UK Limiting power from sockets

Central · Nov 27, 2022

Hi
I have an Airbnb and some guests are charging their cars off of power sockets in my kitchen. So not only is this outwith my insurance coverage it is costing me a lot of money.

Are there sockets which can either

1) limit current?
Or
2) time out automatically after 30 minutes or so

I can have sockets added with USB outlets for phone charging.

Or should I have kitchen and other appliances hard wired in or changed over to 5A sockets as I don’t have any worktop appliances which take more than that. Is that feasible?

Any other ideas?

Vortigern · Nov 29, 2022

I think in Real Politik terms airbnb get a lot of money from the lets, and sadly the people who can definitely afford it are those people who can afford electric cars. Therefore your market is those very same people who want a bit of kickback in getting the freebie of EV charging. Read the meter before the letting and at the end and arrange in the agreement that the surcharge over an agreed amount that is included will be retrospectively applied thus covering yourself after a certain agreed level of included electricity. Maybe a smart meter screen that shows the tenant how many units they have used so they can tell when they have exceeded the agreed amount and understand the meter is ticking after that amount of units. I think with some chargers there is the consideration of whether your existing installation can support the amount of current draw. As well as this, I am sure there are circumstances where D.C. currents may cause failure of RCD and compromise the safety of the tenant. You would need to evaluate that with an electrician. It may have insurance implications as well. It very much depends on whether these portable (?) EV chargers have built in D.C. leakage cut-off devices. I mostly imagine they would but you don't know and can't assume without enquiry.

Central · Dec 24, 2022

Vortigern said:
Get an EV charger for your guests is my thought on the matter.

That would be like installing a petrol pump and giving them free fuel

. I provide holiday accommodation and am not a fuel station

. Times are tough enough without paying for people to drive about for free.

brianmoooore · Dec 24, 2022

Is there hardware and an app out there somewhere that allows you to remotely monitor the electricity being used?
I've had this problem a couple of times, but have the advantage of being on site, so can catch them at it.

HappyHippyDad · Dec 24, 2022

Central said:
That would be like installing a petrol pump and giving them free fuel . I provide holiday accommodation and am not a fuel station. Times are tough enough without paying for people to drive about for free.

I read your post and at first agreed with it. However, I'm not so sure actually. We don't have petrol pumps in our own homes, but we do have EV chargers. Supplying energy for our vehicles in changing towards having it available at our own homes and this probably would be a good selling point for you.

One option may be talk about all of this on your website. Specifically mention the fact that you have noticed more and more people using the electricity to charge their cars. Then go on to say that because of this reason you have installed an EV charger for this purpose, but you would need to charge for this. Perhaps get a meter installed and if the customer uses over a certain (fairly high) amount of electricity you could charge.

I still think the best option (least hassle) would be just to fit it and offer it as part of the whole package, after bumping up your prices just a little.

nicebutdim · Dec 24, 2022

Central said:
That would be like installing a petrol pump and giving them free fuel . I provide holiday accommodation and am not a fuel station. Times are tough enough without paying for people to drive about for free.

Sticking to the fuel analogy; it would be akin to guests taking your heating oil to fuel diesel cars and you installing a 'free' charger, with costs covered by inflated rental charge, to remove the incentive.

Central · Dec 25, 2022

Two bits of additional information.

The house is a listed building so adding an EV Charger means listed building consent which costs time and a lot of money.

Being a listed building with thick walls my smart meter is dum because it can’t connect to the Wide Area Network.

As a general point, upping rates to allow for EV charging is a non starter as far as I am concerned. It makes me less competitive in a competitive marketplace and why should regular car drivers pay for EV drivers.

Central · Dec 25, 2022

HappyHippyDad said:
I read your post and at first agreed with it. However, I'm not so sure actually. We don't have petrol pumps in our own homes, but we do have EV chargers. Supplying energy for our vehicles in changing towards having it available at our own homes and this probably would be a good selling point for you.

One option may be talk about all of this on your website. Specifically mention the fact that you have noticed more and more people using the electricity to charge their cars. Then go on to say that because of this reason you have installed an EV charger for this purpose, but you would need to charge for this. Perhaps get a meter installed and if the customer uses over a certain (fairly high) amount of electricity you could charge.

I still think the best option (least hassle) would be just to fit it and offer it as part of the whole package, after bumping up your prices just a little.

As you say, people fit EV chargers to THEIR homes For THEIR use

baldelectrician · Dec 25, 2022

If you wanted to limit current in the property you could have the heavy duty appliances hard wired on to different circuits through an fused connection unit etc and have the rest of the sockets on a 10A MCB, this would allow for almost all general use and prevent things like heaters and car chargers being plugged in

You would obviously need to get a decent spark in to do it and check practicality.