New i3s owner in Leeds, UK with National grid issues

[electriclightweight]

Snap(ish)!
I've recently bought my first i3, a 2019 in Imperial Blue, as a second car to replace a petrol Corsa as a shopping trolly.
I rang Wisely yesterday to book its next biennial service in July and now waiting for Emma to email me back with details.
May I ask whereabouts you're based? I'm near Warrington and might consider asking Wisely to do a post-purchase inspection on the same date as you in Feb if you're close by.

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Love the Imperial blue

Unfortunately I'm up in Leeds, Yorkshire so a fair way from yourself

 

[TedStriker]

Yes - that will be what is slowing things down in terms of remedial work. IIRC the general rule with a "looped" supply is that the main fuse rating will be relatively low (because in effect the supply to 2 houses is shared on one incoming cable).

There are quite a few charge points available now which include current monitoring, which are capable of scaling back the car's charge rate when the total power consumption for the property exceeds a given threshold, but I'm not sure if the DNO will accept that as an adequate precaution on a looped supply.

I guess the charger could be fitted on a 20A circuit, I have an Easee One and that is fully configurable in terms of circuit capacity. I actually run mine on a 20A circuit at 16A max and that gives me around 23kWh of charging capacity during my 6 hours of 7p electricity on IOG. That's best part of a hundred miles for one overnight charge.

But don't write off the granny charger - even at 10A you can put 13.8kWh into the car during the cheap overnight time, which is around 55 miles of range. Plus with IOG you will almost always get cheap charging outside the guaranteed hours. I think you'll be fine. Worst case scenario you come home with an empty batery and need it full by the next day you can bump charge at daytime rates.

 

[mojo]

Indeed - as I recall, Easee chargers are very intelligent in terms of load management, allowing you to have several of their EVSEs on one circuit. In that situation they can each be configured to load-share so that the total load across all of the EVSEs doesn't exceed the defined capacity. I would probably have bought an Easee product myself if a damaged EO unit had not turned up at £40, and I wasn't able to resist the challenge to repair it.

IMO you're right - I suspect that most i3 users would probably find a 10A (@240V) charger adequate under almost all circumstances. The only exception is likely to be for unexpected long journeys at short notice (and, for an aging population, forgetting to plug your car in when you need to!).

 

[TedStriker]

Indeed - as I recall, Easee chargers are very intelligent in terms of load management, allowing you to have several of their EVSEs on one circuit. In that situation they can each be configured to load-share so that the total load across all of the EVSEs doesn't exceed the defined capacity. I would probably have bought an Easee product myself if a damaged EO unit had not turned up at £40, and I wasn't able to resist the challenge to repair it.

IMO you're right - I suspect that most i3 users would probably find a 10A (@240V) charger adequate under almost all circumstances. The only exception is likely to be for unexpected long journeys at short notice (and, for an aging population, forgetting to plug your car in when you need to!).

The 'unexpected long journeys at short notice' is why I love having the REx, although I'd realy like a 120AH too.

 

[Gonville]

If you're on Octopus you can use Intelligent Octopus Go (if you have a smart meter). Any charger will work as it's the car that is compatible. Even if you don't use the 'intelligent' bit, you get guaranteed 6 hours of 7p per unit electricity every night from 11:30 to 05:30. And that goes for the whole house too.

The BMW and MINI are removed from the list of supported devices until further notice. I believe.

 

[Gonville]

The OVO chap that came out to fit the smart meter originally did say next doors power is supplied from our connection if that what the term 'looped' means?

I am on the Facebook i3 pages but I've been on car forums for years and much prefer this format to be honest. I will have a look on there though now you've mentioned it, thanks!

Yes It means you will have a cable coming into your main fuse area and another one going out to the neighbour. There has been a picture on here before. Almost certainly if you want a charger that needs 32a then you will need to be unlooped. This means probably they will need to connect your neighbour to their own direct supply to the street which normally means digging upo their drive. This has been on the Facebook group a few times. Sometimes the neighbour agrees sometimes not. It’s easier if you are at the end of the loop. You can see that if only line supply cable comes in. Then it’s easier to have your drive dug up (maybe not).

As others have mentioned there are chargers that reduce the load with a current clamp monitor on the main input lead to the house. Podpoint do this so it backs off the charge if it reaches the set combined limit for the house. Typically 60a.

 

[Gonville]

Here is a picture of a mid loop - same as yours I believe? There are 2 black cables coming in at the bottom - one in from the street - the other out to your neighbour.

 

[Gonville]

Unfortunately if you are at the ‘end’ of a loop there is just one black cable as coming from your neighbour. However it could be just a normal supply (no shared loop) so isn’t definitive.

 

[Gonville]

Our house has an old fusebox with 60AMp main fuse. (like 1940s? ) 1820s house rewired 1976 ish.
A spur to the extension has a more modern 50 year old fusebox with a 60?amp fuse.. Both worked perfectly for 30 odd years until the main fuse in the house blew - old age as nothing else wrong.
The Mark 1 Smart Meter no longer works to send data..but I do that manually..(and they wonder why people don't want one)
We charge our I3 with granny charger with no issues .. 100 miles a week usually,
I changed the garage socket from the 40 year old one - which warmed up a lot on full charge ! - to a modern one rated for EV charging - no warming at all.
No issues at all,,, so far.

Make sure the socket for the 13a is replaced with a ‘BS1363-2 EV’ marked on the rear. Is tested for continuous loads and inductive load as well. (I am not electrically certified). Saves what is shown below. Happened many many times as the 13a socket as standard is not rated for continuous use.

They are inexpensive (less than a £10) and could save some hassle.

 

[madasa fish]

Make sure the socket for the 13a is replaced with a ‘BS1363-2 EV’ marked on the rear. Is tested for continuous loads and inductive load as well. (I am not electrically certified). Saves what is shown below. Happened many many times as the 13a socket as standard is not rated for continuous use.

They are inexpensive (less than a £10) and could save some hassle.

Thanks,
Yes it is so marked

 

[linda driver-richardson]

If you're on Octopus you can use Intelligent Octopus Go (if you have a smart meter). Any charger will work as it's the car that is compatible. Even if you don't use the 'intelligent' bit, you get guaranteed 6 hours of 7p per unit electricity every night from 11:30 to 05:30. And that goes for the whole house too.

British Gas. Have an EV Tarriff again 7p between midnight and 5am. Again we cope very well with the granny charger. We just bought the proper EV socket . Works for us

 

[electriclightweight]

Yes It means you will have a cable coming into your main fuse area and another one going out to the neighbour. There has been a picture on here before. Almost certainly if you want a charger that needs 32a then you will need to be unlooped. This means probably they will need to connect your neighbour to their own direct supply to the street which normally means digging upo their drive. This has been on the Facebook group a few times. Sometimes the neighbour agrees sometimes not. It’s easier if you are at the end of the loop. You can see that if only line supply cable comes in. Then it’s easier to have your drive dug up (maybe not).

As others have mentioned there are chargers that reduce the load with a current clamp monitor on the main input lead to the house. Podpoint do this so it backs off the charge if it reaches the set combined limit for the house. Typically 60a.

So we've just had an Octopus engineer out (OVO last time) to fit a smart meter. Obviously he can't fit one but he did open up our old main fuse and deem it to be unsafe and has changed the urgency code being sent to Northern Powergrid which is great news! I asked him directly what work needs to be done for us to run an 11kwh charge point. In his opinion we could stay looped but just have separate main fuses coming off the main inlet rather than just the one. This is only his opinion though so we will just have to see what NP say needs to be done. I've had a word with the neighbour and he's very reluctant to spend any money if there is any cost to him to have his garden/driveway dug out for a new cable putting in. So good news and bad news! So hopefully NP will be out to do the work in the next 4-6 weeks and I'll update this post when I know more. Thanks for the continued help, much appreciated!

 

[TedStriker]

So we've just had an Octopus engineer out (OVO last time) to fit a smart meter. Obviously he can't fit one but he did open up our old main fuse and deem it to be unsafe and has changed the urgency code being sent to Northern Powergrid which is great news! I asked him directly what work needs to be done for us to run an 11kwh charge point. In his opinion we could stay looped but just have separate main fuses coming off the main inlet rather than just the one. This is only his opinion though so we will just have to see what NP say needs to be done. I've had a word with the neighbour and he's very reluctant to spend any money if there is any cost to him to have his garden/driveway dug out for a new cable putting in. So good news and bad news! So hopefully NP will be out to do the work in the next 4-6 weeks and I'll update this post when I know more. Thanks for the continued help, much appreciated!

Why are you trying for a 11kW? I think (although I could be wrong) that requires a 3 phase supply. Normal for a residential house would be single phase 32A for 7kW.

 

[mojo]

Why are you trying for a 11kW? I think (although I could be wrong) that requires a 3 phase supply. Normal for a residential house would be single phase 32A for 7kW.

Agreed - you will need 3 phase for that. Personally I don't think it would be worth the extra cost, unless you have other things at the property that would justify a 3-phase supply. If you're mainly charging on a cheap EV tariff overnight, you don't need the extra speed with the size of battery in an i3.

 

[electriclightweight]

Why are you trying for a 11kW? I think (although I could be wrong) that requires a 3 phase supply. Normal for a residential house would be single phase 32A for 7kW.

Sorry my mistake! A friend has an 11kw setup so I assumed that's what I'd need

 

[TedStriker]

Sorry my mistake! A friend has an 11kw setup so I assumed that's what I'd need

Is that what you told the DNO? If so they may think you are wanting a bigger circuit that you need.

 

[electriclightweight]

Hi, no the person I mentioned in my reply above was the octopus smart meter installation chap. I've not requested anything from the dno. Octopus has instructed them to update the fuse and it's location so they can fit a smart meter.

 

[Gonville]

So we've just had an Octopus engineer out (OVO last time) to fit a smart meter. Obviously he can't fit one but he did open up our old main fuse and deem it to be unsafe and has changed the urgency code being sent to Northern Powergrid which is great news! I asked him directly what work needs to be done for us to run an 11kwh charge point. In his opinion we could stay looped but just have separate main fuses coming off the main inlet rather than just the one. This is only his opinion though so we will just have to see what NP say needs to be done. I've had a word with the neighbour and he's very reluctant to spend any money if there is any cost to him to have his garden/driveway dug out for a new cable putting in. So good news and bad news! So hopefully NP will be out to do the work in the next 4-6 weeks and I'll update this post when I know more. Thanks for the continued help, much appreciated!

The DNO pays for all the unlooping as it’s their problem. Many other posts in UK group confirming this. However they may decline to do it if they think the supply is adequate. They recently reduced the ‘entitlement’ from 100a to 80a. Probably your fuse was 60a which is why they have marked it as needed to be updated. Every property is entitled to the basic supply at no cost. Paid for out of part of all our standing charges that goes to DNO to keep up the network. Don’t let the neighbour worry. It’s just if you have a tarmac drive in sand they might redo the trench line in black. That can be an issue.

Also you won’t get 11kW unless you already have 3 phase and that is an extra as it isn’t standard. Usually in the order of £3-£10k depending on distance. Anyway the i3 can only charge to £7k so not sure why that’s needed.

 

[PauloMS]

New to me 2019 i3s 120. It's my first EV but not my first BMW. Love the car so far. Unfortunately I'm struggling to get a charge point installed at home as the house I have is from 1910. Northern powergrid can't even give me a date when they will come and sort it out as it's not urgent. Tried making a complaint but got nowhere. Very frustrating! So granny charging and local charging for the foreseeable future.

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HI, I'm in Devon where my wife has run a 2020 i3 for 2 years - a brilliant little car. I run an i4. Have you tried going direct to one of the home charger manufacturers? I have an excellent Hypervolt installed in my garage - contact them and ask for the recommendation of a local fitter. If you only need a 7KW charger, perhaps they can sort out your installation without going to National Grid. Good luck!

 

[electriclightweight]

HI, I'm in Devon where my wife has run a 2020 i3 for 2 years - a brilliant little car. I run an i4. Have you tried going direct to one of the home charger manufacturers? I have an excellent Hypervolt installed in my garage - contact them and ask for the recommendation of a local fitter. If you only need a 7KW charger, perhaps they can sort out your installation without going to National Grid. Good luck!

Hi, Northern powergrid is finally coming out within a six week time frame apparently so hopefully be connected soon. Thanks for the reply anyway!