Need some help folks - Home charge unit research UK

Evening all lucky PHEV owners and owners to be. Im working with some other independent installers and would be grateful for a bit of feedback.
When you first decided to purchase an electric vehicle did you research how to charge the vehicle? Did you google it? Take advice from the dealer once you had visited the dealer? Took advice from the manufacturers web site? Was there any info that you felt you didn't find from researching on the internet or that you didn't get from your installer?
Please don't tell me loads of horror stories (I know there are lots) we need to understand at what point you owners first thought about charging and where the information was from.
Any replies will be entered into a free prize draw to win a concept outlander (honest)
Cheers

I did a lot of internet research as part of the 'research' phase of buying my car. I looked at the options on offer from the different manufacturers on my short list. Specific information was from the mitsubishi website which then directed me towards British gas and the chargemaster site.

I bit confusing as to all the options, like having to buy my own charging cable if I get a wall unit with just a plug. In the end I opted for the free solution, figuring I'll get it upgraded or changed next time I change my car. I'm still looking at the possibility of getting another wall unit for my office but to be honest the price is putting me off. It will only be a second unit and benefit of having cheaper electricity at work (vat is claimable) is offset by the high cost of purchase and installation so overall not worth it for me as yet. I should say I can complete my round trip to work on electric power quite easily.

In terms of the dealer, they really weren't that interested in talking about the charging options much. I had to prompt them to put me in touch with British gas. Bmw were much more aware as they had their own solution.

If I were building a marketing solution I would certainly look at google searches as a pre requisite.

Andrew.

I checked the various forums looking for recommendations and found Chris from ev charging solutions.

Just over 2 weeks job done - no problems.

Hi Chris,

After initially deciding to get an SUV type car I decided that the new X-Trail was for me. However, I saw MMC's PHEV ad and took a look at their website. This is where the question of charging the car came to mind and as others have said I was ushered to the British Gas website. After several weeks of obtaining lease quotes and a test drive I went back to the BG website and registered to have a charging point installed. When I found this site there was a lot of chatter about charging points and the delays that BG were experiencing in fitting them. This site also made it clearer that other installers were offering the same 'deals' and what the options were in terms of the equipment and plug types available. So I looked for alternatives and you came highly recommended!

I started looking when Mitsubishi said it was taking orders for the outlander. I was one of the first to place my order (back in March of this year). My dealer really pushed British Gas but did mention there were other options, kinda "you wanna go with British Gas but ...". My first search of the net about charging points back in March was fruitless (I found no one but British Gas - no idea why - probably did not search properly).

However, a few days later I set aside some time and searched the net again. Chargemaster and charging solutions came up on google as alternatives. Given I didn't know very much about the subject and wanted a charging station both at my work and at home I really wanted to talk to a real human being about options. British Gas either did not have a phone number or if they did the person on the other end was not very knowledgeable, just told me to fill in the online form and someone would contact me. Given that I had set aside the time then (this was at about 2 pm one afternoon at work) I did not want to wait for someone to "get back to me". I think I looked at Charging solutions web site. I can not remember exactly but either there was not a phone number on the Charging Solutions web site, the phone number was not in an obvious place or if there was a phone number no-one picked up the phone; in any event I could not speak to anyone from charging solutions.

So I phoned chargemaster and they picked up the phone. Chargemaster explained that they actually make the charging stations that British Gas install, I could have it installed for free (or upgraded to a higher wattage for an extra £90 odd), the options in terms of tethered and non-thethered etc.. Anyway, they seemed really helpful. I asked them if I could have one installed in my nursing home business and they explained they would not be able to for free, how anyting commercial even if it was a residential setting could not have a free install etc.. They got another department to phone me about the commercial option and in the mean time emailed me some info. I only received emails from chargemaster about charging points at home for some reason initially.

I left it for a few days, went to a horse show where the outlander PHEV was being displayed for the first time, spoke to various people from Mitsubishi again there who again pushed British Gas. To be honest, I remember not being really impressed with their reasons for pushing British Gas.

Given they has followed up with me and they seemed interested in their customers I decided to go with them. They installed the unit, I paid the extra, they knocked out my doorbell in the process (which I only realised after they had left), I phoned them to say they had knocked out my doorbell and they returned a couple of days later and fixed my doorbell.

I then phoned them up about the charging point for my nursing home, they gave me some different options and have not followed that up at the moment. Possibly because we are now considering extending the car park, getting solar panels/ biomass and I probably won't get the commercial unit until all of that has been completed.

Hope that is helpful and wins me the car! If not c'est la vie.

The fact it came with its own 3 pin uk plug and I had a standard weatherproof plug at work too was enough for me to go ahead and order, safe that a 5 hour charge would be worse case scenario, then look at other charging options whilst enduring the agonising delivery wait. Used google to find this forum and 'Speak EV' forum, both gave good advice. I went with BG (sorry Chris!) for standard tethered 16Amp chargemaster point and all worked smoothly. I applied as soon as vehicle ordered under mistaken belief it was 'preferred' by MM. But - Great outcome, no delays or drama.

Many of the PHEV owners / soon to be owners are EV newbies (me included) . For me initial research was from very low starting point (ie how does it work, how long to charge, how much does elec cost, what's a type 1, a J1772, type 2, chademo , what happens if my 135 year old grumpy neighbour gets near it with his pacemaker (sub note, alas nothing. Nada. Oh well, can't have everything)

I ordered early May 2014 and in the uk MItsu dealers were light on info on how it worked and charging help. (I ordered mine before the demos arrived in the uk!) I'd say between this forum and others the info is there. You still get posts of "what cable do I use" but that's generally because it's easier to ask rather than the infos not there.
Hope that helps.

I found out I could do it through a normal 13a plug so got my sparky mate to install it in place of a storage heater so it only comes on whilst econ 7 is on, which means no one can nick my electric whilst I am away

I think one of the most overlooked areas is suitability.
Before contacting the installer British gas I surveyed my property
where did I want the charge point to be installed and would it be suitable ie drive for three cars so where would I normally park.
Consumer unit age are there any spare fuses or breakers points of a suitable amp.
Access to the consumer unit is the unit built into a cupboard making it hard for the installer.
electrical certificate is the unit and the household up to current standards.

All of the above I addressed new consumer unit fitted by a qualified electrician part p qualified, top of cupboard removed for easy access. And independent rotary switch breaker fitted so installer can isolate the power while installing.
Think this is over top? The BG engineer told me at least 40% of his installations could not be carried out because of some or all of the above points.
.

When investigating my first company car, I was looking at getting a Nissan X-Trail or Volvo XC70 or the like and was shocked by the BIK numbers during my investigations.
Combined with losing my 5K car allowance ans adding approx 2-2.5K on in BIK, the car was going to cost me a fortune.
Whilst trudging through a lease company website I stumbled upon the PHEV, this was now my goal.
I checked the Mitsubishi website and almost straight away saw the BG link and checked out the videos.
As soon as I had managed to get my company to agree to the lease, I applied for the BG charge unit.
I had a couple of calls from them, but didn't arrange an install because the car wasn't actually ordered yet.
Once the car was ordered, I called them to arrange an install and the said they would get back to me.
After reading on here about the delays with BG, I thought I'd cover my bases and applied through Chargemaster also.
They called within a couple of days and arranged an install, they then called a couple of days later to offer an earlier date as the engineer was going to be in my area, so I had it within a couple of weeks.

Having decided to go with an Outlander, I followed the link from the Mitsubishi web site to the British Gas page offering the free charging point installation. I was also researching the most appropriate electricity tariff and called British Gas to discuss it with them. I was not impressed with their knowledge of EVs and this put me off going to them for the charging point, so I did a bit more research and spoke to Chargemaster - they responded rapidly and completed the installation a week later at no cost.

The installation was easy - recently built house with plenty of spare capacity in the fuse board and the socket installed just a couple of yards from the panel.

I came to this a bit later than some having only ordered the car in July by which time the old scheme was ending and I would have to wait until I got the car (not here yet) in September. Like others, of course, my first link was thro' the Mitsu web-site to BG but "whilst waiting" I Googled PHEV, found this forum and learnt about other installers.

However, as I already have an external meter cupboard in my car port with a 3-pin point for the built-in vacuum cleaning system (wonderful) I'd be quite happy with an overnight slow charge using the cable that comes with the car, initially, and perhaps always (I've ordered a Gx3h, so no remote charging for me!)

I went back to OLEV after 1st September to check out the new list of approved installers and by looking at some of their websites found out about Rolec - which I liked the look of. Anyone got one of these?

Evening all lucky PHEV owners and owners to be. Im working with some other independent installers and would be grateful for a bit of feedback.
When you first decided to purchase an electric vehicle did you research how to charge the vehicle? Did you google it? Take advice from the dealer once you had visited the dealer? Took advice from the manufacturers web site? Was there any info that you felt you didn't find from researching on the internet or that you didn't get from your installer?
Please don't tell me loads of horror stories (I know there are lots) we need to understand at what point you owners first thought about charging and where the information was from.
Any replies will be entered into a free prize draw to win a concept outlander (honest)

Click to expand...

Hi Chris,

Yes, Google was the starting point and I began looking pretty much straight after the test drive (although I didn't actually order until I'd already had the car a month or so). The Dealer didn't provide any 'advice' at all but simply told me I could contact BG to get a free charger. To be honest I don't think he knew any more about the subject than me at that point in time.

The videos on Mitsubishi's website were quite helpful (though I think it might have been a link on here that first alerted me to them). The most useful sources for me were this site, speakev and youtube.

Information that was hard to find for me was a) an idiot's guide to charging, including the different connectors, tethered / non-tethered, public vs. home charging etc.; b) who to go to for installation; and c) what products are available.

For c), I found a load of manufacturers websites and some products that I liked the look of more than others (I think my favourite was a GE unit) - but in most cases there were no clues as to how to get one installed, no installer listings etc. I did fill out response forms on a number of these sites but none ever contacted me to follow-up.

For b) - I found no trade bodies (do they exist?) for installers and no useful listing of installers (too early for the industry perhaps). I was very surprised not to find any specialist installers in my locality and in the end I chose to rely on recommendation (from both here and speakev) and used you! A very good decision I might add

For a) - even now (3 months after collecting my car) I'm still somewhat befuddled by type 1, type 2, mennekes, AC/DC, {Bon Jovi?} etc. and have only used my home charger / 3 pin plug and the Ecotricity Electric Highway (and then I needed a friendly Nissan Leaf driver's help to get started!).

HTH - happy to answer any more specific questions you may have

I actually found the OLEV site by accident while searching for grants and decided to get a point installed for free even before thinking about buying a PHEV. It was only when I did research into electric vehicles I decided to buy the Outlander PHEV.

Thanks for the replies gents some good insites not sure who has won the car as yet.
Here's my thinking.....
There are numerous installers like myself that are dotted around the country most of us are travelling here there and every where to get installs done. The further away the installs are the less economical the installs become. I've spoke with a few of the good guys about working together to help each other out. Idea is to have a web site listing independent installers with a map showing the regions they cover so any leads are directed at a local installer making the leads more successful and economical. The site needs to have general information about charging as I get the same question over and over with enquiries. If there are ten of us on the scheme a contribution from each of us can go along way to building more of a lead generating machine than just a web site. It also gives us more power when speaking with manufacturers and government about changes....
Any views on this appreciated - I'll add another concept outlander into the prize fund! (Honest)

Saw TV ad for PHEV and booked test drive with dealer in Crawley in July. Ordered there and then - delivery was beginning of August.
Saw info in Mitsubishi brochure about BG being preferred charge point supplier - ordered for home at same time as car order - had to chase BG by phone to get install appointment - installer didn't turn up for first date ( 2 weeks before delivery ) rang and re- arranged for beginning of August - success this time. Also ordered second unit for my dads place in Suffolk as I visit regularly - initially had to fill in online form and then I chased for install date. Both units were supplied under the free scheme ( just in time)
Second unit failed on third charge - arching contactor, BG customer service referred me to Chargemaster - they were very efficient and swapped the unit within a week.
Having taken delivery of the car and found the various forums I would have gone direct to Chargemaster - BG's contractors process is a bit variable even though both electricians came form the same depot....!

I did a bit of googling and used this forum as well as SpeakEV, where I stumbled across this helpful chap called Chris from EV Charging Solutions... I had already registered with BG and a few others offering free installs - Chris was the first to come back to me (that night) and as he already had an Outlander (and mine was some months away from arriving), I was happy to wait until he had enough business to warrant a trip down south and install my unit. I went for the 16a PodPoint that he had in stock as this was around the time the rules around the subsidy were being changed so we thought it safer to go with "a bird in the hand" and the PodPoint can be changed in future if required. I've got my car for 4 years for sure, so I'm happy.

I haven't tried charging it anywhere else yet but it does feel a little confusing - I'm in the process of signing up for the various schemes I might need - I'm sure in a few years we'll all have a "USB" type standard where all vendors agree one approach, but for now, I can imagine some are put off when they look into it for the first time.

Having said all that, after 5 days with the car, I'm loving it and am just "nipping out" for rides using electric power which I never would have done with my old petrol car.

My wife and I had been eagerly awaiting the UK launch of Phev for months and had seen the Mistsu website and newsletters as well as Youtube videos. My wife researched chargers via Google and found the BG scheme, possibly on Money Saving Expert site. We also got wind that the free scheme would be time limited and pretty much decided to seek a charge point before seeing a Phev in the flesh.

We had a test drive just prior to the official launch but dealer product knowledge wasn't so good and charging was barely discussed. We requested a BG survey at this point. A week later we had a second test drive from another dealer who knew their stuff and gave us an info sheet on the BG scheme we had already ordered.

We had to chase BG, but survey and installation were completed on 24.6.14 in time for Phev delivery a fortnight later. Installer was from P.H. Jones. Our only unanswered question was about access to charge data. Since tried BG, Chargemaster and OLEV, but still no further forward in getting a log in or access to data.

Until joining this forum, we weren't really aware that there were options other than BG to get the free
installation.

Prior to ordering my GX3h (renamed Angus by the wife) a few weeks back I did a search on the net for charging solutions. Having been in IT for over 25 years I'm quite savvy when it comes to surfing but found it difficult to easily find what I was looking for.

I think that the problem is that the "metatags" on the providers web sites are not well defined for what a novice Electric Vehicle owner would search for.

For those that don't know "metatags" are key tags on a website that are first looked for when you enter a search like

"electric vehicle charge solutions"

If you have all 4 on your website then that will promote you higher up the list than if you only had 3 and website owners can pay for their websites to appear higher up the list, all the way to the first page, at a fairly low cost. Search engines will apply a level of fuzzy logic against this so you can still appear high on a list if you are closer than anyone else to the search parameters.

If you take the above search you end up with

A "Polaris Ad"
British Gas
charging solutions
eaton
evsolutions.avinc
gepowercontrols
schneider-electrics

charging solutions ends up quite high as there metatags or key words are

car charging point, car charging points, charging points for home, electric vehicle charging

British gas have no key words defined however are high as they are paying to have their website promoted

Then we take chargemaster that have the best website I've seen so far have metatags of

Magento, Varien, E-commerce

which is the reason chargemaster are hard to find as they are probably not paying for promotion and their metatags are poor.

Additionally I found that most companies didn't provide prices, don't answer responses and don't even show a picture of their unit.

I think that a lot of these companies are technically savvy from an electrical engineering perspective but far from computer savvy.

Hope that helps

Before ordering my PHEV I researched charging options. Having had poor experiences with BG before, I wanted to look at other options. Government site had list of approved installers for free chargers but didn't say what areas they operate in. When I went to the Mitsubishi dealer I asked about charger options. They said BG was very busy anyway so pointed me at a couple of alternatives. Decided to give Pod Point a try. I emailed them and got them to link me to a form to fill in. I had a couple of questions about warranties and ongoing support which were not covered on their website or the form. One of Pod Point's people rang me to answer my questions - very helpful. The form asked for photos and measurements to avoid the need for a site survey. That was a couple of weeks ago. Still waiting for an installation date as at the time of writing.

Chris
Having had trouble finding you (or any other independent installers originally, I have put you on the 'Which Local' site for the Which Magazine.
The only problem is there does not seem to be a EV Charging Installers category on that site, so I am still not sure you and your fellow installers are any easier found.
Perhaps you have a look at that site yourself and perhaps contact them, they may even think the subject worth an article in magazine.
I can see your logic in combining with others and providing easier national coverage. It can only help owners if there is a combine that provides cover at times of faults (warranted or not).
Thanks again for your swift and neat installation.
Ian
PS as I'm not a business user I am still waiting for the ex-demonstrator / used PHEV to appear at the right price