Home charging

[Goneincognito]

Hi all,

We are looking at ordering a Model Y RWD in the next few weeks and I have been looking at home charging options.
I am wondering how much better the Gen3 wall connector is than the UMC on a single phase connection here in Australia?

Regardless of what we choose, an electrician would need to come out as there is no power point where we want the charger to be.
We have a solar system (non Tesla) that on a good day puts 3-4kW back into the grid at any given time so I would like to utilize that with something like Charge HQ.

The sticking point for me is how much quicker will the wall connector be than the UMC?
If utilizing the excess solar only, I would say no different (?) but what if I was to make the difference up by drawing from the grid?

 

[[Zombie]]

I am wondering how much better the Gen3 wall connector is than the UMC on a single phase connection here in Australia?
If utilizing the excess solar only, I would say no different (?) but what if I was to make the difference up by drawing from the grid?

With the UMC and a 15A socket you max out at ~ 3.6kW so you'll still be exporting some solar to the grid.

You can buy a third-party "tail" for the UMC that plugs into a 32A socket, and then it will give you the same charge rate as the wall connector does on single phase (around 7.6kW)

So then it comes down to if you want something hard-wired for aesthetics, convenience, possibly better reliability as it's designed for constant use etc.
vs something portable that you can also take with you on road trips if needed.

 

[paulp]

Hi all,

We are looking at ordering a Model Y RWD in the next few weeks and I have been looking at home charging options.
I am wondering how much better the Gen3 wall connector is than the UMC on a single phase connection here in Australia?

Regardless of what we choose, an electrician would need to come out as there is no power point where we want the charger to be.
We have a solar system (non Tesla) that on a good day puts 3-4kW back into the grid at any given time so I would like to utilize that with something like Charge HQ.

The sticking point for me is how much quicker will the wall connector be than the UMC?
If utilizing the excess solar only, I would say no different (?) but what if I was to make the difference up by drawing from the grid?

If you are getting an electrician regardless you might as well have the convenience of a wall charger. If you want a charger that responds to excess solar power the Teison range is cost effective.
If you dont drive much then go with the UMC on a power point. If you need to use it more than twice a week it might get annoying.
If you do lots of road trips you might want the surety of a UMC

 

[moa999]

As above you can buy 32A tails for the UMC that get it up to 7kW.
You can also buy brackets and holsters to make it semi-permanent.

The advantage of the Wall Connector is really only for three- phase where it can provide 3ph16A (11kW) to a 3/Y, or if you have two units and want to manage feed.

ChargeHQ works with either solution. At some point I suspect the Wall Connector might have a native solution as well, but possibly only with Tesla equipment.

 

[Quickst]

If your aim is to mop up as much solar export as possible and if your solar export is only 3-4kW at a time, then the UMC and a 16amp circuit will be more than enough to do that.
You will have to make up the difference from the grid in any case as you will not have enough solar. So you might as well go to the highest possible charging rate available for the residential single phase installation.

The UMC can do up to 7kW as above comments with third party tails and a 32amp circuit.
So as you will need an electrician in any case - you can request a single phase 32amp circuit + switch + circuit breaker. No use putting a 16A circuit in. The labour is basically the same - just the materials will be slightly more expensive.

I agree that Wall Connector really is for 3 phase situations

 

[cafz]

The price of the 32A third party tail for the UMC plus the UMC itself ends up being slightly more than the cost of the HPWC.

 

[kpanda17]

Also add rhe cost of GFCI type for the MCU plug outlet

 

[Goneincognito]

Thanks for the info.
Much appreciated.

 

[JonDarian]

Thanks for the info.
Much appreciated.

Did you end up ordering a Tesla and going with the UMC? Be aware that there seems to be a problem getting UMCs to update their firmware at the moment, so you might be limited to 80% of whichever PowerPoint you plug into. For example, you might get 8 amps X 230V = 1.8kW, which is about 10-11km of range added per hour of charging.

 

[Goneincognito]

Haven't yet.
Still deciding in color.

 

[bcarp]

As far as I know, there’s pretty much interchangeability between different brand wall connector/boxes and cars, right? We have a Model Y & a Tesla Wall Connector. We’ve just placed an order for a BMW EV, but it comes with the BMW version of the wall connector (a Wall Box) & BMW have said it’s part of the deal & they can’t take it out in order to reduce the price of the vehicle. We have no use for it really, so I’m wondering what to do with it. It seems pointless to try to sell it to BMW owners if they’ll all be getting a Wall Box anyway. Can I try to sell this to a Tesla owner since Tesla doesn’t sell their cars with Wall Connectors or UMCs? Obviously, I can’t install this to test if it works with a Tesla.

 

[moa999]

Should be but will be missing the special button for Tesla owners to release the cable which is a good convenience.
Maybe sell it to BYD purchasers.

 

[Quickst]

Can I try to sell this to a Tesla owner

I would actually keep it - at some stage you will sell the BMW - the buyer will want the BMW charger.

 

[paulp]

As far as I know, there’s pretty much interchangeability between different brand wall connector/boxes and cars, right? We have a Model Y & a Tesla Wall Connector. We’ve just placed an order for a BMW EV, but it comes with the BMW version of the wall connector (a Wall Box) & BMW have said it’s part of the deal & they can’t take it out in order to reduce the price of the vehicle. We have no use for it really, so I’m wondering what to do with it. It seems pointless to try to sell it to BMW owners if they’ll all be getting a Wall Box anyway. Can I try to sell this to a Tesla owner since Tesla doesn’t sell their cars with Wall Connectors or UMCs? Obviously, I can’t install this to test if it works with a Tesla.

For what its worth, my telsa gen 2 connector plugs into but does not work with my merc eqe. I’m also reasonably certain that tesla is the only manufacturer that does amp changes within the car & has an app. If reducing amps is important to you then I think there are only 2 connectors available that do so. Both cars have a cable release button behind the flap. I now have an amp app adjustable generic charger which does the tesla and the merc (sits neatly between them) but keeping the telsa charger for when I sell the model S

 

[Midnight Man]

If reducing amps is important to you then I think there are only 2 connectors available that do so.

Whilst I know this is a relatively expensive EV charger, I can confirm the Fronius Wattpilot is capable of changing charging current (denominated and changed in amps in the Wattpilot app).

 

[bcarp]

Maybe sell it to BYD purchasers

Thanks to all the suggestions. This is a good idea. BYD purchases come with a 10A unit but not a wall unit. No special button is required to open the charging flap.

I would actually keep it - at some stage you will sell the BMW - the buyer will want the BMW charger

If we keep the BMW 5 years or so, the wall unit will be old tech & have close to zero value. I'm not really interested in storing this for 5 years. Also, there's a fair chance that the purchaser will already have a wall unit installed.

For what its worth, my telsa gen 2 connector plugs into but does not work with my merc eqe. I’m also reasonably certain that tesla is the only manufacturer that does amp changes within the car & has an app

From the vehicles in the showroom, the BMW can adjust charging rates & time slots from the in-car display. From the remote app, the charging time slow control is much better than the Tesla app. You can set different time slots for different days of the week, as well as a one-off session. Same with preconditioning for departure times, much better than Tesla.

 

[bcarp]

Oh, I should add that we have a Tesla wall connector Gen 3 which charged an Atto 3 okay, but I will test it with the iX3 before selling BMW Wall Box

 

[bcarp]

Maybe sell it to BYD purchasers.

Er, where do the BYD purchasers hang out? I can't seem to find an active forum for BYD people similar to this TMC.

I've confirmed our Tesla Wall Connector Gen 3 charges the BMW iX3 just fine, so the BMW Wall Box is superfluous to our needs & just need to offload it to clear space.

 

[moa999]

where do the BYD purchasers hang out? I

Try Facebook. Search BYD Australia, one 7k and one 12k group. Read their rules re advertising.

 

[meloccom]

My BYD owning neighbour tells me that BYD forums are all Facebook groups