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Please can anyone advise what the best / value for money PHEV wall charger is, as now in need of one having changed my car order to PHEV model.
We had ordered a Seat Terraco FR 2.0 TSI on 3rd July for October delivery, didn’t happen and dealer was giving no updates. After to talking to another dealer they advised they had April order with no build dates, so we rang and cancelled our order.
We need an SUV so opted for Hyundai tucson ultimate phev as local dealer has a cancelled order due late feb and had been advised the wall charger would be installed by mobility.
Dealer advised today was unable to get the wall charger included under mobilty, so need to organise our own install.
Had a look and what a nightmare as so many choices and prices vary so much, need it from someone who can install before March as £350 grant get withdrawn then.
Also need to lockable as likely to come home to find cars connected otherwise.
Thank you in advance.
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First, yeah, they wouldn’t install a charger through Motability, because Motability only covers costs if you’re ordering a charger for a pure EV, not PHEVs.
It’s hard to advise on companies for installations, if you don’t mention where you’re located. Most companies only install in a radius around their base.
For chargers in general, i wouldn’t be too concerned about someone using it. He’d need to park on your driveway (assuming you have off-street parking, which is a pre-requisite for the charger/grant), which already would take some balls – and then, he’d need to stand there for multiple hours to actually gain something out of it. Not many people would do that. That being said, most of the “more advanced” chargers either lock, or are started through an app on your phone.
Our shortlist for chargers currently would be the Ohme Home Pro, the Wallbox Pulsar Plus (current favourite due to design/size, it’s tiny compared to others), and a Zappi. The Zappi makes most sense if you have solar panels (that’s its “gimmick”), because you can set it to charge only if your solar panels create a surplus etc.
https://wallbox.com/en_uk/wallbox-pulsar
Link to the Wallbox (you can also order there, including install).
https://www.smarthomecharge.co.uk/chargers/ohme/home-pro/
Link to the Ohme (same applies).
Both are controlled through an App that has to be paired to the charger (done at the installation of the charger), so only people with paired phones can charge.
Prior: SEAT Ateca Xcellence Lux 1.5 TSI DSG MY19, VW Golf GTE PHEV DSG MY23
Current: Hyundai Ioniq 6 Ultimate
Next: we'll see what's available in 2028.Do you really need a wall charger, Newbie? Our XC40 charges from an outside 13A plug from empty in about 4.5 hours. A dedicated charging point would only reduce that to about 3 hours. Plug in hybrids don’t charge fast no matter what you plug them into.
What Wigwam says is correct.
Wall chargers make most sense if you intend to A: “smart charge” (off-peak, agile tariffs etc), and B: intend to use the “auxiliary” heating/preconditioning. Some cars (i’m not sure about the Tucson, but factually for the GTE) don’t precondition fully through a granny charger. My wife needs the car proper warm before entering due to one of her conditions, a granny charger doesn’t do it for us.
Prior: SEAT Ateca Xcellence Lux 1.5 TSI DSG MY19, VW Golf GTE PHEV DSG MY23
Current: Hyundai Ioniq 6 Ultimate
Next: we'll see what's available in 2028.Of course it depends on the car and usage. A wall charger would not pay for itself for us. Probably once a week the car needs a full overnight charge, mostly it will top up in 3 hours or less. The Volvo preconditioning work well off the 13A plug so far, although we haven’t had a really subzero test of it yet.
It also depends on what you set it on.
Try running it on “Hi” (i don’t know what the equivalent is – just the heater knob all the way to 11), curious if it’d do it. It certainly should pull more than is available trough a 13A socket, around 4-8kw regardless of whether or not you have a heat pump (in a pure EV), since that obviously doesn’t do anything in a stationary/cold car. You can get around that by “not demanding” a lot of the heating/preconditioning, but as i said, we need the car properly warm in winter.
Volvo does its own thing when it comes to preconditioning. It runs for 30 minutes. Heating, seats, front and rear screens. In 5 degree weather it’s all up to comfortable temperature in about 20 mins.
I have a suspicion that in extremely cold weather it might draw energy from the car battery too. I’m not sure yet. If that’s the case then it is likely because the 13A cable (actually 10A) isn’t giving enough.
Like everyone else says. your in a PHEV chances are battery no more than 15kw so a granny charger will suffice
Please can anyone advise what the best / value for money PHEV wall charger is, as now in need of one having changed my car order to PHEV model. We had ordered a Seat Terraco FR 2.0 TSI on 3rd July for October delivery, didn’t happen and dealer was giving no updates. After to talking to another dealer they advised they had April order with no build dates, so we rang and cancelled our order. We need an SUV so opted for Hyundai tucson ultimate phev as local dealer has a cancelled order due late feb and had been advised the wall charger would be installed by mobility. Dealer advised today was unable to get the wall charger included under mobilty, so need to organise our own install. Had a look and what a nightmare as so many choices and prices vary so much, need it from someone who can install before March as £350 grant get withdrawn then. Also need to lockable as likely to come home to find cars connected otherwise. Thank you in advance.
Personally I would go for a 7 kWh Podpoint home charger, it is a one off charge and can be used on you next PHEV/EV in theory it should last you a few years we had one fitted March 2020 when the grant was a little more generous. The majority of our journey are less than 30 miles, in the winter the EV range is nearer 18/20 miles, to date we have covered 9,700 miles which includes towing a caravan to date our total running cost are £769.53, the home charger has already payed for itself.
As regard pre-heating our Mitsubishi Outlander has a 3.6 kWh on board charge, pre heating requires 4.1 kWh, so a slight loss in battery range, your Tuscon has a 7 kWh on board charger you will not experience a loss of range.
With a Podpoint you can switch off your charger from your phone app, plus free charging at Tesco
Unfortunately I have suffered a brain injury and occasionally I get confused and often say the wrong thing.
Thank you for the advice really appreciated.
The model we have gone for is the 67kw battery plug in hybrid version, and feel will need the wall charger in a few months as our second car is due for change in 12 months also, and looking a full electric as used locally only so will need charger then so thought best do now before grant ends.
Thank you for taking time to respond as invaluable as didn’t know where to start.
I’m pretty sure your car won’t come with a 67kw battery, which is more than most standard EVs have (as in, the non-long range models). 😉
Another thing to consider, as you mentioned, is the fact that your next car potentially might be an EV.
Thank you for the advice really appreciated. The model we have gone for is the 67kw battery plug in hybrid version, and feel will need the wall charger in a few months as our second car is due for change in 12 months also, and looking a full electric as used locally only so will need charger then so thought best do now before grant ends. Thank you for taking time to respond as invaluable as didn’t know where to start.
The Tuscon PHEV is 13.8 kWh has a manufactures claimed EV range of 31 miles, were did you get 67 kWh from ?
Unfortunately I have suffered a brain injury and occasionally I get confused and often say the wrong thing.
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