What name would you like to appear in your article?
Anthony
What is the make, model and year of your EV?
Volkswagen e-Golf 35kWh
Tell us about your home charging set-up
I chose a Rolec Smart WallPod as I wanted a UK manufacturer. The whole experience has been awful. The smart charger does not rely on the home wi-fi, this is a bad thing. It initially failed to smart charge 50% of the time. The manufacturer was less than helpful, somehow convincing me I needed a signal booster and paying for the privilege. Still the charger failed in smart mode.
After my wife spotted a YouTube video of an I-PACE owner with the same issue and resolving it by changing his original equipment charging cable, I managed, after an acrimonious exchange, to convince Rolec to loan me a cable to prove a point. After the new cable improved the success rate to 90% they let me keep it. I still couldn’t live with a 10% failure rate so I now just use the car’s scheduler to charge in my off peak Octopus tariff. The charger is in standalone mode. As I have had the OLEV grant already I am stuck with this situation for the foreseeable future. I do not recommend Rolec EV based on my experience. They are however a major manufacturer and I do accept that others have had a better experience. The charger is untethered.
Tell us about your home charging routine
I drive on average 250 to 300 miles a week. I use my car’s scheduler to charge overnight in my Octopus Go off-peak tariff hours. I use the ESO app to choose a low-carbon night where possible. I usually run the car down to 30 miles but if I have a busy day or long journey planned I fully charge. I always charge to 100% and the e-Golf has a usable 32kw from its 35kw battery, so has a built-in protection buffer for the battery pack.
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Are you part of a charger-sharing scheme for those who don’t have their own charger?
No.
Tell us about your electricity provider and tariff
I am with Octopus Energy on their GO tariff which gives me 4 overnight hours at 5p per kWh. This is enough to fully charge my car. I absolutely recommend Octopus, they are the stars of renewable energy and EV adoption.
Are you planning on changing your charger and/or electricity supplier and if so to who and why?
No, I’m very pleased with Octopus Go.
Estimate how much money you save per month owning and running an EV compared to an ICE car
I save over £100 a month running my EV compared to my previous hybrid vehicle. My energy bill is £10 per month less since switching to Octopus and that includes charging my EV. I used to pay £90-100 a month for petrol. I have a service plan, the EV plan is £16 a month, my hybrid service plan was £38. I insured initially with Direct Line, £500. I switched on renewal to LV, their EV specific policy cost me only £250.
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