EV general discussion

[Jonnycoupe]

The growth of the UK’s EV charging network could be stunted by significant and unexpected cost hikes that mean many charging hubs aren’t currently turning a profit.

Ian Johnston, CEO of charger operator Osprey, told Autocar that “we are nowhere near profitability” because of skyrocketing electric grid costs.


Dora Clarke, Osprey’s head of external affairs, said the standing charge paid by the company for a “typical” hub in the Midlands with eight chargers has increased over the past three years from £99 per year to more than £8600. Osprey operates 56 such hubs nationally.

Osprey is not alone in facing this problem. According to a new report published by EV charging body ChargeUK, standing fees have increased by 462% for rapid-charging hubs (those whose chargers put out 50kW or more) and 389% for slow-charging hubs (sub-50kW) over the past two years.

ChargeUK attributed the hike in fees to energy regulator Ofgem’s Targeted Charging Review, which means businesses now have to pay for the capacity of the energy they could use, rather than what they actually draw. As a result, charging companies are “penalised” for building new hubs that are rarely used to their full extent, said ChargeUK.

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/electric-cars/grid-costs-preventing-public-ev-chargers-turning-profit

Crazy numbers!

 

[Haggisman]

The growth of the UK’s EV charging network could be stunted by significant and unexpected cost hikes that mean many charging hubs aren’t currently turning a profit.

Ian Johnston, CEO of charger operator Osprey, told Autocar that “we are nowhere near profitability” because of skyrocketing electric grid costs.


Dora Clarke, Osprey’s head of external affairs, said the standing charge paid by the company for a “typical” hub in the Midlands with eight chargers has increased over the past three years from £99 per year to more than £8600. Osprey operates 56 such hubs nationally.

Osprey is not alone in facing this problem. According to a new report published by EV charging body ChargeUK, standing fees have increased by 462% for rapid-charging hubs (those whose chargers put out 50kW or more) and 389% for slow-charging hubs (sub-50kW) over the past two years.

ChargeUK attributed the hike in fees to energy regulator Ofgem’s Targeted Charging Review, which means businesses now have to pay for the capacity of the energy they could use, rather than what they actually draw. As a result, charging companies are “penalised” for building new hubs that are rarely used to their full extent, said ChargeUK.

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/electric-cars/grid-costs-preventing-public-ev-chargers-turning-profit

Crazy numbers!

That's ridiculous - 20-30p/kwh towards the standing charge? That's almost half! Considering the high cost & inconvenience of public charging is probably one of the most significant factors putting people off converting to EV, you'd think the government would step in and ensure investment in the infrastructure was supported.

I guess that would require a modicum of competence though

 

[tamzzy]

At 85p/kwh the cost per mile is nearly the same as my 440i

 

[Mysterae_]

ChargeUK attributed the hike in fees to energy regulator Ofgem’s Targeted Charging Review, which means businesses now have to pay for the capacity of the energy they could use, rather than what they actually draw. As a result, charging companies are “penalised” for building new hubs that are rarely used to their full extent, said ChargeUK.

That's insane.

I'm sure liquid fuel stations don't pay tax on how much diesel or petrol they could store rather than how much they sell. Another case of a regulator not having the best interest of consumers and businesses in mind.

 

[MOOGLEYS]

Ioniq 5 is quite bad now the dashboard is cracking like mad on every small bump it’s infuriating to say the least. Only seems to have done it since it has got colder.

The amount of rattles and creaks this car has is insane. Even my old Vauxhalls were better built than this it’s a shame as love the car otherwise. For not even 3 years old it’s put me off Hyundai again that’s for sure.


Edit - Dash noise fixed with a piece of foam between dash panel and hud surround. Seems the hud unit is catching against the surround. Called Hyundai and they are going to change the hud unit.

Always feels good when you find a rattle and fix it. Lol

 

[tamzzy]

I understand the benefit on paper but in practice I'm not sure how it would benefit me as a driver. I appreciate it's better for EAP/FSD but I have neither of those and in my 16 or so years of driving, I've never had a problem using my eyes to see in front of me and I haven't ran into anything (yet... touching all wooden objects around me)

I've used EAP on my couple of long trips...can't say I would trust it in heavy traffic or anything worse than free flowing motorway traffic just yet lol

 

[Diddums]

That's insane.

I'm sure liquid fuel stations don't pay tax on how much diesel or petrol they could store rather than how much they sell. Another case of a regulator not having the best interest of consumers and businesses in mind.

Dunno about tax, but storing stuff like petrol or oil is expensive. Like properly, properly expensive.

 

[tamzzy]

It costs a diesel @ 50 mpg approximately 16p/mile
Realistically the max these rapid charging station should cost is 50p/which, ideally half of what it is now tbh sub 43p for it to make any sense

 

[Junglist]

HyperVolt need to come back to my house again as they wired up the CT clamp incorrectly and not detecting any solar generation.

Third time is a charge, right?

 

[Draeger]

Might be a daft (read=obvious) question but on tethered home chargers, how are you guys coiling the cable around the charger? On my Zappi 2.1 (which I think has a 7.5m cable) if I wrap it around the unit itself, it seems to pull on the bottom cable connection to the charger quite a bit and then when I get to the last coil, there's very little cable left to allow me to clip the charging head into the holder at the front of the Zappi - seems to again put a bit of strain on the cable.

If I try the 'over and under loop' method then just sit the cable over the Zappi, it looks pretty untidy!

I know...........third world problems!!!

 

[Simon]

Get a cable hanger that you can loop around and then plug the connector into

 

[bigmike20vt]

Might be a daft (read=obvious) question but on tethered home chargers, how are you guys coiling the cable around the charger? On my Zappi 2.1 (which I think has a 7.5m cable) if I wrap it around the unit itself, it seems to pull on the bottom cable connection to the charger quite a bit and then when I get to the last coil, there's very little cable left to allow me to clip the charging head into the holder at the front of the Zappi - seems to again put a bit of strain on the cable.

If I try the 'over and under loop' method then just sit the cable over the Zappi, it looks pretty untidy!

I know...........third world problems!!!

i had the same concern so i just dont do it tightly... one less loop and there is little strain and it plugs in ok. sure it looks a little less tidy but it appears like its putting less stress on the cable.

of course it will probably be irrelevent as my lad keeps treading on it and its only a matter of time before someone drives over it when i am charging which i cant imagine will do it any good!

 

[jpaul]

Public charging costs : beyond the autocar skyrocketting headlines in details of report, the network costs aren't a big percentage of final bill.
and benefit for operators versus europe, is

Impact:
• Equivalent schemes in the EU offer credits worth 2.5p-8.5p/
kWh, depending on the implementationxv
. EU-based CPOs have
used this revenue either to expand infrastructure deployment,
particularly in marginally viable sites, such as in rural, regional
or economically deprived areas and/or keep consumer prices
competitive.
• The German scheme also offers a cash bonus directly to EV
drivers that is currently worth €100 per year, with over 1 million
EV drivers receiving this bonus in 2024.


public charging costs close to europe anyway, V from interesting owner -explorer ev blog
will always have the chancellors benevolent ev credit.

 

[Junglist]

Might be a daft (read=obvious) question but on tethered home chargers, how are you guys coiling the cable around the charger? On my Zappi 2.1 (which I think has a 7.5m cable) if I wrap it around the unit itself, it seems to pull on the bottom cable connection to the charger quite a bit and then when I get to the last coil, there's very little cable left to allow me to clip the charging head into the holder at the front of the Zappi - seems to again put a bit of strain on the cable.

If I try the 'over and under loop' method then just sit the cable over the Zappi, it looks pretty untidy!

I know...........third world problems!!!

It was why I went for the HyperVolt charger, it holds the cable really well and doesn't look messy like most other tethered chargers. The Andersen ones look even nicer again but a bit expensive.

 

[Jonnycoupe]

UK is not close to Europe by any stretch, particularly France.

I dont see what the rest of your post is telling us jpaul, its just white noise with a few jibes thrown in.

 

[Maccy]

UK is not close to Europe by any stretch, particularly France.

I dont see what the rest of your post is telling us jpaul, its just white noise with a few jibes thrown in.

He's telling us that we all need to move to Slovania(sp????) or North Macedonia

 

[Firegod]

Hi all. The plastic cable hanger that came with my Ohme charger is giving up the ghost. It has more bend than a David Beckham free kick! I was thinking of making a metal bracket to go under to support the 8m of heavy cable, but wondered if there were any off the shelf alternatives that people can recommend?

 

[oweneades]

Might be a daft (read=obvious) question but on tethered home chargers, how are you guys coiling the cable around the charger? On my Zappi 2.1 (which I think has a 7.5m cable) if I wrap it around the unit itself, it seems to pull on the bottom cable connection to the charger quite a bit and then when I get to the last coil, there's very little cable left to allow me to clip the charging head into the holder at the front of the Zappi - seems to again put a bit of strain on the cable.

If I try the 'over and under loop' method then just sit the cable over the Zappi, it looks pretty untidy!

I know...........third world problems!!!

On our Hypervolt we have it looped 4 times (or 3 depending if you count the initial loop from the base of the unit or not) and then have the plug clipped into a cradle situated behind the unit. There is a a little bit of a cable overhang but it loops quite nicely into the clip.

 

[Simon]

Hi all. The plastic cable hanger that came with my Ohme charger is giving up the ghost. It has more bend than a David Beckham free kick! I was thinking of making a metal bracket to go under to support the 8m of heavy cable, but wondered if there were any off the shelf alternatives that people can recommend?

I think they updated the design, maybe try asking for a replacement

 

[kefkef]

Hi all. The plastic cable hanger that came with my Ohme charger is giving up the ghost. It has more bend than a David Beckham free kick! I was thinking of making a metal bracket to go under to support the 8m of heavy cable, but wondered if there were any off the shelf alternatives that people can recommend?

I've been looking at one called Egnio EV cable organiser on Amazon, seems to get good reviews with a metal bracket and plastic charger holder. Would probably be much the same result as just making your own though.