18 minutes ago, The Fall Guy said:

House already has ground rod.

Why do ev chargers vary so much in price?

Some have additional features and a lot of it is marketing.

I have one that measures the load on PEA and keeps it within a limit I set. It’s useful with Solar Power and a weak supply.

Other have things like RFID cards to enable charging, billing capability, WiFi connection etc

44 minutes ago, The Fall Guy said:

House already has ground rod.

Why do ev chargers vary so much in price?

Probably manufacturers mark up as well as the functions available.

I usually buy everything from China and my charget had a lot of protection features as well as single phase and 3 phase connection.

I have 3 phase at the house but only extended 1 phase to the garage so charging the SL7 on 1 phase at 26A, then when we put in the solar connected up the 3 phase charging at 15A/phase which was still faster charging than the single phase.

49 minutes ago, The Fall Guy said:

House already has ground rod.

I have 3 rods in my house, the more you have the better.

• Main rod when house construction (no idea how good it was, treat as low quality)

• Rod for EV charger (I have 2 7kW chargers) High quality 2.4M

• Rod for Solar Panel Setup and inverter, 2.4M high quality

You certainly need a rod for the charger, if you understand how stray and ground current leaks works, you would not even question this. specially in Thailand.

You want to have the best path possible to stray current to disappear in the ground.

1 minute ago, brfsa2 said:

I have 3 rods in my house, the more you have the better.

• Main rod when house construction (no idea how good it was, treat as low quality)

• Rod for EV charger (I have 2 7kW chargers) High quality 2.4M

• Rod for Solar Panel Setup and inverter, 2.4M high quality

You certainly need a rod for the charger, if you understand how stray and ground current leaks works, you would not even question this. specially in Thailand.

You want to have the best path possible to stray current to disappear in the ground.

Really you should only have 1 ground rod.

I think if you look up the country electrical rules they would mention 1 rod.

I'm pretty sure Australia says only 1 rod.

4 minutes ago, carlyai said:

Really you should only have 1 ground rod.

I think if you look up the country electrical rules they would mention 1 rod.

I'm pretty sure Australia says only 1 rod.

Please everyone, DO NOT LISTEN to this guy, he is clueless about electricity.

18 minutes ago, brfsa2 said:

I have 3 rods in my house, the more you have the better.

• Main rod when house construction (no idea how good it was, treat as low quality)

• Rod for EV charger (I have 2 7kW chargers) High quality 2.4M

• Rod for Solar Panel Setup and inverter, 2.4M high quality

You certainly need a rod for the charger, if you understand how stray and ground current leaks works, you would not even question this. specially in Thailand.

You want to have the best path possible to stray current to disappear in the ground.

I agree, the more rods the better, as long as properly installed. Some people may want to ask AI which is better, before posting what they don't understand.

11 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

I agree, the more rods the better, as long as properly installed. Some people may want to ask AI which is better, before posting what they don't understand.

Perhaps he got lost interpreting the regulations, you should have only one ground rod connected to the neutral bus bar and it's as close to the utility as possible, all other extra ground rods should not bind to neutral. Since the main bond already provides the low-impedance path necessary to trip overcurrent protection devices (breakers) during a phase-to-ground fault, the "extra" rods are not for clearing faults. Instead, their functions are specialized for transient management and reference stability,

1 hour ago, brfsa2 said:

Please everyone, DO NOT LISTEN to this guy, he is clueless about electricity.

I think you could have said that in a less aggressive way.

When I bought my Atto in Oct 2023 it came with a free Zhida charger and free installation. The electrical contractor installed the wiring and charger approx 3 weeks later in mid Nov 2023....this is the professional electrical contractor company that had the contract with BYD to install chargers in my area and some areas of Thailand.

"No ground round installed at the charger" because the grounding of my home electrical system is adequate....i.e., it already has a main grounding rod. The 6mm2 ground wire for the charger runs back approx 12 meters to the main circuit panel grounding point which is tied to the main ground rod. And the live and neutral wires running between the main circuit panel charger are 6mm2 also.

Having multiple grounding can possibly create ground loops if they are not properly grounded/linked to the main ground rod for the home. It will vary from home to home as to if another grounding rod is required.

And a technical note, in my Bangkok moobaan of around 500 single family houses all the houses use the "TT Earthing System" where the neutral and ground are "not" linked. In TN-C, TN-S, and TN-C-S Earthing Systems the neutral and ground are linked. Different earthing systems are used in Thailand....and the TT Earthing system is very common and one of the earthing systems used....not only in Thailand but other countries also.

My Zhida 32A single phase charger....no ground rod at charger.

Well, come 1 May and assuming you are EV charging from the PEA/MEA grid your EV fuel cost per KWH will increase by 1.8%. Since current PEA/MEA cost "per KWH" including basic rate, Ft, meter fee, and VAT is approx 5.0 baht this means your EV charging per KWH will rise from 5.0 baht to 5.1 baht per KWH. And yes to those who charge their EV from solar....no increase at all for you.

If your EV has a 60KWH battery then plan on paying around 40 baht more to fill-up your battery from 0 to 100% to have a driving range of approx 400Km. Now to run my 3.0L diesel ICE Toyota Fortuner which gets a little over 10Km per diesel fuel liter and since the cost of diesel has went from 30 baht to 41 baht (a 36% increase) over the pass few weeks a 400Km range now costs me around 440 baht more than it did before. Guess I will predominately continue to drive my EV as my ICE vehicle is my secondary/backup vehicle since I got my EV over two years ago.

Summary: I will see around a Bt40 increase per 400Km driven with my EV compared to a Bt440 increase per 400Km with my ICE vehicle.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/3228784/power-bills-to-rise-only-18

Info on March 2026 "registrations." Not talking ongoing Motor Show bookings.

https://autolifethailand.tv/

Deleted...duplicate.

Dept of Land Transportation (DLT) "registrations" stats for certain brands/models for Jan, Feb, and Mar 2026. For those interested in how well certain models are actually selling.....making it all the way thru the purchase process and get registered.

BYD Registrations for Jan, Feb, and Mar 2026

I think you mean 7 baht more?

400 to 407 baht, ie 1.8% approx.

I’m surprised people are buying Swasticars Teslas

I’m also surprised at Jaecoo 5’s, they are big but cheap interior and a very noisy drive.

1 hour ago, Pib said:

Well, come 1 May and assuming you are EV charging from the PEA/MEA grid your EV fuel cost per KWH will increase by 1.8%. Since current PEA/MEA cost "per KWH" including basic rate, Ft, meter fee, and VAT is approx 5.0 baht this means your EV charging per KWH will rise from 5.0 baht to 5.1 baht per KWH. And yes to those who charge their EV from solar....no increase at all for you.

If your EV has a 60KWH battery then plan on paying around 40 baht more to fill-up your battery from 0 to 100% to have a driving range of approx 400Km. Now to run my 3.0L diesel ICE Toyota Fortuner which gets a little over 10Km per diesel fuel liter and since the cost of diesel has went from 30 baht to 41 baht (a 36% increase) over the pass few weeks a 400Km range now costs me around 440 baht more than it did before. Guess I will predominately continue to drive my EV as my ICE vehicle is my secondary/backup vehicle since I got my EV over two years ago.

Summary: I will see around a Bt40 increase per 400Km driven with my EV compared to a Bt440 increase per 400Km with my ICE vehicle.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/3228784/power-bills-to-rise-only-18

3 minutes ago, JBChiangRai said:

I think you mean 7 baht more?

400 to 407 baht, ie 1.8% approx.

Not sure where you got the Bt400....I assume where I talked a cost Bt440 "more" to drive my 3.0L diesel fuel Fortuner 400km due to the Bt11 increase over the last few weeks. If so, for this diesel fuel increase of approx 36% (i.e, Bt30 to Bt41) I'm not talking the 1.8% electricity increase but the 36% (Bt11) diesel fuel increase.

Ex: My Fortuner gets approx 10km/liter. To drive 400Km it drinks 40 liters....40 times Bt30 cost of diesel a few weeks ago equals Bt1,200......but 40 liters at Bt41/liter at current day cost equals Bt1,640.....which means it costs me Bt440 "more" to drive 400Km today in my ICE vehicle than it did a few weeks ago.

59 minutes ago, JBChiangRai said:

I’m surprised people are buying Swasticars Teslas

my coworker just got the tesla standard, he loves it, the space is great and it drives just fine. nothing special, nothing wrong. until you crash it, but life is short!
I looked at it, and i love the simplicity, I would rather get this than the one with the fancy screens and expensive rims and tires.
the Model Y looks even better.

there is a Tesla supercharger 15 km from my house on the way back from town, just opened last month.

the price is right. what most people dont appreciate in Tesla is the amazing cooling system and super high efficiency at high cruising speeds, xpeng and zeekr can match it, the Seal is great in aerodynamics, but thats it.

8 hours ago, JBChiangRai said:

I think you mean 7 baht more?

400 to 407 baht, ie 1.8% approx.

I’m surprised people are buying Swasticars Teslas

I’m also surprised at Jaecoo 5’s, they are big but cheap interior and a very noisy drive.

Oh, OK, after a good night's sleep and the Leo beer affected calculations now wore off, yes, the "EV fuel driving cost" impact is only around Bt6 to 7 in my example of an EV with a 60KWH battery which has a 400km range. My bad....thanks for catching my error on the EV fuel calculation....durn Leo beer!!!!! 😄

Bottom line is diesel-fueled ICE vehicles over the last few weeks have seen a 36% fuel cost increase (Bt30 to Bt41/liter and starting 1 May electrons-fueled EV vehicles will see a 1.8% increase (Bt5.0/KWH to Bt5.1).

For vehicle fuel costs me will take a 1.8% increase over a 36% increase any day....me not stupid (except maybe when having one too many Leo's). 😄

Good lord....now my Bt41/liter of diesel number from last night has been OBE'ed because as of 2 Apr 2026 @ 5am (today...this morning) the price of diesel went up Bt3.5. Diesel B7 is now Bt44.24/liter...for discussion purposes lets just round down to Bt44 as that hurts a little less when talking about it.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/3228800/thai-diesel-prices-rise-another-350-baht

16 hours ago, brfsa2 said:

Perhaps he got lost interpreting the regulations, you should have only one ground rod connected to the neutral bus bar and it's as close to the utility as possible, all other extra ground rods should not bind to neutral. Since the main bond already provides the low-impedance path necessary to trip overcurrent protection devices (breakers) during a phase-to-ground fault, the "extra" rods are not for clearing faults. Instead, their functions are specialized for transient management and reference stability,

If they are for reference stability, why wouldn't you bond them back to the main earth?

Just asking, not trying to cause an argument.

My solar does have ground rods but they are all tied back to the main earth rod.

When I got my BYD Atto 3 EV in late 2023 I created a fuel cost spreadsheet over the ensuing months comparing it to my 2009 Toyota Fortuner 3.0L Diesel in various ways. I tried to make this spreadsheet as accurate as possible to compare fuel costs and used/carried most costs/data elements to one or two decimal points (no or very little rounding to the nearest whole number like I've usually talked in earlier posts), using actual/latest diesel and electricity costs, charging losses, etc...etc....etc.

I just updated my spreadsheet to reflect the latest/2 Apr 2026 diesel fuel cost and also the upcoming 1 May 2026 electricity cost increase. Below are few snapshots from my spreadsheet...the last two snapshots probably best show the fuel cost/savings between my EV and ICE vehicles.

Using the latest B7 diesel cost per liter as of 2 Apr 2026 and what my marginal electricity cost per KWH will be come 1 May 2026 with 1.8% electricity price increase.

Fuel Cost Per Kilometer

Fuel Savings Per Kilometer

Annual "Fuel" Savings...I've been driving around 26,000Km per year....look at the fuel savings per year...almost Bt93,000

14 minutes ago, carlyai said:

If they are for reference stability, why wouldn't you bond them back to the main earth?

Just asking, not trying to cause an argument.

My solar does have ground rods but they are all tied back to the main earth rod.

it's ok to ask, neither me want to sound rude or like an argument.

grounding can only be bound to neutral at one place if at all, the extra grounds can be linked to existing ground line to improve the whole system, as long as the line is not long, but not necessary.
my people in the country side will just do a single ground rod just for the hot shower, and that's it. everything else no ground.

doing it wrong can be dangerous and its important that the information we give is correct.

18 hours ago, JBChiangRai said:

I think you could have said that in a less aggressive way.

Apologies if I sound aggressive.

5 minutes ago, brfsa2 said:

Apologies if I sound aggressive.

No that's OK brfsa2, I am a bit vague and should be more correct.

I won't post, except for help I need in the Electrical forums.

BorMeBenHar. :)

30 minutes ago, carlyai said:

No that's OK brfsa2, I am a bit vague and should be more correct.

I won't post, except for help I need in the Electrical forums.

BorMeBenHar. :)

No worries bro!

See below car250.com weblink for full details. For those of you BYD owners which didn't purchase or didn't qualify for the BYD lifetime battery & motor warranty this might be a good time to pickup a spare battery. 🤪

https://www.car250.com/byd-battery-lifetime-warranty-2026-new.html

(Prices Shown Below Excluded 7% VAT)

On 2/19/2026 at 8:12 AM, JBChiangRai said:

Whilst in Central Plaza yesterday I saw the Geely EX2 at 430k THB for entry level and 460k THB for the top model.

I was impressed, particularly now that it's competitors (BYD Dolphin & Aion UT) have had large price increases.

It's LiFePO₄ technology which is a good thing. I'm test-driving one today at 11am.

Hi,

Any feedback on your test drive ?
My step daughter choose it as favorite but I did not have time to drive it. Also, in Chiangmai, I am afraid we dont have many service centers, compared to BYD ... and its battery life-long insurance .. hmmm

On 4/2/2026 at 7:59 AM, Pib said:

When I got my BYD Atto 3 EV in late 2023 I created a fuel cost spreadsheet over the ensuing months comparing it to my 2009 Toyota Fortuner 3.0L Diesel in various ways. I tried to make this spreadsheet as accurate as possible to compare fuel costs and used/carried most costs/data elements to one or two decimal points (no or very little rounding to the nearest whole number like I've usually talked in earlier posts), using actual/latest diesel and electricity costs, charging losses, etc...etc....etc.

I just updated my spreadsheet to reflect the latest/2 Apr 2026 diesel fuel cost and also the upcoming 1 May 2026 electricity cost increase. Below are few snapshots from my spreadsheet...the last two snapshots probably best show the fuel cost/savings between my EV and ICE vehicles.

Using the latest B7 diesel cost per liter as of 2 Apr 2026 and what my marginal electricity cost per KWH will be come 1 May 2026 with 1.8% electricity price increase.

Fuel Cost Per Kilometer

Fuel Savings Per Kilometer

Annual "Fuel" Savings...I've been driving around 26,000Km per year....look at the fuel savings per year...almost Bt93,000

Well, above comparison has been quickly outdated again by another Bt3.50 rise in diesel fuel cost overnight. Yeap, as of 3 Apr/this morning Diesel B7 fuel increased from Bt44.24 to Bt47.74 per liter. I updated a few of my spreadsheet snapshots to reflect current day costs/savings after the price increase.

I'm now beginning to think I may need to go shoot my Fortuner ICE in the cylinder head pretty soon....at a minimum I will start "ghosting" it when it asks to be taken out for drive.😃

Went to the Motor Show 2026 yesterday (my 2nd visit) since the show opened. I was there for around 2 hours between 12:30pm to 2:30pm looking at vehicles. LOTS of people there....and one of the busiest areas was the Tesla area....people packed shoulder-to-shoulder checking-out Elon's EVs. I kicked the tires of a Model Y....not out of desire to check the tires but out of disgust for Elon....oh well, that's my problem.

After my visit my short list for next of next EV remained the same as either a Zeeker 7X RWD Long Range or Zeeker 7X AWD with the Long Range being preferred since I'm not really a fan of the AWD automatic doors and air suspension. Next on my list is the BYD Sealion 7 AWD but it's a distance 2nd to the two Zeekr models. I'm hoping near year's end...like around Motor Expo December 2026 time that Zeekr may offer some good discounts on their current 7X models in prep of releasing minor change updates of the 7X models. However, the 7X models are currently selling very good so Zeekr may just keep current pricing....time will tell.

https://www.motorist.co.th/en/petrol-prices

As of 3 Apr 2026....yesterday Diesel B7 was Bt44.24.

Updated Fuel Cost per Kilometer between Fortuner ICE and Atto EV

Updated Annual "Fuel" Savings....I've been driving around 26,000km per....look at the fuel savings per year....it's now over Bt100,000 per year. I may have to go shoo my Fortuner in the cylinder head pretty soon...☹️

4 hours ago, khunphil said:

Hi,

Any feedback on your test drive ?
My step daughter choose it as favorite but I did not have time to drive it. Also, in Chiangmai, I am afraid we dont have many service centers, compared to BYD ... and its battery life-long insurance .. hmmm

The Geely EX2 is excellent value for money and drives very nicely.

I was impressed.

11 hours ago, Pib said:

Well, above comparison has been quickly outdated again by another Bt3.50 rise in diesel fuel cost overnight. Yeap, as of 3 Apr/this morning Diesel B7 fuel increased from Bt44.24 to Bt47.74 per liter. I updated a few of my spreadsheet snapshots to reflect current day costs/savings after the price increase.

I'm now beginning to think I may need to go shoot my Fortuner ICE in the cylinder head pretty soon....at a minimum I will start "ghosting" it when it asks to be taken out for drive.😃

Went to the Motor Show 2026 yesterday (my 2nd visit) since the show opened. I was there for around 2 hours between 12:30pm to 2:30pm looking at vehicles. LOTS of people there....and one of the busiest areas was the Tesla area....people packed shoulder-to-shoulder checking-out Elon's EVs. I kicked the tires of a Model Y....not out of desire to check the tires but out of disgust for Elon....oh well, that's my problem.

After my visit my short list for next of next EV remained the same as either a Zeeker 7X RWD Long Range or Zeeker 7X AWD with the Long Range being preferred since I'm not really a fan of the AWD automatic doors and air suspension. Next on my list is the BYD Sealion 7 AWD but it's a distance 2nd to the two Zeekr models. I'm hoping near year's end...like around Motor Expo December 2026 time that Zeekr may offer some good discounts on their current 7X models in prep of releasing minor change updates of the 7X models. However, the 7X models are currently selling very good so Zeekr may just keep current pricing....time will tell.

https://www.motorist.co.th/en/petrol-prices

As of 3 Apr 2026....yesterday Diesel B7 was Bt44.24.

Updated Fuel Cost per Kilometer between Fortuner ICE and Atto EV

Updated Annual "Fuel" Savings....I've been driving around 26,000km per....look at the fuel savings per year....it's now over Bt100,000 per year. I may have to go shoo my Fortuner in the cylinder head pretty soon...☹️

I wouldn't hold my breath for Zeekr to do anything on the official price - they have resisted that for quite a while and are aiming for premium, not volume and price competition. Having said that, Zeekr quietly has added some goodies from when they first launched the 7X, to wit - 4 years/80,000 km free service (parts and labor worth THB 50k), ceramic coating and paint polish/prep with 2 year free follow up application, high quality 5 layer window film, 2nd set of floormats (presumably for their farmer clientele) and naturally insurance, wall charger incl installation etc. - I sense that Zeekr is nurturing a level of panache that BYD on the lower side or Tesla on the upper end simply are not interested in or cant afford, maybe Denza could if they ever expand their model range.

On a side note on Zeekr: It might have been a fluke, but the action at this dealer seemed to have been predominantly on the 009 - the model X just a footnote.

But who knows - by year end so much will probably change, the Zeekr parent Geely might do a 360 (in Baerbock's parlance) and double down doing more of the same.....or something like that?

9 hours ago, mistral53 said:

I wouldn't hold my breath for Zeekr to do anything on the official price - they have resisted that for quite a while and are aiming for premium, not volume and price competition. Having said that, Zeekr quietly has added some goodies from when they first launched the 7X, to wit - 4 years/80,000 km free service (parts and labor worth THB 50k), ceramic coating and paint polish/prep with 2 year free follow up application, high quality 5 layer window film, 2nd set of floormats (presumably for their farmer clientele) and naturally insurance, wall charger incl installation etc. - I sense that Zeekr is nurturing a level of panache that BYD on the lower side or Tesla on the upper end simply are not interested in or cant afford, maybe Denza could if they ever expand their model range.

On a side note on Zeekr: It might have been a fluke, but the action at this dealer seemed to have been predominantly on the 009 - the model X just a footnote.

But who knows - by year end so much will probably change, the Zeekr parent Geely might do a 360 (in Baerbock's parlance) and double down doing more of the same.....or something like that?

Jeez, THB 50k in maintenance costs over 4 years for an EV seems a bit steep!