When lower-income households face affordability barriers, it’s not just their problem – it’s the missing link to achieving a full switch to electric vehicles.
I don’t see anyone talking about the significant cost to upgrade homes to allow for charging. I am going to buy a bolt, but I need to save an extra 6k to upgrade my panel, service and have a circuit put in. On top of that, the soonest I can get the work done is 10-12 weeks out.
There is a lot of addressable market that can add chargers inexpensively. But I get that doesn’t mean much to anyone in a 70 year old home with a full panel, all electric appliances, and 2 AWG cable buried in the yard.
To try to save some money, make sure you really need the 40 amp charger circuit and make sure your panel really needs the upgrade. I don’t want to imply that you are getting into $6k of work without thinking very hard, but here’s some thoughts and observations, just in case your electrician didn’t suggest all this.
Tandem breakers can be used to move two single-pole circuits into one breaker slot. Doing this with four circuits can free up space for a double. Also check on how much peak load you are actually pulling, then figure on how many reactive starting loads are realistically going to happen at once (like AC coming on). I have the 40 amp charger circuit, a 50 amp hot tub circuit, a dozen servers pulling ~7 amps all day, and two air conditioners (main 40 amp and garage mini-split 15 amp). My peak 1 minute load is like 59 amps while charging the car. All that said, if you have electric baseboard heat in your home that can be a lot tighter of a squeeze.
I have had the EV for two years and I also find that a 240v 15 amp charger circuit, 12 amp max charge would have been perfectly fine for me. That would allow recovery of about 60 miles overnight, or ~90 miles in a typical commute-to-commute time-span of 14 hours. That’s with a big chonky Nissan Ariya, the Bolt will do better.
Just stop by a fast charger every now and then. Some EVs will already charge like 80% in under 15 minutes. The next few years will see even faster charging. Might not be a need to upgrade.
In the US we have building codes, permits, and inspections. While possible to upgrade the service to your house as a home owner it cannot be done quickly. It would be at least 2+ days with the power out if you can line up the power company and inspector properly.
I am only going to install a 32A charger. I need more service to my house to support it, 100A currently. I need a larger panel as I have no breaker space and I need the new circuit run ~150 ft away.
Please don’t burn down your neighbors house. Less than an hour sounds like you cut corners.
Also, it’s insane to say it’s useless. Do you even know what that word means?
In France we have building codes and permits and inspection. But no permit needed for such a small operation, and you can use your electrical installation while you wait for the inspection (that may never come).
There are 2 devices to install and wire inside the electrical board, how long should that take without cutting corners ?
Also sorry for the choice of word but that’s what I think it is when doing something that goes against you’re best interest.
I don’t see anyone talking about the significant cost to upgrade homes to allow for charging. I am going to buy a bolt, but I need to save an extra 6k to upgrade my panel, service and have a circuit put in. On top of that, the soonest I can get the work done is 10-12 weeks out.
There is a lot of addressable market that can add chargers inexpensively. But I get that doesn’t mean much to anyone in a 70 year old home with a full panel, all electric appliances, and 2 AWG cable buried in the yard.
To try to save some money, make sure you really need the 40 amp charger circuit and make sure your panel really needs the upgrade. I don’t want to imply that you are getting into $6k of work without thinking very hard, but here’s some thoughts and observations, just in case your electrician didn’t suggest all this.
Tandem breakers can be used to move two single-pole circuits into one breaker slot. Doing this with four circuits can free up space for a double. Also check on how much peak load you are actually pulling, then figure on how many reactive starting loads are realistically going to happen at once (like AC coming on). I have the 40 amp charger circuit, a 50 amp hot tub circuit, a dozen servers pulling ~7 amps all day, and two air conditioners (main 40 amp and garage mini-split 15 amp). My peak 1 minute load is like 59 amps while charging the car. All that said, if you have electric baseboard heat in your home that can be a lot tighter of a squeeze.
I have had the EV for two years and I also find that a 240v 15 amp charger circuit, 12 amp max charge would have been perfectly fine for me. That would allow recovery of about 60 miles overnight, or ~90 miles in a typical commute-to-commute time-span of 14 hours. That’s with a big chonky Nissan Ariya, the Bolt will do better.
Just stop by a fast charger every now and then. Some EVs will already charge like 80% in under 15 minutes. The next few years will see even faster charging. Might not be a need to upgrade.
What the hell are you talking about ? I did it myself for 400€ in less than an hour.
Don’t install a super fast charger at home. It’s a) useless and b) not good for your EV’s batteries. Install a 32a charger.
In the US we have building codes, permits, and inspections. While possible to upgrade the service to your house as a home owner it cannot be done quickly. It would be at least 2+ days with the power out if you can line up the power company and inspector properly.
I am only going to install a 32A charger. I need more service to my house to support it, 100A currently. I need a larger panel as I have no breaker space and I need the new circuit run ~150 ft away.
Please don’t burn down your neighbors house. Less than an hour sounds like you cut corners.
Also, it’s insane to say it’s useless. Do you even know what that word means?
In France we have building codes and permits and inspection. But no permit needed for such a small operation, and you can use your electrical installation while you wait for the inspection (that may never come).
There are 2 devices to install and wire inside the electrical board, how long should that take without cutting corners ?
Also sorry for the choice of word but that’s what I think it is when doing something that goes against you’re best interest.