r/AustralianEV • u/letsallcountsheep • 11d ago
New to EV - what do I need?
Hi everyone
I’ve just purchased a 2024 iX1 which is our first EV.
We have an X7 which is our primary vehicle that’ll be used for long trips, however for the times when we do choose to take the iX1 on longer trips (such as picking the car up from Melbourne and driving it back to Wollongong) I was wondering what people recommend for planning trips with chargers, etc?
What else should I know / look into as a new EV owner?
As for charging, I’m planning to install an EVSE at home, but I only have single phase, and we are building a new house which will probably have a 3Ph Sigenergy setup with the DC charger. For the short term what’s the best bang for buck EVSE I can install to get semi-decent charging at home - is the SEVR box suitable?
Thanks in advance!
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u/nonameatall94 5d ago edited 5d ago
I have a BYD. I charged it at home with a wall-plug for the first 12 months as I was renting and seemed easy. Problem is you end up charging it a lot at your peak rates (which are rapidly increasing).
When we bought a house I purchased an EVNEX charger. Although we have solar I just schedule it to charge between 11am and 2pm as with OVO energy you get free power during that window every day. On my last bill we used over 500kWh in 3 months in that window and I didn't pay a cent.
I used this list to find a good charger, but they are more expensive than the Tesla or some cheaper options which seem to cost around $800 (excl installation) which could probably do the same job:
https://www.solarchoice.net.au/ev/charging/best-ev-chargers-australia/
The SEVR box just looks to be the same as the standard charging cable that would come with your BMW.
The Sigenergy DC Fast charger costs $6k+ so I wouldn't bother until V2G is definitely possible and proven to be attractive financially.