Electric Car Charging Simplified!

[@ElectricVehicleMan]

Smart Home Charge: www.smarthomecharge.co.uk/ Using the referral code (no.2 below), you will receive £20 credit on your Electric Universe account. This will be applied after their installation has been confirmed as completed by Smart Home Charge. How it works: 1. Simply request a quote for a charger on the Smart Home Charge website 2. When filling in the enquiry form, include 'SHC#Amazing-EV-Experience' in the Electric Juice Code field 3. Click Submit 4. In the meantime, sign up for your free Electric Universe card with this link to get £5 free credit right away: electricjuice.octopus.energy/lp/shc?cid=shc 5. Once the installation is complete, Smart Home Charge will notify Electric Universe and credit your account with £20 for use across all public chargers compatible with Electric Universe.

[@Rianewjob01]

I’ve had an EV since May and this is the best explanation of charging speeds I’ve seen. The home-made nature of the presentation really helps.

[@justsomeguy934]

Every new-to-EVs car buyer should watch this video!

[@davekirk100]

Best explanation I've heard (from a scientist) about why charging speeds drop as state of charge increases: During charging, you're adding electrons to the electrode of the battery. When the battery is nearly empty, the electrons can go almost anywhere on the electrode. As the battery fills, there are fewer places for an electron to fit, so it takes longer to find a space

[@Kris-wp6nc]

Innocently, I've made this mistake. I plugged my MG5 into what I thought was. Ooh, there's a 22 kW charger here when I was used to using 7. I did not know until after I could only use the seven. So great video to new ev drivers

[@ElectricCarAustralia]

Another great Vid. Hoping people watch this before buying an EV. I'm amazed at the number of people who spend big $$$ on EV without doing some dasic research on this stuff. Do you also get the comments; Just DC rapid charged my EV for the first time and didn't get the advertised speed & what's wrong with my charging speed? A little online research goes a long way 🤣🤣

[@johndoyle4723]

Thanks, good explanation. Yes the etiquette of public charging is evolving and hopefully will improve. I only put enough charge in to get me home because it is about 90% cheaper on my home tariff. I have an EV6 and it can charge very rapidly, the best I have seen from a 350 Kw charger is about 250Kw, and it sounds a bit scary, a low frequency hum, and the thought of 250 Kw flowing into the car is scary. I am an Engineer and used to working with very large motors and the cabling and switchgear involved, so well done Kia for being able to handle this. The tethered cable to the car has liquid cooling to cope, must be some beefy cables in the car to handle it.

[@gonzo_the_great1675]

A good honest view of the state of EV's and charging. Compared to some of the more evagelistic offerings out there (Mr Llewellyn take note!) Once we get to a position where the majority of parking spaces, both on road or off, have chargers, then it is still a maturing technology.

[@e-redj]

Very good explanatory video. Tackling all the points of charging. 👍 What I looked the most, and many EV YTers forget, is you stating that EVs still might not be for everyone, but it is still fine, as the not everyone that would like to drive an EV can. I don’t understand people saying they drive EV because driving a petrol car is rubbish. 🤷‍♂️

[@connclissmann6514]

Straightforward explainer, many thanks. While I get many factors explained, I will use this to explain to others less interested in "tech stuff". Keep up the videos, please.

[@danalec4742]

Well done. I hope many EV owners watched the video and will follow your advices.

[@nigelk2892]

It astounds me how many people do park at a petrol pump and go straight into the station to get a coffee or a Greggs. There is one station on my work route where over half the fuel pumps are blocked by vehicles not refueling

[@justsomeguy934]

That happens n the USA as well. Darned aggravating if you ask me. Many stations even have a little sign that says "stay with your car".

[@rogerbrand6214]

As refueling stations turned into convenience stores or even small 24 hour supermarkets this was always going to become a problem. How many times do you queue behind someone who it seems is doing their weekly shopping?

[@jur4x]

@@rogerbrand6214 Can always use self-service stations that don't have convenience stores.

[@TheeSuperJazzer]

I've been watching you for a year or so and you convinced me to get an EV, got my ENYAQ IV 80 2 Weeks ago, and I love it. I also use Smart Home Charge and had it ordered and installed in less than 2 WEEKS! Amazing customer service and Engineer would recommend!

[@mr.wizeguy8995]

I have waited 7 month so far my Enyaq 80x will see when it will arrive. Initial delivery was for June but few month ago dealer told it might get delayed. Will see... Home charger is already installed. I opted Webasto Pure 2 mainly because i can adjust charging power (set for 9 kW now) if i want also warranty was really long.

[@williamfence566]

Best video so far . Not an EV owner but intrigued on why some people are and why some detest. Clear and concise with real world why you should or shouldn't dependant on your circumstances. Cheers.

[@80y3r9]

o o Look; a venn diagram of members who needed this video, thanks for letting me watch it a week earlier... I would however listen to you read out a shopping list so still happy

[@Kopchronicles]

Really Great well explained video. Thanks 👍

[@NicholasFerrar]

Great channel. Thank you. I have had an ev for six months, you have really helped me understand the car. So useful.

[@cosmicpop]

I like that you explain that you need a different mindset with EV charging, and that fast doesn't always mean good. Example: Ikea Lakeside (Essex) has a Grideserve 50Kw charger. I consider Ikea a shopping destination that you're likely to spend a number of hours at. There is no need for rapid charging at a site you'd spend maybe 2-3 hours. I think they should replace the single 50Kw charger with a shedload of 22Kw AC chargers. They charge at 30-40 miles per hour on my ID.3. I can't imagine many people having travelled further than 30 miles to get to that Ikea. I consider myself a long way from Lakeside and it's 17 miles for me. I'd easily get my mileage back during a typical visit and charging session, and so will many others if there's lots of slower chargers.

[@Paulisherebrewing]

love watching your videos but the audio is very low, when you edit can you adjust the volume up. I use to get the same when I did mine. changed to a directional mic and increased the volume in the editing software. keep up the good work!!!

[@younggarethr]

Great explanation!

[@scrumfisher]

Chargers, especially very fast ones, should transmit a text (like some parking sites) when charge reaches say 80% then give (say) 15mins for car to leave or get a fine (say £10) added to charge fee. What do others think? B

[@AdamJermaneJones]

I had a 2016 leaf. Now I have a 2021 mg5. The leap in technology has been amazing over that 5 year period. If the technology continues at this rate then mass adoption won’t be long

[@markchip1]

The other thing about NOT charging until completely full at a public charger is also about... COST. Now this won't be categorical yet but in a few years it will almost certainly be cheaper to charge at home than at any public charger, in the same way as doing your laundry is more expensive at a launderette or getting a sandwich or a coffee costs more at a cafe.

[@vandit83]

Love my little Zoe and it’s 22kw charging on destination. So quick! Not a big battery to charge right enough

[@keithdenton8386]

I had someone say the infrastructure is not there yet for electric cars. I replied that I do not miss having to go to a garage to fill up. Most of the time I charge at home using the granny charger, It takes 16 hours to go from 20% to 60% Use car repete. But you can't do long journeys they countered. Well in a Tesla you can, Gateshead to Poole and back in a day (712) no problem, 2000 miles in France, no problem. the car even told me how many charges there were and how many were in use, and on one occasion that one was out of service. When we got there the Tesla service chap was just leaving and it was active again. Tesla also have a idle charge. Leave your car on a charger once it has stopped charging and idle fees come into play. All charging stations should have this.

[@jp6975]

It's quite eye-opening how many EV owners don't understand what has been presented here. I'd have thought that it was quite simple to understand. A car will charge at a speed that is the minimum of a) what the car's onboard charger can handle for that type of connection (AC/DC), and b) what the max charging speed of the charger itself is. Met a Leaf owner, a month ago, who was adamant she was a charging expert because she was on her 2nd EV. She said all Tesla chargers were now open to charge all cars and she was looking forward to being able to charge using their Superchargers as it would get her from 10% to 80% in 18 mins!! Saw another Leaf owner at a service station whilst I was charging. 5 IONITY bays were empty and she and her husband went to each one inspecting the plugs. Husband came up to me and asked if all the plugs were like this as they were no good for his car... (!!). At another IONITY station I was charging and a Mini EV was already in the bay next to me charging. They must have just started as they were at something like 20% charge. I plugged-in and within a minute I was up to 211kWh. The gentleman approached me and asked how long I might be there for because "that unit seems to be working well whereas the one I am on seems to be limited to half that"... (!!)

[@stephenholland5930]

The ignorance out there is amazing.

[@anthonylloyd4425]

I know it's pretty Tesla specific but if a Tesla charger is busy will start charging (£) you extra if plugged in after hitting max battery limit if the site is busy (I believe 80% battery - 75% stalls full). The irony being here, it normally happens half way through you eating your Greggs cheese and bean melt because it's so quick! Unsure if other rapid chargers have started to do overstay like this.

[@mcdon2401]

South Lanarkshire Council have started a £30 overstay charge on their rapids. You get an hour before they add it to your bill.

[@thorbjrnhellehaven5766]

To make it more confusing. For AC charging, there are some 11 kW cars, that can only get this with 3 phase, but if you go to a 7 kW station, you'll only get 3.6 kW. I think new cars with 11 kW onboard charger can switch from 16A from 3-phase, to 32 A from 1-phase to get 7 kW. Some older cars are stuck with 16 A at 1-phase, then you only get 3.6 kW

[@vandit83]

I think this happens on our local 3 phase destination chargers. My Zoe can either get 11 or 22kw and my MG gets 3.6. Odd.

[@johnwinters4201]

At our local petrol station cum small supermarket, ICE drivers regularly drive in, park next to a petrol pump and then go into the shop to do their shopping (which doesn't include any fuel) - even when there are parking spaces available. I don't understand it either.

[@stephenholland5930]

Selfish morons.

[@astraldreamsyoutube]

Best Explaination.. Thank You !

[@steverichmond7142]

Excellent and informative video.

[@robertwright6113]

Hi. I’m looking for a bit of impartial advice. I am considering buying a 2022 MG5 EV. This will be my first EV so I will need a charger. I have a large solar panel set up and 7.2kw battery storage. I believe that the lifespan of my battery storage depends on the number of charges/discharges it goes through With that in mind I want to know if you are able to set up a charger that will charge the EV directly from the grid bypassing the batteries. On a night during off peak times I would want the house to take priority over incoming supply from the grid, then the home storage batteries and then the EV. Similarly during daylight hours I would like the same set up. If this isn’t the way I should be configuring my system please let me know.

[@homomorphic]

135kW plugged into 75kW charger could very well charge faster than 75kW. The constraint is on the amperage so depending on what voltage the car and the charger supports, the car could charge faster than 75kW on the 75kW charger.

[@showme360]

That depend on the manufacturers and the settings put in place on their cars, even models across the range of the manufacturer can differ as some use different battery chemistries.

[@mikees60]

Yes, very good, but what's the latest on the GR Yaris?

[@JohnDoeSchmoe]

Good overview, but for people new to EVs, you should have mentioned the phenomenon of coldgating. Sometimes if it's cold and you haven't preheated the battery, you'll get only like 50kW from the charger, even though you've got a car capable of receiving 200kW, and the site is capable of giving 300kW. This can be surprising to people, if they've been lead to beleive that if you've got a "200kW capable" car, it will always charge at 200kW if the charger is capable of giving more than that. I experienced it today myself. Very cold out now, and driving home from work I stopped by a 300kW fast charger, only to get just about 35kW into the car, which is (best case scenario) capable of receiving 100kW (Mercedes EQB).

[@AnonYmous-rw6un]

He mentioned battery temperature. As an introductory video, this was more about car max v charger max.

[@stephenholland5930]

Can your EQB preheat the battery?

[@JohnDoeSchmoe]

@Stephen Holland I think so; people at least say it will preheat the battery en-route if a charging station is plotted into the GPS. There's no separate button for it, though.

[@showme360]

OK well with a 2011 Nissan Leaf pulling into a EV charging site, and the only charger available is the 300kw, I will go for the 300kw charger, even though the car with 65% capacity will only use 22kw or else when -5c is showing on the temperature gauge.

[@nicksportster8711]

Quick question re the Electric Juice card.... do you have a problem at all getting it to 'connect' to the charger you're trying to use.? we have one and getting it to re 'recognised' by the charger and start charging is a real pain/frustration. I've emailed Octopus and they came back blaming the provider, e.g. Shell etc, saying the problem was with the internet connectivity of the charger. Just wondering if its just me/us being unlucky. Once connected its brilliant...!!

[@lysandermb]

Charging an EV battery is a bit like compressing a spring - at first it is easy, then it gets progressively harder.

[@mike142sl]

Best explanation. Just ordered an MG4 so interested in charge points for home. Sadly none of those offered by smart home charge have solar connectivity?

[@adyb5438]

I have a home charge point & solar panels. Whilst I can’t charge solely from the PV’s (when they don't generate enough), whatever I am generating at the time gets used first & the grid only makes up the difference. Is that not the same with the SHC units?

[@mcdon2401]

Another reason not to use a 300kW charger if you can't make full use of it is because they're ridiculously overpriced. Some of the public stations are starting to get ridiculously busy now there are a fair number of leccy taxis on the road. It only takes one or two peeps buggering off for a wander to block the place for ages 🤦‍♂️

[@darrenkirkham238]

Going to get a Skoda Enyaq. how do i find out the max KW cant find it in Skoda spec.

[@AdamMansbridge]

"A Better Route Planner" will tell you how much to charge at a charge station to make it to the next charge station/destination with a small amount of charge left

[@CraigJTStewart]

One question I had was which of the leads should I use at the Tesla Supercharger? The one which is like my type 2, or the bigger one?

[@stephenholland5930]

Use the big one, the CCS.

[@showme360]

The one that has the bigger pins goes to the battery DC voltage. The smaller pins are AC and go via a converter which changes it back to DC. These AC converters varey from car to car as some are limited to either 22kw, 11kw 7kw and 3.3kw.

[@nosas66]

Whenever etiquette and fairness come into play its doomed to fail, too many self centered in this world

[@ouch1011]

I’ve often explained EV charging using the comparison of filling a bucket to the very top without spilling a drop. When the bucket is empty, you can pretty much open the tap wide open and fill the bucket at full speed without worrying about spilling. As the bucket fills up, you have to start to close the tap in order to avoid sloshing over the top of the bucket or overfilling. As you get very close to the top of the bucket, you need to close the tap down to barely a dribble in order to completely fill the bucket but not spill. Same could be said for a battery. There is a maximum voltage that you can’t go over, but the voltage rises as you charge. When the state of charge and battery voltage is low, you can pump in a ton of power without too much concern (relatively speaking) about going over that maximum voltage. As the battery gets “full” the voltage starts to approach the maximum, and so the charge rate has to slow down to avoid going over that maximum voltage. Of course, there are other concerns that limit charging speed (mostly heat) but those are a little too technical for a basic explanation.

[@rockinginafreeworld3256]

I have a car the can charge 50kw max. I went to a fast charger that is 65 to 175kw. I was only getting 12kw. My battery percentage was 68 and I set it at 80% . Am i right in thinking the closer it gets to being fully charged (80%) the cars on board system slows the rate down. It’s the first time I’ve used a rapid charge.

[@ElectricVehicleMan]

@@rockinginafreeworld3256 Yes. Temperature plays a part too.

[@neilm9400]

Either you can handle the cold, or your home is nice and toasty ... Only a t shirt 👍

[@ElectricVehicleMan]

Heat pump! 😎

[@BishBashBosh29...]

He's a seasoned Yorkshireman ;-)

[@neilm9400]

@@ElectricVehicleMan you are just flaunting your heat, it's indecent 😜

[@ElectricVehicleMan]

@@paulknowles6300 Oh the irony of that comment. And who are tesla Yorkshire? Oh and you’re right, your missus only wants me to do it in hers.

[@ElectricVehicleMan]

@@paulknowles6300 What the hell are you on about? You drive a bus? You own a Leaf? You lip read? Ok then! 🤔 I’m full of sponsorship for the next year so I appreciate your offer.

[@Misty501]

Question When you are at 80% does it cost more to charge upto 100% or is the cost the same?

[@ElectricVehicleMan]

You pay for what you get, not how fast it goes in. Like not pressing as hard on a petrol nozzle. Still costs the same for a tank.

[@terryjimfletcher]

Where there are different speeds (power ratings) at a single site it should be possible** for the site to dynamically power-match the leads to the cars, you shouldn't have to pick the correct rating. **charger manufactures please make these (I'm sure at least one already does )

[@ElectricVehicleMan]

Morrisons Clacton.

[@BishBashBosh29...]

@@ElectricVehicleMan I think the Morrison video explains this, i.e if the electrical infrastructure to the site can only handle 500kW, then it could have just 1 x 350kW charger or 2x250kW Chargers or 10x50kW, etc at a site like Morrisons if I am going in store 22kW or 50kW is ideal for my 46kW usable 50kW car battery. as the 22kW will give me just under half my range in an hour. That said I don't do a lot of public charging as I am a Happi Zappi Octopus GO home charger.

[@dmorgsev]

I believe the new Kempower units which Osprey is rolling out do just this. Effectively load balancing, so if an Audi e-Tron rocks up nearly empty while a Renault Zoe is 80% charged, the e-Tron should charge at full rate and not be hampered by the presence of another car charging. Incredibly bad example, but you get the idea.

[@BishBashBosh29...]

@@dmorgsev sounds good but the supply to the site would have to be sufficient to supply 10 Audi-e-Trons if the site had 10 chargers, where it could have say 16 chargers if some of them maxed out at a lower current. So absolutely the way it should be done for new sites assuming they can afford the bigger cables on the install, but for retrofit sites a lot harder.

[@AnonYmous-rw6un]

@@BishBashBosh29... Well, ideally every plug can supply max power, but the site has a limit, then as long as the total draw of all vehicles is under the site limit, the cars charge as fast as they can. Tesla's v3 Superchargers are like that, with a lot of power distribution.

[@leftcoaster67]

BC Hydro fast chargers you are limited to 30 minutes per session. Not sure who enforces it. I'm curious on Tesla Superchargers if those are monitored so if you leave it for 3 hours does anyone get upset?

[@ouch1011]

Superchargers (and many other chargers) charge idle fees, so if you’re plugged in and not charging, you pay a LOT. Doesn’t stop people from parking in the spot and not plugging in, but it does stop people from plugging in their car and just leaving for hours.

[@waltermcphee3787]

I think charging from solar panels the power has to be changed to AC befor charging the EV, why not DC direct from the pannels?

[@ElectricVehicleMan]

Because DC chargers are mega bucks.

[@waltermcphee3787]

@@ElectricVehicleMan public DC chargers are not what I'm thinking of but if EVs can take DC current then why change it to AC before charging cars.

[@ElectricVehicleMan]

@@waltermcphee3787 Because that’s what houses use. DC direct will be too fluctuating from panels.

[@showme360]

That would not be a good idea because although the voltage might be the 400v to 800v the ampage would toast your cables and solar array.

[@iainatkins7683]

I live in a tower block and it fine in London

[@trick700]

Has anyone experienced queue jumping at busy chargers or arguments about who is next?

[@Luke-J]

The join button isn't on iOS because google doesn't want to give Apple their 30% cut as the transaction goes through their app store. Google are no better on that front, they also take a 30% cut via their app store, it's just they also own KZbin so it's all their money anyway.

[@lfo414]

The concern I had is starting to come true. As the earlier adopters and the technically proficient become diluted by more typical owners, tany charger etiquette is disappearing. Muppetry, ignorance and dangerous behaviour is becoming all too commonplace.

[@drivingrangeking]

Key question - do people know max charge speed of their vehicles 🤔

[@stephenholland5930]

Not many I bet, but they should.

[@stulop]

It is in the specs. It should be a question you're asking when shopping for a car, charging rate, battery size and range.

[@balkanleopard9728]

Virtually no one drives an ICE car to empty but that's the way you have to do it iin an ev f you want the range claimed by the manufacturer (which is BS anyway). So let's assume you have a charger every 50 km on the freeway. Most currently available and affordable ev's will get around 200 to 250 km real world motorway range on a full charge. In my case I get 170 km on a full charge (100% down to 15% remaining). Do the maths. If you go on any long trip (say 600 to 700 km) you are forever charging and worrying about whether to stop at this charger or push onto the next and only have 10% remaining - with the risk that the charger is out of service. Charging speed almost doesn't matter on the motorway; it's all about range - and range costs. If you travel less than 200 km (total) for any given trip the ev's work. If you want to go on long trips as the norm - forget ev's.

[@andrewmullen4003]

Come on we can't go round helping other people, jings I'm British

[@MrGMawson2438]

Love to have an EV, but I'm not able to afford a car

[@CastleKnight7]

How about a secondhand ev?

[@rogerbrand6214]

Any car?