UK Charge Point Installer Recommendations

[Fenlandmud]

Been going through the same issues @nickLeeds but my situation being I have power but no data cable to where I want my charger. Load management through the data cable only really applies if you will be pulling lots of things at once.

100a may be the main supply but what is the rating of your consumer unit/fuse board? is that 100 too? It should say. Often 100a is the main supply but the garage might be 40a (so EV + heater + fridge may take it close to 40a for a sustained period) and the house consumer unit might be 60a.

Do you have a heat pump, electric shower, etc? You can fairly quickly (as I had to) work out how close to 100a you might get for a sustained period by adding up the high load items. I have a heat pump but looking at the manual it doesn't pull much load under operation only under start up, otherwise its things like running the hobs/oven + tumble dryer + EV Charger. Always get a professional to confirm your peak load but it is something you can get an idea of by looking at the manuals of your appliances etc.

It seems the installers want to use CT clamps and monitoring as it makes the installations future proof too as with a smart meter combined the suppliers can decide to balance supply based on usage etc. Hypervolt said I had to have a data cable to claim the grant, and Zappi installer said I had to have the Harvi wireless option if I didnt have data cable.

I'm probably going Wallbox and ignoring the grant as its a simple install to an existing power supply and will be cheaper than the quotes I got (£800-1100)

 

[Js1977]

I'm probably going Wallbox and ignoring the grant as its a simple install to an existing power supply and will be cheaper than the quotes I got (£800-1100)

If you are talking Wallbox pulsar+, its compatible for the grant plus if you get another qualifying one from the brand (if you want 2 or more) they can load balance if data connected to each other (best start the installation with armoured cables with data cables built in)

 

[ukmy]

Hi, I’ve had a couple of quotes from installers. One mentioned informing the DNO of the intention to install and notification of completion. I thought you only had to ask upfront if the charger was over 32A, dangerous cables or looped cables. The same person wanted to add an extra RCD box to my RCD protected consumer box in the garage and insisted that we had to add the Zappi ct clamp to the mains supply and limit the Zappi down a bit to account for fridges and a heater in the garage. The other quote was going to add a Harvi to the mains and a CT on the garage supply. This then allows the Zappi to cap garage supply to a max of 32A and measure the mains as per Olev and export once I get solar. Hmm, I hate to question the pros but….

Edit: worth pointing out I have a 100A fuse in a new build with isolator too

Approval from DNO is needed (which the installer will apply) to ensure your property has enough supply. Its common for them to put another mini consumer unit (Garo unit) to isolate the main house so that only the new consumer unit will trip so that it won't disrupt the other things in the house. I learnt these things from the experience of going through EO Mini Pro 2 installation. I think CT clamps are needed to balance the load and/or to connect solar panels. Still learning..

 

[prowl]

Bit late for the Grant thing which is more trouble than it's worth? Also limited to certain hardware so they can potentially tax us for DIFFERENT electricity in the future. Also from june 30th any supplier and installer have to keep a record of who has had what kit installed.

My advise is to go as simple as possible - Go dumb. Get an competent electrician to install.

Mine was:
Tesla Gen 3 - £449
Garo PEN PME - £110
Armoured cable - £30
Normal human Electrician for 3 hours - £120*

£709
*We Did have him fo rthe whole day doing some other socket stuff.

 

[Fenlandmud]

I agree about the grant...while the wallbox is within it I had a quote for £747 installed....or I buy the unit itself for £480 and get my electrician to install it on the cable he put in a year or so back...The tesla Gen3 is a close second but needs the unit £449 + PEN Fault device £120 and then a slightly harder install to wire in the device...

Zappi wanted £800-1100 including grant and Harvi wireless data. Hypervolt wouldn't warranty it or apply the grant if I didn't have a data link cable.

The grant might be worth it if you have nothing in place and can make the figures work to essentially give you £350 off the install cost...but for others it will be cheaper to use a cheaper charger outside of the grant and get an electrician in.

 

[Rich Tea]

Had a Wallbox pulsar plus installed today. I found a local company that would install it for £529 including grant.

I had to shop around though. Contacted maybe 7 places. Some really like to add some fat, one place wanted £880 including grant.

 

[73henny]

Had a Wallbox pulsar plus installed today. I found a local company that would install it for £529 including grant.

I had to shop around though. Contacted maybe 7 places. Some really like to add some fat, one place wanted £880 including grant.

Any particular reason you picked that model?

 

[Rich Tea]

Any particular reason you picked that model?

Seems to do everything I need at the lowest price. Looks nice in white inside my garage too.

The only thing is that the light is always on and after searching I don't think there is a way to turn it off!! If it was outside I think I would be quite annoyed but it's inside my garage so actually provides some ambient lighting. But at the same time especially with the energy crisis going on I know the light is using electricity that I doesn't need to.

 

[73henny]

Seems to do everything I need at the lowest price. Looks nice in white inside my garage too.

The only thing is that the light is always on and after searching I don't think there is a way to turn it off!! If it was outside I think I would be quite annoyed but it's inside my garage so actually provides some ambient lighting. But at the same time especially with the energy crisis going on I know the light is using electricity that I doesn't need to.

It's connected by mobile rather than wifi? Do you happen to know what network as I would want to fit it in my garage and not all networks have a great indoor signal.

 

[Oxstock]

M3 due in March and was thinking of getting the Tesla charger installed and was going to ask for recommendations, but having looked up charging rates online I am no longer sure I need one. I only drive around 100 miles a week on average and the Tesla online docs say that the M3 RWD will charge at ~11mph using the normal 13A plug charger that comes with the car. So plugging the car in for around 10 hours per week should keep it topped up?

Am I correct in thinking this?

Does the 13A socket need to be anything special or will an existing one in my garage be OK (the garage is on a dedicated 30A breaker circuit)?

There is a Tesla fast charger (13kW 2 bay) at a shopping centre only a mile away if I need it.

Hey Mate,

Sorry, this is quite late but wanted to respond! I too only do 100-120 miles per week, have a Tesla M3LR. a standard 3 pin plug will absolutely be fine for you, I can assure you. You'll find that you get around a 25% charge from 7-7am on a 3pin (**Edit this is for a LR, I'd imagine a SR would be even more?). I also saw the comment on cables melting, I've never seen so much waffle in all my life - please ignore this.

2.5mm power cable that should be behind your socket can more than handle 13amps for a sustained period. I could withstand 20+amps for a sustained period. Does anyone really believe that electrical standards / 18th edition would allow cables that couldnt withstand the ampage of a 13amp supply for sustain period pass regs. Garbage. Whoever's cable has melted is because of their dodgy electrics - nothing else.

Only thing I will say is you'll likely need more than 10 hours per week. I dont know exactly, I guess 10 hours might be ok if you want to really use the full range of the battery throughout the week but at some point you'll need to get it up again for the following week.

 

[Oxstock]

Has anyone had a Pod Point charger installed and able to help with this query?

All the installations I have seen so far seem to run off the mains supply (i.e. from the meter cupboard). Whilst this could work, I'm going to need to have a fairly long cable (7.5m to 10m) to get to my car. They won't be able to a longer cable to get the charger nearer the car as the garage/ drive is separate from the house and I understand groundworks aren't standard (nor would I want them to dig up the path).

As an alternative we have electricity in the garage with a distribution board that runs off the main distribution board in the house. It would be great if they could run the charger off this as we'd then be able to the charger nearer the car. Does anyone know if this is possible?

I've had mixed views on this point, some prefer it to run straight from the mains into a sub unit then into the charge point directly. I did get one quote from someone who would run it to our garage consumer unit.

Just a few things to be mindful of is the size of your cable running to the garage. Its likely, but not certain that the cable you've had installed is only enough for that garage. If the armoured is adequate then I cant think of a reason why you couldnt run it like this, obviously you'd need to swap out the breakers etc and upgrade them. I guess the only potential issue is that if the garage trips, your house trips.

 

[Oxstock]

Just for reference for people, my quote is £1,056 for a 22m run to the garage for a 7Kw Hypervolt charger - (Based in South London)

Supply and installation of Hypervolt White 5M 7KW Fast charger type 2 connector	1	£1,006.66	£1,006.66
Standard + Ev fuseboard with Surge
Extra for Ev Ultra armored 22 (with data cable)	22	£5.90	£129.80
Extra Time for Installation + metal cable ties	1	£80.00	£80.00
Standard + allowance of cable discount	1	-£45.00	-£45.00
Grant Scheme applicable	1	-£291.66	-£291.66
Electrical Works Total: Labour & Materials			£880
VAT @ 20%			£176
Total			£1,056

 

[Zanbar]

I've had mixed views on this point, some prefer it to run straight from the mains into a sub unit then into the charge point directly. I did get one quote from someone who would run it to our garage consumer unit.

Just a few things to be mindful of is the size of your cable running to the garage. Its likely, but not certain that the cable you've had installed is only enough for that garage. If the armoured is adequate then I cant think of a reason why you couldnt run it like this, obviously you'd need to swap out the breakers etc and upgrade them. I guess the only potential issue is that if the garage trips, your house trips.

I just literally posted on the other EV charger thread.

Sent all the photos to Podpoint but rather than them noticing it as an issue straight away it's taken them two weeks to come back to me (when I was expecting an install date!). They've said I need to upgrade to 40a RCD in the consumer unit in the house for the garage feed and have a spare 32a RCD in the consumer unit in the garage. The cable between the two is a 3core 6mm that Podpoint suggested in their e-mail they'd be happy with but I'm getting mixed views from Electricians as to whether it needs to be upgraded. Luckily the cable is in open trunking under the path so seems it could be done with limited fuss. However of the 20 odd electricians I've spoken to no one can even take a look until some point next week and then its likely to be a few weeks until they can actually do it.

 

[Zanbar]

Hey Mate,

Sorry, this is quite late but wanted to respond! I too only do 100-120 miles per week, have a Tesla M3LR. a standard 3 pin plug will absolutely be fine for you, I can assure you. You'll find that you get around a 25% charge from 7-7am on a 3pin (**Edit this is for a LR, I'd imagine a SR would be even more?). I also saw the comment on cables melting, I've never seen so much waffle in all my life - please ignore this.

2.5mm power cable that should be behind your socket can more than handle 13amps for a sustained period. I could withstand 20+amps for a sustained period. Does anyone really believe that electrical standards / 18th edition would allow cables that couldnt withstand the ampage of a 13amp supply for sustain period pass regs. Garbage. Whoever's cable has melted is because of their dodgy electrics - nothing else.

Only thing I will say is you'll likely need more than 10 hours per week. I dont know exactly, I guess 10 hours might be ok if you want to really use the full range of the battery throughout the week but at some point you'll need to get it up again for the following week.

Thanks for this, very helpful given it looks like I'll have a Y before I have a home charger! I don't do a huge amount of miles and have two banks of superchargers within 15 miles but sounds like a three pin will keep it topped up.

 

[BatteryJuice]

Many thanks for the recommendation @Krisey. I've gone with EVC with a black Hypervolt.

New member here with a M3LR Grey / 19" / Black int to collect on 9th Jan (expecting the 2022 Model as per my account page and hoping for MCU3 / Ryzen upgrade).

Interaction with EVC Electrical has been very professional and prompt with very quick replies even out of hours - looking forward to the install a few days after I collect the car.

I've really appreciate all the members contributions here - I learnt a lot by spending a couple of hours reading through pages of charge point installs, delivery tracking, general tip etc. - excellent forum and lots of existing knowledge on here.

Looking forward to getting my M3 LR.

Charger installed today from EVC, no issues at all. Rob from EVC text me in the morning giving me timing updates for arrival. Took around 2.5 hours for entire job. Friendly chap and very professional.

I was worried about the Hypervolt type 2 cable not locking properly into the M3 charger port as reported by others in other threads but looks like I might have received the updated cable with the correct location for the locking hole.

PS one photo showing the charger covered with a cheap rucksack cover if I need to use it when it’s pissing down.

Would highly recommend EVC for London area.

 

[Oxstock]

I just literally posted on the other EV charger thread.

Sent all the photos to Podpoint but rather than them noticing it as an issue straight away it's taken them two weeks to come back to me (when I was expecting an install date!). They've said I need to upgrade to 40a RCD in the consumer unit in the house for the garage feed and have a spare 32a RCD in the consumer unit in the garage. The cable between the two is a 3core 6mm that Podpoint suggested in their e-mail they'd be happy with but I'm getting mixed views from Electricians as to whether it needs to be upgraded. Luckily the cable is in open trunking under the path so seems it could be done with limited fuss. However of the 20 odd electricians I've spoken to no one can even take a look until some point next week and then its likely to be a few weeks until they can actually do it.

I assume podpoint are merely just emailing you what they think you need cable size wise? This is poor form.

They have no idea of the demand currently in your garage to be able to suggest to you that 6mm will be adequate without testing

6mm is fine for quite a large load - about 50amps, but a 7.5kw charger alone would be 33amps so that only gives you another 10amps you can use off that garage consumer unit before melting the cables (to be safe) - mate, always go large, I’d always go up a level rather than down.

Who knows what you might want to add in the future.

 

[Oxstock]

Thanks for this, very helpful given it looks like I'll have a Y before I have a home charger! I don't do a huge amount of miles and have two banks of superchargers within 15 miles but sounds like a three pin will keep it topped up.

Yeh I think you’ll be surprised at how good a 3pin is. Ok it ain’t going to work for someone smashing out 200-300 miles a week.

 

[Zanbar]

I assume podpoint are merely just emailing you what they think you need cable size wise? This is poor form.

They have no idea of the demand currently in your garage to be able to suggest to you that 6mm will be adequate without testing

6mm is fine for quite a large load - about 50amps, but a 7.5kw charger alone would be 33amps so that only gives you another 10amps you can use off that garage consumer unit before melting the cables (to be safe) - mate, always go large, I’d always go up a level rather than down.

Who knows what you might want to add in the future.

This is really helpful - thank you - and affirms my thoughts that I need to go with an electrician who suggests upgrading the cable. My garage isn't really a garage - it's a double garage but 3/4 of it has been converted (professionally) into a home office/ man cave. Got a couple of wall mounted electric heaters, two monitors, a TV, Fridge Freezer and a running machine.

 

[nickLeeds]

This is really helpful - thank you - and affirms my thoughts that I need to go with an electrician who suggests upgrading the cable. My garage isn't really a garage - it's a double garage but 3/4 of it has been converted (professionally) into a home office/ man cave. Got a couple of wall mounted electric heaters, two monitors, a TV, Fridge Freezer and a running machine.

One thing with the Zappi is you can add an extra CT clamp to the incoming garage feed and limit it. So the charger will back off if say the heaters are on the the garage. I'm going to have a 32A limit my garage to match the breaker that feeds it in the house (via 6mm cable). You then need a Harvi to get the grant by clamping the meter box mains.

 

[Oxstock]

This is really helpful - thank you - and affirms my thoughts that I need to go with an electrician who suggests upgrading the cable. My garage isn't really a garage - it's a double garage but 3/4 of it has been converted (professionally) into a home office/ man cave. Got a couple of wall mounted electric heaters, two monitors, a TV, Fridge Freezer and a running machine.

Yeh exactly, but obvs it goes without saying, get a pros advice, don’t take my advice as gospel, just sharing what I think is right and what I’d be challenging on.