EV future proofing?

[bainbridge]

Hi Motors

I'm thinking of getting a charge point installed at our home in readiness for getting an electric car in the fairly distant future, and I'm just trying to weigh up the pros and cons of doing it now, or waiting until we're actually looking at EVs.

I appreciate that the charging technology is progressing, but is it likely that the supply wiring will need changing?

My father in law had a charge point installed last year and I helped him prepare the cable run prior to the installer arriving, and the installer fitted an 18mm cable and a small data cable alongside.

Now, I know that none of us have a crystal ball, but the possible plan is for me to take advantage of an offer through my employer to get a charge point fitted at a reduced cost, and it will just sit there until we get an EV, which could potentially be in summer 2025 after we've renewed our mortgage and we know where we are financially.

I figured that with the huge surge in EV ownership (the demand for both EVs and charge points is currently crazy at the large car leasing company I work for), it might be a good move to get one installed, and if the charger itself needs upgrading at least all the wiring will already be run in.

If anyone does have some knowledge around which direction charge point technology is heading and how this might affect my plan, I'd be interested to know.

Thanks.

 

[bainbridge]

It’s unlikely the core standard will change going forward.

Ask the installer to use cable with a data cable imbedded or install a separate data cable at the same time. The data cable is for CT clamps and should run ideally run to your main incoming supply point. Even if the charger doesn’t need a CT clamp, you may need one in the future (for example you get solar) and adding one later could be disruptive.

6mm cable should be more than fine unless it’s a really long run. Even 4mm cable is fine for a short run.

The main question is tethered or untethered (does it have the cable permanently attached or not) and if you want solar integration or not (you don’t need to have solar installed already). I’d recommend tethered, less faff but usually not as neat.

Whether you do it now or not is up to you really. If you are planning any building works it would be beneficial to get cable runs in place so they can be hidden.

Very useful info, thanks for responding.

 

[bainbridge]

Type 2 is now fairly established and can't see it changing any time soon. 7kwh will be standard for 90% of properties as not too many have a 3 phase supply.

Just can't see the point of you getting one now. What happens if your circumstances change and don't get an EV?

Thanks for the info re cabling.

Questioning whether it's worthwhile is valid. If we get shafted on our mortgage renewal, I'll either try and keep our ageing ICE car on the road or buy another ICE car.

I figured that with the cost of raw materials and labour going up, it might be a smart move to get one installed now, rather than paying a potentially much higher supply and installation cost in the future.

I would also say that if we were to sell the house, a charge point in situ would also be a plus, but we've no plans to sell for a long time yet.

 

[bainbridge]

Spending money on something you don't need just because it's on sale, especially from a fast evolving market, seems a ridiculous idea to me

That's just oversimplifying.

It's not a case of not needing a charge point full stop, but it is, I accept, a case of not needing a charge point yet.

Unless the law changes, from 2030 all new cars will be EVs. Even if we cling on to ICE cars as long as possible, in 10 years time all we'll be able to buy will be an EV (based on buying a 3 year old used car).

So the requirement for a charge point is inevitable, and I'm just toying with the idea of being proactive now.

 

[bainbridge]

I would not bother myself,
Sod`s law says that by the time you got an EV it would be much cheaper and faster overall to charge the car elsewhere and home charging becomes expensive and obsolete.

Good point. We currently have lots of customers expressing dissatisfaction with not being able to have a charge point fitted at home, for various reasons: No off street parking, public pathway between their property and driveway etc. So I guess having a driveway at home and a seemingly simple install has been priming me to get one put in.

If the industry does indeed manage to come up with an ultra fast charging solution, it will presumably just be a case of popping to a local filling station and filling up as usual.

Time will tell!