[Sebbak]

I'm looking through some of the UK options for home charging and wondered if there were any recommendations or 'absolutely avoids' from people on here already using home charging?

I'm looking at the X1 hybrid, so I don't need any form of 'super charging', but I think an intelligent charger might be a good idea to plan charging times (I assume that although the BMW app does this, a 'stupid' charger would just charge anyway, or is it the car accepting the charge that defines if/when it charges?)

New to the electric vehicle game, so curious if there's anything worth considering that's not in the usual sales pitches on the websites touting their wares. Presumably a 7kW charger is plenty looking at the info so far?

I've watched a few videos about what happens on installation day, what they need access to etc and that's all fine, more asking about experiences with particular products. I see PodPoint is somehow affiliated with BMW on the site, but there's so many providers it looks like a potential minefield!

I only need the office 2x days a week and then some driving weekends, so charging isn't crucial every night, but obviously will keep it charged to take full advantage of the benefits.

Thanks.

[Puffinrock]

As you only get about 45 miles on electric and I just use a three pin standard charger overnight (two different charging cables come with the car btw) - all the 7kw home kit is very costly if you actually only need to charge once or twice a week in my opinion.

[Tunners]

I have had a Pod Point charger installed since 2021 and had no problems at all with it (touch wood).
The car determines what speed it will charge at but the maximum charge rate is 7.4kwh on the PHEV.
I am on OVO Charge Anytime which charges at 7p per kwh but you need a smart meter for this as with most energy suppliers.

[Tunners]

Puffinrock
The Granny cable is now a £350 option, where it was free when I bought mine.

[Sebbak]

Originally Posted by Tunners

Puffinrock
The Granny cable is now a £350 option, where it was free when I bought mine.

Is that the 'Mode 2' cable option they're offering? It looks like a Mode 3 is now standard, but I thought that was the charging cable and nothing else (i.e. not a 3-pin charger?)

[MarcVD]

I have a X1 Xdrive 30e that I recharge at home 3 or 4 times a week, in my driveway (the garage is for the wife's car because she does all the grocery shopping). I have installed a charging station with attached cable - the dumbest model I could find because I don't need any fancy functions, there is enough intelligence in the car for all I need.

This is the model I got :

https://www.carplug.com/circontrol-wallbox-ehome-7kw-32a-monophase-cir-ehome-borne-de-recharge#/122-protections_electriques-sans_protections/222-circontrol_beon_intensite-sans_module_de_charge_dynamique_beon

Using such a station is much easier than the BMW flexible fast charger that you get with the car. Park the car, program the recharge on the car's computer, plug the cable, all done.
Much easier than having to fish the cable out of the car booth every time you must recharge.

I installed it myself, just an additional circuit (with its own 30 mA RCD and 20A breaker) and 20m of 3G2,5 cable. Half a day of work. I have set the current limit in the station to 16A in order not to overload my installation. That's 3,7 kW of recharge power, or a full recharge in 6 hours.

If you chose a station with scheduling functions, you must not use the scheduling functions of the car, but leave it on "charge immediately". The charging process will start at the time specified in the station - before that, the cable is not powered, so the light under the car's charging flap will remain amber, until the station decides to power it up. But it's not really needed to have such functions, the car does it already. And it's very easy to manage with the My BMW app.

One last remark : make sure you pick a charging station with DC 6mA protection included. All recent models have it but there are still some vendors that try to sell older models that are not protected. If you don't have that, you must change all the RCDs in your service panel.

[MarcVD]

Originally Posted by Sebbak

Is that the 'Mode 2' cable option they're offering? It looks like a Mode 3 is now standard, but I thought that was the charging cable and nothing else (i.e. not a 3-pin charger?)

At the time I ordered mine, you got both. Flexible fast charger with local power plug for mode 2 and a mode 3 cable for charging at public stations. Today you get only the mode 3 cable, the other one us now a paying option, 400 € I think.

[Fish Fingers]

Consider getting a Smart meter if you haven't already got one.

You can then get a deal with a cheap overnight rate designed for EV charging.

[MontyB1]

Just charge the 25e using the supplied 3pin fast charger, I’ve fitted it outside using the BMW mounting bracket and a holder for the socket so it’s super easy to unplug from that into the car. Not the fastest but as it’s overnight and it’s VERY rare faster offers any benefit to her usage.

The 25/30e are very slow charging for only moderate range so a fast charger is a bit of a waste.

This was the holder, fed the cable through the back for extra security of the chargers with a few other clips. > GRAFT type 2 EV Charger Cable Organizer

[Tunners]

Originally Posted by Sebbak

Is that the 'Mode 2' cable option they're offering? It looks like a Mode 3 is now standard, but I thought that was the charging cable and nothing else (i.e. not a 3-pin charger?)

Type 2 mode 2 is the granny charger ie the 3 pin plug (£350 option) then you have the type 2 mode 3 which is the cable for public charging (comes as standard)

[John27]

An intelligent charger sounds a good idea since, I assume, you can plug in the car and set it to start charging at a later time, perhaps benefitting from cheaper rate electricity?

[Pganders]

When I first got my previous PHEV I just used the granny charger but eventually replaced this with a dedicated charger as the cable had to trail across the garden which was a hassle. Also, the three pin plug on the charger at the house end was getting warm which I wasn’t keen on.

I now have an Andersen A2 charger and it works well, charging the car (30e) from empty to full in about 2 hours. It’s rated at 7.4kwh which is the maximum for a residential setup as (I think) anything higher requires a 3 phase mains input. It was pricey but suited my circumstances as the cover is fully customiable to fit in with the outside decor of the house. Also, the cable stores invisibly in the cabinet when not in use.

I use the setting on the car to control timing of the charge to off peak electric and leave the charger to permanently on. The reason being that if I need to pre-condition the car outside the off peak window it will draw the current from the charger and not the car battery.

[MontyB1]

Originally Posted by John27

An intelligent charger sounds a good idea since, I assume, you can plug in the car and set it to start charging at a later time, perhaps benefitting from cheaper rate electricity?

The car / app can do all the control you will ever need, rate of charge, when you want it to start and stop and the % charge you want to reach etc.

Integrate it into an intelligent tariff and the wall charger can become the dumb part, lots of different ways to go none right or wrong really though.