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Home charging options
- Thread starter Dangerous Fish
- Start date
cezdoc
Member
I've used the UMC plus the blue commando socket for home charging for nearly 3 years. I went down that route because at the time Tesla's wall connector wasn't available in the UK but they offered a voucher towards the cost of installing a 32A commando socket instead.
Initially it was outside but now it's in a garage. When outside I put the charger part in a weatherproof box to give it a bit of extra protection. It seemed happy enough in rain, frost, snow etc.
The UMC stopped/ran at lower current a couple of times after about a year. I got my Service Centre to test it and they replaced it FoC. No problems with the replacement unit so far. In terms of convenience I found it was fine - it doesn't take long to coil/uncoil the cable and pop it in the boot (or a storage area in the house), but I can usually get away with one charge per week. I do also have the backup of a few public charging options within a few miles of home if home charging fails.
To track power usage, I make a note of the start and stop time of each charging session (for scheduled charging this is usually reported via app notifications). The charger pulls 32 A so if you know the supply voltage (which is displayed in the car when charging - mine drops a few V when the current ramps up) you can work out the power draw (7.2 kW in my case). Current and voltage are also displayed on the app but there was a rounding error on the latest version (e.g. showing 31A instead of 32). 7.2 kW is about 23 miles of range per hour for a Model S.
Ultimately I expect I'll get a proper wall unit but my anecdote shows you can get away with a 32A commando socket. If I do put in a unit I'll see about keeping the commando socket with the option to switch to it as a backup option.
Initially it was outside but now it's in a garage. When outside I put the charger part in a weatherproof box to give it a bit of extra protection. It seemed happy enough in rain, frost, snow etc.
The UMC stopped/ran at lower current a couple of times after about a year. I got my Service Centre to test it and they replaced it FoC. No problems with the replacement unit so far. In terms of convenience I found it was fine - it doesn't take long to coil/uncoil the cable and pop it in the boot (or a storage area in the house), but I can usually get away with one charge per week. I do also have the backup of a few public charging options within a few miles of home if home charging fails.
To track power usage, I make a note of the start and stop time of each charging session (for scheduled charging this is usually reported via app notifications). The charger pulls 32 A so if you know the supply voltage (which is displayed in the car when charging - mine drops a few V when the current ramps up) you can work out the power draw (7.2 kW in my case). Current and voltage are also displayed on the app but there was a rounding error on the latest version (e.g. showing 31A instead of 32). 7.2 kW is about 23 miles of range per hour for a Model S.
Ultimately I expect I'll get a proper wall unit but my anecdote shows you can get away with a 32A commando socket. If I do put in a unit I'll see about keeping the commando socket with the option to switch to it as a backup option.
.jg.
Member
I use a UMC with a 32A Commando socket in the garage. But I also acquired a 2nd UMC, so I keep one in the garage and the other in the car. It also means that one UMC and adaptors are a backup of the other set. I know some will not approve but it works and I do not want to use up a subsidised charger installation at my current house, because we plan to move.
M3BlueGeorgia
Active Member
Many Model 3 owners in the USA and Canada just use the mobile connector plugged into a 240v socket (either 30A or 50A), including me.
I leave the mobile connector at home except when going on a road trip, which means I only unplug it from the socket and put it into the frunk about once a month.
If the socket isn't sheltered from the rain, you'd need a weather-proof socket or the Tesla home charger. But if it can be sheltered from the rain, just use the mobile connector.
I leave the mobile connector at home except when going on a road trip, which means I only unplug it from the socket and put it into the frunk about once a month.
If the socket isn't sheltered from the rain, you'd need a weather-proof socket or the Tesla home charger. But if it can be sheltered from the rain, just use the mobile connector.
Many thanks. So it's not possible to tell the new units from the old from the outside - the new parts are evidently hidden inside (I was thinking they might have put it in the spare space alongside the breaker).
Rolec's announcement about the new version is here. As evident from your photo, they've retained the Type-A RCBO and supplemented it with DC leakage detection.
Remains to be seen if/when Tesla get around to doing the same with the Wall Connector, meantime we are now forced to an expensive Type-B RCD for legal installs in the UK.
The TWC is the only sensible way to go. A Commando socket would get the job done as the cheapest option, but the TWC is a much neater looking solution and it doesn't actually cost enough to worry about in the overall scheme of things. I wouldn't be arsed with any of the other generic wall charger options as many of them appear unreliable and not much cheaper than a TWC anyway. Not to mention most are pretty ugly things to have around.
vitesse
Active Member
@IanMcL Attached is our ROLEC installation done last Wednesday - it has a big (1 metre into the ground) earth connection.
The electrician said earlier versions were a bit unreliable but they are on version 3 of the component in question now. I opted for a 13A socket for the pressure washer instead of the plug holder.
WannabeOwner
Well-Known Member
WannabeOwner
Well-Known Member
Something to do with whether the circuit/unit itself has some type of built-in RCD ... @arg, or someone, will be along in a moment to correct my ignorant laymens recollection of what it is called
For example, pretty sure the Tesla unit doesn't have that ... so that can increase the install-cost (if you choose that unit - but might be other factors in the choice of course)
vitesse
Active Member
Something to do with whether the circuit/unit itself has some type of built-in RCD ... @arg, or someone, will be along in a moment to correct my ignorant laymens recollection of what it is called
For example, pretty sure the Tesla unit doesn't have that ... so that can increase the install-cost (if you choose that unit - but might be other factors in the choice of course)
Our consumer unit didn't have a spare 32A slot so the electrician fitted an auxiliary breaker next to it (I'm no electrician so I hope that's the correct wording!) and the ROLEC has its own breaker in the unit itself.
I was very pleased with the installation (through a company called SRG) and the electrician, it turned out, only live a few minutes from us, which is handy. The company deal with the OLEV grant claim so no messing about for us.
Something to do with whether the circuit/unit itself has some type of built-in RCD ... @arg, or someone, will be along in a moment to correct my ignorant laymens recollection of what it is called
For example, pretty sure the Tesla unit doesn't have that ... so that can increase the install-cost (if you choose that unit - but might be other factors in the choice of course)
There's two completely separate issues here: RCDs and Earthing.
RCDs
This is a regulation change from 1st Jan 2019. Previously a "Type A" RCD was required (only marginally more expensive than a bog-standard "Type AC", £25 or so at retail price). Now, you need the ultra-expensive "Type B" or "Type EV" unless the chargepoint has internal protection against DC leakage. I haven't been able to find a TypeB/EV available retail at less than £300, so most manufacturers have started fitting the internal DC protection so they can carry on using Type A. Tesla don't seem to have caught up with this, so you are looking at an extra £300 in parts for a Tesla WC installation, unless your installer buys them in bulk and gets a discount.
Earthing
The regulatory requiremens have not materially changed in recent times.
Most houses in the UK have PME earthing (the 'earth' is in fact connected to the neutral in the supply cable and relies on the supplier to get it connected to "real earth"). This is not considered safe for large metal appliances outdoors (such as a car charging) so the usual solution is to provide a separate earth for the chargepoint using a rod driven into the ground, and not connect it to the house earth. Note that no type of standard RCD or breaker does anything to solve this problem.
So most installations should have an earth rod associated with them, but there are a number of cases where you won't find one:
- Where the installer is incompetent, or relied on a loophole in the regulations that has recently been closed (and was always forbidden by contract if it was an OLEV-sponsored install).
- Where the house already has a non-PME earthing system, or the chargepoint derives its supply from an outbuilding that already has a separate earth. It's reasonably common for detached garages to have an earth rod to provide them a separate earthing system, so a chargepoint installed there doesn't need another one.
- Where the chargepoint is installed "indoors", such that it can't be used outdoors - maybe at the inner end of a garage.
- Where the chargepoint contains a special magic device.
Just recently, claiming that it's connected to a change in the regulations (actually untrue), a couple of manufacturers claim to have started making these special devices. Furthermore, their special devices are so special that they magically manage to work without an earth rod at all. This would be great if it was true, but so far as I can see it is impossible to meet the letter of the regulation in the way that they are claiming to do. Arguably, their solution makes a sufficient safety improvement that going any further is not justified, but that's like saying driving at 75 is "good enough" to meet the speed limit of 70. Personally, given that earth rods are cheap and easy to install, I'd prefer to have the rod.
vitesse
Active Member
@arg Thank you for your insight. Our electrician checked that our water stopcock was - I think the term - was bonded (I understand that's a plumbing or gas-fitter jargon for 'earthed') and he was satisfied it was. The ROLEC box outside is some distance from the consumer unit. From what you are saying, I should be very content with the job he did.
All looks good from what can be seen. You have the newer type of RCBO (green lever rather than blue) so hopefully free of the reliability issues that plagued earlier Rolec units.
