Home Charger Installation

[noobzilla]

I've done some shopping with solar, batter, and EV charger. One local company does batter, charger, and solar but they were priced highest.. almost double than Tesla. Had quote from SunRun and Tesla. Surprised to see that Tesla is significantly cheaper than everything so far.

 

[JerseyStrong]

It was pretty wild to be pretty much the only house on the street that had power; even our external lights were still on because we had plenty of battery left. Only the pool, spa, and garage (so EV chargers) are not backed up.

After Hurricane Sandy we bought a whole house generator. Have not regretted the decision. I want to conserve as much juice as possible in the car until electricity is restored. We were out of power for a week with Sandy.

 

[borski]

After Hurricane Sandy we bought a whole house generator. Have not regretted the decision. I want to conserve as much juice as possible in the car until electricity is restored. We were out of power for a week with Sandy.

Yeah, my parents and family live in NYC (and I grew up there). Sandy *wrecked* their store and home (that they were renting out). Between that and the pandemic, the store closed earlier this year

 

[RGS_AZ]

I have four, but that’s not actually the point. If you don’t have power you can’t talk to the grid to send them power. That connection is severed. If you don’t have battery backup, you also don’t have solar, as excess solar has nowhere to go, so you’re still out of power.

With both batteries and solar, when a blackout occurs, you are effectively “off grid.” As soon as power is restored, you can then contribute back to the grid.

With only solar, if your power goes out, so do your panels.

Good explanation here: https://www.solaria.com/blog/solar-power-outage

The whole "don't have power from the panels" thing is something I wasn't aware of when I first installed solar. I understood it, but didn't really KNOW it was going to apply.
Have learned since. Eventually I may add batteries but where I am in Arizona (not being on APS) we don't have any off peak rates. The rate IS the rate all of the time. But,
we also sell back at the same rate that we buy at for the next 18 years or so when things will change. Right now, I'm not in a rush for battery backup, but will be in time.

 

[JerseyStrong]

Yeah, my parents and family live in NYC (and I grew up there). Sandy *wrecked* their store and home (that they were renting out). Between that and the pandemic, the store closed earlier this year

Small business owners were hit hard. Last year Ida flooded several towns and coastal areas heaping further harm upon them. All the best to your family in the city.

 

[HariK]

There have been a few threads on this; please search the forums for EVSE and “charger.”

Long story short, you’ll be fine with any of Chargepoint, Wallbox Pulsar Plus, JuiceBox, or any others. Lucid’s EVSE is also coming out “soon” and will be able to do 80A continuous charging; the others will do 40A continuous if plugged in, 48A if hardwired, assuming your wiring supports it.

My son had Lucid EVSE with his Grand Touring and we just plugged it into NEMA 50A outlet. It charged at 35 miles per hour about 9KW.

 

[noobzilla]

Just found out that my utility provider doesnt do net metering anymore for solar. I'm still lucky despite the disincentive to go solar as my purchase rate is 2.5x cheaper than PGE. It's flat rate 7c to sell and 11-32c per kwh to buy from them. Im significantly losing value from energy I produce that I don't use unless I have a battery storage. I suppose I can charge my EV during the day.

Based on my calculations it looks like there's no financial incentive for me to go solar. Even their calculators put me at $1000 net savings in 25yrs vs $125k for my friend who has PGE rates.

I wonder if it's a bad idea to use an EV like a battery storage on a daily basis?

 

[thecodingart]

There have been a few threads on this; please search the forums for EVSE and “charger.”

Long story short, you’ll be fine with any of Chargepoint, Wallbox Pulsar Plus, JuiceBox, or any others. Lucid’s EVSE is also coming out “soon” and will be able to do 80A continuous charging; the others will do 40A continuous if plugged in, 48A if hardwired, assuming your wiring supports it.

Does anyone have any hint of when Lucid’s charger is launching anymore? I’ve been patiently waiting for the V2G capability.

 

[gtaker]

My home charger just arrived today, 2 weeks before they said it would be here. Nice job Lucid now I'm just waiting for the VIN and then the car... think positive everyone

 

[Steveinarizona]

My home charger just arrived today, 2 weeks before they said it would be here. Nice job Lucid now I'm just waiting for the VIN and then the car... think positive everyone

Mine (Chargepoint home flex) is being installed on Monday. I walked into the design studio yesterday afternoon and asked them "when are you going to build my $%#$%#$ Pure"? Once the EVSE is installed, it gets real.

BTW, I am replacing a ClipperCreek unit on a 20 amp circuit. Mine was for my BMW 530e PHEV. It would be a good unit for someone with a PHEV. It is also a plug-in unit. I would like to donate the old unit to a needy someone but have no idea where I would do that. Any ideas?

 

[Sandvinsd]

BTW, I am replacing a ClipperCreek unit on a 20 amp circuit. Mine was for my BMW 530e PHEV. It would be a good unit for someone with a PHEV. It is also a plug-in unit. I would like to donate the old unit to a needy someone but have no idea where I would do that. Any ideas?

I have used the Nextdoor App to give away or find freebies that the locals in the community want to get rid of.

 

[Babyrocko1908]

I'm having the EA Homestation installed in about 2 weeks. Anyone here have the updated version? Anything you want to share about your experience with it?

 

[DeaneG]

BTW, I am replacing a ClipperCreek unit on a 20 amp circuit. Mine was for my BMW 530e PHEV. It would be a good unit for someone with a PHEV. It is also a plug-in unit. I would like to donate the old unit to a needy someone but have no idea where I would do that. Any ideas?

Freecycle: Front Door

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buynothingproject.org

 

[getafix]

NEMA 14-50 plug is the best option as it works with all-electric vehicles. If you want reverse charging then installing chargers are a better option.

 

[DeaneG]

NEMA 14-50 plug is the best option as it works with all-electric vehicles. If you want reverse charging then installing chargers are a better option.

Any j1772 charger will work with all electric vehicles.

 

[thecodingart]

NEMA 14-50 plug is the best option as it works with all-electric vehicles. If you want reverse charging then installing chargers are a better option.

Eh, I prefer hardwired over all. It’s not like that somehow looses compatibility with other chargers. It’s fairly consistent and far more capable (also looks nicer).

 

[DeaneG]

Our hardwired Chargepoint Home Flex and Lucid's LHCS:

 

[Tesla2.0]

Our hardwired Chargepoint Home Flex and Lucid's LHCS:
View attachment 7121
View attachment 7122

That means you need 160 amp circuit breakers. Your panel is that big???

 

[DeaneG]

That means you need 160 amp circuit breakers. Your panel is that big???

I have 200 amp service. The EVSE's aren't maxed out - the Chargepoint is on an old 40-amp circuit left over from our Leaf/Soul EV days and is adequate for my wife's XC40 EV. Lucid's EVSE is on an old 60-amp circuit repurposed after our Model 3 experience and is adequate for the Air. We'll see what we need to change when Lucid's V2H solution becomes available. In the meantime, costs were minimal.

 

[Cosmo Cruz]

I just found this: your wire size for home EV charge is way too small

I just looked at my wire. I told the electrician I wanted 100 amp copper to the garage ( ~30 meters) for an 80 amp charger that would be bi-directional. He put in 4 AWG. Now I'm pissed. I should have done the entire job myself. Never trust a pro.