ID.3 Newbie - my home / granny charger buying experience

[Hill Climber]

I bought an iD.3 in a bit of a rush when the UK government pulled the rug on the grant. First priority was charging at home.

I found a great variable power granny charger from Third Rock with a 10% discount through the EV Speak forum. Nicely made and plug n play. Definitely worth getting a 10M version as it’s surprising how much cable was needed to reach my garage socket after routing around all the toys.

I researched this and other forums for a recommendation in my area (South Buckinghamshire) for a wall charger. I ended up with a shortlist a did a phone around. I got a mixed response however pricing for my chosen EO Mini Pro 2 was broadly similar at £595-£635 installed including the grant.

Main difference were the variable charges for extras ‘if needed’. This mainly involved additional earthing with either an earthing rod (no thanks) or the installation of a supplementary Garo RCD fuse box. Although essential for the EO Mini installation, some fitters said this would cost another £150-200.

In the end I chose EV Domestic (Tesla forum recommendation) who were the only installers that gave a fixed price of £595 for the whole job. They also had an impressive number of 5* reviews on Google. Turned out to be a good call - great communication, arrived on the dot, explained cable routing and box mounting options, then did a very neat job. I got a thorough run though of the app functionality before they left.

Really delighted with the service from EV Domestic so thought it was worth mentioning here to help others in their search

NB Octopus offer the same EO charger with Octopus branding with £50 off. However Octopus wouldn’t set up a new account until I had a smart meter and they have a big backlog, so advised to get one fitted my current provider first!!

[roadhawk]

I went with an EO Mini Pro 2 supplied and installed by Octopus. I had switched previously and also got the smart meter installed by them. The EO was £605 all inclusive, which included the Garo RCD fusebox. I am in north Oxfordshire.

The EO timer works great with the ID.3 and Octopus Go Faster (08:30->01:30 @ 5.5p/kwh) , so no messing with the car scheduled timed charging which seems to give a lot of folks grief. I am finding the 5 hours with Go Faster is a good choice for charging from 20-80% on the cheap rate.

Before the EO I was using an Ohme granny charger which worked well again with the ID.3 to load up, I could add 9-10kw a night, which was fine during much of lockdown to cover local journeys.

I also set a scheduled charging time for my daily departure, so when plugged in the car will draw off the house for the stationary heating that I have set in the car at that time (that seems to be about 1.8kw). I can afford the 13.8p/kwh at that time for 20 mins

[Hill Climber]

Thanks for the feedback - some useful information