Unfortunately your installation does not comply with BS7671. Regulation 722.531.3 requires that an RCD (Max 30mA) supplies a car charger and the RCD shall disconnect all live conductors. This includes the Neutral therefore the single-pole RCBOs should not be used for this application. The RCBO you have used is single pole and only disconnects the line (live) conductor. I'd recommend a fusebox or Lewden branded consumer unit as they both manufacture double-pole RCBOs. Even electricians get it wrong if they've not been suitably trained. I wouldn't recommend a DIY installation for anyone, find an electrician who has completed his City and Guilds 2919 and your more than likely to get the job done correctly!
Thanks for the heads up on this Mick. The guys at eFIXX have also pointed this out after you. It's very frustrating and I think the blame here has to fall squarely with Chargedev as they charged for a full price install and should have changed the RCBOs as part of the install. After all, we were acting on their advice with our prep work to make install on the day as easy as possible and they didn't specifically refer to the need for double pole rcds/rcbos. Normally I'd take the video down and amend - I might still do - but an update video in a week's time might be more useful. Interestingly another comment has advised that the RCBO at the house should be 100mA time delay.
@@CharlieDIYte I wouldn't ammend the video, only a trained eye would spot the mistake. The video is still informative to people who don't have an understanding of what is involved. I really enjoy your videos and don't make a habit of pointing out mistakes but felt that if you're paying for a job then it should be done correct otherwise it would invalidate the warranty. Keep up the good work.
@@mickbitchum4664 Thanks Mick - I appreciate that. You absolutely must point out when a video is inaccurate. There are two reasons the Comments are incredibly important to me i) as a continual source of encouragement since I started doing this - which has been key as with all the filming and editing this can be quite a hard slog and ii) as checks and balances to what I'm putting out there. With the views I can get these days, creating this content comes with a lot of responsibility and it's important for me I get stuff right. This vid was a tricky one in the sense of finding myself straying into the realms of stuff I'm not qualified to comment on (electrics) - which I have to be very careful about doing - so it's frustrating the pros who I relied on got it wrong, but pretty brilliant there are people out there like you to point it out! The fact that the wholesaler is sending out 5 units a week with these RCBOs in for EV installs underlines what a minefield this is and if I can do an update video in a couple of weeks time correcting a few errors and hammering home a) the fact this is part P notifiable and so no DIYers should be doing it and b) the double pole issue, then I think my channel has achieved its purpose.
@@mickbitchum4664 Bit of an update. They've identified a Live double pole RCBO and will hopefully be installing it soon. I'll do a quick video update once it's done. Thanks again for pointing this out.
Maybe if you read the 18th edition regs and do that course you might not need the city and guilds Ev course if your a competent electrician in effect an ev installation is a 32a radial circuit with added overload ct nearly all have WiFi.if installation is too far away from your hub maybe you wire a cat5 cable instead nearly all eV boxes have this feature also internal double pole rcd and T-NC protection no longer needing a earth rod if you read the IEE 18th edition regs it's all in there. Then you need the 2391 City and Gilds Testing and inspection course in order to sign the work off as its classed as a new addition.
Thanks for the shout out Charlie. A great video and plenty of great points for consumers to think about. Just one thing you might want to check is the RCBO feeding the EV charger. They should disconnect both line and neutral conductors - often called a single-pole plus switched neutral RCBO. This is a requirement in BS7671. Also with reference to Bulb - they are still operating. Gordon in our team has an ongoing battle to get a smart (dumb) meter removed and it's close to a resolution after 9 months.
Thanks. Yes this point about the single pole RCBO has been raised by someone else too (Mick), and someone else has said the RCBO at the house should be 100mA time delay? I can't really blame my electrician given that he doesn't install EV chargers and he got the board from his wholesaler who supplies several chargers with this set up to electricians for EV charger installs each week!! Plus he was acting on some general instructions we'd received from chargedev's technical team on RCDs which didn't specifically mention the double pole point. Granted he should probably have known about this reg, but the RCBO wasn't connected - we were just trying to streamline the install as much as possible. Chargedev should have picked it up though and installed their own double pole RCBOs - particularly given this was a full price install with no discount, in spite of the fact I supplied all the cable! I'll see what they say on Monday ... I should perhaps have been a bit clearer on the Bulb point. By saying they'd gone bust I was really just making the point that they perhaps won't be as keen to come out and assist with the meter tail upgrade as a company not in administration would be
@@CharlieDIYte Chargedev should have picked up on it really as its their line of work. Even qualified installers get it wrong though as I've seen it done many times. These big companies are only as good as the individual they send to comple the work. Unfortunately once the OLEV grant ends for homeowners in March there's going to be thousands of badly installed charge points by electricians who haven't received adequate training.
@@mickbitchum4664 Thanks Mick. Yes it'll be an interesting conversation with Chargedev on Monday. I'll report back! I agree with you point about the grant, which was a big incentive to go with one of the established OLEV installers. Thanks to you both for your input - I'll be doing an update video to highlight what you've said in a week or two.
I can relate to the problems you had digging that trench. I have been struggling through clay that is either like concrete or glue (depending on the weather) and I'm lucky if I make two feet a day...
Great video. As the country continues on a downward spiral, I think becoming as self-sufficient as you can is the way to go. You mentioned your son has special needs. Not autism by any chance?
@@CharlieDIYte My son has just turned 25. He has what I call vaccine induced autism....they call it high functioning autism. He had language at fifteen months, then it disappeared until he started again around age six. He has developed really well given that the whole world is really against him...not on purpose, but the problems associated with autism is like he's from another planet. My only wish for him now, is to meet someone who will love him as much as we do. Best of luck.
Charlie...you keep reading my mind :) Great video and one I'll be reviewing when I get my charge port installed. Keep doing what your doing, and all the best to you. Bl**dy great content:)
It is not the total voltage drop that melts your cable. It's the voltage drop per unit length multiplied by the current that matters. Yes, 100 metres of cable will have double the voltage drop at the same current than will 50 metres, but the heating effect is spread over twice the length, so the heating effect is just the same. Provided you keep within the cable current rating for its type and installation method, then the cable will not melt. Where voltage drop does come in is that, first of all, you are wasting power. If there's a 20V voltage drop with the the 30 amps of a typical 7 kW charger, than that's 600 watts out of that 7 kW being lost, which increases your cost. The second issue is that some devices will not work properly or efficiently if they drop below their rated minimum voltage. Hence there are rules about how much voltage loss is acceptable. Frankly, for high currents, the bigger the cross-sectional area, within reason, the better. If you are losing, say, 300 watts in resistive heating, then at current pricing that's approaching £1 an hour just heating the soil. If it's a 6 hour charge, then that's over £5. It doesn't take many lots of £5 a time to cover the extra cost of, say, 10mm^2 cable vs 6mm^2. It's actually quite easy to calculate. Just find out the length of your cable, find the tables of resistance per unit length for a given gauge and type of cable. The three most common cross-sectional areas of SWA are 4, 6 and 10 mm^2, which have a resistance of 4.61, 3.08 and 1.83 milli-ohms per metre respectively. Double that for the round-trip and it's 9.22, 6.16 and 3.33 milli-ohms per metre length of cable. Power loss is current squared * resistance, so for 30 amps, that's 8.3, 5.5 and 3.0 watts per metre respectively. If we assume a nominal 230V supply, then the voltage drop per metre of cable length will be 0.12%, 0.08% and 0.043% respectively. So what does this mean for, say, a 20 metre run? That means for 4, 6 and 10 mm^2 cable respectively, there will be losses of 166 (2.3%), 110 (1.6%) and 60 (0.9%) watts respectively. Basically, for ever 1,000 kWh delivered to the cable (say 3-4,000 miles of driving), then 23 kWh, 16 kWh and 9 kWh will be wasted heating the cable. Whether the cost of that 14 kWh difference is important or not will depend on how many kWh you expect to use and the tariff you pay. At a fairly standard 35p per kWh, then the difference between 4 & 10 mm^2 cable would be about £4.90 for that 1,000 kWh. Clearly the longer cable run, or the more miles travelled, the bigger the difference. I should also add that the alter will notice that the way I've done the calculation under-estimates the difference somewhat, but time is a bit short. I need to spreadsheet this properly. I should add that the voltage drop for each of those solutions of cable is 2.4%, 1.6% and 0.9%, all well within an acceptable range. If, however, it was 50 metres then it would be a different story. Also, another thing worth considering is if you ever intend to upgraded to 3 phase. If it is, then it might be worth installing 5, not 3 core SWA. It's vastly cheaper to install it in the first place than replace it later. Also, it is at least technically possible to run the two load carrying conductors in parallel, thereby halving the effective resistance as, in effect, it doubles the cross-sectional area. I don't know for sure if it's within the regulations, but I don't see why not.
Stick with a good Petrol/Diesel or Hybrid and be sensible. It's the production of EV's and mining of rare earth minerals that's damaging the environment.
Brilliant video Charlie, very informative. Watched all of it even though we've had a charger installed already. Solar and battery storage next on the list.
Totally respect the time and energy, like all of your videos. However, where are the savings..? Just too much effort for what I see are still huge limitations. I know it will change in the next five years…but I’m simply not an early adopter for EVs and all this hassle to run an overpriced car with limited range.
Couldn’t a registered installer wire in the charger direct to the meter box? Certainly my power company quoted on that basis without any interference with my consumer unit.
Hi I've just had my install done by evcharger easy 3meter at front of house but even so mine was free as I leased car via vanarama whom had an offer on of free charger and install.
You forgot the main point... Get an electrician friend who can bypass the electric meter and get free charging for life Edit: clearly a joke by the way... But this is definitely happening all around the country especially with every Tom, Dick and Harry now having a lockdown hottub to run
Useful video - thank you. A few observations if I may: - the lack of a double pole RCD has already been identified but it should also be a type A or better (not type AC as this gives no protection against and may stop working in the presence of a DC fault current) - you mention a 100mA time delay RCD. This is normally what you would have to provide additional protection for the whole installation if it is TT (which yours is) and the earth loop impedance (Ze) is too high to trip MCBs or the overcurrent function of RCBOs. As a minimum your sparks should have measured Ze and recorded it on the installation certificate for the new circuits. - you do not recommend DIY installation, which is good. A charger must be on its own circuit, which means that the installation is notifiable under part P so unless the DIY installer had their work certified by LABC or an electrician who can certify third party work, they would be breaking the law. - supplier fuses can be problematic. The fuse carrier may say 100A but that is the carrier’s rated current; the fuse may be lower. Some DNOs are reluctant to go above 80A, 60A is also common and as low as 30A is possible. There is no way of telling without asking the DNO to pull the fuse. It should be obvious that no DIYer should cut any seal - you do not need the DNO for a meter or tails change. The supplier or their meter operator can cut and re-seal the main fuse.
Many thanks for this, Nick. It looks like an update video will be needed in a week or two once I've contacted Chargedev and got a response from them on why they didn't swap the RCBOs. I discussed the type A/ type B question with my electrician and his wholesaler days all RCBOs are type A now. Would you disagree with this? I never intended this video to be a chapter and verse on electrical regs so it's frustrating I've been let down on this side of things but I'm grateful to you and the other commenters who have pointed out where this install has gone wrong. Apparently the wholesaler who supplied electrician is selling several ev charge points per week with this RCBO consumer unit, so it looks like mistakes are being made on these installs nationwide.
@@CharlieDIYte From a personal point of view that would be a really good video. The lease company im getting an EV through use ChargedEV... and I've not been overly impressed by them so far.
Ah good stuff Craig. It's a fantastic car. I had two annoying gripes - the key not recognising the user to move seats when you get in and the digital key in the phone not working but the latest software update seems to have fixed them. Have you got a charger installed yet?
Thanks for another interesting video Charlie, you are making me feel emasculated though! 😂 putting up a shelf doesn’t seem as impressive now. My wife is barred from ever watching your videos!
You're very welcome Jamesie - thanks for the comment 👊 It's definitely the hardest thing I've tackled to date but don't forget I do this full time now (although I'm not nearly as productive as I should be with the videos) - anyone could do this if the pesky day job didn't get in the way!
Thank you charlie, although i must be honest, i never had a clue what you were talking about, my electrician hubby found it very useful…..so thank you….please be safe as always from South Africa
Could you consider creating a video on tools for detecting cables behind walls. Personally I have a house that has plenty of coaxial, telephone outlets but I have struggled to trace where they go.
It's problematic as the detectors are hit and miss. That one you saw - which is now called Truvo is one of the best in my opinion. However you might not pick up coax or telephone because of the amount of power running through it. With getting one of those detectors though as it's a good thing to have in your tool box.
Such a helpful video Charlie, there so little reliable info out there on EV chargers and you've really knocked it out of the park with such a comprehensive video. It covers so many things in 23 minutes that look me months to research and understand. A note on the upgrade of the main fuse - only some DNO's do it for free. Mine charge over £100 for upgrading to 100A :(
What an awesome vid Charlie. Thanks so much. I'm currently considering changing to an EV and this has really been useful to help me understand the infrastructure needs.
Rather than run an EV charging cable back to the house CU, which is disruptive, then what I intend to do is have a new external grade CU installed next to the current meter box, which I have plenty of space for. It minimises the cable run, and means there is zero effect on the house electrics (save the normal checks). There are weather-tight CUs available at a very reasonable price, and I suspect that it is cheaper than running a cable to many people's existing CU. I should at I have a detached garage. If your CU is in the garage already, then that might not be such an issue.
You just haven’t got any selectivity or what use to be known as discrimination between the 30mA RCBO in the garage and the supply from the house that’s 30mA too, it should be a 100mA time delay unit so you don’t get nuisance tripping of the sub main supply when one of the 30mA RCBOs trips in the garage, or it doesn’t trip and the one in the house does first.
He isn’t using the earth from the house, the garage has an earth rod. The only time that garage supply rcbo will trip is if there is an earth fault on the supply cable. An earth fault on the garage circuits won’t be ‘seen’ on the supply rcbo.
@@robertwilliams7222 I’d be willing to bet that the electrician still glanded the SWA off straight into the side of the metal DB in the garage and in doing so has exported the earth through a parallel path so the RCBO in the house would still see the other earth leakage from the circuits down stream, happy to be proven wrong and he’s glanded it off into a plastic adaptable box and not carried the earth through. It is still best practice to put a sub main fed from a TT system on a 100mA time delay protected circuit
@@whatthedeuse why would you just assume that? What a negative person. On the other hand I wouldn’t make such an assumption because I haven’t seen how the supply cable has been terminated.
I am looking to fit a home charger. But don't want to ruin the esthetic look of the front of my house. The option I have is to have it fitted round near my electric connection to the house about 10+ metres away from the parking. Is there anything I need to consider when considering this option as in, are there type 2 cables that would stretch that far to charge the vehicle and also will the length of cable effect the rate of charge?
The cable obviously needs to be armoured and the cable diameter should be wide enough to deal with the voltage drop but the installer should take care of that. This isn't a DIY install - too many things that could go wrong.
Nice Charlie and welcome to the World of EV'S. I've been in Electric cars for 7yrs, ironically changing my home charging -- I live in a terrace so have to route cable over my neighbours front garden. Im going with EV ultra 6mm.3 core / data cat5 .( tuff sheath). my run is approx 15 metres .. im on smart metres from octopus. fixed for a year on the octopus Go ev tarriff -- 30 miles an hour -- x4 hrs plenty range.. remember never fill the battery full and leave it sitting there--fill it --use it--battery 20%---80% daily .. Good luck --gets some batteries -checkout "Fully Charged" Rob LLEWELLYN, CHEERS GRAHAM
Wow, that is SERIOUSLY early adoption Graham! Tesla per chance? A friend inspired me to make the switch. When we leased our Mercedes GLC 3 years ago they bought a 5 year old Tesla Model S. It looked space age compared to the new GLC in spite of its age. I was a bit gutted and I've vowed ever since to get an EV next. A bit pricey that Polestar on lease but at least it's reducing the corp tax bill! Good to hear from you 👊
@@CharlieDIYte hi Charlie thanks so much. I started with a LEAF.--then Model S. Now Model 3 plus A Skoda citigo ev. which I recently sold .To come in a two months hopefully BMWI3s so cool....Then again all electric cars are cool.. Great job and so happy for you and your family your driving a BEV. CHEERS .
You hardly have money enough left to buy an electric bike hehehehe Well again great video, you covered it all and make people realise there is a bit more going on than laying a cable. But every other country has different regulations so always ask your local power distributer and *make sure you check with your insurance company incase of fire caused by electrical problems* . Glad the UK Electricity regulations are good, like her in Holland , cause i have seen outdoor electrical work in USA YT videos and I wonder why that country have not yet electrify itself. Now adding value to your house it a bit overdone IMO, nobody will choose your house over another one for this matter and since you live out and about in the country, the ownership of an electric car will still be less popular than a diesel or gas car cause of the range. But if you do own one this is a smart move to make, and well done too. Thanks for sharing.
Bulb haven't gone bust just yet, they are, or were in special administration. I am with bulb, their EV tarrif is similar to octopus, until April at least.
Yes Andrew, a few people have pointed that out. What I meant was that, in administration they are less likely to want to come out to participate in upgrade works but I should have been clearer on that. I did point out later in the vid that Bulb have an EV tariff that you can switch to over the phone. 👍
In the rush to net zero the government haven't really though about this. There are so many other problems too, like the totally inadequate fast charger network, made worse by companies like Open Reach and British Gas swapping their entire fleets to electric which now clog many of the charge points during the day.
Lol! Yes, we will import coal from China and North Korea... After rebuilding relations. In the interim electricity will become so expensive that we'll import as much gas as we can possibly get... from Russia!
Hello Charlie, stumbled upon your site and subscribed. As an installer myself i find this very interesting. What i actually think is that your video should be showed to everyone thinking of buy an ev. And be shown to every salesman selling the ev dream and walking away with the commission and the poor customer without a clue about ev charging. Something i sadly see all of the time. Its a very good vid, thank you for making it.
Thanks Paul. I really appreciate that. Interestingly even with a professional installer and electrician, things still go wrong. Within minutes of posting it I had a couple of people saying it should have been fitted with a double pole RCBO. Chargedev have acknowledged this but not got round to replacing it yet. The knowledge and research you're investing in what you do says to me you're very good at your job 😉👍
Oh dear, yet again 1.4 mm square, I think you really mean 1.4 square mm, there is a big difference. But the video is A1 I learnt lots from it as im about to choose a charger for our new E car, very helpful thank you.
Charlie, thank you kindly for your transparency and first hand account of what you went through. Great info for everyone to think about for their own living situation!
I can categorically say Charlie, no one apart from you owns the space in your meter box, whatever is on your property belongs to you, regarding the meters - gas or electric - they are rented by the billing company (e-on, scottish power, British gas etc) they have their property on your property and are charging you the pleasure of it - its not illegal to have their meters removed and have your own meters fitted - providing its done by a qualified fitter, and your out of contract with them.
Great video and style. Loved it. Interesting that on an earth rod TT System the sub consumer unit is often served with as earth resistances to ground like this are rarely good. Therefore in the main CU, it would be a 40Amp MCB. Two RDBO/RCD in series could mean problem tripping and a time delay RCBO/RCD would be installed a the main CU. Time delay being 500ms instead of 40ms trip. Picky I know but fact. Also the DNO can be asked to asses to make the supply a TNCS or PME. This is where the earth in bonded to the Neutral at the supply transformer and at the cut out. This is standard now. Neutral 'is' Earth
Digging that trench alone would have been 1000s . Fair play. Personally I probably would have found a way above ground in getting there but you have obviously saved lots of wasted metres by trenching the cable. 👍 Keep up the good work
Now you’ve had it a while what are your thoughts on the Indra, I am considering ordering one but I think they still haven’t updated the app with a button to turn it off while you are away which is a basic requirement as far as I’m concerned. Is the app good, has it been reliable? Thanks for all your Stella work.
Tricky one Andy. It's not perfect but then the customer service has been very good. They're bringing out a new app quite soon - which should be a big leap forward. For me, I would have been better off with the solar ecosystem designed Zappi given that I have solar now, but I didn't when I got the Indra installed.
Hi Charley Being now retired from electrical contracting I have taken a particular interest in the whole issue of EV charging. And to say it’s a minefield is probably an understatement , and definitely not helped by manufacturers playing fast and lose with the regulations saying you can charge for a 13 amp socket . Just look at the recorded fires that have been attributed to this practice . As regards just the earthing of a system , it seems to attract much debate . Resulting in some saying the whole installation should be separate from the incoming supply Earth via a earth rod / spike . The reason for this is that under certain fault conditions the actual body of the car can become live . You can see what I mean when I say it’s a controversial topic , I did notice your contractor had installed an earth spike so I would assume it was to mitigate this problem . Finally I would mention that installing 2core SWA is really seldom compliant , because the cross sectional aria of armer wire is not big enough for the earth loop reading . So would always use 3core , and in my day we would install a separate earth cable of say 16 mm to give a belt and braces approach . This is purely in regards to the garage supply , but I think you would agree the actual EV side is a total different ballgame . This new technology is still in its infancy so in fairness to electrical contractors this has been a steep learning curve. Which makes me glad to be on the sidelines now , Best wishes and kind regards as always 😀👍👍🤔
Is the use of the armour alone for earthing a problem in this case, as it's being used for a TT supply to the garage? All it's protecting is the cable itself, and is presumably isolated from the earthing system of the garage.
Thanks for this Michael. I'm not an electrical obviously so I'll trip myself up here but with the house supply staked, the argument goes that there's little point running the earth all the way back to the house stake when it can be separately staked at the garage. It would I think be different if we were supplied at the house by an underground supply which is earthed neck to the sub station? @Miss Take Not, my electrician also earthed the SWA sheaf - not sure if this answers your question.
@@misstakenot9582 hi this is the point I was trying to make as regards it’s a complicated subject , if you make an installation a TT install then obviously it’s a case that it’s controlled via a RCD , as I stated it did look like an earth spike had been installed at the garage end but if the intention is to increase the size of the installation having it totally controlled by an RCD may invariably prove problematic . So assuming we just treat the the supply to the AV charger as having a separated earth from the garage supply ie TT , the rest of the installation should have at least a 3 core SWA supply cable because when it comes to testing the supply the lack of cross sectional aria of the steel wire will not be enough to give an adequate earth loop impedance result . As I’m not privy to the ins and outs of the installation I am trying to point out some of the pitfalls that can arise in this kind of work , but I reiterate the AV it self looks in accordance with accepted practice. Best wishes and kind regards
The tails after the meter are the responsibility of the home owner the tails from the DNO cutout to the meter belong to the supplier. The cutout can be opened by a supply company operative if appropriately trained and licensed. The lack of discrimination/ selectivity between the DNO disconnection device and yours is poor.
@@CharlieDIYte your statement was incorrect. Everything from the meter including the link tailes between the meter and your fused switch unit belong to you as the home owner. The supplier is responsible for tge tails from the cutout to the meter. The suppliers can pull but not upgrade the dno fuse and the DNOs responsibility ends at the cutout. Having rewatched the meter cupboard section of the video I would also be concerned with 25mm tails. Not knowing the length or the route taken I couldn't make an informed calculation. 25mm sq. 6181Y double insulated 70oC thermoplastic insulated single core cable installed in conduit or trunking BS7671 table 4D1A installation reference method A states 101Amps to be the maximum current without calculating any thermal factors like walls or insulation or the voltage drop. One would also hope the network cable tie rapped to your tails is apparently installed. BS7671 states band 1 and band 2 cables must not be run together unless installed appropriately to the highest voltage present.
Really pleased you mentioned solar payback, I had the same feeling about the cost assumptions on the basic calculator but hadn’t yet done the hard maths.
Interesting and some good 'heads up' points. At about minute 14, when you decided to 'save a bit of money', I could already see that this was going to run in to thousands, especially as you were having the CU's replaced. Was the time you spent 'saving' that money really worth your time? We've all done it though!!!! 🤣🤣🤣
It's one of those things isn't it. Probably not right now although they say having a charge point adds value to your house. But if I install solar - which will admittedly be a ton more money, then it starts to make a lot of sense.
Had to get DNO to upgrade my fuse and Zappi has built in pen fault and RCD, so RCD in the additional CU used was only really protecting the cable. Tails were upgraded to 25mm when smart meter was installed. Meter inside house so space for additional CU not an issue. The best point is that you can get more use of your cheap EV rate (Bulb do a 4 hour EV rate) with a higher current charging option.
Thanks so much. Just annoyed I didn't install a Zappi as Octopus didn't recognise my charger or car for it's Intelligent Go tariff and the Indra is rubbish for solar charging as it just drains the battery.
The 22KW chargering or 11 KW depends on the vehicle entirly. It is worth doing if you can of course for future planning. A house battery (10KWh+ ) makes a lot more sense than Solar. Even after the price rises due April 2022 the 7.5p a KWh over night ("ecconmy 7") to run the house and capture your excess Solar power makes a lot of financial sense.
Fantastic video Charlie - really didn't feel that long, lots of great, interesting and informative content. I think you might be similar to me in that I'm sensing we have a shared DY interest in electrical matters. As you alluded to in the video, electricals is probably the most taboo area for a DIYer given all the regs, "competent individual" qualification requirements and the sheer danger of getting it wrong (if it was a choice between cutting a length of timber at 901mm instead of 910mm and getting an electric shock, I know which balls-up I'd choose!). I've found myself consuming a lot of RU-vid electrical content recently and am doing more and more non-notifiable projects around the home. I just find it quite fascinating and like the maths that comes into play with formulae using volts, amps and cable core diameters, etc. Back to your video and I definitely don't envy you that cable run and you absolutely did the right thing by future proofing. The garden gym/workroom I built in lockdown at end of our garden is about 50m from the house consumer unit and I future proofed only in so far as using 16mm2 SWA rather than the 10mm2 which is all i currently need- but i did cheat a bit and cleat it along the bottom rail of our newly installed fence rather than burying. If i ever convert it into more of a living space (with water and wifi) then I'll no doubt be doing a lot of digging. In terms of EV, I'm on the same Octopus deal as you with that 0030-0430 special deal. But got an email from them recently with the new rates about to come in and they're eye watering. Wish they'd hurry up and install chargers at my office!
Thanks Chris. You're one up on me there with the maths of electrics. I have neither the time or inclination to get into that so that's why I need to get the professionals in! My deal runs out in April 😩
I required a main fuse upgrade for my new Wallbox charger and it was not free of charge. Small works like this from Northern Power grid cost me £143 Inc VAT.
Thanks for pointing that out Lee. I'll put that in my update video once I've persuaded chargedev to replace the single pole RCBOs they should have - as has been pointed out to me since I posted the video.
Hey Charlie, really enjoy your videos. Thanks so much for the effort. I was looking on your Amazon shop and noticed that some of the prices are a lot higher than normal. I know the shop isn’t ‘your shop’ and you’re just linking to products but I wanted to flag the hike in price. Case in point is the paint scuttle newly £12 on Amazon and £5 at Toolstation. Just something to watch out for. Rich
OMG - What a job! For me, it would have had to be park the car and charger closer to the house - or MOVE - Jeesus, all that for a charger. Hat off to you...
Cheers buddy. Yes, it was a classic case of getting the car before doing the research. Trouble is I vowed to get an EV when our last lease case went back, and didn't think it through 😩🤦🏻♂️
Thanks for all your videos. Solar is the best thing you can do to reduce your carbon footprint especially if you have an EV. Install as much as you can given the space available. You have to have permission to install above 3.6 Kwp from the DNO and back in the days of the Feed in Tariff you were penalised if you had more than 4 Kwp so a standard install was 3.6 KWp indeed inverter manufacturers made a version for the UK market. if you have room for more then apply for permission which you may have to pay for. You may also have to wait for 4 weeks for the permission. Any extra you generate you will be paid for. Something like 5.5p per kwh but there is the likelihood of that going up in the future. Until recently I used to think that a battery is a waste of money. In the winter there is very little solar and so the battery doesn't really get charged much. In the summer solar keeps you supplied during the day and you don't consume much in the evening a few lights TV computer perhaps for a few hours and the battery doesn't discharge much. However with prices so high it might be worth it. If you can charge the battery overnight with cheap tariff electricity then it becomes more attractive.
Thanks for this. Yes I've ordered the solar. The priority will be to minimise my consumption from the grid and to charge the EV from what I generate, rather than feed in, but if I can sell any back that will be a bonus. Got to re-tile the garage roof first though. 😬
To anyone wishing to do this DIY. Please don’t! Get a professional electrician to install one for you and don’t expect the earth for nothing. You get what you pay for. This video is more of a summary, than a how to guide. Everyone’s scenario is different.
This advice should be stripped from the internet, electricians use the advice that their work is somehow 'special' to do the shoddiest least workmanlike crap I've ever seen and charge the earth for doing very little. It's not difficult and you can do a lot yourself.
@@pgtrots well when your house sets on fire because the work you’ve done ‘works’ just think about that. Just because something works, does not mean it’s safe and having a safe electrical system is probably the most important thing in your house. If water leaks, nobody’s going to die from it are they? If you have a poorly installed circuit or device it can kill. If you want to play roulette then crack on pal.
@@yrification It's not roulette if you do it properly and it is very easy. House hasn't burned down yet *and* all my wiring is neat and well mechanically fixed - something I have never seen an electrician bother to do.
@@yrification Everything that needs to has. Maybe I have had the wrong people but when finding the right people is harder than doing it yourself it seems like a no brainer. Genuinely I have found electricians to be the most insufferable lazy moaning twats who are the absolute worst at blaming the previous work (perhaps if your trade had a better work ethic you wouldn't have to struggle with badly laid wiring) and I won't stand idly by when someone needlessly promotes their profession.
Great Video. I don't think people appreciate the difficulty in having an EV charge point installed. I was dead lucky in my old house as my meter box was in an outside brick cupboard. My new house (new-build) the drive and garage are at the bottom of the garden. I had to pretty much beg the builder to add an additional circuit ready for my charger. One of the UKs biggest house builders and they claimed no one had ever asked for this! They need to wake up to the future or the government needs to hurry up the legislation forcing builders to install EV points as standard.
Thanks Graeme. Great work - I bet the builder was like a dog chewing wasps when you asked him to install that 😬 There's so much to be done as you say, if they're going to ban the cake of ICEs in 2030. The charging network is woefully inadequate right now, not helped by corporates like Open Reach and British Gas changing their entire fleets over to electric, and clogging the fast chargers during the day.
Brilliant video ... very well researched, presented and edited. Some people buying EV's do all their research before buying, but many don't. For anyone considering an EV and wanting to home home charge this video will be invaluable, sure not everyone will have the 70 metre cable trench, but the way you have presented the content makes it easy to see all the other highly relevant content. I especially like how you focused on the main fuse rating, interacting with the DNO and the issue of looped supplies. It is essential people understand these matters up front and taking advice from a car dealer interested in closing a sale these are things that are glossed over. Also like the mention of the guys at efixx, another great YpuTube resource. You were also realistic enough to mention that with the current state of domestic energy market the possible savings from running an EV will be reduced. Competition in the energy market is broken so the only way people will be able to improve their situation is with their own solar and battery and it sounds like you are setting up to tell us all about that. Well Done.
Thanks Stephen, I really appreciate your detailed and thoughtful comment. Yes I was definitely in the second group - inexplicably of not doing any research before buying. If I had though, we might not have got the car in the first place... 😉 Yes, solar is the next step as you guessed and whilst the cost of it will pretty much wipe me out, it just makes so much sense at the moment!
Very interesting video with excellent commentary This is what has always concerned me with the introduction of EVs is the amount of infrastructure requirement to provide a vehicle charging point in a domestic dwelling situation. Sadly l strongly believe that EVs are only going to be for the chosen few. Keep up the great work and stay safe.
Thanks Gareth - I really appreciate that. There are so many problems with roll out, aren't there, and I can't see how people in cities without off street parking are going to be able to access cheap charging. You're probably right but then the government will have to retreat on its target of no new combustion engine cars after 2030. 🤔
Just a word If installing solar, put them on your garage rather then your home. In usa, walmartt removed all solar panels from there stores due to dangers. They are fine if on an external garage, but you should think twice if installing them on your home.
Charlie… that hand dug channel!!! You need a medal. Starting to think solar is the way but wish the Government would help some how otherwise we’ll always be in this situation!
Thanks buddy. 👊 Yes this was the most attritional job I've done to date. The hardest part in many ways was drilling those holes through the wall, and now I have to contact Chargedev to say they should have fitted double pole RCBOs. And so it goes on, bit at least we have the infrastructure in place now for other improvements and possibly solar if I can get the funds together...
Brilliant video Charlie, this points out to people how complicated an EV install can be and should be done completely by professionals or with the watchful eye of them. Especially that you got professionals in as well as the specialist EV installer and it still wasn’t perfect. Many will watch this and realise that perhaps they shouldn’t install a charger themselves as it’s certifiable.
Thanks Jon, I appreciate that - let's hope so. As it is the rcbo at the garage should have been double pole so I have to get them back and will be doing an update video. Shows that even with the pros involved, mistakes can happen.
Thanks Justin, really appreciate that - not to mention humbled it's got your radar in Australia. Turns out the RCBOs should be double pole so I'll be doing an update on a week or so 🤦🏻♂️
Solar is great but your car needs to be there during the day when the sun is shining to avail of the savings. Storage batteries aren't really a cost effective option for ev charging.
