Charging 2 EVs - options and opinions

[phil4]

If things continue to plan, we'll end up going from 2 petrol to 2 EV's at home. One a Tesla, the other not. What are your thoughts on charging them both?

My current thinking is two Tesla Wall units, set to master/slave, and one of them set to non-tesla charging. Does that work with the UK chargers? Is there a better option?

To answer some other questions assumptions. I don't have a 3 phase supply, nor a big enough fuse to have 64Amps going to the cars. Yes I'd like to have them both plugged in while they're there, but the actual charging will most likely (but not always) be at different times.

TIA

 

[MrBadger]

My current thinking is two Tesla Wall units, set to master/slave, and one of them set to non-tesla charging. Does that work with the UK chargers? Is there a better option?

That one of the reasons that I chose a TWC. Nothing to stop them both being enabled for (almost) any car.

 

[Glan gluaisne]

There are several charge points that will work together to load limit now, plus, if you already have a charge point that won't do this, then you can get any other charge point for the second car and just use a load limiting device to ensure the total load on the supply doesn't exceed the maximum allowable. Garo make a unit that does this, intended for use with houses with a relatively low max supply current and a couple of electric showers originally, but they work fine to allow a priority and non-priority system to be set up with a couple of charge points: Search Results

 

[phil4]

Thanks, nothing in place at the moment, so please do name any you'd recommend (if we're permitted on here).

 

[MOBB]

I went for 2 EO Minis, 1 is set at 32a and the other is 16a. Our house was upgraded to 100a FOC by our DNO.

Before Covid, both cars were plugged in overnight, no issues.

Now Mrs MOBB works from home all the time, I just unplug mine when I leave in the morning for work, and plug hers in instead, same cable.

I went for the EO mini mainly due to its tiny size.

 

[Adopado]

If things continue to plan, we'll end up going from 2 petrol to 2 EV's at home. One a Tesla, the other not. What are your thoughts on charging them both?

My current thinking is two Tesla Wall units, set to master/slave, and one of them set to non-tesla charging. Does that work with the UK chargers? Is there a better option?

The best option is to save a shedload of money and stick with one charge point ... but maybe that's not an option!

 

[Glan gluaisne]

Off the top of my head I believe that, in addition to the TWC, both the PodPoint and Zappi allow load sharing between two charge points. There's no reason why any smart charge point shouldn't be able to do this, but some seem to have a different feature set to others.

 

[phil4]

The best option is to save a shedload of money and stick with one charge point ... but maybe that's not an option!

It's not a bad idea... we normally have different use patterns, I'm out most of the day, when the other car can be on charge, for example. The thing that makes me cautious about that is the Tesla suggestion that you leave it on charge when it's parked up.

 

[Glan gluaisne]

FWIW, every car I've owned since 2013 has pretty much always been left plugged in when parked at home. Part of that is that I'm just too lazy to bother to unplug it unless I have too. I did make up a thin neoprene muff to fit around the charge port and over the connector a few years ago, which helps stop dirt, rain and snow getting in, but I've never been convinced it was necessary, other than to avoid a bit of additional cleaning from time to time.

 

[phil4]

FWIW, every car I've owned since 2013 has pretty much always been left plugged in when parked at home. Part of that is that I'm just too lazy to bother to unplug it unless I have too. I did make up a thin neoprene muff to fit around the charge port and over the connector a few years ago, which helps stop dirt, rain and snow getting in, but I've never been convinced it was necessary, other than to avoid a bit of additional cleaning from time to time.

Thanks for the recommendations, I've asked both for info. I think while having a single charger could be an option, I'd still prefer two, it just makes it a simple thing to remember, keeps both cars happy, and deals with the odd unforseen event when both -really- need it.

 

[Dilly]

I have two tethered Zappi’s which run single phase on a 100amp domestic supply
One is type 1 for the Outlander. That’s on an outside wall. The other is type 2 for the Tesla. That’s in the garage.
I have adaptors so either can charge either car if the need arises.
They are master/slave but they can prioritise over one another or be equal priority and can both charge at full rate at the same time.
They are of course put to best use for solar charging but are equally at home charging during cheap rate.
From solar, my first 1300 miles have cost less than a penny since March. Winter will be a different story at 5p/Kw

 

[PDB33]

I have two tethered Zappi’s which run single phase on a 100amp domestic supply
One is type 1 for the Outlander. That’s on an outside wall. The other is type 2 for the Tesla. That’s in the garage.
I have adaptors so either can charge either car if the need arises.
They are master/slave but they can prioritise over one another or be equal priority and can both charge at full rate at the same time.
They are of course put to best use for solar charging but are equally at home charging during cheap rate.
From solar, my first 1300 miles have cost less than a penny since March. Winter will be a different story at 5p/Kw

You could see how you go with one charger initially. We have used a single BMW Wallbox for her BMW i3 and my Model S for the last three years and not encountered a conflict, though our mileage is not high as our work is largely from home.

 

[Avendit]

What kind of mileage do you do on the 2 cars? That's the important question that helps define your needs. Unless you need to do 2x empty to full charges most nights a single charger will work almost all the time. I usually only charge my M3 once a week, and even then that is usually only from ~40% to 85%. Could easily add a second car on there on other days with little hassle, but that is my usage pattern, yours will be different

OTOH, 2x tesla units would look the part and let you take full advantage of overnight charging deals. I almost bought the EO (small is good, right?) but realised that cable management was going to be a problem. Tesla charger can at least hang neatly, but I ended up with the Andersen as it can fully internalise the cable for looks.

 

[TheManofMead]

Two EV's owned here with only 1 wall charger for at least 20 months. Not a single occasion from recollection that I can ever say I wish or thought we needed a second one. Like someone earlier said it's a lot to do with your mileage requirements. Both of ours cover around 10k-12k miles per year. The granny cable is always an option to trickle some charge into the second EV if you really need to. As others have said start off with 1 and assess it from there.

 

[fancealot]

If it goes well with the Tesla I think Mrs F will want an EV, we're getting a podpoint installed as a part of the Tesla lease, was thinking of alternate day charging or charging week to week, we usually drive 1 car to commute in as we work in the same city (When Mrs F isn't working from home that is) so the second car would only be used on occasions when we need two cars - we are both scout leaders and sometimes we need to go different places after work to do visits. I did consider whether it would be an option for a second charging unit, but i think it'd be easier to share the point and keep an eye on the charge level - if push cane to shove i'd just charge Mrs Fs car at home and if needed to i'd charge the M3 at a supercharger as it's close to where I do my scouting

 

[spooksman]

We've just pulled the trigger on a second EV, and we're planning on going with a single charger for now.

Neither of us do that many miles (I probably only need to charge once a week at most in the Tesla), and her mileage is even lower.

I guess we'll see....

 

[Glan gluaisne]

I'm probably in a minority here, but we have two charge points and only one EV. I fitted them at either end of the drive (it's T shaped), just to make it possible to charge wherever I end up parking. In practice I only use one of them, but a friend used to plug his Leaf in to the other one when he used to come around (in the pre-plague days).

 

[Jason71]

It's not a bad idea... we normally have different use patterns, I'm out most of the day, when the other car can be on charge, for example. The thing that makes me cautious about that is the Tesla suggestion that you leave it on charge when it's parked up.

I am aware of the ABC "rule" but does it have any real basis? Do many people actually do that? A lot of people like me are on Octopus Go / Agile and the last thing you want is the car pulling down electrons at peak rate.

 

[Glan gluaisne]

I am aware of the ABC "rule" but does it have any real basis? Do many people actually do that? A lot of people like me are on Octopus Go / Agile and the last thing you want is the car pulling down electrons at peak rate.

Both our charge points have integral time switches, and are normally set to switch on during the off peak period. This can be over-ridden by switching to manual, as can the charge current setting on the charge point, but as a general rule they only get switched to manual if it's a sunny day and there's enough spare generation to make charging worthwhile. Right now my car's plugged in, and reporting "ready to charge", but the charge won't start until the start of the off peak rate, and if the car is still trying to draw power at the end of that the charge point will terminate the charging session.

 

[Dougall1248]

We have a M3LR and a 64kw Kona and only one charger in garage. We use Octopus Go and the vast majority of the time we top up to 90% on alternate nights. If one car needs a big charge quickly we can use rapid Charge place Scotland for free. We thought about 2 charging pods but after a while thought "why bother?".