WHAT WE DO
EV Charging Solutions
You have bought or are about to buy an electric vehicle (BEV or PHEV) and now need to buy a charger, what are the options and the differences? With so many options available it can be very confusing on what type of charger you should use or buy.
If your home has off-road parking, you should always consider installing a home charger. This gives you flexibility in how and when you charge your car and is a cheaper way of charging.
This depends on how you want to use your charger. If you want to just plug in your car to the charger and let it charge the car up each time (like putting a plug into a wall socket) a smart charger is not required. However, you will need a smart charger if you want to use your charger to do more things; like charging the car at cheap electricity times, schedule charging to provide a full charge by a certain time, or even integrating your solar PV system to the car to provide free electricity to the car. To future proof your car charging and for more flexibility we usually recommend you buy a smart charger. In the near future, you may even be able to get paid for providing electricity to the grid from your car battery (assuming you buy a charger that can do this).
Tethered is where you have the cable to plug into your car attached to the charger already. You just unwrap the cable from around the charger and plug it straight into your car. Untethered is when you have a separate cable that needs to be plugged into the car and the other end plugged into the charger. This is really a personal choice on which you prefer or if you have a preference on how the charger looks when it is not in use (some people don’t like a cable hanging or wrapped around the charger when it is not in use).
This will depend on a number of factors – eg. the type of electrical connection you have (single phase or 3 phase) or how fast your car battery can recharge to name a couple. However, as a car is mostly outside the home for long periods of time in the day and/or night, charging times are less significant. Not forgetting if you get a smart charger you can schedule your car to charge as often as you wish or to keep a certain % of battery charged up each day. It is recommended to charge to 80% of the battery capacity as it will reach this quicker. Like your mobile phone the last 20% of charging takes longer and is recommended to only be done if you really need 100% charge on the battery.
| Grant Type | Amount | Conditions |
|---|---|---|
| Car Purchase | Up to €5,000 | This is often reflected in the sale price from the dealership so check with them first. |
| VRT Relief | Up to €5,000 | This is often reflected in the sale price from the dealership so check with them first. |
| Home Charger | €600 | If you purchase with an installer through our website we will make sure you get the grant up front instead of you having to claim it. |
We will make sure you get any grants that are available to you. All the installers that we work with claim for the grant on your behalf so that you are only charged the amount net of the grant.