Tim+ wrote:
Thanks for that John. Ive checked my main fuse and its got 100A on it so
I think Im okay from the supply side of things. We dont use our supply
for much other than normal domestic appliances and a underfloor heating in
a bathroom so I dont think well struggle on that score.

Thinking about positioning, I suspect the most useful place will be outside
rather than in our garage (which was my first thought). The cable run
would probably have to be under-floor where access is very limited and
there wouldnt really any option to fix the cable to anything. Is this
allowable? I guess itll have to be some sort of armoured cable.

Armoured if it's buried and of a suitable derating for whatever it's going
to be embedded in (taking dozens of amps will cause it to get warm).

Our earthing system seems to be a wide metal braided strap attached to the
incoming mains cable. (Looks like a lead sheath on the incomer.). Is this
okay?

I think that's TNS. You'd need someone who knows to design a suitable
earthing system (ie that's above my pay grade!). Frequently installs get
the earthing wrong.

Lastly, chargers seem to have varying levels of €œsmarts€� built in. Are
these just gimmicks or does it depend on the car? I believe on some cars
charging intervals can be programmed into the car rather than into the
charging box. This is all new to me as you may have guessed. ;-)

Assuming these are all AC charging points, the signalling is relatively
simple. It just says 'you can take XX amps at single/three phase'. The
charger is in the car and that's what's doing the power conversion.
A fancier charging box can be programmed to say 'you can take XX amps' at
a particular time, or when your solar panels are generating, or whatever,
but that's all it's doing. The installer can adjust the XX to suit your
installation - you don't need a supply sized for the maximum current the car
can take, although you do need to take into consideration the size of the
cables and what other loads in the house might draw at the same time.

Once you've hooked up the charging point you can also tell the car when to
take current - the box may say 'you can take XX amps' but the car's software
can decide not to draw it until midnight, or if the battery is more than 60%
full, or whatever you set it.

If it's a DC charger all the power conversion electronics is outside the
car, but that's rare in a home installation.

It's up to you as to whether the car has the necessary controls on charging,
or whether you'd like the box to do something extra.

Incidentally, for anyone who hasnt tried driving a car in €œone pedal mode€�
whereby braking progressively increases as you lift off the throttle, I
found it incredibly straightforward to get used to and found it really
useful in town traffic during my test drive today.

Do you have the ability to adjust the regen? Some prefer a more gentle
slowing down when you lift off, others prefer it more aggressive.

Traditional automatics behave like that to some extent, although the
slowdown on lifting up is very gentle (no braking, just losses).

Theo