Tethered charge point

[torihada]

I'm due to receive Mitsu PHEV this week and am in the process of organising a home charge point to be fitted to the front of my house. I have off street parking on the drive. I am intending to get a charging unit fitted with a tethered cable as I am concerned that someone could steal my non-tethered cable.

Aesthetics aside are there any reasons why I shouldn't go for the tethered option?

 

[maby]

There are those here that like to talk about "future proofing" - if that concerns you, then perhaps you should go for untethered - will your next car have the same charging connector as the PHEV? Personally I don't see it - I don't intend to replace the car for at least five or six years and I'm not optimistic about the charging point lasting that long.

 

[Regulo]

I'd stick with tethered in your situation. It's not difficult, or overly expensive to change the tethered cable in the future, if need arises. Any competent electrician can do it.

 

[pheverish]

But for those of us considering a BMW i3 as a second household vehicle, an untethered 30A unit with 2 separate cables would be a solution.

 

[Neverfuel]

I'm due to receive Mitsu PHEV this week and am in the process of organising a home charge point to be fitted to the front of my house. I have off street parking on the drive. I am intending to get a charging unit fitted with a tethered cable as I am concerned that someone could steal my non-tethered cable.

Aesthetics aside are there any reasons why I shouldn't go for the tethered option?

As the grant has been reduced think carefully about what the extra £300 or so would give you. As the 16A unit only gives you a 1.5 hour time saving it may not be worth it. I use a socket in my garage and run the cable through a door and leave it permanently plugged in. I tend to stick the end in one of those garden storage boxes when it isn't in use in case it rains when I am unplugged. Works for me as when I leave the car on charge, most of the time I don't need to use it again that day. Maybe worth trying out the charger that comes with the car, even if you have to have an IP66 lockable box installed on the outside of your house?

 

[torihada]

I'd stick with tethered in your situation. It's not difficult, or overly expensive to change the tethered cable in the future, if need arises. Any competent electrician can do it.

I think this is the answer I'm looking for. As also mentioned weathering will reduce the life span of the outdoor charging points anyway.

 

[RichardOFB]

I was ok with the 13amp socket in the garage, and dangling the plug back over the fence, but since the government are paying most of the cost (at the moment) I went for a 32amp type 2.
I'm hoping the phev will last 10 years.
When the other half's Honda dies it will probably be replaced with something fully electric. May be a second hand leaf. Or a tesla model 3 for me, and she can have the phev?
My kiddies will be old enough to drive soon, who knows what socket type they will need

 

[tartancabby]

You don't say where you are but if in scotland the energysavingstrust.org.uk cover the shortfall
of the olev grant so in effect the point costs nothing .
I have just had a 32amp tethered point put in and they had to update the mains switch box etc which would have cost around £1500 this was covered by a grant from the EST and of course the olev grant the company that done the work was jorro and they were fantastic in helping apply for grants etc and excellent workmanship on fitting .

 

[lg1726]

You don't say where you are but if in scotland the energysavingstrust.org.uk cover the shortfall
of the olev grant so in effect the point costs nothing .
I have just had a 32amp tethered point put in and they had to update the mains switch box etc which would have cost around £1500 this was covered by a grant from the EST and of course the olev grant the company that done the work was jorro and they were fantastic in helping apply for grants etc and excellent workmanship on fitting .

I had Jorro install our tethered Rolec unit and like the previous poster, it was not a straightforward project! We live in a victorian mid terraced house with the consumer unit just inside the front door, but our drive is at the back, at the end of the garden accessed via a side lane. They were great at sorting out the paperwork and in theory the EST top up should be for a 32amp installation, but we could not achieve this as they had to install a separate mini consumer unit for the charger and this could only be 16amp, but they made the case for it and the installation was great. We had recently had a new fence installed and so had had a trench dug out with trunking and cable feed left in-situ and this made it easier for them, but they were fantastic - fully recommend! No issue with the tethered cable either, when you get home the cable is always there, just ready to plug into the car. no need to get it out from where-ever and plug it all in in the dark and the pouring rain!