CASE STUDY | Peak demand for charging two EVs at home with CTEK
When Ben’s chargepoint failed to cope with the Peak District winter, the businessman turned to CTEK for a more robust solution that could also simultaneously charge his two electric vehicles and ensure both were fully ready for him each morning.
Fed up with a single-outlet charging unit that would fail to charge, Ben did his product research and contacted CTEK, who supplied a dual-outlet CHARGESTORM CONNECTED 2 and put him in touch with installer Sean from Mulcahy EV.
Ben said: “I had struggled through last year, and in particular last winter, with another manufacturer’s chargepoint which had come from by my electricity supplier. It was failing in the colder weather. I would plug it in each evening and it would shut down overnight, so the car wasn’t fully charged in the morning.
“I was running a single BMW EV for a year and decided to replace our second, hybrid car with another EV. So, I wanted the option of charging two vehicles at once overnight. I saw CTEK’s chargepoint on YouTube and had already had CTEK 12 Volt chargers, so I knew CTEK sold products with solid engineering.
“I was reassured with how reliable the brand is and that twin charging was offered, with load balancing. I could have both EVS on overnight at 16A each and when one was fully charged, the other one could have 32A. I could also reliably pre-heat both vehicles in the morning on the AC power.
“We are in Derbyshire so we do get inclement weather, but CTEK’s chargepoint was designed to cope with Swedish winters, so I knew it would manage the English weather, even in the Peak District.
“After struggling through last winter with the old unreliable chargepoint I wanted CTEK’s dual one installed this spring, so I was ready for next autumn, winter and beyond. CTEK put me in touch with Sean and the installation was straightforward. I had previously jumped a few hurdles with the DNO and getting the main fuse upgraded, so it was a relatively easy install for Sean.”
Sean, from electric vehicle charging specialists Mulcahy EV in Darwen, Lancashire, installed the new chargepoint in March. He said: “The customer’s existing chargepoint failed and its manufacturer wasn’t keen to get involved in a repair. Part of the selling point for CTEK’s CC2 was how robust it is. The customer’s home is in a location where it is not unusual to get quite heavy weather conditions.
“We checked the supply was adequate. We had a 40A supply so could easily charge two EVs. And CTEK’s CC2 load balances, so it knows if there is one EV or two charging. That’s a big benefit.
“We have done a few twin chargers in domestic settings. As more families get a second EV, they will also want the option of a dual charging unit.”
Ben added: “The software setup of the CC2 was equally as easy and Sean did a little bit of configuration using his computer and the unit was then quickly online enabled and interfacing with the Monta app. I was really pleased with his work. It hadn’t been such a good experience with the previous installation. Sean was a good recommendation from CTEK. And as we run our business from where we live, Sean helped us apply for the workplace charging grant.
“The chargepoints have worked fine. The load balancing is functioning well and the Monta app which comes pre-loaded is good. It has far better functionality than the app in the previous chargepoint. Overall, I’m very impressed.”
Sean is also pleased: “The customer is happy. He had been let down by his previous charger and did not want to be messed about again I told him the CC2 is designed to keep out Swedish winters. If it works over there it will work over here, even in the Peak.”