UK Home Charger Setup

[RichSid]

Hi everyone

I purchased by MX yesterday and had a home charger installed by a local electrician. When I plugged the car in last night, it stated 13 hours to charge it. Sure enough, this morning after 7 hours, it says 7 hours remaining. Do you think the charger is set up correctly. The electrician has plugged it into the mains using a 13 amp plug and set the charge to 13 amps. is this right?

Thanks.

 

[vandacca]

The HWPC can be configured to whatever amperage you have available (up to 80A). If it's on a 13 amp circuit, then technically it should be set to charge at 10A (80% of 13A) because it's a continuous draw (at least that's the guidance in North America).

13A isn't very high, but that may be the only room you had available. Only a local electrician can help you out there. You can ask them how much higher you can go. Sometimes, you may have the option to get another line from your service provider to double your service.

I have mine on a 60A circuit and I charge at 48A. A full charge is less than 4 hours at that rate. Typically, my charging sessions only last a few hours because I rarely completely drain the battery in my daily commute.

 

[RichSid]

Thanks. I think he got confused with the fuse in the plug rather than the actual circuit.

 

[Jays200]

3 phase, single phase?

 

[Siggy101]

Hi RichSid.
That charge rate is too slow.
It is hard to get advice from the guys in the US as they work very differently to the UK.

Essentially, you have a single phase, 240V, 13A supply there. That is the same as a domestic socket in your house. Epic slow.
The electrician should really have installed a dedicated breaker for the EVSE and with considerably higher current (A). I think he could have got you to about 32A in an average UK house at a minimum.
I would call him back and ask if he found a restriction on the power supply available to the location of your charger. Do you live in an old house or very remote location?
Was he an EV charger installer or a normal sparkie? Was he Tesla approved? I suspect he is a normal electrician who perhaps doesn't appreciate the rather high amperage needed to charge an EV.
He might, on the other hand, be excellent and knowledgeable but restricted by your house's supply.

Either way, give him a call back and ask. That charge rate is too slow to live with on a daily basis.

 

[Siggy101]

Sorry, to be clear: an EV charge station should not have a cable that plugs into a normal 13A 3 pin plug.
That is not a proper installation.
It should be cabled in, not plugged in.

 

[donnk]

fellow brit here. You need a 32A socket. similar to shower feed or cooker socket. Big fat meaty cable from fusebox to your charger.