OVO refuse to install EV charger

Hey ​@mikes01666, 

Could you share some photos of your current setup so we can see what we’re working with? 

​@Peter E ​@BPLightlog Would either of you have any advice that you could offer in the above scenario? 

Photos would be useful. It could be the catenary won't take the weight of the additional cable but a guess at this point.

Peter

Another point to consider is the power needed for the EV charger install. This might add into the note from Peter above as the cabling for this is likely to be substantial (much more than needed for Solar PV).

Happy to add pictures when I'm back home at the end of the week.

The AiO battery, inverter and PV panels are in the detached garage. The cabling is conveyed to the house via catenary to the Givenergy Gateway. it is substantial carrying all the electrical cables and ethernet.

It was surveyed by OVO and installed by OVO and Givenergy's accredited installer.

To now say that massive amounts of groundwork are required to install an EV charger in the garage is mystifying.

According to my O level physics the maximum the EV charger will draw is 7 odd kW (about 30 A). This does not require extraordinarily heavy cable. The battery, inverter and PV cables are far thicker. 

Why not use the existing catenary or install a second one?  

The EV charger needs to be connected to the Gateway inside the property about 1m from the meter box. This requires two connection to terminals marked 'EV' on the Gateway. It seems a completely facile operation.

My disappointment is that having spent a fortune on the Givenergy system with the intent of adding an EV charger,  OVO are unwilling to use the catenary system that they themselves installed!

In their refusal to continue, they state that the system was installed by a sub contractor that may not have OVO's safety focus. However the system was surveyed and signed off by an OVO engineer!

We can't keep using a granny charger!

I have a GivEnergy AIO and Gateway - also solar and a Zappi charger. I can’t remember offhand what the reason was (sorry!) but the charger is not connected through the Gateway, it goes into the consumer unit. I’ll see if I can recall why this was done.

However as the Gateway had to be installed physically near the consumer unit it probably won’t make any difference to your conundrum. Thought I’d mention it though.

Hey ​@mikes01666,

That would be really helpful and we can refer back when you can send them across. I’ll do some digging internally to see if I can find a contact that could shed some light from our end where it’s all got stuck. We do have an engineer ​@Lukepeniket_OVO  that I'll tag on the off chance he might know more although their expertise might be limited to smart meter installations rather than EV installs.

Thanks to ​@juliamc ​@BPLightlog and ​@Peter E for stopping by and helping out with their expertise! 

Interesting. So the two terminals marked 'EV' behind the Gateway access door were not used?

You're correct that the Gateway and consumer unit are cms away from each other.

I'll give Givenergy a call when I get home. I'm looking to have the Hypervolt EV charger fitted for Charge Anytime purposes.

Still can’t remember why we did it this way! I did watch some YouTube videos such as this one, though I think he does have his charger going via the gateway: 

I think if it's wired via the Gateway it allows you to seamlessly integrate with the PV generation allowing you to diverting solar to the vehicle and stopping the vehicle charging from the battery. 

I also get the feeling that it reduces CT clamp necessity but I could be wrong.

Thanks for your advice.

Thanks for the update ​@mikes01666! 

It's unfortunate we can't perform the installation ourselves, but as you mentioned, it's understandable. There are likely various insurance and liability regulations they must follow. Hopefully, Hypervolt can provide a solution or at least guide you appropriately. If you encounter any difficulties, please don't hesitate to reach out again, and we can offer advice on alternative installers if needed

If you need anything else just let everyone know.

I've seen issues surrounding the installation of an EV cable where an installer has refused to do trenching because they weren't qualified to do that (it was the only viable route) so the trenching / ducting / cable installation was done by a separate contractor who had the required competencies and the the EVSE installer did the rest by installing the EVSE, connecting up the cable ends, testing and commissioning.

I can understand the reluctance due to safety considerations, but trenching is out of the question as it would cost more than the entire solar/battery cost. 

The catenary already exists so it's a matter of securing the cable and making the connections at either end. The sticking point is that the catenary is 4m in the air so Working at Height regulations apply.

I'm toying with the idea of using a local electrician.  Any thoughts?

​@mikes01666 I wasn't suggesting trenching was a solution I was saying that sometimes one contractor can't do all the work for whatever reason. If you can get someone to arrange for your EVSE cable to be mounted on the catenary (either as it is or strengthened) and get the OVO engineers to do the rest then it may be a solution. This wouldn't be the first time this has happened with an EVSE install.

Peter