Charger FAQ/Explanation

[Sandvinsd]

That does seem high, but depends on the area and mostly how far one is away from the electrical panel. That size of wiring will cost a lot to go any length. I would always get multiple quotes.

Others have asked why 100 amps. Yes, it is true that one doesn’t need that speed to charge overnight, but it does future proof and if you are going to spend money putting a circuit in, I would put in the 100 amps, and go with the Lucid Home Charger. We have a 50 amp, NEMA 14-50 plug for a ChargePoint charger, but that powers the Leaf. We put in the Lucid Home charger and it has been nice to quickly add some miles when needed by drawing 80 amps, but I do admit that it is overkill for overnight as the whole charging run can be complete in 1-2 hours.

 

[Tesla2.0]

Does this look suspiciously high?4.5k to install a charger? I've seen much lower quotes for Qmerit or is this the price to install the 100AMP charger?

View attachment 10580

For your reference, mine was also QMerit assigned contractor. $2200 work for my area of Houston, Texas. My circuit breakers panel was 200amp, no more open slot, electrician has to merge 4 other breakers to put in 60amp breaker and extend about 30 feet hardwire to install my 48amp WallBox. 1 month later, Lucid introduced their 80amp charger. But I am very happy with WallBox for now. I can get most of my charging done under 5 hours. I don’t see the need to go under 3 hours.

Initially, I thought bi-directional charge is a very cool idea. But then think further further, do I really want to use EV as power source for the house? So if I unplug the car to go do grocery, my house go black out? I just think practical application is limited.

 

[Negan1000]

Does this look suspiciously high?4.5k to install a charger? I've seen much lower quotes for Qmerit or is this the price to install the 100AMP charger?

View attachment 10580

This appears to be high if the distance from your panel to the charger is less than 40'. I would get a couple of quotes. Also you want the electrician to meet with the inspector. It will costs more but you don't want to be in the middle if the inspector finds an issue that needs to be fixed.

 

[pjdcorp]

Does this look suspiciously high?4.5k to install a charger? I've seen much lower quotes for Qmerit or is this the price to install the 100AMP charger?

View attachment 10580

For what it's worth, I have a 200amp panel & Qmerit wanted $4.5 to install a 100amp line, run about 8 feet from my panel, for my Lucid charger. Another electrician I found charged me $1,600 all in, including permits. I'm in Delaware near Lewes, probably a less expensive area than Houston & some others. Hope this helps.

 

[openball]

For what it's worth, I have a 200amp panel & Qmerit wanted $4.5 to install a 100amp line, run about 8 feet from my panel, for my Lucid charger. Another electrician I found charged me $1,600 all in, including permits. I'm in Delaware near Lewes, probably a less expensive area than Houston & some others. Hope this helps.

This QMerit charges are crazy! I've found an Electrical company that gave a guestimate of $400-$1250 for everything including permits, they will come next week for onsite visit. I've also heard of Qmerit charging some people as little as $800. btw Lewes is a nice city, so maybe they bill based on that?

 

[MorganB]

I paid 650$ for install . I had space in my panel so I needed the 100 amp breaker and a short wiring run. Maybe 5 feet. I'm in TX.

 

[pjdcorp]

This QMerit charges are crazy! I've found an Electrical company that gave a guestimate of $400-$1250 for everything including permits, they will come next week for onsite visit. I've also heard of Qmerit charging some people as little as $800. btw Lewes is a nice city, so maybe they bill based on that?

Hope springs eternal

 

[Cosmo Cruz]

Not sure if this has been asked/answered as I couldn't find it, but....

We can set the charge limit(say, to 80%) and the charging stops there. But what if 8 hours later it drops to 79%...will it start charging again?

Is there a way to set a lower threshold, like say 60%? So it charges up to 80% then lays dormant until it drops down to 60% and then charges back to 80%.

Currently, no. Also, when it reaches the charge limit, even if the car drops, it will not charge again unless you "wake" the car again and it realizes it's lower than expected.

I thought I read leave it plugged-in and the car will charge as needed to condition and keep the battery healthy? So if it only does this when the car is "woke" then no point in leaving it plugged in when at preset limit ?

Lucid Owner's Manual p. 151

"When temperatures are below 41°F (5°C) and you are not driving your car, connect to a charging cable."

I can expect this any time or all the time between October and May.


I'm trying to find out if I'm stupid. I have a LCHCS (Betty Boop) but I don't use it because there is a reliable EV charger very close on a route I use often. It is extremely convenient because it's always open, right off the Turnpike, the Blue Route, and the SureKill Distressway, and it's only 5 mi. from home. So I go there when I'm below 30% or so and charge on the 150kW port to 79%, then go home and park in the (cold) garage. Now I'm reading I should avoid DC fast charging, and leave the car plugged-in at home, with the ideal healthy SOC about 50%.
Because the EV charging is "free", I'm tempted to use it as my "home charger". I use my Lucid as my errend driver = all of my trips are local ~ to grocery store, hardware store, etc. I do not drive every day. Once a week I do a round-trip to the city ~ 50 mi. I would rather use an electric bike which would work for the vast majority of my trips, but everyone in a car seems to be on their phones all the time = way to dangerous. I just gave away a $3000 road bicycle because I dare not ride in on/near public roads.

Should I only use EA when I'm on a trip?
Should I reset my charging limit to 60% or 50% since I don't have anywhere to go anyway?

Am I being stupid just because EA is free ?


CleanTechnia
Driving Electric
Battery University
EV Car Tips
Driving Electric
Plug, in America
Green Car Reports
Autovolt
ClipperCreek (see #7)

{ I'm going to post this now even though I have not finished my research .... might get back to it later but right now I saw something on p11 here that I needs a response not related to above.}

 

[Cosmo Cruz]

You weren't wrong at all. When a non-electrical person says 100 A wire, he/she means the load needs 100 A CB -- a 100 A circuit. (There's no such thing as a xxx A wire

thank you

To be NEC compliant for your present installation, you'd need to replace the CB to 90 A (given max 30°C ambient) and set the dip switches to 72 A or less.

OK to be clear:
the breaker on the house main panel for the garage sub-panel is 100 amp. / 40 C
Then ~ 75 feet of copper AWG 4 to garage sub-panel with one
90 amp breaker: "awg 6-4; 75 degrees C "
I took the cover off the LCHCS to check the dip switches are set to 72 amps.

As not to use the next size up CB, I'd replace the CB to 80 A (given max 30°C ambient) and the dip switch to 64 A or less -- I'd do this if it were my house. This way you'd not promote long term meltdown at the lugs of the CB or charger or for the very worst causing a fire.

Hummm. Well I don't really need max amp circuit now that I see how unlikely I'll be using the Lucid battery as emergency back-up
{ given how it's just as likely to happen during my lifetime as "car play"}.
Still not clear what you pros are saying. EILI5 ? (Explain It Like I'm Five).

So far I have gleened this:
Main panel 100 amp / 40 C breaker is ??? (OK or not?? unclear );
wire from main panel ( ~75 ft. copper AWG 4) to garage sub-panel needs conduit;
breaker in garage sub-panel to 80 amp; (currently 90 amp / 75 C )
set LCHCS dip switches to 64 amp or fewer.

I probably should just remove sub-panel entirely and hard-wire directly to LCHCS as was my orginal intent.
After reading here this is likely my path going forward. I thought I was going to "future-proof" but that ended with me not being informed enough to explain clearly, in technospeak, what I required from the electrician who bid the job. I guess I am stupid, and that's on me.

Thanks to everyone for discussing this. What a great website Lucid Owners be.

 

[hydbob]

I thought I read leave it plugged-in and the car will charge as needed to condition and keep the battery healthy? So if it only does this when the car is "woke" then no point in leaving it plugged in when at preset limit ?

Lucid Owner's Manual p. 151

"When temperatures are below 41°F (5°C) and you are not driving your car, connect to a charging cable."

I can expect this any time or all the time between October and May.


I'm trying to find out if I'm stupid. I have a LCHCS (Betty Boop) but I don't use it because there is a reliable EV charger very close on a route I use often. It is extremely convenient because it's always open, right off the Turnpike, the Blue Route, and the SureKill Distressway, and it's only 5 mi. from home. So I go there when I'm below 30% or so and charge on the 150kW port to 79%, then go home and park in the (cold) garage. Now I'm reading I should avoid DC fast charging, and leave the car plugged-in at home, with the ideal healthy SOC about 50%.
Because the EV charging is "free", I'm tempted to use it as my "home charger". I use my Lucid as my errend driver = all of my trips are local ~ to grocery store, hardware store, etc. I do not drive every day. Once a week I do a round-trip to the city ~ 50 mi. I would rather use an electric bike which would work for the vast majority of my trips, but everyone in a car seems to be on their phones all the time = way to dangerous. I just gave away a $3000 road bicycle because I dare not ride in on/near public roads.

Should I only use EA when I'm on a trip?
Should I reset my charging limit to 60% or 50% since I don't have anywhere to go anyway?

Am I being stupid just because EA is free ?


CleanTechnia
Driving Electric
Battery University
EV Car Tips
Driving Electric
Plug, in America
Green Car Reports
Autovolt
ClipperCreek (see #7)

{ I'm going to post this now even though I have not finished my research .... might get back to it later but right now I saw something on p11 here that I needs a response not related to above.}

It probably does, so I retract my statement as I don't have first hand knowledge of it needing to do that. My garage doesn't get cold enough I suppose.

 

[Cosmo Cruz]

Correction to prior posts. Looks like reading the owners manual would have saved me the trouble:

Lucid Owner's Manual (digital) Battery Pack and Charging pp 146 - 151
(reading the whole section is necessary, but here are the important bits

"Battery pack life and performance are greatly improved by maintaining a healthy state of charge (generally between 40% and 80%). "

"CAUTION: Avoid exposing your vehicle to ambient temperatures above 113°F (45°C) or below -4°F (-20°C) for more than 24 hours at a time. "

"The most effective way to prolong the battery (when not driving) is to leave it plugged into a charging source. Setting the charge level to "Daily" usage helps preserve battery health."

"CAUTION: Charging beyond the recommended level too often can cause battery pack degradation."

ALL OF PAGE 151:

"Follow these guidelines for setting the charge limit:

For the fastest possible charge rate (miles/minute), set the slider as low as practically possible for the intended use of the vehicle.
For general use, set the slider to "Daily" or 50% - 80%. This setting best preserves the battery pack life. -
For more range, set the slider beyond "Daily" and up to "Distance." "Distance" allows a full charge.
When charging beyond the "Daily" setting, you may notice changes in reduced regenerative braking and charging speeds.
This functionality gradually returns as the car is driven. "


{apologies to those who have previously posted this info, or if there is a FAQ on this that I haven't seen as yet.}

found it: FAQ Charging

 

[openball]

Does this look suspiciously high?4.5k to install a charger? I've seen much lower quotes for Qmerit or is this the price to install the 100AMP charger?

View attachment 10580

Second quote (non Qmerit) is a lot better. Still waiting on two others (another from Qmerit and non Qmerit), although I'm tending towards this one.
And I opted for the 100amp mainly because its available... probably some future proofing too, if I eventually have to share one charger with two cars.

 

[HariK]

Second quote (non Qmerit) is a lot better. Still waiting on two others (another from Qmerit and non Qmerit), although I'm tending towards this one.
And I opted for the 100amp mainly because its available... probably some future proofing too, if I eventually have to share one charger with two cars.
View attachment 10779

Your quote seems reasonable.

 

[SaratogaLefty]

Second quote (non Qmerit) is a lot better. Still waiting on two others (another from Qmerit and non Qmerit), although I'm tending towards this one.
And I opted for the 100amp mainly because its available... probably some future proofing too, if I eventually have to share one charger with two cars.
View attachment 10779

My invoice for installing my Lucid Connected Home Charging Station was $2090 and that included $650 for city permit. I paid just over $1300 for the LCHCS from Lucid, so my total was around $3400. Fortunately that qualified me for the tax credit rebate of $1000 so my out of pocket cost was $2400. Not sure how much more I will have to pay to retrofit the system once the bi-directional capability becomes available, but I suspect the overall cost will be significantly less than adding a generator or battery backups.

 

[openball]

My invoice for installing my Lucid Connected Home Charging Station was $2090 and that included $650 for city permit. I paid just over $1300 for the LCHCS from Lucid, so my total was around $3400. Fortunately that qualified me for the tax credit rebate of $1000 so my out of pocket cost was $2400. Not sure how much more I will have to pay to retrofit the system once the bi-directional capability becomes available, but I suspect the overall cost will be significantly less than adding a generator or battery backups.

Great! I feel a lot better with this pricing.
Since I already have a line for my generator in the garage. My hope is that I can use the same line/setup, I don't mind the manual change over I have to do. It could be as easy as plugging the car to the generator input and flipping a soft switch in the car.

 

[openball]

Received the second QMerit quote at $1305 but maximum they can do is 60amps.
I will confirm what the cost implications will be to step up to 100amps... I may have to return the Lucid charger and go with a 60amp.
Thanks to the people here who recommended getting multiple quotes.... hoping my last quote will be half of this... since every quote has reduced by 50%

Does this look suspiciously high?4.5k to install a charger? I've seen much lower quotes for Qmerit or is this the price to install the 100AMP charger?

View attachment 10580

Second quote (non Qmerit) is a lot better. Still waiting on two others (another from Qmerit and non Qmerit), although I'm tending towards this one.
And I opted for the 100amp mainly because its available... probably some future proofing too, if I eventually have to share one charger with two cars.
View attachment 10779

 

[Tesla2.0]

Received the second QMerit quote at $1305 but maximum they can do is 60amps.
I will confirm what the cost implications will be to step up to 100amps... I may have to return the Lucid charger and go with a 60amp.
Thanks to the people here who recommended getting multiple quotes.... hoping my last quote will be half of this... since every quote has reduced by 50%

View attachment 10818

1305 for 60amp seems good deal, at least better than my 2200 at 60amp.

 

[openball]

1305 for 60amp seems good deal, at least better than my 2200 at 60amp.

I finally did this for $875 for 60amps. From a reputable company - It pays to get multiple quotes

 

[nfsdragster]

I had a 14-50 installed with about 60’ feet of wire for $315 and a bottle of Tito’s.

I am planning on getting the 14-50 installed. We need about 50 feet of wire or lesser. Where did you buy the wire ?

Would a 50. Amp breaker be good or 60 be better ?

 

[emoylv]

I am planning on getting the 14-50 installed. We need about 50 feet of wire or lesser. Where did you buy the wire ?

Would a 50. Amp breaker be good or 60 be better ?

Per NEC, 50A breaker is the largest that you can use. Maximum current is 80% of that (40A). That’s why the Lucid charger is rated for 40A max.