perfectly fine. The only drawback would have been either stowing the Tesla UMC in the car each time or buying an extra one to leave in situ ... functionally no problem at all. (The illegal commando has now been uninstalled and all traces removed!)

Nothing illegal about installing a commando, even a 32 A one, although it would best be installed according to the regs. Even if not installed in accordance with the regs no law has been broken in Scotland, AFAIK, as unlike gas installations, the regs covering most electrical work aren't statute law across the whole of the UK.

The only possible breach of statute law might be if you were in England or Wales and the commando installation constituted Part P notifiable work, under the building regulations, but that could have been covered if the work was done by a Part P registered electrician (most in England and Wales are). In Scotland there's no Part P to worry about, anyway, so it would just have been a possible non-compliance with the regs, and there are many millions of non-compliances with the regs all over the UK (don't think I've ever once seen a 100% compliant domestic installation).

 

[Adopado]

Nothing illegal about installing a commando, even a 32 A one, although it would best be installed according to the regs. Even if not installed in accordance with the regs no law has been broken in Scotland, AFAIK, as unlike gas installations, the regs covering most electrical work aren't statute law across the whole of the UK.

The only possible breach of statute law might be if you were in England or Wales and the commando installation constituted Part P notifiable work, under the building regulations, but that could have been covered if the work was done by a Part P registered electrician (most in England and Wales are). In Scotland there's no Part P to worry about, anyway, so it would just have been a possible non-compliance with the regs, and there are many millions of non-compliances with the regs all over the UK (don't think I've ever once seen a 100% compliant domestic installation).

Well you learn something every day! I just did the 16A commando and wired the socket into a mini consumer unit in the garage that could be turned off with an already installed double pole isolator switch at the house, so I could work safely, ... from a wiring point of view it was easier than wiring a 13A plug because everything is bigger and readily accessible. If it had been for longterm use I would have got it properly checked out but for those few days it solved a problem very nicely. It also prompted me to add the Tesla 32A commando adapter to my UMC options that I now carry in the boot so that all bases are covered should one be available when away on a trip.

 

[rotor2k]

It also prompted me to add the Tesla 32A commando adapter to my UMC options that I now carry in the boot so that all bases are covered should one be available when away on a trip.

Do you order this from the mysterious Tesla accessory people via email?

 

[Adopado]

Do you order this from the mysterious Tesla accessory people via email?

Yes, exactly that. £32 picked up at service centre or £40 delivered (unless the price has changed recently ...)

 

[Glan gluaisne]

Well you learn something every day! I just did the 16A commando and wired the socket into a mini consumer unit in the garage that could be turned off with an already installed double pole isolator switch at the house, so I could work safely, ... from a wiring point of view it was easier than wiring a 13A plug because everything is bigger and readily accessible. If it had been for longterm use I would have got it properly checked out but for those few days it solved a problem very nicely. It also prompted me to add the Tesla 32A commando adapter to my UMC options that I now carry in the boot so that all bases are covered should one be available when away on a trip.

Worth noting that the law in Scotland, where you are, is different to the law in England and Wales. As you're in Scotland the only requirement is that anyone doing the work has to be recognised as being competent. There is no Part P in Scotland, hence no statute law covering the installation of stuff like this and none of the Part P cartels that dominate things in England and Wales.

I could work in Scotland, even though I'm retired, and so barred from membership of one of the England and Wales Part P cartels, with absolutely no problem at all, and sign off any domestic installation work, including the installation of a 32 A commando, charge point or whatever. I would need to register with the local authority, but that's (usually) a cost-free process and just intended to ensure that only competent people do electrical work.

 

[ivangr]

3 pin plug (via TMC/UMC) is working fine for me at the mo - using it like a tethered wall charger. Helps that we have an easily accessible socket in the garage and the cable can go under the garage door even when closed.

It’s easy to over-spend by hundreds on the higher-end ‘smart’ chargers that seem to provide marginal extra benefit over more basic ones. Yes they may look prettier but if they don’t work seamlessly is it worth the hassle?

I’m also not convinced of any decent savings from wall chargers that can make use of solar PV. Sometimes the simplest dumb solutions are the best. Less complexity to go wrong.

On the point of overspending I agree. As I’m resident in Scotland the total grant amount I get is £800. A Podpoint cost £859. I use the car’s charge scheduling. It works fine. So in all, it cost me £59.

 

[Keeper]

I will be in the In the Smart Charge camp. I haven’t switched to the GO tariff yet but new Octopus meter will be installed tomorrow. In the meantime I have been changing various options on both the Tesla and the Rolec just to find out what happens. I have asked a few questions of ev.energy about differing charging scenarios and, so far, they have responded and explained everything that I have asked. I am quite impressed with them. I like that Tesla ownership and Smart Charging is all part of the big adventure - and I am enjoying it so far.

 

[hmy7k]

I have a Zappi v2 installed and I am very impressed with it.

It has a great app that enables me to schedule charges as well as allowing me to intelligently use all my excess solar generation.o
I can also add battery storage at some point in the future when it becomes more economically viable.

As soon as the model 3 wake up issue is sorted I will be very happy with the set up.

 

[SirRob]

Listening to the complexity and reported erratic behaviour I'm quite happy with my dumb-Rolec, which hasn't missed a beat.

 

[Adopado]

As soon as the model 3 wake up issue is sorted I will be very happy with the set up.

So do you just coordinate a car schedule start time with the Zappi start time meantime?

 

[Roy W.]

I’m also in the dumb camp. I think the smart chargers seem to over complicate things, and can add many more variables into the already buggy charging situation.

I was quite happy with my dumb Rolec installed via OLEV in 2015, and I’m very happy with the Tesla Wall Connector I’ve now got.

I’d be even happier if Tesla dumbed down their charging aspirations, and gave me simple options to schedule the start and stop time, like most other EVs out there.

If only the car would do its bit reliably!

 

[Glan gluaisne]

I’m also in the dumb camp. I think the smart chargers seem to over complicate things, and can add many more variables into the already buggy charging situation.

I was quite happy with my dumb Rolec installed via OLEV in 2015, and I’m very happy with the Tesla Wall Connector I’ve now got.

I’d be even happier if Tesla dumbed down their charging aspirations, and gave me simple options to schedule the start and stop time, like most other EVs out there.

If only the car would do its bit reliably!

I agree wholeheartedly. I want the car to do one of two things:

1. Adhere to the requirements of IEC61851, such that when that specification says "no maximum" for one of the specified time periods, the car does actually follow that specification requirement, instead of deciding that "no maximum" in the world of Tesla can be a short while later when the car stops responding the valid advertisements from the charge point.

2. Implement time-of-use charging that includes both a start time AND a stop time. It is not acceptable to have the car continue to charge beyond the end of a cheap rate period.

I'd prefer it if they just implemented the first of these options, such that a charge point has full control of vehicle charging at any time, even if the car has been sat parked and hooked up for a couple of weeks. I'd accept the car just having control of charging via user-set ctart AND stop times, though, as a work around. It's nowhere near as versatile if you wish to take advantage of 30 minute variable rate tariffs, but it would allow most people that are using off-peak tariffs to be able to reliably take advantage of them.

 

[hmy7k]

So do you just coordinate a car schedule start time with the Zappi start time meantime?

I put the car in sentry mode to stop it going to sleep and then do all the scheduling on the Zappi app.

Its works reliably except for the extra load using sentry which hopefully Tesla will fix soon.