XC60 Ultra questions

[Nigel21]

I have just ordered a xc60 ultra and have a couple of questions please?

I have a 3phase electric supply at home, what would be the best charger to install? (I’m with octopus)

3phase or single phase?
What kwh?
What brand?

Are both the front seats the same?Does the front bolster adjust on the passenger seat?

Can I get polestar fitted and is it worth doing?

[sandys]

Definitely get a 3phase 22kw charger as you'll be able to fast charge the Volvo (only at 6.6kw), though not necessary with the XC60 as it has a small battery and can be charged fine overnight on single phase (3.6kw)

It will cost you more by another 100 or so but you will be set for future cars.

As for brand, it entirely depends on what feature set you are after, integrations with solar etc.

I think I saw Octopus had an offer on Zappi installs so perhaps that is the route to go.

I use Zappi on my car for Octopus with IOG, seems to work well enough, though when bump charging (the term used for forcing charge outside of offpeak windows) it often tells me it has failed despite actually working, so not the most robust setup but it is in beta. That said it hasn't failed to work yet, so just a glitchy between Octopus app and Zappi I guess.

This could also be that I had to pretend I have an EV Volvo as the charging slots given by IOG were too small to fill my car as I think the database is setup for older xc60s with 11.6 battery, so that might be part of the reason it fails but unlikely as Octopus app does not talk to car but the Zappi.

I think both seats are the same but I am not 100% on that.

You can get Polestar fitted but don't know anyone that has done it on the 455 to comment on whether it is worth it.

[Javert1969]

Originally Posted by sandys

Definitely get a 3phase 22kw charger as you'll be able to fast charge the Volvo (only at 6.6kw), though not necessary with the XC60 as it has a small battery and can be charged fine overnight on single phase (3.6kw)

It will cost you more by another 100 or so but you will be set for future cars.

As for brand, it entirely depends on what feature set you are after, integrations with solar etc.

I think I saw Octopus had an offer on Zappi installs so perhaps that is the route to go.

I use Zappi on my car for Octopus with IOG, seems to work well enough, though when bump charging (the term used for forcing charge outside of offpeak windows) it often tells me it has failed despite actually working, so not the most robust setup but it is in beta. That said it hasn't failed to work yet, so just a glitchy between Octopus app and Zappi I guess.

This could also be that I had to pretend I have an EV Volvo as the charging slots given by IOG were too small to fill my car as I think the database is setup for older xc60s with 11.6 battery, so that might be part of the reason it fails but unlikely as Octopus app does not talk to car but the Zappi.

I think both seats are the same but I am not 100% on that.

You can get Polestar fitted but don't know anyone that has done it on the 455 to comment on whether it is worth it.

Does this mean that with the Recharge T8, if your house has a single phase supply, you can only charge at 3KW, even if you have a 7KW charger for another vehicle? If so, does this mean actually there is no advantage compared to just plugging it in to a normal socket?

[Philip Fisher]

Originally Posted by Javert1969

Does this mean that with the Recharge T8, if your house has a single phase supply, you can only charge at 3KW, even if you have a 7KW charger for another vehicle? If so, does this mean actually there is no advantage compared to just plugging it in to a normal socket?

Yes, if you have a single phase charger it will only charge at 16amps or 3.7kw. If you have a single phase 32amp 7kw charger then it will still only charge at 3.7kw. This is still better than a regular 13amp plug charger. They tend to max out at 10amps and even then a continuous 10amp draw through a regular 13amp plug is not ideal. Despite the name a 13amp plug is not really designed for a long continuous draw at that level.

Below is a photo of a 13amp trailing socket which I was drawing a continuous 3kw from. The socket was outside at Easter in Scotland so kept nice and cool and it still got very hot.....

[Javert1969]

Originally Posted by Philip Fisher

Yes, if you have a single phase charger it will only charge at 16amps or 3.7kw. If you have a single phase 32amp 7kw charger then it will still only charge at 3.7kw. This is still better than a regular 13amp plug charger. They tend to max out at 10amps and even then a continuous 10amp draw through a regular 13amp plug is not ideal. Despite the name a 13amp plug is not really designed for a long continuous draw at that level.

Does this also apply to public chargers? So if I find a public street charger or in a car park that says 7KW, it is probably single phase?

[sandys]

Yes that is correct, you will be limited to 3.6.

[Philip Fisher]

Originally Posted by Javert1969

Does this also apply to public chargers? So if I find a public street charger or in a car park that says 7KW, it is probably single phase?

Most likely yes. A 7kw public charger is almost certainly a 32amp single phase.

An 11kw or 22kw charger is likely to be a 3 phase 16amp or 3 phase 32 amp respectively.

[sandys]

Yup, you are limited by what the onboard charger is capable of, so this is a ball park of what you can get?

three pin is 2.3Kw approx 7.5 hrs to charge (5.5 miles/hour)
single phase is 3.6Kw approx 5 hrs to charge (8.6 miles/hour)
three phase is 6.6Kw approx 2.5hrs to charge. (15.8 miles/hour)

So there is an advantage there, just not a large one for charging rate, but of course there are benefits from a simplicity standpoint with a dedicated EVSE and things like app integration if you want to use Octopus features.

[sk546]

Originally Posted by Nigel21

Can I get polestar fitted and is it worth doing?

On the 455 T8 models, the only improvement you get is a gearbox shifting improvement with the Polestar Optimisation, there is no increase in power output as there was with earlier T8 models.

My car (the Polestar Engineered model) came with the Polestar Software from factory so I've only experienced the 'improved' gear shifting responses which are very good I have to say.

As there is no power increase at all on the 455 T8, there is the question on if the Polestar Optimisation would need declaring to the insurance company at all unlike on other Volvo engine specs as they do increase power and from an insurance perspective, that classes as a re-map or similar.

As for if its worth the cost, that depends on how much you manage to get it for I suppose, there are regularly deals available for the Polestar software. Full price, I'd say probably not, at a reduced price, I'd say it would be worth it.

[Lexman8]

Originally Posted by Nigel21

I have just ordered a xc60 ultra and have a couple of questions please?

I have a 3phase electric supply at home, what would be the best charger to install? (I’m with octopus)

3phase or single phase?
What kwh?
What brand?

Definitely 3-phase, 22kW to be future proof (although the XC60 uses 2 phases max). You may be limited in your choice of 3-phase charger if you want integration with Octopus (which I'd recommend). I have a single phase Ohme charger which integrates extremely well for both the Agile (my tariff) and IOG tariffs as the Ohme app provides lots of intelligent charging flexibility as well as detailed usage with accurate charging costs.

Are both the front seats the same?Does the front bolster adjust on the passenger seat?

Yes and yes on my XC60 Ultimate. Presumably the Ultra is the same?

Can I get polestar fitted and is it worth doing?

Don't know.