www.ultimatehandyman.co.uk

I am moving house within a couple of months to a house with an electric car charging point. In anticipation of this, I have just bought a used hybrid car. This hybrid comes with a standard 3 pin wall socket to charge the battery.

I have no outside electrics in my home right now so I was planning on charging the car using a normal plug (no extension lead) and sticking the lead out the window for 9 hours every night.

My current home is a new build only 4 years old so the electrics are modern.

Does this sound safe?
I would rather not put my family at risk if not...

Other than a physical hazard (tripping over the wire) it's 'safe' - in the electrical sense.

It is fairly easy and cost-effective to have an outside 13A, weatherproof, twin socket with RCD fitted. Would also be useful for garden tools/power washers etc. There is a high probability that there is an existing supply run along the outside wall (inside the house) that can be tapped into.

Plan on having one installed ASAP to ease your mind.

13A sockets for car chargers are for very occasional use only and it’s not really advised for any length of time

In fact as a spark if I abide by the regs I’m not permitted to install a standard 13A socket fit and EV

Yes really

always a good idea to have a downward turn on an external cable so any water running down will find the low point and not be directed where you dont want it so a bit off slack may cure the problem

Just so you know there are grants available to install EV charging points at home. Some is funded by OLEV (something like that) the other is by The Energy Saving Trust. I'm looking into it just now although I'm in Scotland so slightly different.

Edit: It might only be in Scotland but I'd call the EST to check.

https://energysavingtrust.org.uk/grants ... t-funding/

As Fin would say "shy bairns get nowt"

Neelix wrote: ↑Wed Nov 10, 2021 11:06 am 13A sockets for car chargers are for very occasional use only

The OP did specify the vehicle to be Hybrid - in which case it will, barring strange circumstances, never require mains charging - the the occasion 'could' arise thus the 'occasional' use thereof.

Slightly mixed messages from people on here, but I am grateful to all that replied.

I'll have to charge a few times to make sure the battery is as the dealer says it is so I'll try and do that in good weather days where I can keep an eye on it.


As I said I'm moving soon so I'm reluctant to spend any money on the current house, and I'll just have to enjoy the Ev mostly at the new house!

kellys_eye wrote: ↑Wed Nov 10, 2021 3:02 pm

Neelix wrote: ↑Wed Nov 10, 2021 11:06 am 13A sockets for car chargers are for very occasional use only

The OP did specify the vehicle to be Hybrid - in which case it will, barring strange circumstances, never require mains charging - the the occasion 'could' arise thus the 'occasional' use thereof.

Err, not necessarily, there are 2 types of "hybrid" vehicles, so called "self charging" and "plug in " Hybrids, self charging are charged from the engine running (like the alternator recharging the battery) and regeneration from braking then there are the "plug in" Hybrids where the battery charge is comes from... being plugged in.

spellingisnotmyfort wrote: ↑Wed Nov 10, 2021 4:43 pmI'll just have to enjoy the Ev mostly at the new house

It will be no different than it is now, because it's a hy-brid. You will not need an EV charger, as your car has a normal engine. It's only 100% electric cars that need an EV charger.

I should have kept my old works vehicle.

wine~o wrote: ↑Wed Nov 10, 2021 4:50 pm Err, not necessarily, there are 2 types of "hybrid" vehicles, so called "self charging" and "plug in " Hybrids, self charging are charged from the engine running (like the alternator recharging the battery) and regeneration from braking then there are the "plug in" Hybrids where the battery charge is comes from... being plugged in.

I don't think that matters. The difference between 'regenerative' hybrids and plug-in as compared to full EV is the size of the battery being used. Pure EVs are 'massive' in the context of charging requirement whilst 'regenerative' and plug-in hybrids are much, much smaller - typically 10-15kW which, for a wall charger, would take a 2kW (electric fire level) charger 5-7 hours to recharge so could easily be done through a 13A socket supply. Over 12 hours, this is less than 1kW from the 13A socket.

Pure EV can have batteries up to 200kWhr that, for an overnight full charge (say 12 hours) requires 16kWhr which is why they require dedicated charging systems direct from the incoming mains. 200kW is on the large size but even more common 50kW to 80kW EV's will require 4 to 8kW of charging power for a 12 hour recharge so, again, a dedicated circuit.

The hybrid I bought takes 5 hours over a 13amp socket so it's a small battery.
3 hours with a fast charger.

And yes I can use it as a petrol, but it's not green and I doubt any good for the battery to stay flat for months.

spellingisnotmyfort wrote: ↑Thu Nov 11, 2021 1:10 pmAnd yes I can use it as a petrol

I thought you (The driver) get no choice? I thought if you are driving around town (30mph) its electric, but if you want to go to the seaside (Long distance Over (say) 40mph the petrol engine starts.

Someone-Else wrote: ↑Thu Nov 11, 2021 1:37 pm

spellingisnotmyfort wrote: ↑Thu Nov 11, 2021 1:10 pmAnd yes I can use it as a petrol

I thought you (The driver) get no choice? I thought if you are driving around town (30mph) its electric, but if you want to go to the seaside (Long distance Over (say) 40mph the <a href="http://shop.ebay.co.uk/?_nkw=petrol+engine" class="skimwords-link" target="_blank" data-skimwords-id="773733" data-skimwords-word="petrol%20engine" data-group-id="0" data-skim-creative="300003" title="Shopping Link Added by SkimWords" occurrence="1" data-skim-node-id="199:Ithoughtyou(Thedrive_1" style="">petrol engine</a><span style="position: absolute;"></span><span style="position: absolute;"></span> starts.

i think it is actually a lot simpler than that it runs on battery untill the battery falls to a predetermined level the engine auto starts to charge it this can be in town at traffic light but can also be on the motorway doing 60 mph

now some the engine will start iffthe throttle or speed is above predetermined level for better excelleration

With all EV charging points the big question is if there is danger due to earthing arrangements?

With @Someone-Else works vehicle the connection to vehicle was 24 volt with no earth SELV but with today's EV the charger is built into the vehicle. Why the vehicle is not class II I don't know, but it seems it isn't, so with a TN-C-S supply some method is required to disconnect the earth should the earth potential raise above earth earth by 70 volt, not sure why 70 volt any other thing it would be 50 volt.

Loss of PEN is rare, and the chances of loosing the PEN when doing the odd emergency recharge are slim, but if used on a regular basis then clearly the risk increases, also the risk of some one touching the car, so parked around the back of a home again risk of loosing PEN and some one touching car are slim, but in a drive passed by postman and milkman the risk increases and on the street clearly a very high risk.

So some chargers are designed to have an earth probe to know when disconnection is required, and some work on voltage it is assumed 207 to 253 I think it is means earth OK, but if voltage leaves those limits it must auto disconnect.

I have noted this sign. Which it seems means

Title/Meaning/Referent :
IC-CPD, switched protective conductor included
Function/description :
To indicate the function of the in-cable control and protective device (IC-CPD) with switched protective conductor for supplying electric vehicles in charging mode 2.

I found this set of instructions but it said

depending on
the regional current grid and the device version.

So it seems it does depend on the actual model, not all have the protection, however it does seem some do.