evse recommendations?

[F14Scott]

I am not so keen about these "demand management" programs. They seem akin to me to giving a utility / local government authority to set your home's thermostat from afar, but in some ways could be even more impactful, in that for residents who have only an EV for transportation could be remotely denied power to charge up their sole means of transportation.

Personally, I think this is a slippery slope and will keep control over my own thermostat and EV charger, thank you very much. IMHO, utilities and state & local governments should focus on pricing & other policies that promote adequate generation & distribution to meet demand, not on artificial means to throttle / control demand. (The cost of power every month gives me all the incentive I need to manage my own power consumption conservatively.)

Here in Texas, where we have had some real grid reliability & capacity challenges of late, some people who happily gave up control over their "smart" home thermostats to enable remote demand control by utilities in exchange for a lower power rate screamed like stuck pigs when the utility actually began controlling home thermostats remotely, claiming they didn't know what they were doing in accepting lower power rates & "free, smart" thermostats.

In short, I am not sure what the "right" set of policies ought to be to balance these factors, but I am pretty sure that remote "demand management" should not be one of them.

Agree wholeheartedly. "Oh, you can't manage your one grid? Then. By all means, take charge of my and thousands of other very different households."

 

[Texas22Step]

Whenever my MINI actually gets finished and delivered (not holding my breath - I would have passed out by now). I will simply use the Porsche Mobile Charger Plus EVSE that came with my Taycan. I realize this is a very niche choice. Lol.

Due to a maxed out internal main house panel (actually right beside the NEMA 14-30R I installed) and almost maxed out main disconnect, I had to go the path of least resistance and add a 30A circuit to the dedicated 100A line for my AC units (the AC are 30A and 40A -- don't worry I verified the AC stated max loads and measured the normal active loads). It works like a charm for the Taycan at around 5.2 kW intake to the vehicle. The Taycan does not need to be charged very often so no issues "sharing" the charge one at a time.

The MINI will be charged nightly and at 24A (80% of 30A) it will be brisk top off.

Making use of your dedicated a/c circuit is a great idea, but anyone doing that should be aware of the very high surge loads that a/c compressors sometimes require to get started and could cause you a problem if you are charging your EV at the same time as a/c units are trying to start up. I know you stated that you "verified the AC stated max loads," but depending on the size of the units the surge could exceed 75A. I needed to reduce the compressor surge significantly in order to start and run another appliance on my home electrical system and was forced to install a "soft-start" device on the larger a/c compressor unit to dramatically reduce the a/c surge at start-up (see for example https://www.microair.net/products/easystart-368-6-ton-soft-start-motor-starter-for-115-and-230v-ac-motors?variant=29181662283), which has worked beautifully for my purposes. FYI.

 

[F14Scott]

Which Tesla adapter are you using? I've noticed a few on Amazon say they are incompatible with a BMW i3 so I imagine they might not work with an SE either.

Lectron - Tesla to J1772 Adapter, Max 40A & 250V - Compatible with Tesla High Powered Connector, Destination Charger, and Mobile Connector (White) https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B07V7V2...abc_7A9STZYQ1TG85MMJF423?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

Mine has worked 100% for a year on Jessie, using both a wall-mounted Tesla Gen 2 connector and the plug-in Tesla portable connector. Others on this site have reported similar successes.

 

[Texas22Step]

Demand management has been used on water heaters for decades. The rural power distribution infrastructure cannot support max loads in that area. Parents have had no issues with it or AC control, perhaps its a Texas implementation problem? They could always turn the demand off (and pay regular rates), which they often did when they had visitors. Does Texas utilities lock you out?

No reason to be defensive. I just don't happen to support the concept of "demand management" by giving control over my use of equipment or appliances to a third party. But opinions can and do vary. One size does not fit all, as they say.

In any case, we haven't heated water with electricity for many years, as natural gas or propane has been preferred by most as the fuel for that and for furnaces in this part of the country. Those fuels are not easily "demand managed" in a residential context.

 

[ColdCase]

I am not so keen about these "demand management" programs. .....
In short, I am not sure what the "right" set of policies ought to be to balance these factors, but I am pretty sure that remote "demand management" should not be one of them.

Demand management has been used for decades, so the slope has been slippery for awhile. The rural power distribution infrastructure cannot support max loads where my parent live. They have had no issues with water heaters, dishwashers, or AC control. Its all automated, no need to think about it, nothing to set. Perhaps its a Texas implementation problem? I've heard that it its hard to get heating/cooling right. Is this something new for Texas utilities? My parents could always turn the demand off (and pay regular rates), which they often did when they had visitors. Does Texas utilities lock you out? My understanding is that you can set a departure time and between the car, charger, utility it makes sure you have enough charge by that time.

 

[ColdCase]

Looks like editing crossed in the ether, got out of sync. Certainly one size does not fit all... I'm going to be quiet for awhile.

 

[Novadar]

Making use of your dedicated a/c circuit is a great idea, but anyone doing that should be aware of the very high surge loads that a/c compressors sometimes require to get started and could cause you a problem if you are charging your EV at the same time as a/c units are trying to start up. I know you stated that you "verified the AC stated max loads," but depending on the size of the units the surge could exceed 75A. I needed to reduce the compressor surge significantly in order to start and run another appliance on my home electrical system and was forced to install a "soft-start" device on the larger a/c compressor unit to dramatically reduce the a/c surge at start-up (see for example https://www.microair.net/products/easystart-368-6-ton-soft-start-motor-starter-for-115-and-230v-ac-motors?variant=29181662283), which has worked beautifully for my purposes. FYI.

Thanks. I researched this prior. Based on your user name I assume you are as equally concerned about AC as I am -- living in Texas!

 

[quietlyspinach]

By the way, the Grizzl-E smart is OCPP compliance which is perhaps a smart feature worth considering if your utility does demand management, or will in the future.

Also, the OCPP feature on the Grizzl-E smart is user settable. Which means you can point the OCPP URL to something that you control yourself, such as this:

https://github.com/lbbrhzn/ocpp

This is a plugin to Home Assistant, which means you can host your own OCPP server to monitor and control your charger without using any company's cloud features.

 

[Teddydogno1]

My Grizzl-e Smart came today. Too bad my car hasn't even moved onto the production schedule yet.

Rob

 

[insightman]

My Grizzl-e Smart came today. Too bad my car hasn't even moved onto the production schedule yet.

Rob

At least you'll never have to suffer through 33 agonizing hours of charging between rides after you get your SE!

 

[GvilleGuy]

Hmm, I don’t see a clear recommendation from the group on brand/model for EVSE. There seem to be 3 mentioned the most, Grizzl-E (smart or regular), ChargePoint and JuiceBox. Can I ask you to submit a response on your setup and satisfaction level for each of these? Looking to install on a 40Amp breaker (wiring and breaker already exist). While a smart EVSE sounds good, since the Mini can schedule charging it is not mandatory. I had kind of settled on JuiceBox until reading through this thread and it seems to be in the minority…

Chargepoint Home Flex here, hard wired. I can't rate it against the other brands, but it has been rock solid for me for five months now. Not even one "reboot" needed. The app shows decent charging history and trends by month - the only ding I would give it: The charging history screen shows 'miles added to battery', 'time', and 'cost'. The 'time' column is how long it was plugged in. I would prefer 'time' to show how long the charging session actually lasted. But I can see that in the Mini app now.

$699 price + $650 installation in SC.

 

[Whosehouse]

I originally got the Grizzl-e Smart and had nothing but massive problems with it. The plug got stuck in my car because the plastic hook was just too long. It also didn’t work. They said they’d send a replacement and never did so I filed the hook down and got them to reset the firmware and it worked for a couple weeks before stopping again. Their website to run it was hot garbage and whenever it needed a firmware update you couldn’t use the charger until it got updated through the website. Well, the night before I needed a full charge in the morning the charger went out again and the entire website was down too so I was stuck.

I sent it back and got on the Chargepoint waiting list. It was just delivered and has been working like a breeze. I want to believe my Grizzl-e was just a lemon during a growth phase of their company but I just need reliability at the end of the day.

 

[fasttr]

So I purchased a Chargepoint EVSE. Seemed the most reliable overall. Unfortunately, back ordered 5 weeks so I was trying to survive on L1 charging. But then I thought about it and decided a slower L2 charger would be good to have as a backup. This one charges at 16A and has worked well (at least for the last two days) and it’s $200 Amazon Prime. It assures I can be topped off overnight when required. I bought the one with the same NEMA 14-50 plug that the Chargepoint comes with so don’t have to mess with my outlet in the garage. Looking backwards, this probably would have been good enough. But then the Chargepoint charges at 32A so for those occasions when it needs to be quick. And again, as I said, not a bad idea to have a backup that works when needed…. https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B08TH4Y154/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Carsten Haase]

This one charges at 16A and has worked well (at least for the last two days) and it’s $200 Amazon Prime.

FYI, UL recognized (backwards UR) is not the same as UL listed. UL has no involvement in testing and does not perform spot checks of manufacturing like they do for a fully UL listed product.

Probably fine but I would personally be a bit nervous about high powered electronics that chose to avoid the full certification process for whatever reason...

 

[fasttr]

FYI, UL recognized (backwards UR) is not the same as UL listed. UL has no involvement in testing and does not perform spot checks of manufacturing like they do for a fully UL listed product.

Probably fine but I would personally be a bit nervous about high powered electronics that chose to avoid the full certification process for whatever reason...

I agree. Another reason to keep it’s use as only a backup. I knew they were dancing around it when they said it contained UL components…

 

[fasttr]

I agree. Another reason to keep it’s use as only a backup. I knew they were dancing around it when they said it contained UL components…

Got my (UL approved) Chargepoint installed today after it had been back ordered. Installation was very straightforward… charging right now.

Sent from my iPhone using Inside EVs

 

[kicksology]

Seems like all of the plug-in EVSE installation guides indicate that there should be a bit of a kink in the wall plug cable & that the charge unit should be installed to one side of the wall plug as per the photo from @fasttr above. Anyone know why this is?

 

[ColdCase]

The charge unit is off to one side usually because its centered on the wall support (2x4) and the outlet is attached to the side of the support.

As far as the kink, better a kink than too short a cable There may be some rational for thermal expansion or making it easier to unplug or plug into the outlet.

In outdoor areas, you want the outlet cable to form a loop so any water drips away from the outlet. A kink won't do. My outlets are flipped around the other way to accommodate a loop in a short cable.

 

[fasttr]

Anyone know why this is? Anyone know why this is?

The “kink” is to make sure there is no lingering stress on the cable. It’s mounted to the right (or could be left) of the plug because typically the plug is placed either to the left or right of the wall stud and they recommend mounting the charging unit directly to the stud. IMHO, that location of the charger could be done with high capacity drywall inserts but to be honest, almost all plugs will be next to a stud so why not just mount to the stud.

 

[TittaPDX]

I have a Juicebox Level 2 at home but I need to get my folks set up with one as well as Level 1 is so slow…thank goodness I’m here visiting for a few days so I’ve got time.