Where to go for home EV point installation?

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Barnfather

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 24, 2015
Messages
83
Wasn't quite sure which forum this belonged in, so apologies if in wrong place.

I live in Grantham, Lincolnshire and am due to receive my new GX4h at the end of February (I've been quoted the 29th). It's a company lease, and aside from the expected delivery date, I've had no further information from my company or LeaseDrive about the new car, so assume all is well.

So, I need to get a power point installed on my drive, ahead of the delivery of the car.

A local firm - Simon Hopkins Electrical - have an impressive website talking about their EV installation services, however it seems their site is out of date and when you call them they say they no longer do it.

The device they installed was something called a 'pod point', which looks quite smart from the photos (I want a tethered connection).

So my question is - are there any recommended installers in this area I should speak to, and are there any pro's/con's to the 'pod point' over other makes of EV charging points?

I'm sure this question will have been asked before so apologies if thats the case.
 
Hi Barnfather
I had mine fitted by these guys, very professional I thought, I used the Weymouth office but they have one up North and are country wide!


Futurum Head Office

01305 755 700

Retro House
Unit 6D Parkway Farm Business Centre
Poundbury
Dorchester
DT1 3AR

North Yorkshire Office

01609 775 500

1C Gaskell Close
Standard Way Industrial Estate
Northallerton
North Yorkshire
DL6 2YE
 
The question has been asked many times, but the answer has changed over time and also depends on your location. The grants are being reduced and I think some of the smaller installers are beginning to question if it is worth staying in the market.

I used Chargemaster (https://www.chargemasterplc.com/) and was very happy with their service. The web site indicates that you need to get it done soon if you want to receive the full grant.
 
Just an external UK 13A socket installed in a convenient position is all that is required for an overnight 5 hour charge.
 
Tipper said:
Just an external UK 13A socket installed in a convenient position is all that is required for an overnight 5 hour charge.

That will certainly work if you don't need the speed. Worth noting that it will pull the battery down a bit more when you use pre-heat while plugged up to a 13A socket. Even the 16A charger point cannot fully cover the current drain of a pre-heat, but it comes closer to it than the 13A connector.
 
I'm in Cambridge and am getting a PodPoint charger installed this Friday. The PodPoint contact details are:

POD Point
Tel: 020 7247 4114
Web: www.pod-point.com

I'll let you know how it goes. Up to now though I've been getting on fine using a 13A socket at home and at my regular hotel, with the occasional top up at the fast charge points on the motorway

JC
 
I want a proper installation, rather than a standard 3-pin socket jobbie... I also ideally want it installed prior to receiving the car - ie. in the next 5 weeks or so.

Would be interested to hear how the pod-point install goes. and will check out the chargemaster link.

Is there any paperwork required by the installers (whoever they may be)? I ask because other than the order confirmation, I don't have anything from the LeaseDrive people
 
Barnfather said:
I want a proper installation, rather than a standard 3-pin socket jobbie... I also ideally want it installed prior to receiving the car - ie. in the next 5 weeks or so.

Would be interested to hear how the pod-point install goes. and will check out the chargemaster link.

Is there any paperwork required by the installers (whoever they may be)? I ask because other than the order confirmation, I don't have anything from the LeaseDrive people

You do need some pretty convincing proof of ownership - I'm not sure what is acceptable. When we purchased, the government was giving 100% grants no questions asked and people with no intention of buying an EV were getting them installed in the belief that it would enhance the resale value of the house. They tightened up on that shortly after ours was installed.
 
Barnfather - you will need to fill out the government OLEV form which also requires proof of ownership in the form of the V5C document or the V5C/2 slip. Here are the words from Chargemaster ", the Office of Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) announced recently that the EVHS grant will be extended for a further 12 month period from March 1st, 2016 but at the lower level of £500 rather than the existing £700. The new reduced subsidy will apply to any unit not installed by February 29th 2016 irrespective of the date of the original application. This will mean the cost of your Homecharge Unit will be increased by £200 if not processed and installed by 29th February 2016."

I had mine installed by Chargemaster on Monday. Excellent service from the word go. Communication was brilliant and although the install was booked for 4th February I had a call on Monday morning asking if I was available for the install that day due to a cancellation.
 
Hi Barnfather.. I live nr Newark & have a podpoint that was installed by nucharge.co.uk in Chesterfield .
I think they use Rolec now, but their local installer Lee was from Melton and was top rate.

Should have also added that mine a a company lease & Nucharge told me everything I needed to provide.
1. proof of order & 2 letter from my employer confirming car was allocated to me :shock:
I got my point installed before car was delivered , so should be no issue there....
 
Tried the nucharge website but it seemed to be down.

Ended up putting a query in on the Rolec website, which I think will get routed to whoever the local installer is. Hopefully this time I receive a response - I have a bad track record when it comes to online web-form responses :)
 
I see there are options between a 16/32amp and/or 3.7/7 kW units

I live in a relatively recently (8yrs) built house - and end-townhouse, with whatever bog-standard electricity systems are thrown into new builds these days.

What are the major advantages with paying the extra £70+ for the beefier units? Assuming my electric system can cope with them..
 
Your home electrics will be able to cope with a 32A unit easily. The only advantage of a 32A unit that I can see is future proofing. The PHEV will only draw about 14A max (as measured), regardless of what the charge point is rated.
 
Just following up on my earlier post. Had my Podpoint charging point installed on Friday. The installer said that Pod Point are now recruiting installers directly rather than using sub-contractors. At the moment, he is the only one in East Anglia, but apparently there should be a couple more soon.

My point is the basic 16A version, but apparently it is relatively simple to upgrade to 32A (if your feed in circuit is up to it) as it only requires a link to be inserted on a control board in the unit. So, I'm hoping that if I do feel the need to upgrade in the future, it shouldn't be too expensive.

Anyway I now have the luxury of being able to drive onto my drive, plug the car in, and then go inside rather than raking around the 13A cable and laying it under the garage door. It doesn't sound like a lot of hassle, but as I often leave at crack of dawn and get back late it makes a difference to me :).

The installer was friendly and accommodating. He had to add an extra consumer unit as mine was fully used, but had one with him and never suggested any extra cost (which I know has been an issue with some other installers). Happy to recommend them

Cheers JC
 
I've gone with Chargemaster and it's being installed tomorrow, so I'll try and post some pics and info.

The journey so far hasn't been too painful.

* I filled in the on-line form and received an email response within 3 days.
* I was asked to send in pics of the meter and surrounding area and the location I wanted the point fitted to outside. Also asked to provide "proof of ownership" which is impossible because the car hasn't arrived yet. I'm getting a company vehicle so the director signed a pre-formed letter on company paper and sent it in which has been enough to confirm the grant. We had to supply the order number for the vehicle.
* I was called up and asked a few questions (Tethered or untethered, confirmation of vehicle type, distance from electric board to point). Also confirmed that they would use white trunking if any cable run was required through the house.
* I've gone for a 32A Tethered solution, distance from board is about 6m, paid my £195
* Electrician booked for tomorrow, whole process was about 2 weeks.

Not happy with the idea of drilling holes through two rooms and running white trunking I've investigated a route under the floor which is much easier. I've also run a thick speaker cable through the run so the electrician can pull the bigger cable through and should make the job easier (I use to be an electrician). I'm assuming they run armoured cable outside but I'll confirm.

So... pics will follow tomorrow along with an update on the job. I live in North Wales so it might be handy for anyone else in the area.
 
So, here is the update.

Engineer arrived at 12:45, he should have been here for 13:00 so he was early which I was happy with. :)

I showed him the cable run that I wanted under the floor and through an air brick which meant no drilling through thick walls and he was more than happy to use it.

He ran armoured cable to the floor under my distribution unit and then a small junction box to bring it in to a spare way using 6.5 mm 2+1 standard cable.

Whole job was completed by 14:15 and I'm very happy with the work.

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I went to ChargeMaster first because of their leaflet in the car stuff and that's who the dealer said they'd used before.

I sent a couple of emails before receipt of the car because some of their advertising suggested that time was running out due to grant changes. They didn't respond to these emails. When I picked up the car, the dealer filled in my details on their website and they did get in touch the next day.

I was trying to get the info to them whilst at work. They insisted on phoning me instead of replying to emails which was a bit of a pain but I eventually spoke to them at length and got everything sorted. That was until he said "right, lets get you an appointment for installation.....oh, I can't do that because we don't have many installers in your area". He said his manager would need to phone me to arrange installation.

That was Thursday 21st Jan.

When I didn't hear anything by the following Tuesday (26/1), I filled in my details on the Pod-Point website. They wanted all the same info but also wanted payment up front (which Chargemaster didn't ask for). Instead of paying, I emailed about installer availability in my area. I got a prompt reply saying that availability was fine and if the paperwork was sorted in time, they could fit the following week. I submitted info and paid, then got an email confirming receipt and saying they would be in touch about fitting. They phoned the following day (27/1) and arranged fitting for this Friday (5/2).

Chargemaster DID phone me back. TODAY!!! She did say that she could arrange installation but I stopped her before she told me when. I had expected a call within a couple of days, not a couple of weeks.

Guess it's horses for courses but dealing with Pod-Point so far has been much better....Hopefully the installation will go well!!

BTW. Yes, I live in Scotland but 30mins from the capital isn't really remote.
 
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