EV Charging info

[sythai]

Sorry if this has already been covered..... I’ve tried searching with no luck !

I’m after some info please on what is required to get set up to install EV chargers. Been getting a lot of calls on this lately, x3 this week so far.

Any info on it would be handy pros/ cons/ costs etc.

Cheers Sy

 

[Markyd]

I just googled ev charging course and loads came up

 

[Midwest]

Well lets wait, know some have been on courses recently. Lets see what they can recommend.

 

[Markyd]

I think the ev business will be short lived....apparently hydrogen fuelled vehicles are on the way

 

[buzzlightyear]

I think the ev business will be short lived....apparently hydrogen fuelled vehicles are on the way

you write their Marty,

 

[PJH2903]

I have done the C&G course, simple enough to do. You then need to invest in a chargepoint test adapter (the Rolec one is around £400).
You also need to register with each manufacturer that you want to install, Rolec, PodPoint etc and do their training to get approval to install their equipment.
Once you have done that you need to register with OLEV in order to claim the grants.
I did all this 12 months ago and have only installed 2 chargepoints, most of the dealers will have agreements in place with big national companies so it is difficult to break into the market.
Also OLEV are not the quickest at paying out the grant money (mine took nearly 4 months each time) and if there is anything remotely wrong with the paperwork they will also delay payment.

 

[sythai]

Well lets wait, know some have been on courses recently. Lets see what they can recommend.

;-)

Good to have some personal feedback from Guys on here ;-)

Googled myself and can see loads of courses, but wanted bit more info on the whole thing really.

 

[HappyHippyDad]

Do you have to do a course?
Can you not just install an EVCP if you know what you are doing?
Or is this in relation to the grants and the need to be registered with OLEV?

 

[PJH2903]

Do you have to do a course?
Can you not just install an EVCP if you know what you are doing?
Or is this in relation to the grants and the need to be registered with OLEV?

You can install without the course etc but you will not be able to claim the grant for the customer which for a home install is 75% of the cost up to £500 so you would not be competitive for new installs.

 

[Gavin John Hyde]

As already covered you need to be in a scheme if installing home chargers as its notifiable.
For the olev schemes, you need to do acourse, city and guilds or a one day niceic thing. Then get manufacturer approval for each make via training days etc which is usually free. Some make you get the brands tester. Some makes will approve you for domestic chargers only if you arent NICEIC AC or equivalent.
Then apply to olev. Homecharge applications can be long as the paperwork is long. Workplace is much much easier.
You can fit one outside of olev schemes but as above you wont get the subsidy.
I have fitted 22 in the last year, between domestic and workplace ones. Its picking up and got more to quote for.

 

[Devonchris]

Can't see much call for ev in Devon. In most areas, the battery would flat before you got back from popping out for a loaf.

Bit more affluent in Bath. I bet some of those ev's struggle to climb some of those hills though.

 

[sythai]

As already covered you need to be in a scheme if installing home chargers as its notifiable.
For the olev schemes, you need to do acourse, city and guilds or a one day niceic thing. Then get manufacturer approval for each make via training days etc which is usually free. Some make you get the brands tester. Some makes will approve you for domestic chargers only if you arent NICEIC AC or equivalent.
Then apply to olev. Homecharge applications can be long as the paperwork is long. Workplace is much much easier.
You can fit one outside of olev schemes but as above you wont get the subsidy.
I have fitted 22 in the last year, between domestic and workplace ones. Its picking up and got more to quote for.

Thanks Gavin appreciate the helpful feedback ;-)

 

[mattg4321]

Where do you get most of your leads @Gavin John Hyde if you don't mind me asking? Presume you advertise somewhere?

 

[JK-Electrical]

I have done the C&G course, simple enough to do. You then need to invest in a chargepoint test adapter (the Rolec one is around £400).
You also need to register with each manufacturer that you want to install, Rolec, PodPoint etc and do their training to get approval to install their equipment.
Once you have done that you need to register with OLEV in order to claim the grants.
I did all this 12 months ago and have only installed 2 chargepoints, most of the dealers will have agreements in place with big national companies so it is difficult to break into the market.
Also OLEV are not the quickest at paying out the grant money (mine took nearly 4 months each time) and if there is anything remotely wrong with the paperwork they will also delay payment.

I've just completed a job installing three 7.2 kW chargers in a commercial environment under the Workplace Charging Scheme. I'm dismayed to have now discovered that I'm going to have to wait four months for payment of the £1500 grant money from OLEV. I certainly won't be undertaking any more grant jobs, that's for sure. That's a lot of money to have to initially lay out, and a sum that will impact negatively on my cash-flow for the next quarter.

The whole grant scheme would appear to a bit of a con anyway:

The Great UK EV Charger Grant Mystery

The chargers that I installed were Rolec EVWP2026/WCS at a cost of £715.25 per charger. The 'WCS' part of the code denotes that the charger will come complete with GPRS metering equipment and a 3 year guarantee. These two conditions have been imposed by OLEV, and if you don't comply, you don't get paid. The standard model EVWP2026, however, can be bought for £389.99 from this wholesaler. So that's £325.26‬ of the grant gone straight away to cover the cost of the GPRS metering equipment.

Ergo the customer has in actuality been given a grant of £174.74. And since any business or organisation who are awarded an OLEV grant are obliged to monitor the usage of each and every charger and forward the usage data to OLEV on a monthly basis, one has to ask if the inconvenience of doing so is worth it for the sake of £174.74. Some will say it is, others will say it is not. Indeed, I've just won a job to install another charger of the same make and model for a different client who doesn't want to go through the grant process for this very reason. It is this type of customer to whom I will be marketing my services in future.

 

[Midwest]

Informative.

I suspect, if I stay around a bit longer, that my next vehicle will be a hybrid or in bit longer, all electric. Guess I’ll be paying someone to install it

As an aside, much does it cost, to charge a car?