Hi,
Just wondering if anyone had any insight into when the EV Charger is going to be available?
Contacted GivEnergy themselves but all they could tell me is this Autumn. Currently looking into EV charger install options, so if it’s going to be a long time we may need to look elsewhere!
Cheers,
James.
There isn’t a confirmed date yet but indications are around the end of the year, possibly early next year. Anything before that is a bonus.
Is the solar diverter even out yet?
I'd have to say to just get installed what's available unless you have a real desire to keep it all on one platform. The Zappi and others have been out long enough to work out kinks, have good apps and stuff, and decent warranties.
Thanks both, much appreciated! I may well explore other avenues, as we need to get it sorted sooner rather than later really.
jameswhit Everyones circumstances will be different. The GE charger is likely to work best due to its integration into the ecosystem. I'm waiting it out, had the EV since June and managing with a bit of granny charging when there is plenty of sun and public charging. It all depends on your mileage and use, for me, we use the EV for the majority of our miles now but its all local so no long trips. If you are going to have high and frequent mileage, that may not work for you and getting an alternative charger would be more convenient.
Hi,
Yeah we are doing the same currently, just making the most of granny and public charging!
The single ecosystem was one of the things that was tempting me to wait, as I like the idea of everything being in one app but defo going to consider all options.
I’m just wondering what would be required in terms of installation if we went down a different manufacturer route. I don’t think we have space left on our main consumer unit, so if we required a new smaller one for an EV charger would this still work with our GivEnergy EV setup, I.E. would it be able to use the solar generated direct or from the battery still in that configuration?
Thank you,
James.
jameswhit If your consumer unit (CU) is fully populated and you want to add another circuit, then another CU is needed. This can be fed from a Henley Block between the supplier meter and the existing CU, or you can have a rethink of your needs and consider either replacing the CU with a larger one, or adding a new smaller CU for additional circuits. You don't say if you already have a Givenergy inverter or how your plant is connected.
If you do have to make changes to your wiring to cater for an EV point, you might want to consider some opportunities: you could break out your lighting, boiler electrical feed and maybe a supply for broadband router etc onto a separate CU which could be fed from a changeover switch from your inverter EPS. This would give you lighting, heating (assuming oil or gas boiler) and broadband during a power cut. This CU could be fed from an MCB/RCBO within your existing CU (or the Henley Block) via the changeover switch. Moving these supplies to a new EPS/Grid-fed CU should make room in your main CU for the EV point and maybe give you some spare capacity.
Don't forget that when installing an EV supply, it's good practice to also install a surge suppressor which will also take up space in your CU.
Hi,
Thanks for the information above, it is very useful! Will defo have to look into all these options.
In terms of my setup currently, we have a Henley Block after the smart meter, which has the solar inverter connected into it (GivEnergy 3.6 Hybrid Inverter, a small CU which feeds our Nest Hello doorbell transformer and then the main CU. There is no spare connection on the Henley Block, so I did wonder if another option could be to upgrade the CU that feeds the Nest transformer, so it can also provide the feed for the EV charger as well.
Thanks.