Sorry, I create a new post as the other is dominated by people who are 60 years stuck in the past - and I cannot find an earlier one on EVs I created with lots of useful replies.
Maybe a basic one that probably needs no question, but as it is my initial foray out of the petro world, just in case..
Situation: I have a plug-in Mercedes, and soon will have a Peugeot e-208GTi, when they start making them, and my girlfriend is about to sign up for an e-Micra.
Question: Are the home chargers supplied by each - despite being branded, universal? Or must we carry the branded charger if leaving home to another?
It’s conclusion is that all home chargers are more or less the same on European produces cars…and here I thought AI was a definitive font of all knowledge!
They come with a home charger?? Ours just came with a selection of cables we can use on public bornes, and a granny charging cable if we want to use a domestic socket.
AI makes lots of mistakes, it draws from information that can include mad stuff.
AFAIK the cars come with cables, not a charger - you buy that separately and have it wired into your home’s main circuit board.
Otherwise you are restricted to using the (very slow) “granny” charge cable that Jane mentioned, which plugs into a domestic outlet, or using a public charging station, which is much more expensive than charging at home.
Pretty much all EVs in Europe now use the “Type 2” socket, apart from older EVs like the Nissan Leaf which have a ChaDeMo socket.
So have an electrician install a home charging station of whatever brand you prefer - popular brands include Andersen, Ohme and Hypervolt.
And check your electricity supplier for a special EV tariff so you can charge cheaply overnight,
That’s my understanding of the situation, others may know more about the details.
Well. yes, for the Mercedes it is a cable attached to a box with the MB logo that in turn is connected to a cable with a schuko plug… it charges the car when plugged into the mains. If this is called a ‘cable’, then yes it is what I am talking about…
The 208 has a ‘wall charger’ specced to the order, that looks very similar to the MB one, but a more streamlined box.. The Micra also has a ‘home charger’ speccd to the order.
I take it then, that I should call these ‘granny chargers’ to make more sense?
Yes that’s a “granny charger”. It will get you a charge, but because it’s only connected to a standard wall socket and delivers a max of about 2.3kW it will take a very long time to charge an EV to full - anywhere from 15-30 hours.
OK for an emergency top-up but not practical for everyday use. And granny chargers should never be plugged into a normal extension cable - such things are not for continuous use at full wattage,
The charger can be plugged into a normal socket but it’s faster if plugged into a ‘prise renforcée’ such as a Green Up. That then provides 3.7kW instead of 2.3kW. This is what we’ll be installing, as we don’t really need a full blown 22kW ‘borne de recharge’.
OK, great! I shall call it a granny charger from now on in!
It is all I need really. Maybe the same as JohnH, most of my trips are into LeClerc, a 6 km jaunt, then into Carcassonne once a week, 25kms and then to my gf, 82kms - but not every day. I will stay there a few days with the odd trip to Lavour, 12kms.
I religiously plug in the Mercedes each time I return home and always have the 70kms on battery. If I do the same with the 208, then after a 160km round trip, I should have it charged in a day. This will suit me admirably! If it does not work, then it is a call to Engie (thanks Gareth) - in fact for 35€, maybe I do it anyway…another plus item when I come to sell…
We never charge more than 80% unless going on a long journey, and generally plug in every couple of days for a 4 to 6 hour charge to get us back to that level as our kilométrage is low.
Any New EV sold since probably 2020 in the EU has the same connector and has the same electronic protocol for charging at all Charge points. It’s only when one gets to the supercharger network that the more premium cars show off their extra skill in charging quicker. So any domestic charge point you get installed will work with any modern EV. So there is absolutely no value in purchasing a car branded charge point except bragging rights. Those mounted on the wall are typically 7.2 KW in single phase or 11KW if 3 phase is available and draw 32 Amps from a domestic supply
Moreover some EVs are supplied with a charge cable with a gizmo which can plug into the domestic 3 pin socket and in Europe these will supply 2KW .. My VW ID3 came with one and it will work happily with any EV. These are disparagingly called Granny chargers because they are slow ..and they are …, a full charge from 0% to 100% on my VW would take 30 hours … But we rarely need 100% and never need to drop to 0 %…And it has served us perfectly well here in France for the last 2 months with all our touring . Typically 120km each day. We will only need a single commercial charge on our return journey 450 km from the ferry port. Since my VW was purchased in Ireland it came with a UK standard 13A 3 pin plugtop . A model.purchased in France or Germany would have the 16Amp round pin Schuko .. but in either case will only draw 10 A.. And if I were to plug my VW branded granny charger into your MB it would swallow its pride and charge up just as fast .Likewise if you plugged your MB charger into my VW or your GFs Micra ..It would happily charge . Incidentally not all EVs come with Granny chargers .. my wive’s/ wives’ Opel Frontera for instance did not come with one
Gareth …a domestic supply charge point is limited to 7.2KW on single phase ..that’s 32 Amps to the wall unit from a distribution board . Or if one had a 3 phase supply ,..rather unusual in a domestic situation , but common in garages or farms ..11KW . You cannot get 22KW domestically ..although this is available at commercial charge points.
