Talk me through getting an EV

[openspaceman]

Haven't tried anything beyond a 16A reel from the EV on v2l.

Are you looking to use the v2l feed from an EV to hook into the cu and fool a grid tied inverter to keep outputting from PV (no judgement, just asking)?

The real benefit beyond v2l in our Ioniq5 is that we species it with twin motors. Giving us selectable 4wd when we need it. Good software too for Lane keeping and speed limiter along with radar. Takes all the drain out of driving distance and left feeling refreshed.

Basically yes, wondering if the car would keep the solar generation going.

As we are in a saving session currently I have switched the house over to run on the standalone 5kW inverter and battery, this prevents any spurious draw from the grid that otherwise happens. However my growatt inverter sits there indicating it is on grid but does not discharge so the house is only running on the standalone battery, which has only 3kWh available so will discharges to about 75% in the hour in the absence of any cooking other than a kettle with two cups of tea. I suspect it is an earth bonding problem in the inverter because while the lighting circuits are okay the downstairs power sockets trip at changeover.

I can well see the use of AWD where you live, not so necessary on the South Coast.

[Sim_C]

I have an Ioniq5, and the granny charger that came with it allows selection of 6/8/10 Amp charging.

It has been used on occasion at holiday cottages with the permission of the owner, along with a heavy duty extension lead from 'toughleads'.
It is recommended to search out say the 13 A socket on a cooker circuit, so it has a dedicated feed with no other loads when the cooker is not in use.

The pins on the 13 A plug tend to get warm when run at 10 Amps, so I choose 6 or 8 A depending on what I deem the state of the electrical install to be, and not overnight when asleep. With a brand new install to 18th edition regs, I would run at 8 A for around an hour then check the temperature of the 13 A plugs before continuing at that rate. A 20 year old tired install I would run at 6 A or not at all.

One holiday cottage had a burnt out double socket in the kitchen as a result of a previous visitor, so the owner not surprisingly did not allow any EV charging.

[openspaceman]

I have an Ioniq5, and the granny charger that came with it allows selection of 6/8/10 Amp charging.

It has been used on occasion at holiday cottages with the permission of the owner, along with a heavy duty extension lead from 'toughleads'.
It is recommended to search out say the 13 A socket on a cooker circuit, so it has a dedicated feed with no other loads when the cooker is not in use.

The pins on the 13 A plug tend to get warm when run at 10 Amps, so I choose 6 or 8 A depending on what I deem the state of the electrical install to be, and not overnight when asleep. With a brand new install to 18th edition regs, I would run at 8 A for around an hour then check the temperature of the 13 A plugs before continuing at that rate. A 20 year old tired install I would run at 6 A or not at all.

One holiday cottage had a burnt out double socket in the kitchen as a result of a previous visitor, so the owner not surprisingly did not allow any EV charging.

That's a good tale of caution. We used to rent dog friendly cottages in Eryri/Snowdownia and had unmetered electricity use, I bet this EV use changes things.

Is there a good FAQ on V2L and V2G?

Are there any of the current car chargers that are bi directional to accept V2G? I can only see it being of benefit to enable dumping 7kW in a saver session but is it likely Octopus would "rent" the car battery in the near future, under their control, like IOG?

[nowty]

Is there a good FAQ on V2L and V2G?

Are there any of the current car chargers that are bi directional to accept V2G?

This gives a good overview of the different technologies and what's currently available.
https://www.cleanenergyreviews.info/blo ... 2g-v2h-v2l


A list of V2G bi directional chargers either available or coming soon.
https://www.cleanenergyreviews.info/blo ... ers-review

[Sim_C]

I have used the V2L feature of the Ioniq 5 a few times now. The Premium model rather than the Ultimate does not come with a V2L lead, so I got 1 from 'evcables.com' specifically with a CEE 1p 16A socket on the other end (the same as provided on the power posts on caravan sites). The V2L lead was much cheaper than anything available direct from Hyundai.

Note - The V2L lead is specific to Hyundia/Kia/Genesis EVs, as although it is a standard Type 2 connector to plug in the EV charging socket, there are some extra components such as resistors included to tell the EV the V2L capabilities. Other manufacturers require different components in the V2L lead. Nothing like keeping to standards hey.

With my caravan being kept in secure storage over the Winter, it is great be able to turn up and feed the caravan from the EV whilst doing some cleaning/maintenance. It saves having to disconnect and lift out the rather heavy 110 Ah leisure battery to charge at home, and keeps the battery topped up to avoid damage by sulphation.
It has been fine running a portable fan heater set to 1 kW, a de-humidifier that draws around 300 W, along with the caravan battery charger to top up the leisure battery. Total draw has been around 1.5 kW, for a couple of hours, so 3 kWh taken from the EV which is not much when the EV capacity is around 74 kWh.

As there is no mains earth reference point from the V2L, and the caravan is not connected to a fixed install, I made sure all other mains appliances in the caravan were unplugged, especially the microwave with it's metal casing. All the appliances that I have actually used are double insulated with no earth connection anyway.

If the V2L was to be used to feed a household supply, then a TT installation with a local earth rod would be required to make all the metal cased appliances safe to use. This requires an installation and certified sign-off by a qualified electrician.

[Sim_C]

In case anyone was wondering, yes I am one of a few idiots that does tow a caravan with an EV. No problem with the EV power, just the range before re-charging is required. On occasion a few boy racers have been left standing at traffic lights as the Ioniq 5 with caravan disappears up the road before cruising at the 60 mph limit on a dual carriageway.

The furthest I have dared to travel in one go has been 110 miles without needing to re-charge en-route.

Obviously started with 100% charge, drove 110 miles with the caravan on the back to the storage site, then 13 miles back home with just the EV, safe in the knowledge I could charge at home. From memory there was around 25% charge left when I got home.

The issue with longer journeys is that the public charge points are almost all designed to reverse in or out with just an EV, so not possible with a caravan on the back. Unhitching the caravan at a motorway services, to drive the EV to charge, then re-hitch is not fun I can tell you.

Another thread on here covers Salmons Leap in Devon, which has 2 charging points suitable for long vehicles including towing. One of only a few across the whole country. Hopefully this will improve over time.

[Moxi]

That’s my hope too, I tow the caravan locally and it’s the easiest towing I have ever done so I’m looking forward to popular holiday routes having more drive through charger points for towing vehicles in the next few years

Moxi

[nowty]

The issue with longer journeys is that the public charge points are almost all designed to reverse in or out with just an EV, so not possible with a caravan on the back. Unhitching the caravan at a motorway services, to drive the EV to charge, then re-hitch is not fun I can tell you.

When you say it, its obvious but this would never have previously even crossed my mind.

[openspaceman]

Thanks for that info Sim_C

[Beau]

Morning all. We are now a couple of weeks into EV ownership and all is going well.

A Zappi question for you.
I ordered an extra CT clamp to see what our PV produces and have wired it in but it's not coming up on the app. Is there a way to turn it on? The CT clamp for the home works fine but the sparky did that and maybe he did something I missed.

Thanks
Beau