I've had a quote from Wessex EcoEnergy of £686.20 (including the OLEV grant) to install a 32A/7kw Pod Point Solo. Sound about right?
The company are based in Dorchester (only about 20 miles away) and we had a pretty good chat on the phone last week. I partly got onto them because I also wanted an even more rough-and-ready quote for solar on the garage roof and thus was wondering about a Zappi. Long story short, it's now looking like we're going to remove the eight-year-old tethered (type 1) Chargemaster (British Gas/Polar) 16A/3.7kW unit at the front of the house and replace it with the Pod Point. The new unit will have to charge both cars.
Interestingly, the chap told me they pretty much only install Pod Points and Zappis now, because both have the earthing built-in.
So Wessex EcoEnergy have gone quiet. Same thing happened with Evergreen Renewable Energy (Lyme Regis). Hmm...
Anyway, I remembered an email from the fleet company, suggesting I take a look at going to Pod Point directly. And the quote from the web page (inc. OLEV grant) was only £549 - a (potential) saving of over £100, so not to be sneezed at. I was just about to bite the bullet when I noticed, under the OLEV grant bit, it says, "In order to claim the OLEV grant for a second charge point you must have 2 eligible vehicles concurrently for at least 6 months registered to the property. Valid documentation will be required."
...which is a problem, as we're not getting the M3 until (say) the end of June, and we already have a Chargemaster (British Gas/Polar) 16A/3.7kW unit *with a tethered type 1 connector* for our Nissan Leaf. The Chargemaster unit is at the front of the house (a very short run from the consumer unit by the front door) and was installed (for free) way back in July 2013. Naturally we were hoping to swap this out for 32A/7.2kW unit with a type 2 socket, which could then charge either car as needed. (We did briefly entertain the idea of having a second charger installed on the garage at the back of the house - we have a 100A main fuse - but let's just say, logistics killed that idea stone dead.)
Re the OLEV grant strictures, does this sound about right? Do you agree with me that my best (or certainly cheapest) bet now is to buy a Pod Point 32A untethered charger ourselves, and pay for our local sparky to install it? (He's installed chargers before; the only thing he can't do is apply for the OLEV grant, which it sounds like we wouldn't get anyway.) I'm assuming it would be pretty much a straight swap (unless the wiring 'feed' would need upgrading to cover the jump from 16A to 32A...?), though I'm assuming the DNO would have to be informed?
The absolute cheapest alternative would be to charge the Tesla through a 3-pin plugged into the garage. (I guess it would only take a day or two to charge it up to 80%...!) Luckily there's a Supercharger on my (occasional) commute route, and some supermarkets in town... Would this be safe, at least until we get a new charger installed?
Many thanks.