NX450h+ Wallbox installation

[RXtoNX]

Could anyone who has already had their wallbox installed, or survey completed, please share their experience of what was classed as a standard installation and in particular what was classed as outside of the scope of a standard installation.

Our survey (virtual) is booked for 10th March & in am trying to get ahead of the game as to what I might be liable for outside of the scope. I know that our current supply to the external garage is 16amp and therefore will need upgrading to 32amp so I am wondering if It's better to get that upgrade done before the survey so that it is done in the most sympathetic way possible rather than new cabling being merely attached on walls (easiest route) rather than hidden (best route).

If people could share their experiences I'm sure its would help others in addition to myself.

[NemesisUK]

I guess you have already read the T&Cs

https://d3rvezpmgp265q.cloudfront.net/lexusone/lexgbenv11/British-Gas-Wall-Box-Terms-and-Conditions-Final-2022_tcm-3157-2456319.pdf

 

[Caspa]

My survey is taking place tomorrow and haven't done any prep so just gonna see what they say...

[RXtoNX]

1 hour ago, NemesisUK said:

I guess you have already read the T&Cs

https://d3rvezpmgp265q.cloudfront.net/lexusone/lexgbenv11/British-Gas-Wall-Box-Terms-and-Conditions-Final-2022_tcm-3157-2456319.pdf

 

Yes, of course, but hearing peoples practical experiences are much better than guessing how a person doing a survey of fitting interprets T&Cs.

[Gureamu]

I put my deposit down in September and was contacted by British Gas to do the survey. The survey was completed just before Christmas but I needed an isolator switch installing by my electricity supplier. This happened on February 3rd and my EV charging point was installed on February 14th. I then had to sign the grant claim form which was done online and handled by British Gas. I now have a functional EV charging point installed curtesy of Lexus. The unit is made by Alfen but is managed by the Hive app. I've not received my car yet (due in March) but the EV does not seem to allow me to schedule charge times. I can set an off peak tariff time but I cannot schedule a particular charging time. Maybe the car will facilitate this, I don't know yet.

Ideally a lithium ion Battery shouldn't set at 100% (or 0%) for long because if all of the ions are one one side or the other this placed the Battery under the most stress, 50% charge is the least stressful state for the Battery. With this in mind I understand that scheduling the charging so that you hit 100% just before you leave would be the optimum way to keep the Battery charged but this doesn't seem possible with the Hive/Alfen charger. The app does enable you to enter your electricity tariff and so will show you haw much you've spent in electricity charges.

[Ken R]

My survey is booked for next month. I know that the main fuse at the meter in the garage will require to be upgraded from its 60A present state. Not sure what they will recommend regarding cabling as the distribution board is in the centre of the house and will need to be routed through at least one wall. In the meantime I intend getting an extra long charging cable with 3 pin plug  to utilise the existing socket in the garage. 

[Caspa]

1 hour ago, Gureamu said:

Maybe the car will facilitate this, I don't know yet.

Yes it does. Saw a message pop up when I parked up at the end, but think it's via the Lexus Link app. 

[zanderblue]

19 minutes ago, Caspa said:

Yes it does. Saw a message pop up when I parked up at the end, but think it's via the Lexus Link app. 

Yes, I can confirm scheduling can be done via the car or Lexus link. I’ve been scheduling mine to match my off peak tariff times

[Duggie B]

I don't own an EV but I am a sparks and without going through the ins and outs on here if anyone wants to look on YouTube for Artisan Electrical there is a wealth of information (videos) regarding the processes and procedures for having an EV charger installed and no I don't work for Artisan just think the info would help anyone considering the electric route, as there is more to it than meets the eye.

[RXtoNX]

1 hour ago, Duggie B said:

there is more to it than meets the eye.

That is what I am expecting Duggie 👍 hence why I think it is helpful for others to share their experiences

Thanks for the heads up about the videos, I shall be seeking them out shortly

[Duggie B]

Enjoy the NX look forward to hearing about the new ride, fingers crossed your charger installation goes smoothly for you.

[RXtoNX]

24 minutes ago, Duggie B said:

Enjoy the NX look forward to hearing about the new ride, fingers crossed your charger installation goes smoothly for you.

Thanks Doug, one question if I may after watching the first video since I have just seen one possible solution to my particular problem of having the consumer unit inside the house away from the garage.

The video I watched showed them taking new tails from the connections in the main meter box to a new fuse/connector (Henley?) box to the side of it, from which they wired the charger. I didn’t think this would be allowed by the Electricity Supplier but, if it is, then this should solve my main problem. I can then get a local Sparky to do this and run the 32amp cable from the outside wall of the house to a consumer unit in the garage on readiness for the survey. Unfortunately the current supply from the consumer unit in the house to the garage is only 16amp.

[Duggie B]

Providing the supply is taken from the load side (your side) of the meter to a new compact consumer unit it should be OK, must ensure that the appropriate rcd/rcbo/mcb rated is used to protect the new cable/circuit, just make sure you use an approved installation electrician conversant with the current 18th edition regs concerning ev installations and you should be fine, the survey you have should iron out any wrinkles prior to the install.

[Caspa]

22 hours ago, Caspa said:

My survey is taking place tomorrow and haven't done any prep so just gonna see what they say...

Survey done and all good as nothing needed prior to install. Engineer was excellent so it was pain free and very informative.

Just over the power threshold that requires them to ask permission from UK Power Networks (rather than just inform them post install) so could be looking at 7-14 days for that to he approved, and so having it installed before the end of March is still a possibility for me. 

Going with the tethered cable but upgraded to the 8m (instead of 5m) one for pennies under £60.

British Gas sound the people to go with as they want to be the market leader / go to company for this, and so are willing to waive quite a bit of non standard install cost in comparison to other firms (engineer thinks they're give away too much!). 

[RXtoNX]

Good to know that they are prepared to be a little flexible on their definition of a standard install although I guess it does depend a certain extent on the guy doing the survey.

I do expect ours will be beyond the scope even of a flexible approach so I’m getting a couple of local electricians to advise & quote for running a 32amp cable to a consumer unit in the garage prior to the survey.

Was it a virtual survey or did they turn up in person? Ours will be a virtual survey

[Caspa]

In person and the engineer said online ones tend to have issues as something is missed. 

 

[Lexi450]

2 hours ago, RXtoNX said:

Good to know that they are prepared to be a little flexible on their definition of a standard install although I guess it does depend a certain extent on the guy doing the survey.

I do expect ours will be beyond the scope even of a flexible approach so I’m getting a couple of local electricians to advise & quote for running a 32amp cable to a consumer unit in the garage prior to the survey.

Was it a virtual survey or did they turn up in person? Ours will be a virtual survey

I need to start by saying that my knowledge of electrics could be written on the back of a very small postage stamp so I am finding this whole process rather daunting.

I have similar problems to you in that the main fuse board and meter is in the centre of the house and I want the charging point to be installed on the outside of the external garage. I had already looked at the Artisan Electrical videos which were extremely helpful but made me realise the installation is far from simple.

When I looked at the conditions of the British Gas installation under the Lexus offer, I realised that the installer would only be able to carry out the work if we accepted surface/wall cabling inside the house which we are very reluctant to do. We asked our local electrician to look at the feasibility of routing the cable through a void and although this is not an easy job, he thinks it is doable. Ideally, I wanted this preliminary work to be completed before arranging the British Gas survey but I have now booked the survey and will see what is said.

Attached is a photo of the fuse box in the garage which seems to be rated at 100amps. When I watched the Artisan videos, they emphasised that the cable must run directly from the main fuse board/meter to the charging point. Does this mean that the fuse box in the garage cannot be used at all?

[Ken R]

I am not an electrician but my understanding is that your fuse box (consumer unit) in the garage can be used and indeed if it didn't exist a secondary consumer unit can be installed in the garage. 

I have arranged a survey in a couple of weeks and like you my main consumer unit is in the centre of the house and there is no way that surface cabling will be suitable. 

[ColinBarber]

1 hour ago, Ken R said:

I am not an electrician but my understanding is that your fuse box (consumer unit) in the garage can be used and indeed if it didn't exist a secondary consumer unit can be installed in the garage.

I'm sure they will be adding an additional consumer unit anyway, but they should be able to link from that existing one by adding an extra MCB, depending if the feed is up to the job.

I don't believe the charger has PEN fault detection so that will need to be achieved within the additional CU.

[mitadoc]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzAi1hMUaDw

 

A very useful video, good luck.

[The_Doctor]

I had my survey two weeks ago, had a call today to tell me while they could do an installation they have to charge me £80 to install an "IP Matte", the guy who came to do the survey implied they installed these routinely to protect the charger, earthing integrity, etc. so not sure why they feel they need to charge extra. They would be taking the feed directly from the meter box so no inside cabling and I get it that it would need its own circuit breaker etc. Anyone else come across this? It's interesting walking round my estate (where in the immediate area all the houses are the same age ~ 7 years) there's probably around 5 or 6 other charger installs none of which appear to have this apart from a house that has a Tesla.

[Catflap]

On 2/21/2022 at 11:55 AM, Caspa said:

Survey done and all good as nothing needed prior to install. Engineer was excellent so it was pain free and very informative.

Just over the power threshold that requires them to ask permission from UK Power Networks (rather than just inform them post install) so could be looking at 7-14 days for that to he approved, and so having it installed before the end of March is still a possibility for me. 

Going with the tethered cable but upgraded to the 8m (instead of 5m) one for pennies under £60.

British Gas sound the people to go with as they want to be the market leader / go to company for this, and so are willing to waive quite a bit of non standard install cost in comparison to other firms (engineer thinks they're give away too much!). 

It took over 2 months for me to get the ok from SSE so I hope UK Power Networks are a bit quicker!

[Caspa]

12 hours ago, Catflap said:

It took over 2 months for me to get the ok from SSE so I hope UK Power Networks are a bit quicker!

Fingers and toes crossed then!

[RXtoNX]

Well the fabulous British Gas show how inefficient they are again!

Today we were supposed to have had our virtual survey and when the time passed that it was booked for (booked & confirmed on 16th Feb) I gave them a call. The excuses the lady on the telephone came up with, on realising that they had messed up, were honestly unbelievable and the biggest insult to a human beings intelligence possible. I won’t bore you with what was said but she definitely needs some training on how to spin a yarn.

I then get told that she could reschedule for me during w/c 18th April since all appointments before that date are full. After I went totally ballistic she then decides that perhaps she had better consult someone else. 1 hour later an email arrives with a new date of Monday next week.

As you can tell from my opening statement, my experience with BG has not been good. For example, back in Nov’21, after we booked a boiler service for a date in Nov 8 weeks prior, we received an email the afternoon before the service was due to take place informing us that our appointment had been rescheduled for a date in Feb’22.

After calling them and again listening to all of their lame excuses I asked to speak to a manager who decided that they could do the boiler service on the planned date after all. 
 

Apologies, rant over, but the above along with other events experienced with them are why BG will never be my choice of supplier for anything in the future

[John Adams]

12 minutes ago, RXtoNX said:

Well the fabulous British Gas show how inefficient they are again!

Today we were supposed to have had our virtual survey and when the time passed that it was booked for (booked & confirmed on 16th Feb) I gave them a call. The excuses the lady on the telephone came up with, on realising that they had messed up, were honestly unbelievable and the biggest insult to a human beings intelligence possible. I won’t bore you with what was said but she definitely needs some training on how to spin a yarn.

I then get told that she could reschedule for me during w/c 18th April since all appointments before that date are full. After I went totally ballistic she then decides that perhaps she had better consult someone else. 1 hour later an email arrives with a new date of Monday next week.

As you can tell from my opening statement, my experience with BG has not been good. For example, back in Nov’21, after we booked a boiler service for a date in Nov 8 weeks prior, we received an email the afternoon before the service was due to take place informing us that our appointment had been rescheduled for a date in Feb’22.

After calling them and again listening to all of their lame excuses I asked to speak to a manager who decided that they could do the boiler service on the planned date after all. 
 

Apologies, rant over, but the above along with other events experienced with them are why BG will never be my choice of supplier for anything in the future

I had a survey on 28 February and I was told by the engineer that they would send me confirmation within 3 days. The engineer said mine was straightforward as I was having the charger in the garage next to the consumer unit. Having heard nothing I rang this morning ( and that was a faff getting through) only to be told they were waiting for me to get an isolator fitted by the DNO before they could fit it. First I heard about it. I then had to contact the DNO who said they couldn't fit one for at least a month and would have to do a survey first. So I agree BG are totally inefficient in not getting back to me.