Geely E2 Apex, pull the trigger or am I going mad?

AntennaMan said:
Does the Geely come with an app? What does the wall charger look like? Is it possible to communicate with the charger to add it to home assistant, or similar, to optimise charging together with home solar?
Click to expand...
Be aware the apex allows remote scheduling to the vehicle, the aspire is on board. Worth the extra R50k is up to folks.

So I have spent a large amount of time on this, BEFORE having got hold of the actual device. From images sent to me by the sales rep this is the charger info:

Geely 7 kW wallbox

Model: AC007E-HP-03
Geely part: 6608124057
Label specifies:
  • 7 kW AC charging
  • Plug-and-charge operation
  • Version: 7KW/Plug and charge

    ok from my idea is to use a similar wifi smart breaker like what I have for my geyser which is fully controllable via HA. So the charger AFAIK is a dumb charger although there is a question about whether it has bluetooth or not but certainly no wifi etc. The charger is a plug and play, that means when connected and both sides agree ie: vehicle allows charging and the charger has power, it will negotiate and charge. You can ,apparently, do quite a bit of onboard control with regards to charging, including setting amp limits for ac and dc charging. So my idea is to actually throttle my car by default to 10/13A which is around 3Kw. That means with charging loss I would maybe recover about 10/11Kwh in a 4 hour afternoon solar session. That is plenty for our driving and I just delay the charging on cloudy days. So the actual smart breaker would control the wall box.

    Will this work practicly? I dunno, too many unknowns until I actually have the charger and can check its installation and spec manual.
 
If my current vehicle were to pack up today (touch wood that it doesn't, I want at least another 5 years out of it) I'd probably get this Chery-Q as well. It makes a lot of sense.
 
FiestaST said:
Cross post from the famous Why you should buy an electric car in South Africa Thread.

https://twitter.com/x/status/2108785352936718692

www.autotrader.co.za

Is it cheaper to run an EV on Eskom power than a petrol car at R30/litre? - Car Ownership

As fuel prices rocket toward their highest ever levels, many consumers are seriously considering going EV, but is operating an EV really cheaper than running to the pumps? We run the numbers to find out.
www.autotrader.co.za www.autotrader.co.za
Click to expand...
I actually went through this exercise when looking to replace my Haval and that extra premium (and ROI) was exactly why I ended up going with a petrol car.

The options I had on the table was the Sealion 6 (granted it's a PHEV) or Jetour X70. R200k difference between the 2 which I couldn't validate.

For the wife though who mostly WFH and access to home solar, replacing her Baleno with one of these EV's is starting to peak my interest more every day. (Plus I can use it on the odd day to work for more fuel savings)
 
acidrain said:
I actually went through this exercise when looking to replace my Haval and that extra premium (and ROI) was exactly why I ended up going with a petrol car.

The options I had on the table was the Sealion 6 (granted it's a PHEV) or Jetour X70. R200k difference between the 2 which I couldn't validate.

For the wife though who mostly WFH and access to home solar, replacing her Baleno with one of these EV's is starting to peak my interest more every day. (Plus I can use it on the odd day to work for more fuel savings)
Click to expand...
The economics for us were:

1. Trade in two old petrol cars , 2008 and 2010, both over 180kkms.
2. No service or maintenance issues for at least 5 years, whereas the older cars were starting to need part replacements every service.
3. Both older vehicles needing service and licensing done.
4 I have a third vehicle which is light on fuel in comparison, also old but only 80kkms on the clock and e easy to source/repair local Toyota.
5. We have a solar system with excess glut most months of the year.
6. Wife doesn't work and I do hybrid. Car will be used with the constant stop go and churn of city driving but also replace our main weekend and leisure trips.
7. Insurance is R10 more than the cost of both the other two vehicles.
8. The one vehicle has just been standing in my garage for two months and juggling three cars is just unnecessary.

Basically it worked to not exactly a 100% net off but damn close with benefits amd obviously I don't see fuel recovering anytime soon or even anywhere near to make up. Plan to keep the new vehicle long term as well.
 
Foxhound5366 said:
Maybe you could just run the wall charger through a smart switch at the time of charging, presuming it comes on automatically when it gets power and is plugged in. It might be so smart that it requires some user confirmation, so you'd be screwed either way.

Aah, future me problems. For now I'll drive my diesel ICE car and cry.
Click to expand...

You could also have your inverter just manage it directly, so it only charges the car when excess solar happens.

Most inverters have an auxiliary to exactly this so I would imagine the wall chargers are pretty dumb and just turn on when given power.
 
acidrain said:
I actually went through this exercise when looking to replace my Haval and that extra premium (and ROI) was exactly why I ended up going with a petrol car.

The options I had on the table was the Sealion 6 (granted it's a PHEV) or Jetour X70. R200k difference between the 2 which I couldn't validate.

For the wife though who mostly WFH and access to home solar, replacing her Baleno with one of these EV's is starting to peak my interest more every day. (Plus I can use it on the odd day to work for more fuel savings)
Click to expand...

Yup it would definitely not be about saving money for me.

It would be about the way it drives and never needing to suffer a conventional gearbox again, but more so never having to visit a petrol station.

If I keep it for ten years and it happens to start paying for itself that’s a net benefit.
 
It may sound like I am being facetious here but I am not:

Good to see you lot are "running your numbers". Only you can answer if an EV can work for your needs/sitiuation/lifestyle.

Nothing pisses me off more when agenda driven crap are plastered like a "one solution for all" like some of the Pro EV articles on this site.

In my case it makes little point, I spend roughly R500 - R600 on "gas" a month & my paid off Honda is solid, I rather see more value having decent funds in my MM & EE accounts. As you know I have an interest in all things cars hence you will see me contributing in this thread.

Same with the linking of the EV threesome in other relevant threads (when required).
 
FiestaST said:
Nothing pisses me off more when agenda driven crap are plastered like a "one solution for all" like some of the Pro EV articles on this site.
Click to expand...

I just need to look at the likes of Ciro de Siena and the struggles he has had with EV’s in an apartment and off street parking and the nightmare that is to know it’s not for everyone.

It makes zero sense, I would say even internationally with super charging infrastructure, if you can’t charge it at home.

Noticed our new office’s parking garage has chargers, not something I’ll need but also good to know the option is there.
 
Kosmik said:
Be aware the apex allows remote scheduling to the vehicle, the aspire is on board. Worth the extra R50k is up to folks.

So I have spent a large amount of time on this, BEFORE having got hold of the actual device. From images sent to me by the sales rep this is the charger info:

Geely 7 kW wallbox

Model: AC007E-HP-03
Geely part: 6608124057
Label specifies:
  • 7 kW AC charging
  • Plug-and-charge operation
  • Version: 7KW/Plug and charge

    ok from my idea is to use a similar wifi smart breaker like what I have for my geyser which is fully controllable via HA. So the charger AFAIK is a dumb charger although there is a question about whether it has bluetooth or not but certainly no wifi etc. The charger is a plug and play, that means when connected and both sides agree ie: vehicle allows charging and the charger has power, it will negotiate and charge. You can ,apparently, do quite a bit of onboard control with regards to charging, including setting amp limits for ac and dc charging. So my idea is to actually throttle my car by default to 10/13A which is around 3Kw. That means with charging loss I would maybe recover about 10/11Kwh in a 4 hour afternoon solar session. That is plenty for our driving and I just delay the charging on cloudy days. So the actual smart breaker would control the wall box.

    Will this work practicly? I dunno, too many unknowns until I actually have the charger and can check its installation and spec manual.
Click to expand...
So, if this is correct, according to Google, this charger has a RS485 port, and supports OCPP 1.6J, which is the Open Charge Point Protocol. Node-red has a plugin for OCPP, allowing the Victron system to do dynamic charge current scaling based on PV availability, load, weather, etc.

I'm sure the various smart home automation stuff has similar capabilities, if you're into that kind of thing.
 
AntennaMan said:
So, if this is correct, according to Google, this charger has a RS485 port, and supports OCPP 1.6J, which is the Open Charge Point Protocol. Node-red has a plugin for OCPP, allowing the Victron system to do dynamic charge current scaling based on PV availability, load, weather, etc.

I'm sure the various smart home automation stuff has similar capabilities, if you're into that kind of thing.
Click to expand...
Just be very carefull as there are similar names and refs which are not the same. I'll know more once I receive it as to dips, comms etc
 
Noticed saev charge sometimes drop the rate to R2.50 which is insane! Base rate is allready so cheap at R3.50.

They have 4x 120kw chargers in Richmond.

Tried it today, its pretty boring as outside a big warehouse with nothing to do.
2b3a3d94b53b7a0beb692a96caa26531.jpg
 
Just a note guys, shop around and don't be shy to go a bit our your way. I spoke to two dealers and was ready to go with first, literally everything settled and then sorry, we don't have the car you wanted. That after being dragged for two more days than neccesary because they wanted to compete on finance already approved.

So I phoned the dealership in Maritzburg. Also first thought he had my colours but needed to check. On the spot offered me close to 10k off other dealers price. Came back a hour later, sorry don't have the colour but choose another and he'll drop another R5k.

Not to mention he's happy to deliver it to my home.

Done. Sign sealed, awaiting delivery at my home on Monday.
 
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