How do you ensure that your EV charger is being installed by a reputable business?
I had a phone call today from a gentleman who’d recently had a charge point installed and it’s never worked from the start.
It was a Smart wall pod for his Tesla Model 3. He had been unsuccessful getting back in touch with the installer after the install and this is a charger that hadn’t worked from the start!
They literally fitted it, took the money, and didn’t return any further calls or messages. The only contact since has been to ask for further photographic evidence, because clearly that was missed off for the OLEV claim.
Part of the OLEV grant is some photographic evidence of the installed charge point. So they requested the customer to take some further photos, but quite rightly so, the gentleman refused. And is taking steps in order to try and get his money back.
We’ll be going to visit the gentlemen soon to get him back up and running. He’s still had no contact back from the original installer.
Be aware, do your homework
Check with the government website under OLEV to see if they are listed. Check with the UK accreditation schemes that these businesses are members of. Check Companies House to make sure the business is registered.
EV Charger Faults
Back to the gentlemans Rolec smart wall pod.
Switch gear & current protection
Rolec did have some reported issues with some of the switch gear which is basically the over current protection and RCD protection built into the unit. That was about a year ago now, but they’ve since changed. How do i know what generation I have? Take a look at your Rolec wall pod RCD/Circuit Breaker. The easiest way to describe it is if it has a green switch then its likely they are the newer 2nd generation. That switch with be in the charger for the non smart units and separate in the smart units.
Flashing lights
We’ve fitted a few ROLEC Wallpod’s for Tesla’s and had no issues.
If yours isn’t working as you would expect there is an LED on the unit that can give some information.
- Flashing blue light on the front, it means it’s ready for charge.
- Solid blue light, it means the cable is plugged in to the vehicle and to the charge points.
- Solid green light means charging in progress.
- Flashing red light would mean there’s a fault indicated.
Check the cables
We have talked about the different cables, and a proximity pilot and a control pilot cables that are built into the connectors. They’re also there to ensure that communication is happening between the car and charger.
Got a flashing red LED?
The first port of call is to switch off the unit at the source, so right back at the source. (The switch I spoke about earlier) and then switch it back on after 20 seconds. See if it clears and the system reboots. If it doesn’t call your installer.
You should have a three year warranty on the equipment.
3 checks before having an EV charger installed at your house
- Check on the government website to know that you’re using an installer that has been trained and is authorised by the government to install EV charge points.
- Go to www.gov.uk, search under electric vehicle home charge scheme, if it’s at your home, or workplace charge scheme if it’s at a workplace. There is an Excel spreadsheet that you can download that lists all the companies that are authorised under OLEV. And they’re all alphabetical and gives all their contact details.
- Check that they are a member of a UKAS competent person scheme. So there are a number of schemes out there, but the main ones are NICEIC, NAPIT, STROMA, various other smaller versions of them.
They are a UK accreditation and operatives will be assessed every year to ensure that they have the right business practices, qualifications, they’re up to date, all their equipment is correct and it’s all calibrated and tested correctly.
Check on one of those two websites to ensure that the business that you’re using is a member, and have an active membership. And also they may well list on there if they are accredited electric vehicle charger installers as well.
You’ll find us on the government website. You’ll find us under the NAPIT competent persons scheme and you’ll find us on Companies House.
About ChargeEVUK
Our Moonshot is to help transition every car into electric. This will reduce harmful emissions, save money on expensive recurring fuel charges and create a better environment for our kids.
It also puts you at the cutting edge of technology!
Phil
Head of Team ChargeEVUK
If you are considering an EV chargepoint installation in the UK please contact us at hello@chargeevuk.com