Report 1, more on the post and cable
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Report 1, more on the post and cable
Facilities on the charging post include:
Initially, there was a problem with the time switch and charging was only at the normal day rate. This was corrected by London Electricity on 11th March.
The residual earth breaker should be activated when the socket is empty. This was not working initially but was corrected by Superpitch on 12th April.
On two occasions, there was no over-night charging because of mistakes by ourselves, the users. Once the plug was not pushed fully home. The other occasion was when the switches (residual-earth and over-current breakers) were not set. Otherwise the charging post has never failed to provide charging, either immediately at the normal rate or over night at the low rate.
A tree close to the post had been of concern when the post was being prepared for installation. The post has not been affected by the tree at all, although the paving slabs immediately around the trunk, relaid in April for the official opening, are starting to be lifted by the tree roots.
Connection to the car is by a connector developed specifically for electric vehicles by the Maréchal company. Although this design has the capability for rapid charging, DC connection and communication between the on-board and stationary control systems, only the AC connections for live, neutral and earth are installed in the Peugeot for normal rate charging of 13 A. Peugeot provide the charging point in front of the driver's door. Once the connector is in place, the flap is closed and becomes locked by the central-locking system for the doors.
We connect the cable only when needed for charging: plugged in sometime during the evening and disconnect before driving off the next day. If the car is not going to be used next day, the cable is removed and stored in its usual home, a cardboard box in the back of the car.
At no time has there been any vandalism or even interference with the cable or its connection to the vehicle. Although the street itself, Lansdowne Gardens, consists of housing in the "higher price bracket", the street is used as a rat run for traffic and is bounded on all sides by council estates showing some degree of litter, graffitti and vandalism.
There have been no known complaints from pedestrians or road users. No one is known to have tripped up on the cable where it runs between the kerb edge and the car. We have only heard that the charging post is sometimes confused as a pay-and-display ticket dispenser. (Perhaps a coin slot should be added!)
The house side of the post is blank apart from a small window over the meter. A lamp behind the window goes on to indicate when the post is live for charging. However the lamp can't been seen from the house. If we want to be reassured of charging, we have to go out to the car and check from an indicator on the dashboard.
There have been no problems with rain, either during charging or making the connection. The channel across the pavement collects some leaves and litter but these are easy to clear out.
The cable is about 4 metres long, its original length. This length was retained in case parking was difficult. Given the experience of parking in the bay, 3 metres would be adequate.
We have one suggestion for improvement to the post's circuit design when the low rate is selected. As soon as the door is closed, the socket should become live for about a minute. This will be very reassuring to confirm full integrity of the connection, as shown by all the Peugeot's side indicators flashing briefly. If we want to check the connection now, we have to: select immediate charging, close the door, watch for the Peugeot's indicators, unlock the door, select low rate, then finally close the door.
