NX450h+ Wallbox installation

[Ken R]

I had the survey undertaken yesterday. Was amazed that it took over 2 hours to complete. I reckon it's straightforward but will need the DNO to upgrade the fuse and install an isolator which BG are informing them about. I believe BG are inundated and trying to get as many installs completed before the government grant ceases. 

[steve2006]

DNOs tend to charge you for a DPI whereas most utility companies do them either free or a lot cheaper than £140.00.

BG basically did a “fire and rehire” on their engineers so a lot of the “good ones” left who were in turn replaced by fast tracked apprentices.

Those that did sign new contracts were then faced with a lower salary and longer working hours which I imagine significantly changed their work ethic.

They now appear to be struggling to keep pace with service demands but of course still spend millions on TV advertising for services they then fail to provide in a timely manner

[steve2006]

5 minutes ago, Ken R said:

I had the survey undertaken yesterday. Was amazed that it took over 2 hours to complete. I reckon it's straightforward but will need the DNO to upgrade the fuse and install an isolator which BG are informing them about. I believe BG are inundated and trying to get as many installs completed before the government grant ceases. 

It does make me smile when utility companies say a cut out fuse needs “upgrading” by the DNO.

Without various checks being carried out on the earthing   system installed, service cable load capacity and looping they cannot simply change the fuse from say 60A to 80/100A.

Also many DNO cut outs are only rated to 60A meaning that also needs to be replaced to accommodate an increased current fuse.

Also I cannot understand why BG aren’t installing DPIs themselves, the same technical qualifications to fit meters are required for isolators.

 

[John Adams]

9 minutes ago, steve2006 said:

DNOs tend to charge you for a DPI whereas most utility companies do them either free or a lot cheaper than £140.00.

BG basically did a “fire and rehire” on their engineers so a lot of the “good ones” left who were in turn replaced by fast tracked apprentices.

Those that did sign new contracts were then faced with a lower salary and longer working hours which I imagine significantly changed their work ethic.

They now appear to be struggling to keep pace with service demands but of course still spend millions on TV advertising for services they then fail to provide in a timely manner

BG told me they charge £48 to fit one if they supply the electricity otherwise they are not allowed to fit one. My electricity is supplied by EDF and on contacting them  they said they will not fit an isolator and I had to contact the DNO which is Western Power. My understanding is they= DNO charge around £200 which is considerably higher than BG. There seems to be a lot of misunderstanding in the industry with conflicting advice being given as to what is required. That is my experience anyway.

[steve2006]

Blimey £10.00 for an isolator switch and 30 minutes to fit = £200.00!

Not sure if my certification is still valid but tempted to come out of early retirement😀

Anyone need an isolator fitted, I have plentiful stocks in my shed.

[Caspa]

I got an estimate from BG today for the 8m cable so assume that means it's been approved by UK Power Networks.

It was after hours so I've completed the online form accepting the quote and they are supposed to call me back to book it in. 

[RXtoNX]

Had our BG survey today. It seems as though they are prepared to treat our situation as a standard installation, so have shown some flexibility, direct from the meter box but with a couple of provisos.

1. 100amp 2 pole isolator to be fitted in the meter box which they believe Octopus will install FOC (apparently Octopus are usually one of the more lenient suppliers)

2. They will pull the cable underground over the 1 metre stretch between the house & the garage but I have to provide & install conduit for it to be pulled through but at a depth of 450mm, evidenced by photos.

I know that the specs for underground cable show 450mm but I was hoping that common sense would prevail over the depth of the trench since it is obvious that there is a cable there since the cable will be clipped to the house wall where it goes in to the trench and clipped to the garage wall where it comes out before going through the garage wall.

Now awaiting the engineer to do his load calculations to see if he needs permission to install a charger from UK Power Networks

 

[John Adams]

My DNO will fit my isolator this Friday with the cost being £231 + VAT. A rip off but I have no choice. When I mentioned BG charge £48 they said they were quite happy for BG to install it and they would come and connect it to their system. However they wanted £160 + VAT to connect so I thought it was easier for them to do the lot rather than coordinate two separate engineers. They will change the main fuse for free though which I suppose is a bonus.

[Caspa]

I chased this morning and was told they're allocating an engineer and someone will be in touch once confirmed...

 

So still waiting for a call back...

[Moleman]

Reading about all these issues with fitting chargers you could wonder if the Power Companies understand the current policy regarding ICE engines after 2030.

No one seems to be taking the requirement for charging cars (public, private or home) in the future seriously. 

[Moleman]

Just now, Moleman said:

Reading about all these issues with fitting chargers you could wonder if the Power Companies understand the current policy regarding ICE engines after 2030.

No one seems to be taking the requirement for charging cars (public, private or home) in the future seriously. 

I forgot; lets not ask were all this extra power is going to come from.

[Darrend]

Hi all

had my free Lexus wall charger fitted Feb this year.
Survey was done October 2021 and I had a home visit. BG took notes of all electrical appliances in the house and the ratings of the oven and induction hob, tumble dryer, tvs, just about every electrical appliance in the house and number of light bulbs in the house. Checked main electric meter and consumer unit. 

longest wait was for BG to contact DNO to get approval. All went through after a bit of chasing BG

Standard install running cable from main electric meter into cupboard with ip-matte and then back out and to the charger. No charges for the ip-matte and although the cable run was external on the wall looks ok.  Can turn the wallbox off by the breaker on the iP-matte

BG didn’t connect anything to the existing consumer unit.

all the above done without any additional charges 

install time was about 6 hours start to finish and I have to be honest he was a great installer and very neat and tidy. 
Electrical certificates arrived about 2 weeks after install.

Now just waiting for car to arrive!!

[ABitterman]

Had my video survey yesterday with BG, only took 20 minutes and very straightforward. Quote came through half hour later of £86 for a tethered charger. Been given a date for install of 4th April so wondering if I’ll have to pay the £350 now. Bit of a bummer if those 4 days cost me £350!! Car supposedly coming August. 

[RXtoNX]

Must be a pretty straight forward installation. I can’t get an installation date until Octopus give me a date for fitting a double pole 100amp isolator.

For all qualifying free installations after the grant runs out, dealer has confirmed to me that the £350 will be for the account of Lexus if the installation would have normally qualified for the grant. BG will invoice Lexus directly.

Fingers crossed that the dealer is correct 🤞

[ABitterman]

56 minutes ago, RXtoNX said:

Must be a pretty straight forward installation. I can’t get an installation date until Octopus give me a date for fitting a double pole 100amp isolator.

For all qualifying free installations after the grant runs out, dealer has confirmed to me that the £350 will be for the account of Lexus if the installation would have normally qualified for the grant. BG will invoice Lexus directly.

Fingers crossed that the dealer is correct 🤞

Plug is going on the outside wall of where my fuse box is, couldn’t see how it could be any simpler. Let’s hope your right and Lexus will pick up the tab, that would be great news. £86 for a fitted ev charger seems good value. Might even look at renting it out for the next 5 months whilst I wait for my car to arrive!

[Ken R]

I have been advised that my wallbox will be installed next month and also told by BG that everything will be invoiced to Lexus! 

Great news! 

Using the 3 pin charging cable for now and it's all very straightforward. 

[Gureamu]

On 3/10/2022 at 5:36 PM, John Adams said:

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.

I had similar issues both with BG and with my energy supplier Shell Energy. BG did the survey quickly enough and said that the survey result would take three working days, they actually got back to me four weeks later to advise that I too needed an isolator. I contacted Shell Energy to request an isolator be fitter only to receive a reply a week later telling me that they have attractive EV charging tariffs (?). Obviously they hadn't even bothered reading the content of the email (they weren't accepting phone calls). Anyway Shell did eventually fit the isolator and BG did fit the wall box; they made a very neat job of it, even hiding the cable in the mortar. The only issue was that BG couldn't confirm the size of the fuse fitted and so assumed 60A. My advice would be to get your electricity supplier to confirm the fuse size when they come to fit the isolator. All I need now is a car to attach to it 🙂

[John Adams]

33 minutes ago, Gureamu said:

I had similar issues both with BG and with my energy supplier Shell Energy. BG did the survey quickly enough and said that the survey result would take three working days, they actually got back to me four weeks later to advise that I too needed an isolator. I contacted Shell Energy to request an isolator be fitter only to receive a reply a week later telling me that they have attractive EV charging tariffs (?). Obviously they hadn't even bothered reading the content of the email (they weren't accepting phone calls). Anyway Shell did eventually fit the isolator and BG did fit the wall box; they made a very neat job of it, even hiding the cable in the mortar. The only issue was that BG couldn't confirm the size of the fuse fitted and so assumed 60A. My advice would be to get your electricity supplier to confirm the fuse size when they come to fit the isolator. All I need now is a car to attach to it 🙂

BG told me once the isolator was fitted they give me a firm date. I pushed the DNO I've finally had the isolator fitted  last week at a cost of £231. BG said once it was fitted to send them a photo and they would arrange an installation date. So far I have had nothing back and they are not responding to emails and I have so far spent the last 30 minutes waiting on hold and finally gave up even though my call was "important to them" I'm not sure what else I can do to speed things up. I've got the car and currently charging from a 13amp socket.

With regards to the fuse, my DNO say they always fit 80 amp fuses as standard and that's what I have which is fine for the load.

[Ken R]

It appears that everyone is having different experiences with BG. I had a full survey conducted by them, have been in contact with my DNO and they have given the green light to proceed even saying that an uprated fuse from 60A to 100A can be retro fitted once the charger is installed.

[Caspa]

Annoyingly BG are yet to call back to arrange the install, but they've sent another letter to thank me for accepting the quote lol...

Think I'll need to get on the phone with them again but was hoping they would have called me by now!

[DanD]

Apologies in advance for my lack of knowledge, but is this wallbox exclusive to Lexus, or can it potentially be used for other EVs?

For instance, if I were to end up with two EVs from different manufacturers, would I be able to use the same wallbox for both... or would I need two?

[John Adams]

1 hour ago, DanD said:

Apologies in advance for my lack of knowledge, but is this wallbox exclusive to Lexus, or can it potentially be used for other EVs?

For instance, if I were to end up with two EVs from different manufacturers, would I be able to use the same wallbox for both... or would I need two?

It's a standard wall box you can use with any ev.

[RXtoNX]

Wallbox installation now booked for 16th May.
BG could have done it anytime from 25th April but the delay to 16th May is due to our and Octopus’ availability for the isolator switch to be fitted which is now scheduled for 9th May.

Car not now due until August so no panic if the installation date for any of the above slips for any reason

[John Adams]

My wallbox is being fitted this Monday. The only annoying thing is that I have to pay £96 to have a tethered cable. The reason being I ticked the wrong box on the website and although I soon realised my mistake, I contacted BG and they said I had to pay extra for the cable as I hadn't specified it at the time. Must be more careful next time I tick boxes

[Ken R]

Had the survey completed last month and got approval from the DNO to proceed but they would fit a new main fuse and "head" foc. This was done last week so chased BG yesterday and was told all the parts required were available and that all they required was confirmation from an engineer and that I would get a call back within the day. No call received. Phoned again today and was informed that they were not sure if all the necessary parts were available for install but confirmed that the DNO has given the necessary approval and that they were aware that I was a "Lexus partner". 

Just received a further call to say that I need to get an isolator fitted by my energy provider before they can schedule the install!

Absolutely raging as I was assured at the point of survey that it was a straightforward install and that only the DNO needed to be involved. 

Left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing!