EV CHARGING AND FUSE

[Murdochcat]

You need to do about 100k miles in an EV before you start saving the planet AND that assumes the electricity isn’t generated by burning fossil fuels

 

[flameport]

You need to do about 100k miles in an EV before you start saving the planet AND that assumes the electricity isn’t generated by burning fossil fuels

That is entirely untrue, no vehicle is going to 'save the planet' regardless of what fuel it uses.
There are other reasons for having an electric vehicle.

 

[flameport]

Main fuse should be adequate.
Can't be a looped supply.

Most fuses are already adequate.
Looped supplies will likely mean the charge rate will have to be lower, such as 3.5kW rather than 7kW.
Looped supplies can and should be replaced.
Many people won't need to charge at 7kW anyway, al depends on what mileage they are doing, so the presence of a looped supply might not be a problem at all.

Also If I buy an ev what options do I have to charge it for example can I charge it outside or in my house?

For charging at home there are 2 options:
1 - plug in to any 13A socket. Most vehicles are supplied with a connector lead for that, if not they are readily available.
This will take a long time to charge but that is irrelevant as you won't be standing next to it waiting for it to charge - you plug in and leave it for however long it takes, such as overnight.
This also means you can charge anywhere that a 13A outlet exists such as at someone else's house that you were visiting for an hour or four.

2 - An EVSE, usually called a 'charger' - a box on the wall which connects to the car. Will charge about 3x faster than the 13A plug method, so could be useful if doing high mileage every day and you want to make use of cheap overnight electricity which is typically only available for a few hours.
Most have features such as using excess solar power so you can charge for free if you also have solar panels on your house.
These also take a number of hours to charge, but once again no one cares because it's plug in when you get home and forget about it.
One of these installed will cost up to £1000, so you will need to decide if paying that is worthwhile for the additional speed and other features than it can offer.

For both of these it is not necessary or even desirable to charge to 100% - you can charge to whatever level is sufficient for the journey(s) you will be making that day or until you get to another charging location.
Whether you need 1 or 2 mainly depends on how far you drive in a day typically - and that's actual miles driven, not some guess or estimate, and not how long you might be stuck in traffic jams either.

The other essential thing to understand is that you do NOT drive around until you get to 5% charge and then start looking for a charging device. Unless it's some kind of emergency, you don't drive to places specifically to charge the vehicle either.


For charging away from home option 2 exists in vast numbers - but would only be used if you will be staying at a place for several hours. Sometimes called 'destination charging'.
It's the same EVSE device that you can have at home with the addition of some method of paying for the charge. Found in car parks everywhere, and you will probably have to pay for parking as well as charging.

The other option for charging away from home is DC rapid charging, found at motorway services and similar. These will typically charge at least 20x faster than the home options, in some cases even more.
Used when making a short stop on a longer journey where charging from 10% - 80% would typically take 15 minutes or so.
These are significantly more expensive than other options, so would not normally be used for regular charging.

Say if I charge it for 5 mins will I be able to drive to the local shop for eg?

That is not a valid use case - you charge the vehicle when it's parked so it's charged when you next need to use it.
You do not charge it a bit and then go driving somewhere.

 

[TAMD8389]

Most fuses are already adequate.
Looped supplies will likely mean the charge rate will have to be lower, such as 3.5kW rather than 7kW.
Looped supplies can and should be replaced.
Many people won't need to charge at 7kW anyway, al depends on what mileage they are doing, so the presence of a looped supply might not be a problem at all.


For charging at home there are 2 options:
1 - plug in to any 13A socket. Most vehicles are supplied with a connector lead for that, if not they are readily available.
This will take a long time to charge but that is irrelevant as you won't be standing next to it waiting for it to charge - you plug in and leave it for however long it takes, such as overnight.
This also means you can charge anywhere that a 13A outlet exists such as at someone else's house that you were visiting for an hour or four.

2 - An EVSE, usually called a 'charger' - a box on the wall which connects to the car. Will charge about 3x faster than the 13A plug method, so could be useful if doing high mileage every day and you want to make use of cheap overnight electricity which is typically only available for a few hours.
Most have features such as using excess solar power so you can charge for free if you also have solar panels on your house.
These also take a number of hours to charge, but once again no one cares because it's plug in when you get home and forget about it.
One of these installed will cost up to £1000, so you will need to decide if paying that is worthwhile for the additional speed and other features than it can offer.

For both of these it is not necessary or even desirable to charge to 100% - you can charge to whatever level is sufficient for the journey(s) you will be making that day or until you get to another charging location.
Whether you need 1 or 2 mainly depends on how far you drive in a day typically - and that's actual miles driven, not some guess or estimate, and not how long you might be stuck in traffic jams either.

The other essential thing to understand is that you do NOT drive around until you get to 5% charge and then start looking for a charging device. Unless it's some kind of emergency, you don't drive to places specifically to charge the vehicle either.


For charging away from home option 2 exists in vast numbers - but would only be used if you will be staying at a place for several hours. Sometimes called 'destination charging'.
It's the same EVSE device that you can have at home with the addition of some method of paying for the charge. Found in car parks everywhere, and you will probably have to pay for parking as well as charging.

The other option for charging away from home is DC rapid charging, found at motorway services and similar. These will typically charge at least 20x faster than the home options, in some cases even more.
Used when making a short stop on a longer journey where charging from 10% - 80% would typically take 15 minutes or so.
These are significantly more expensive than other options, so would not normally be used for regular charging.



That is not a valid use case - you charge the vehicle when it's parked so it's charged when you next need to use it.
You do not charge it a bit and then go driving somewhere.

Thank you so much for the reply. I appreciate it. Thanks a lot. I understand it now.

 

[morqthana]

Say if I charge it for 5 mins will I be able to drive to the local shop for eg?

That is not a valid use case - you charge the vehicle when it's parked so it's charged when you next need to use it.
You do not charge it a bit and then go driving somewhere.

A good analogy of that question would be, with a petrol car, "I keep my petrol tank empty, and store petrol in cans at home. If I slosh in a litre, will I be able to drive to the local shop?"

 

[ebee]

That is entirely untrue, no vehicle is going to 'save the planet' regardless of what fuel it uses.
There are other reasons for having an electric vehicle.

Unless some bright spark discovers a away to burn CO2 and convert it into Oxygen and movement force! Hmm I wonder?

Thinking about the chances of anyone achieving that it is about as unlikely as anyone turning Hironedell into wine or something.

 

[Risteard]

Most fuses are already adequate.
Looped supplies will likely mean the charge rate will have to be lower, such as 3.5kW rather than 7kW.
Looped supplies can and should be replaced.
Many people won't need to charge at 7kW anyway, al depends on what mileage they are doing, so the presence of a looped supply might not be a problem at all.


For charging at home there are 2 options:
1 - plug in to any 13A socket. Most vehicles are supplied with a connector lead for that, if not they are readily available.
This will take a long time to charge but that is irrelevant as you won't be standing next to it waiting for it to charge - you plug in and leave it for however long it takes, such as overnight.
This also means you can charge anywhere that a 13A outlet exists such as at someone else's house that you were visiting for an hour or four.

2 - An EVSE, usually called a 'charger' - a box on the wall which connects to the car. Will charge about 3x faster than the 13A plug method, so could be useful if doing high mileage every day and you want to make use of cheap overnight electricity which is typically only available for a few hours.
Most have features such as using excess solar power so you can charge for free if you also have solar panels on your house.
These also take a number of hours to charge, but once again no one cares because it's plug in when you get home and forget about it.
One of these installed will cost up to £1000, so you will need to decide if paying that is worthwhile for the additional speed and other features than it can offer.

For both of these it is not necessary or even desirable to charge to 100% - you can charge to whatever level is sufficient for the journey(s) you will be making that day or until you get to another charging location.
Whether you need 1 or 2 mainly depends on how far you drive in a day typically - and that's actual miles driven, not some guess or estimate, and not how long you might be stuck in traffic jams either.

The other essential thing to understand is that you do NOT drive around until you get to 5% charge and then start looking for a charging device. Unless it's some kind of emergency, you don't drive to places specifically to charge the vehicle either.


For charging away from home option 2 exists in vast numbers - but would only be used if you will be staying at a place for several hours. Sometimes called 'destination charging'.
It's the same EVSE device that you can have at home with the addition of some method of paying for the charge. Found in car parks everywhere, and you will probably have to pay for parking as well as charging.

The other option for charging away from home is DC rapid charging, found at motorway services and similar. These will typically charge at least 20x faster than the home options, in some cases even more.
Used when making a short stop on a longer journey where charging from 10% - 80% would typically take 15 minutes or so.
These are significantly more expensive than other options, so would not normally be used for regular charging.



That is not a valid use case - you charge the vehicle when it's parked so it's charged when you next need to use it.
You do not charge it a bit and then go driving somewhere.

So-called "granny" leads (i.e. Mode 2 chargepoints) are no longer supplied with vehicles, thank God.

 

[morqthana]

Bet you can buy them on Amazon though.

 

[Risteard]

Bet you can buy them on Amazon though.

You can certainly buy aftermarket ones, yes.

 

[securespark]

Mind you, they are giving away EV's with delivery mileage only and a few years old

Who is?

 

[securespark]

So-called "granny" leads (i.e. Mode 2 chargepoints) are no longer supplied with vehicles, thank God.

My 23 plate car came with one and I know someone with a 25.plate car (same model), which also came with one.

 

[AndyPRK]

Who is?

Available on autotrader.

 

[securespark]

Delivery mileage and a few years old doesn't really go together.

 

[Murdochcat]

Delivery mileage and a few years old doesn't really go together.

It does when manufacturers over produce and can’t sell them

 

[securespark]

But that goes for all cars, not just EVs.