Quote:
Originally Posted by Slava
There are options for the EV charger, and it's not as large an issue as some suggest. If you think you'll go this route, Emporia makes a wall charger to which you can add a monitor, which will ensure that you're not overdrawing the electricity. For example, you have a 100A service and want to add a charger. Some people will tell you that you need to upgrade to 200A, which will cost you about $15k. You don't need to do that, with this. You could put a 40A breaker in, and the monitor will track how power the whole house uses, and limit the EV charger to what's available. You could also set a timer and have it charge overnight, when there is no draw, so that you can charge at the full 40A.
I suggest that it is entirely unnecessary. Just charging at 16A is fine; you don't need the absolute fastest charge. You generally charge to 80% anyway, and it depends on how regularly you need to drive, say, 500 km a day. I would suggest that the overall range anxiety and issues like that are way overblown.
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These are good points, but a few things to be aware of. One issue with low amp charging is that it isn't all that efficient. Higher amperage means more percentage going to charging. It gets much worse if you try to do it outside in the winter, as the batteries typically need to be conditioned(warmed or cooled) to accept charge. So you end up with a lot of that power going to heating, not charging.
For a PHEV in a heated garage, I agree, a 20A outlet is totally fine. For a full BEV parked outside? Not gonna be great.