Charging EV

[securespark]

Does anyone use Octopus and an Ohme Home Pro charger?

Just had one fitted today and the guy fair ran through the set-up and user instructions with me faster than Mo Farah....

I was told I needed to put the Octopus app on my phone, as well as Ohme's app and the car's app, which was already on there.

Confused already, I stumbled through the Octopus instructions which said they would test charge the car and if all went well, it would automatically swap me from the current Flexible Tariff to the Intelligent Octopus Tariff.

Which I don't think it did.

Moving onto the Ohme app, I plugged the car in and waited for the 23.30 switchover time and the car wasn't charging. So I went outside and fiddled about. Now it seems to be charging but I don't know if it's on the cheaper tariff.

Plus I can't seem to set up scheduled charging that comes on automatically at 23.30.

So much to learn. I did ring Octopus earlier today, but the girl didn't seem to know much about it.

I'll ring them both tomorrow: the joys of call centres!

 

[ericmark]

If you can't work it out, what chance has the general public? Seems your having the same problem with EV charging as I am having with solar panels. What has god wrought?

 

[norseman]

What has god wrought?

An obsession to follow the latest technology

 

[mointainwalker]

An obsession to follow the latest technology

I'd say an apparent acceptance by lots of new internet-linked companies that if 70% works, that's good enough and they'll sort the rest out later (maybe ) . Watch the video from 10:20 for 90 seconds: you'll get his general opinion and the real kicker about the stupidity of some charging companies at the end.

 

[StephenStephen]

Try posting here:

https://www.speakev.com/forums/home-charging-installation.389/

 

[DiyNutJob]

If you can't work it out, what chance has the general public? Seems your having the same problem with EV charging as I am having with solar panels. What has god wrought?

There's not much sunshine in this country, and not many people have actual experience. You best go play with the americans. Their main concern appears to be to do with batteries. I have an impression these cost a bomb.

 

[ericmark]

@mointainwalker link and comments were interesting, I watched the whole video, one point I noticed was a charging lead in the boot, one would have expected a lead which needs to be used so often would have some reserved space where it can be easy accessed, most people don't drive around with an empty boot.

The comments on charging points I have noticed here where the local one was switched off in spring as some one had found a way to steal power. As to £40 to fill up, that's a lot cheaper than diesel, however the time to charge means we need a complete different approach, not filling stations but car parks where we can recharge, so not waiting to charge but doing what we went out to do.

It does however depend what you want a car for, to go to local shops, an EV would work well, always charged at home, but could also use the train (summer only) or the bus, so the car is for convenience, if I want speed then the e-bike as no 20 MPH speed limit for them, that's only for cars. (I live in Wales)

The main use for the car is the longer journey, where without the car I would need to stop some where over night, or even break up the journey due to bus and train times limiting how long and when I can travel. So main reason for the car is going on holiday and going to hospital. Can't do this with public transport, and I don't consider a taxi as public transport for any further than station (bus or train) to final destination.

However this is not the question, it is working out what things are doing with a general lack of written instructions. And also a lack of information about what is going on. And salesmen running off without explaining things.

I paid a lot of money for my iboost+ so I could use solar power to heat the DHW, up to now was using oil, but no mention that to use more than ½ kWh the immersion heater would likely need changing. With oil a hot tank would last 3 days, with solar by next day it is cold.

And it does not help when all the instructions were taken by the installers, so I am left trying to use what I can down load from the internet. The battery is fully discharged by 11 pm, and before there is enough solar to charge a battery again it is 10 am, I know I need to find out what is using all the power, but automation makes it hard, I see a 1 kW load, only to find it was the iboost+ not my wife making me coffee.

This does not help @securespark who it seems like me has not been given the info required. OK we all know the Freddy Boswell look alike clapping hands is not really turning the lights on/off, smart meters can't do that, but the next advert is for the ASA saying how they are making adverts truthful. Must read 1984 again.

 

[norseman]

@mointainwalker

Must read 1984 again.

First published in 1949 it's said that the only detail George Orwell got wrong was the date.

 

[Avocet]

Does anyone use Octopus and an Ohme Home Pro charger?

Just had one fitted today and the guy fair ran through the set-up and user instructions with me faster than Mo Farah....

I was told I needed to put the Octopus app on my phone, as well as Ohme's app and the car's app, which was already on there.

Confused already, I stumbled through the Octopus instructions which said they would test charge the car and if all went well, it would automatically swap me from the current Flexible Tariff to the Intelligent Octopus Tariff.

Which I don't think it did.

Moving onto the Ohme app, I plugged the car in and waited for the 23.30 switchover time and the car wasn't charging. So I went outside and fiddled about. Now it seems to be charging but I don't know if it's on the cheaper tariff.

Plus I can't seem to set up scheduled charging that comes on automatically at 23.30.

So much to learn. I did ring Octopus earlier today, but the girl didn't seem to know much about it.

I'll ring them both tomorrow: the joys of call centres!

I can't directly help, as I've just this week switched to Octopus, but I don't have a smart meter. However, in general, some of the more upmarket EV chargers have timers on them, most EVs have timers on them, and some electricity tariffs, via smart meter, have (in effect) timers on them. In genera;l, it seems you have to pick which timer you want to use, and disable the others, or they all get in a mess.

My EV is permanently set to "charge immediately", and then the charging times are controlled by the charger. The car is plugged in whenever it's not being used. As my electricity goes to cheap rate, the charger is set to supply power to the car. As the car is always ready to accept charge (unless it's full), it just starts charging whenever the charger sends it power.

 

[securespark]

Thank you.

The Octopus app refers you to the Ohme app for charging schedules.

Not looked at the car's app.

Will have a fiddle tomorrow.