JuiceBox-facilitated Electrical Installation + Pilot

[egolfinator]

Hi - a few electrical questions for those so inclined...

Has anyone purchased the electrical installation from eMotorWorks/JuiceBox?
The $250 base price (+ materials) seems like a good deal, at least in Marin County.

Anyone thinking that a JuiceBox was the wrong choice, for scheduled/overnight charging on a 2016 SEL?

And for the experts among us, is there a simple way to know the capacity of an electrical panel? Is capacity specific to the panel, or does it also involve a level of service from PGE? (I see nothing on the bill that indicates such)

I ask because I'm thinking I'll want a 40A box, and my panel definitely has physical room for more breakers, but the total amount of power available is unclear.

Lastly, is anyone participating in the OhmConnect program? How's it going?

 

[miimura]

You can judge the panel capacity by the main breaker. There are specific load calculations in the electrical code that specify how to add up all the possible loads from circuits in a panel. I'm not familiar with those details.

The e-Golf is compatible with the JuiceBox, but you have to use the car's timer, not the one in the JuiceBox Pro.

I'm not in the OhmConnect sub-metering pilot, but from what I've heard from others, there are lots of billing issues. The basics of seeing your metered usage online and such work fine.

 

[BarryMW]

I'm in the PEV pilot.

It was off to a slow start and took some pressure to get going and actually on the pilot.
I was only able to get into the pilot with a WattBox. The PROMISED UL listed Juicebox is still a no show.
As is the iPhone app for the Juicebox that was promised months ago, NO SHOW.
PG&E decided to just change my Home rate plan for no reason once I got on the PEV pilot.
I asked PG&E to change it back, and they did, but failed to correct the billing difference between the two plans.
The PG&E website usage graphs are all unavailable now I'm on the pilot. I seem to have no way to audit my bills. The simple counter on my homes smartmeter does not display or allow me to audit TOU information.

Oh I save the good news until last.
After 11pm at night, I get to charge for ~$0.10/KW . . . .. . WooooHoooo

Despite all of these failed promises and issues.
I think the PEV pilot is a good idea. The PG&E EV-B rate is economically unachievable any other way for a home owner. Not to mention impractical due to splitting the PG&E service capacity between two panels.
Charging after 11pm makes great sense for PG&E and the power grid. I like to help.
I like the Juicebox Pro EVSE product. I believe emotor werks just have their fingers in too many pies at the same time.
The emotor werks WattBox was heavily discounted. I am very thankful for this great offer and being on the Pilot with this device.
http://www.ohmconnect.com are the middle man between the WattBox hardware and PG&E billing. They are doing good things and worth a visit.

In summary
It is my hope that the PEV pilot will save a considerable load on the Grid during peak times, such that PG&E will extend it past the predetermined 12 billing periods (1 year) limit per participant.

Barry

 

[egolfinator]

Hi - Thanks for taking the time to respond. Great intel.
I heard from someone else in the IOT/CarTech space who also mentioned that billing/PGE issues are no fun at all.

And since I wrote the post, I heard the pilot is closed to new people. So I signed up for the #OhmHour stuff anyway.
Another way to do my part.

So - on to Juicebox - hopefully I'll choose the right configuration. My goal is to have something that will be good for now and great for the next gen, once my lease is up in 2018. I'll call them and talk it through. Love the idea that its a local company.