Level 2 home charging experiences

[cove3]

This topic is for owner experiences in installing level 2 charging in their garage. Bosch is the official VW partner, but you can use any oem wall unit and electrician you want. My dealer said 800-1500.

It would be helpful for posters to indicate the price for the install, pros/cons of going with Bosch vs searching out oem equipment and an electrician to install it. Obviously the Bosch package would be the easiest, but whether it's cost effective is the issue.

Ron

 

[klusters]

Any L2 unit should work but you should check with the manufacturer of the EVSE to confirm.

For instance I know that the Rav4 EV had some issues with certain EVSE's. If you want the maximum benefit of the L2 then you may want to opt for a 30amp unit. The onboard charger of the eGolf is rated @ ~7.2 kW which means it can take a current of up to 30 amp at 2230/240V to charge the car in the shortest amount of time. If price is an issue take a look at the products from JuiceBox - reviewed and discussed on the Leaf forum.

 

[Rachel]

If you want the maximum benefit of the L2 then you may want to opt for a 30amp unit. The onboard charger of the eGolf is rated @ ~7.2 kW which means it can take a current of up to 30 amp at 2230/240V to charge the car in the shortest amount of time. If price is an issue take a look at the products from JuiceBox - reviewed and discussed on the Leaf forum.

Klusters, although most people with homes (especially those built more than a few year ago) will only have availably for a 30A circuit, to take full advantage of the fastest charging rate you can get with the e-Golf, a less common 40A circuit would be used. A 30A circuit is rated at a maximum load of 30A, but only a sustained load of 24A, whereas a 40A circuit would allow 32A of actual sustained current to the car (which is what the e-Golf can take, assuming ideal circumstances).

Assuming most people considering or owning an electric car are also likely to adopt new technology in the future (longer range cars, faster charging, etc.), ideally an investment of several hundred to over a thousand dollars would cover such an eventuality. I would agree with Klusters and strongly consider at least researching a JuiceBox or openEVSE or a commercial product that is rated at 50A - 60A to "future-proof" your experience. I don't have anything to do with the group that makes JuiceBox (but it's my top choice at the moment), but I know that they are producing 60A rated EVSE's at a very good price and both products they offer allow you to select the maximum current of the circuit you have installed. For instance, while the product is rated at 60A, you can select a lower current if you only have a 30, 40 or 50A circuit available to you, so that you don't blow breakers or start a fire. Also, they have a good selection of adaptors for plugging into NEMA outlets of different types/ratings, such as dryer outlets ("new" and "old") or 50A "RV" style (good for charges on the road at RV parks without dedicated EVSE's), and several others. Also, having a unit that isn't "hard-wired" into the home allows portability, either on the road, or if you move, leaving only the NEMA outlet for the next person, and not an expensive EVSE.

My 2 pennies...

-Rachel

 

[in2insight]

The quote we got from the Bosch electrician was more than double of what our local electrician ended up charging us, including the Siemens charger (plug in vs. the hardwired Bosch)
We did need to upgrade the panel, and that was included in the total ($1500 paid vs. $3200 from Bosch)

The Siemens is a 30A, and while not future proof by any means, it will do nicely for now.

 

[GetOffYourGas]

I paid about $650, installed, for my 15A Voltec unit. But I did the labor myself and already had a 20A circuit to the garage.

Has anybody tried the eGolf with the 240V Voltec unit, made by SPX? I know the eGolf can take 32A, but I'm wondering whether it properly taper back for this unit. The spec says it should, of course, but many of these early EVs are notoriously incompatible with these early EVSEs.

Regarding "future proofing", the way I see it, even if I get a long-range EV my driving patterns are not going to change. I will still be able to do my Monday-Friday driving on Level 1 (120V) charging. When I drive out of town, I will need quick chargers along the way anyway, so faster than the 3.6kW I have at home still won't be a necessity. I think this is a matter of understanding how you actually use the car, and not just getting a large enough EVSE to charge your current car in X hours. This is all part of the education that will come gradually as more and more people actually live with EVs.

 

[klusters]

Hi Rachel , you are correct an EVSE rated at 30 Amps would need connect to a 40 amp circuit and similarly a 50 amp unit would require a 60 amp circuit. I doubt that many people have a nema 20-50 outlet hanging out in their garage. So most, including myself have relied on an electrician to determine the correct wiring to the charging station. They would see how much your panel can handle. Some easy fixes on full panel are switching single breakers to double breakers to free up space and converting an electric clothes dryer to natural gas to free up the amps on an older home.

If you notice the range on these cars has not changed since they started rolling them out. The Leaf, FFE, Fiat, VW, Kia, BMW Mercedes all have about the same range of more or less 100 miles under ideal conditions. One would think that an incremental increase in battery size/range would be a normal part of the evolution of these cars. This has not been the case. Reason being is that currently they meet the maximum CARB credits required of major manufacturers selling in CA under their current format. There is little to no incentive to up their range on cars that in most cases represent a significant loss off money for them. Future-proofing your charging needs with a 50 amp EVSE may not reap any benefits for quite a while. In fact the recent push for hydrogen power is a sad reflection of manufacturers trying to game the system. Hydrogen cars have a faster refueling time and lead to about 3 times the CARB credit value vs a standard EV. One would hope that the public demand for electric would convince car companies to invest in and produce EVs but the odds are against them.

We have a Leaf and a Ford Focus Electric. When our Golf comes in I will try to post a video comparing the 3 cars.

 

[cove3]

I learned yesterday that the government just extended the 30% $1000 max credit for installing a Level 2 charger through 12/31/2014. So I'm having my electrician install something by year end. In researching out JuiceBox and Clipper Creek units, I've concluded the following:

1. A plug in vs hard wired is an advantage in that you can take it with you if you move. However, hard wired is simply disconnecting a few wires and unscrewing the box, so plug in isn't worth the extra money
.
2. A 25' cable is a big advantage, since the e-golf charger is at the end of the car. With a car length of 13' to the charger + 2' for parking outside the garage door, you need the extra 10' to get to the wall box. It seems 20' wouldn't cut it if you intend any outside the garage charging

3. Delayed charging, that is, plug the car in at 5pm, but set a timer so charging starts at midnight to 5AM when rates are low. This appears settable in e-manager which can be set from either the e-golf touch screen or via Car-Net and a smart phone phone. Therefore, you don't need to pay for a wall box that has this function built in. However, to take advantage of this, you need a new electric meter installed which measures time of use and unless you can shift a lot of electric use to midnight to 8am, the extra $20 basic charge plus higher peak rates than the average rate you currently pay for normal daily use make it appear you will wind up with a higher electric bill.

4. These appear to not be UL certified but rather ETL, cETL. My city had very tough codes, so I don't know what implies

Net: The Juice Box basic or $756 premium with delayed charging is plug in but only comes with a 20' cable. This rules it out
The Clipper Creek hsc 40 hard wired at $590 comes with a 25' cable and I'm inclined to go with that pending finding out about the UL issue.

Anyone with experience with these Level 2 charging issues.....25' cable length, plug in vs hardwired, and delayed charging?

Ron

 

[Billc]

Took delivery of our EGolf a week ago. Our Schneider EV Link wall charger reports a "fault" (red light turns on) every time eGolf approaches full charge. (Between 65 & 75 mile range) this charger works normally on our other EV and worked ok for 3 years on a GM Volt we leased. Otherwise EGolf performs really well, but having to reset charger at electric panel every time we charge the car is a headache. Anyone else having this problem?

 

[DR61]

I have the Leviton EVB40 with a 25' cable, wall plug, and 40 amp capacity. It has worked really well for the past year with our Ford C-Max Energi. We got the 40 amp for future EV's. They also have a 30 amp model. We are considering the eGolf to replace our other ICE vehicle.

 

[in2insight]

I learned yesterday that the government just extended the 30% $1000 max credit for installing a Level 2 charger through 12/31/2014.

Ron, where did you see this? As far as I can tell, they ended on 12/31/2013 and were not extended.
Please share.

 

[cove3]

http://www.greencarreports.com/

It's the end of another Congressional session, which means that a budget extension bill has now been rushed through and is likely to be signed.

Called The Tax Increase Prevention Act of 2014 (H.R. 5771), it contains special provisions, rule tweaks, and concessions for many, many, many different constituencies.

It extends more than 50 provisions of the tax code that expired at the end of 2013 or this year--and there's good news for green-car advocates buried in the fine print.
Congress has now extended the tax credit for installation of electric-car charging stations through the end of 2014. (A charging station is technically known as Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment, or EVSE.)

Individuals can deduct 30 percent of the cost of purchasing and installing an EVSE up to $1,000, according to Jay Friendland, Plug-In America's senior policy adviser.

 

[JoulesThief]

Has this been extended through 2015?

 

[RonDawg]

Has this been extended through 2015?

Into 2016 actually.

http://www.myvwegolf.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=691