Free home charging point

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chindley

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 2, 2014
Messages
138
Location
Warrington. UK. Moderator
Hi all.
Has everyone (in the UK) who owns a PHEV taken up the British Gas free home charging point offer and did you upgrade to the more powerfull one for £99. Are there any catches? Mine isn't coming till Sept 1st, is it worth doing it now as you dont need to own an electric vehicle to get one fitted.
Cheers
 
It is worth doing now as the funding is set to change in September. I have one fitted, went for the 16a as I am not convinced that a 32a unit with tethered cable will fit with whatever car I get next and also by then the charger will be years old so it would maybe be best to buy a newer model with a warranty and when the prices have dropped.
 
Hi. Yes - I've got the BG one and went for the 30amp - just in case it will work on a future car even though the Phev can't take that power. Mine has a tethered Type 1 cable which obviously fits the PHEV (and should also fit a Prius or Leaf) but note that Type 2 (Mennekes) is actually the standard that seems to be adopted across Europe, so future cars are likely to be Type 2 and therefore couldn't use my charger, unless there is an adaptor?? I do like the tethered cable at home though as it is so quick to use and no one can nick it. I believe there is an option to have a Type 2 30amp charge point without a tethered cable (you'd need to check with BG) in which case you would need to order a cable (as below) and then be pretty future proof.

I have just ordered a cable which will fit Type 2 charge points in case I manage to find somewhere to plug in to when I'm out. I believe the really fast chargers have tethered cables, but with the vast majority of public charge points you need to provide your own (and they will be Type 2 sockets) - not sure what stops someone making off with your cable though (and mine cost £170!).

I hope that is clear - I didn't fully understand the position myself until yesterday, so not sure I made the right decision on my charge point in terms of future-proofing - but it works and am very happy with it (and the car!).

Do note - you do not need to be a BG customer to get the free offer. There are loads of other companies offering the chargers and several makes which you may want to research. I thought BG are recommended by Mitsu and they are a big enough company to sue if the place burns down!

See my pics on the "UK charging and solar thread" or words to that effect.
Cheers
H
 
The standard BG/Polar 16a lead works fine. Being tethered means it can't be nicked and I guess its less hassle than one thats free at both ends. Make sure you have an isolator fitted before they turn up. My supplier, Eon, fitted it for free (that was a surprise!)
A full charge seems to take 3-3.5 hrs.
 
Re having an isolator fitted - is that the dedicated trip switch for that circuit? - my BG installer did that for me, per my photo on other thread (no problem or extra fee - he didn't even mention it). But you do need to be able to turn off the power to work on it, obviously - just trip that circuit in the house. Perhaps different installers vary...
H
 
BG came out to me yesterday with a "surprise!" lengthy form that said it wasn't free any more so hang on to your application confirmation email that says Free.
They said I should just cross out the bit where it says I will pay 25% of the £1500 installation cost and several other places where it says I agree to meet the cost and just write "see attached confirmation print". Pretty shocking that they send the engineers out with such news in my view - they said a lot of people are shooting the messengers as a result.
Didn't get my charging point as I have to have an isolator switch fitted so they can access to main power line I guess - all the units are sealed by the electric company.
 
£1500 installation cost
:shock: :shock: :shock:

£1500 now - so this is where all my tax is going!

Perhaps some of our other non UK members could tell us how much these things cost in their country (ie. without fiscal subsidy) because it seems to me that this is a classic case of the market being broke due to government interference.

How much can this work really be worth?
 
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