I Need a Charging Dock? What's That?

All of the information provided by Nissan and other EV companies about charging the cars tends to minimize the cost and complexity of setting up your home to become your new EV fueling station.  The advertising tends to say something like "Just plug it in when you get home and the car will charge itself while you sleep, just like your cell phone."  Is that true?  Well, yes, but only after you have at least some work done in your garage.  How much work depends on how your home is set up electrically.

First, Some Education About Charging Levels
As simply put as possible, here are the three charging levels used to charge EVs in the USA.
Level 1: 110 volts.  The regular plugs found throughout our homes.  This is called "trickle charging" and Nissan calls it "emergency charging" because they would rather that we use Level 2.  To charge a Leaf from an empty battery to full using Level 1 takes 18 hours or more!
Level 2: 240 volts.  This is the same type of circuit that is used for electric clothes dryers.  To charge a Leaf using Level 2 takes 6 to 8 hours.
Level 3:  480 volts.  This is almost never used in residences, but is found in public charging stations.  Nissan calls this "quick charging" and a Leaf can be charged from almost empty to 80% full in about 25 minutes.  Frequent use of Level 3 charging, such as more than once per day, can degrade the life of the Leaf's main traction battery prematurely, so it is not recommended.

                                     Nissan/Aerovironment Level 2 EVSE


What do I Plug In, and Where?
The Leaf and other EVs can't use a standard extension cord.  This is because of the high voltages involved.  While folks in Europe routinely use 240 volt power, our protective government doesn't want Americans to take the risk, so they've written a standard that forces us to use expensive connectors.  The standard for Levels 1 and 2 has been agreed upon and it is called a J1772 connector.  This is a special plug that plugs directly into a receptacle on the car and the other end is attached to the power source.  For Level 1, the cord comes with the Leaf as standard equipment and one end does just plug into a 110 volt wall outlet (hopefully a ground fault interrupter (GFCI)) in our garages.  By the way, an EV with a smaller battery, such as the Chevy Volt, can get by with Level 1 charging, so there doesn't really need to be electrical work done in the home.
For Level 2, you have to buy a charging dock called an EVSE (Electric Vehicle Service Equipment).  These charging docks cost from $700 up to $2,000 and above AND most of them must be wired directly ("hard wired") to a 240 volt circuit in your garage or parking space.  This circuit must have a 40 amp circuit breaker in your main electrical power panel.  Depending on how much space and power is available in your home power panel, and whether or not you have an electric dryer or spa or air conditioning that draws a lot of power, you might need to have an entire new electrical panel or sub-panel installed and you might need to have wiring run inside electrical conduit for tens of feet.  Total costs for the upgrade can run from $1,000 to more than $5,000.  There is a federal tax credit that can refund half of the costs if the work is done in 2010, but if you are like us and you must pay Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT), you don't get that credit at all.

Who Installs an EVSE?
A licensed electrician needs to install the new circuit breaker, run the wiring and connect the EVSE to the wires.  Some EV buyers want an EVSE that is portable and can plug in at their friends' homes when they travel.  Some of these plug-in EVSEs may become available soon.  But you'll still need a special connector to attach the EVSE to in your garage.

What About Those Who Live in Condos or Apartments?
These folks will have to work with their property managers to see if it is possible to run the wiring from their power panel, mount the EVSE in their parking area, and ensure that the EV owner is getting charged for the extra electrical power used.  The EVSEs are all weatherized to allow them to be used outdoors.  But that can be a big investment, and if the EV owner is not going to stay in the residence long-term, there is little incentive for the property owner to pay for the upgrade, unless they are very green-minded.

Nissan and Aerovironment
Nissan wanted to make the home charger installation as simple for their new Leaf buyers as possible, so they contracted with a single EVSE manufacturer, a defense contractor called Aerovironment (AV).  AV is building EVSEs marked with Nissan logos and they are subcontracting with local electricians to do the installations.  Customers can order home EVSE assessments on the Nissan web site for $100, and that fee is included as a down payment if and when you pay for your EVSE installation.  Sounds simple and good, eh?

Not really.  Almost everyone I've spoken to or whose comments I've read online is disgusted with the high prices AV is charging.  They have a standard fee of $2,200 for an installation.  That applies whether a home is wired and ready for the EVSE or if the home needs 30 feet of conduit and a new circuit breaker installed.  If further work is needed, the price goes up from there.  In addition, AV's EVSE is very simple and includes no power usage meter or monitoring, and no programming or informatic connection capability.

So people are looking for alternatives.  There are a lot of companies making or planning to make Level 2 EVSEs for home use, but few are available to buy right now, and most are more expensive than AV's $720 list price for the EVSE alone (not installed).

The EV Project
Some lucky Leaf buyers in places like San Diego, Los Angeles, Washington State and Arizona have been accepted into a government funded program called "The EV Project".  They will receive free home EVSEs AND they will get the Level 3 charging capability on their Leafs for free, normally a $700 upgrade option on the car purchase price.

So Here's What I'm Doing
I had my AV home assessment done for the $100 fee and the charges come to $2,636 to install the new circuit breaker and run 60 feet of wire and conduit and to install the EVSE, complete.  I had two independent electricians give me bids on the installation part, and AV's price compared well with those two bids.  So I'm set, right?

Well, no.  My 100 amp home electrical panel is physically full of circuit breakers, partly due to my solar panel system's breakers.  So I need either a sub-panel added or a complete main panel upgrade, which will cost at least $2,000, and that's a low price for that upgrade.  AV gave me an updated EVSE quote, and it is currently open-ended, leaving them the option of re-quoting me for a panel upgrade at an as-yet unknown price.

So I need to push AV to make my quote more definite, or I need to find an alternative EVSE, and I'll probably need to have the panel upgraded.  I'm looking at spending at least $4,500 for my home charging solution.

That kind of expense really eats into a person's gasoline savings.  Hence my comment on a previous post that the potential savings in gas costs for an EV can really be offset by other costs.  The good part of having the electrical upgrades done is that they should last for years.  But if a family is planning to move any time soon, that cost is an even bigger consideration.

Next Blog Post:  Electrical Charging Costs and Special Utility Time of Use Programs