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Cart before the horse? (EV charging)

AncientMariner

Am looking at replacing our 1999 diesel engined car ideally with an EV.

Would obviously want to charge with a 7 kW unit so the question is would our existing Grey Series 7 II b cutout with an 80A fuse fitted be capable of 7 kW or only 3.6 kW. 

So before I even look at a car, I really need to know.  Emailed SP Energy Systems “Getting Connected” and get the reply, “Please be advised that when your installer submits the notification form for the charger, the property will be surveyed and anything required will be carried out as part of that.”  Ok then, I buy the car and then find out that I can only charge at the 3.6kW rate. I could of course have a charging point fitted first, but then would not be able to claim any subsidy or dealer offer.

Clive

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    For most drivers under most conditions, 3.6 kw charging should be fine.

    A fairly common battery capacity is about 40 kwh, so about 11 hours overnight will fully charge the battery, and that is making the VERY pessimistic  assumption that the battery will be fully discharged.

    I feel that both the electricity distribution industry, and the writers of regulations, and the electrical contracting  industry  are over complicating what should be a simple affair.

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    Clive,

    I would say no problem. Take the Zappi charger for example, it comes complete with a CT which  can be set to limit the current taken from the grid and will ensure that your maximum agreed current is not exceeded. 
    personally, I would be sticking to a lean petrol machine for the moment.

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    Yes, hopefully would be OK at a lower charge rate, but nice to have some in reserve.  The car I was looking at has a 50 kWhr battery,

    Other than an 80 A fuse, I don't know what our max agreed supply is. When I last asked SP they suggested that I asked an electrician.

    The ability of a Zippi to limit overall supply current to, in my current case, 80 A sounds good.

    Anyway, I have just put my clamp amp-meter set to MAX on a meter tail and if its battery holds out, I hope to see a max demand.  Which I think will be lower than I perhaps expected.

    Clive

     

     

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    and there was me assuming that the ancient mariner was running his fleet on heavy fuel oil ?

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    Anyway, I have just put my clamp amp-meter set to MAX on a meter tail and if its battery holds out, I hope to see a max demand.  Which I think will be lower than I perhaps expected.

    Your meter will presumably show instantaneous maximum demand - whereas the fuse (and cables) are really only interested in thermally equivalent currents over a significant time (say tens or minutes or hours) - so the situation is likely to be a lot less worrying than even the clamp meter suggests.

       - Andy.

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    The DNO still need to be notified. NIE asked me for confirmation that the Zappi shut down if the CT circuit failed. I havent Replied as yet!

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    Somewhere in all the small print should be an agreed after diversity maximum demand.

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    It is not on anything that I have.

    In 2019, I asked SP, "can you please tell me what the "Agreed Supply Capacity “ (ASC) is and gave both my full address and the MPAN?”

    Their reply (following day): "Thank you for your enquiry. Please be advised that we do not hold capacity information.

    We as the distributor would be responsible for upgrading the supply if this is required.

    An electrician would be able to advise what you have at the moment and if you require an upgrade."

    Clive

     

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    I could have sworn this discussion was in the Wiring Regs forum.

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    Indeed Andy, I wish they would leave things be. I posted the experienced worker NVQ in the wiring regs forum because that is where the greatest response was likely to have come from. Was it related to 7671? Well yes in very many ways but perhaps not obvious to the moderato. Perhaps they should ask for justification before moving, or just accept that effectively the wiring regs forum is a general catch all.

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