Something to consider:
Everyone knows about the US tax incentives for buying an EV, but less considered is the incentives for buying an EV charger.
The incentives come in the form of a tax credit, up to the maximum of $7,500/$4,000 or how much you owe in taxes (pre withholdings and the like) whichever is lower. The charger credit is up to $1,000.
So, if your taxes are, say, $3,000, then it doesn’t matter if you bought a new or used EV, you’re only getting $3,000 off your taxes, and your charger credit is effectively worthless.
Consider, if practical, buying your EV towards the end of the tax year, and your charger at the beginning of the next one. You’ll minimize the inconvenience of being locked to level 1 charging speeds, while maximizing your tax credits.
Obviously, if you need a level 2 charger you shouldn’t self sabotage and should just buy one. But if you’re counting your pennies, and think you can get by with level 1 for that window, then it’s something to keep in mind.
Where I live the charger comes with a discount coupon through the power company of $500-$1000. You can even buy certain models right from their site.
A large amount of people in North America can suffice on a level 1 charger anyway. It charges more than the average commute.
If you do a ton of errands and have to drive the kids around as much as the average commute after work as well then it won’t, but there’s buffer for some errands in there.
If you start falling behind you’ll make it up on the weekend unless you’re going on a trip. You do need to make sure you’re topped up enough if you’re coming home from a trip though, so having a level 2 nearby may be important.
A level 2 charger is more efficient though so over time it’d cost less. But I don’t think you’ll make up the difference for many years.
Also modern 120v nema 5-15 outlets actually have wiring to the breaker box capable of a nema 5-20 outlet. That extra 5 amps makes it even easier to manage and is a super cheap upgrade IF you’re wired for it
This is the math people should look at instead of using an emotional reaction saying “EVs don’t work”
The 2023 average USA Ev range is 291 miles. The average USA commute distance is 41 miles round trip. Right there, the average EV will make 7 average work commutes before needing a full charge. As you said, the weekend is a likely place to make up a deficit.
But what if you also do a trip on the weekend? Forbes has some aggregated stats we can use. As of 2021, 91% of US households had a car. 59% had more than one car. I would expect the single-car households are more central to cities which pair with shorter car commutes and a higher rate of non-car commutes. The 5 lowest metro area ownership rates span the metro areas from Boston to Philly. In all likelihood, swapping one car for an EV per household would go completely unnoticed - it’d never stop someone from reaching their destination.
Common arguments:
“I buy mulch at home depot” [once a year]
“I might do a road trip” [forgetting how boring it was to drive 6+ hours at a time 7 years ago]
“this is my vehicls, not hers” [yelled from a offroad rig that hops a curb in traffic]
“most of America is desolate” [95% of Americans live within 100 miles of a border, a fun Border Patrol jurisdiction loophole]Also modern 120v nema 5-15 outlets actually have wiring to the breaker box capable of a nema 5-20 outlet. That extra 5 amps makes it even easier to manage and is a super cheap upgrade IF you’re wired for it
No, this isn’t likely true and can be dangerous advice. Even if it’s on a 20a circuit, which I don’t think is a requirement yet, you can’t just swap the outlet if it’s a shared circuit
Its not a requirement, but it’s pretty common on anything in the past couple decades for the wires to be capable (maybe not a 20a breaker switch)
Not sure about the shared circuit part, but yes, don’t just swap it, do the proper research, but for many people it is just as easy as swapping the outlet.
I want to preface by saying I absolutely agree with everything you’ve said. My personal commute is like ~20 miles round trip, which is more than capable of being covered by a level 1 charger. But I wasn’t aware of that 5-20 bit of trivia. I’m going to have to look into that for myself. (Thanks!)
Though, there are two things I’d like to add: Under the normal commute situation, there are scenarios I can think of where a level 2 charger might still be a good investment.
If your battery capacity is good, in practice, you would hardly notice when you have a day or two of heavy driving. Sure it may take an extra day or so to reach full or so, but it won’t impact your ability to get things done when things soon revert to normal.
On the other hand, if your battery is something that probably belongs more in a hybrid than it does in an EV, then said car will probably be less forgiving of back-to-back heavy usage. (I was originally looking at a Nisan Leaf since there were good deals for them used, but then I saw that the non-“+” trims had garbage capacity. And then I understood why they were so common as used.)
The other scenario is your power company. They may provide incentives for restricting your charging to certain hours by using an approved Level 2 charger, which when combined with the federal incentive, drastically cuts down the time it takes to break even and then come out ahead.
Ya that’s a really good point about the time of day charging incentives. That can add up a lot quicker if you have access to it. When you’re on level 1 you don’t have the luxury of choosing when to charge unless it’s a really short commute.
Worth knowing: Many OEM level 1 chargers will work at level 2 (up to 208V/240V, 8-12A). Do your research, your milage may vary.
The price difference of charging at home verses paid chargers very quickly covers the cost of a charger, even without the tax credit.
Go for the highest amperage level 2 charger you can reasonably install. For example, even if the car is limited to 7.8kW, the 9.6kW chargers are only a little more expensive and may work out better for your next EV.
If anyone knows of a level 1 or level 2 charger that can output 6A (lowest in the spec) let me know. That would be convenient for solar.
I have the Emporia L2 charger and it’s been working perfectly charging at 48A 11.4kW.
I just checked the settings in the app and you can manually dial it all the way down to 6A.
It also has automated rates that integrate with load sensors, but I haven’t explored that yet since I’m on flat ToU and full NEM.
It’s also the cheapest UL rated unit by a long shot last I looked.
In case you have other emporia stuff, be aware there has been at least one recall. I think just smart-plugs.
The oem L1 charger that came with my ioniq 5 can be dialed back to 6amps.
6 amps? Would that even be worth it?
When my bolt trickle charger drops to 8 amps I get quite annoyed!
I just plugged some numbers into this website. Assuming a Bolt at 20% to 80%, it would take 3 days to charge. As opposed to about 2 with 8 amps.
But if you’re charging exclusively with solar, and assuming 12 hours of sunlight, it would take 6 days.
I think having a way to charge the car off solar panels is going go become part of everyone’s normal emergency kit in the future.
They keep getting cheaper, portable battery generators are getting cheaper and people are buying them to take camping or keep a fridge going for a short period. It’s like the step between now, and everyone having a grid connected solar/home battery.
But with a couple portable solar panels and a portable battery, you’ll be able to slowly power your car in an emergency. Might be slow, but it’s better than no gas at all.
I didn’t want to go into too much detail since it’s tangential to EVs, but I have an off-the-grid solar system and have found in the spring and fall, with no A/C on, it would be nice to dump some excess into the car, but at 240V.
This was all before I signed up for a “free weekend” plan, so the EV charges for <5¢/kWh. I’m still learning how to balance all the variables.
So there are dual-voltage EV chargers, notably the Chevy bolt charger and Tesla charger (I think). You need adapters for them though.
I think Clipper Creek might make one as well, but not sure.
Edit - found this, would work. https://store.evsolutions.com/mobile/webasto-go---dual-voltage-portable-cordset-p124.aspx
Or an Amazing-E lower amp 240v L2 charger: https://enphase.com/store/ev-chargers/clippercreek-ev-chargers/amazinge-ev-charger-nema-14-30-plug-16
Didn’t realize you could get up to 30% rebate on the charger and installation.
