Hard wired charger vs plug-in

  • Thread starter Thread starter leehinde
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DucRider said:
The tax credit will also apply to an outlet installed to charge your EV. this could be a dedicated 120V outlet to use the OEM cable, or a 240V outlet for something with faster charging speeds. There is no requirement that the device be hardwired, so a plug-in EVSE and installation costs (including electrical work) do qualify.
I recently added a second EVSE in my garage because my utility would give me $500 towards the purchase and install, plus $50/yr if they could reduce or delay charging during peak times. The only EVSE that currently qualifies is the Chargepoint Flex. I hardwired it on a 60A circuit. Total cost ~$730 ($699 + ~$30 in wire, breaker, clamps). $500 PGE rebate and $219 Tax Credit leave a net cost of $21. And then they pay me $50/yr to participate in the program.

I did have a schedule set for delayed charging (their TOU program made no sense for us but we did it anyway). We now plug in when we get home and let them potentially control the charging. They'll send a notification prior to doing so and you can override and charge if you need to.

As a note, for a couple of reasons even the hardwired install would not meet code.
1) The consumer can is required to set the amperage the unit draws and can change it (intentionally or accidentally) to a value greater than the circuit can handle
2) The unit does not properly handle a request for ventilation when charging and also does not have the labeling required regarding ventilation.

If installing with the 14-50 or 6-50 plugs, it would fail do to:
1) The inability to function with the GFCI protected outlet required by code (the manual does state that if a GFCI outlet is required, the unit should be hardwired)
2) Tool free removal is not possible.
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Depending on where you live you may be required to get a permit to install the Plug, even if your electrician says I have done hundreds of these - you don't need one. The Utility Companies or Municipalities or whomever is offering the rebate usually require a permit. No permit, no rebate.
 
BaylorBob said:
Depending on where you live you may be required to get a permit to install the Plug, even if your electrician says I have done hundreds of these - you don't need one. The Utility Companies or Municipalities or whomever is offering the rebate usually require a permit. No permit, no rebate.
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No plug. Hardwired, Paperwork accepted and approved.
You can claim the cost of a permit toward the total, and there is a place on the form to do so. But no requirement or request to submit a copy unless you are claiming against it.
 
Not that I don't trust folks in these forums, but I decided to get a couple quotes for install of hard-wired EVSE for my home garage where I park. Others here had mentioned high cost of hard-wired install. The actual cost estimates I received were ridiculous, and 4X the cost of a NEMA plug. I asked for a quote for a NEMA 14-50. The plug came to ~$220 installed near the panel. And yes, still had to buy a portable EVSE but that can be done for ~$300. Funny to me, the Honda was parked in my driveway, but it doesn't "look" like an EV, so I didn't get the stupid expensive "EV quote."

I have had no real* issues repeatedly (daily) plugging and unplugging my cheapo no-name (Jaykala) portable EVSE for the past 2 years. I did install some simple hook-style supports to keep the handle near where it plugs in. i.e. handle a couple feet from where it's needed. It may be a "portable" EVSE, but it's never moved from the one spot. I say real* because it was a little stiff to plug in when it was new. That issue went away on its own with time. Car has been simply great. I also had a good 110v connection that mostly worked fine for me, save some busy weekends where I now charge between errands, and I prefer climate control with level 2.
 
Dan Albrich said:
The actual cost estimates I received were ridiculous, and 4X the cost of a NEMA plug. I asked for a quote for a NEMA 14-50. The plug came to ~$220 installed near the panel.
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If my math is correct, the estimates for a hardwired devices were in the $880 range. Were the quotes for the hardwired device for installation at the same location, near the panel, as the receptacle?

Would you confirm, please?
 
Landshark said:
If my math is correct, the estimates for a hardwired devices were in the $880 range. Were the quotes for the hardwired device for installation at the same location, near the panel, as the receptacle?

Would you confirm, please?
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Yes, that's correct and I'm not exaggerating. I feel like Oregon has become "little" California in some ways. I didn't get paper estimates, these were verbal. I did have two electricians come out to the house. Both quotes were similar. My only thought is that they assume anyone with an electric vehicle can afford to pay it. And I did hire an electrician that wasn't the first two, so who knows what they would of quoted, but I changed my plan. I made zero mention of electric vehicle, and just asked for the NEMA plug. In each case I chose the same location for install near the panel.

BTW: I'm from Portland Oregon. I've lived in Eugene OR for the past 30 years or so. There are quite a few things that are oddly more expensive here than Portland. Car buying itself comes to mind. My meaning is we don't have the diversity PDX has, so we can't easily go somewhere else for some things. Anyway, basic services like electrician have been more expensive here. Obviously the big city is more expensive over-all. But yeah, there are some times when its nice to have 20 (or more) X's to choose from. Eugene sometimes has the "small-town" phenomenon where they know they've got you.
 
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Thanks. We’re going to have a 50A receptacle installed in the garage. It isn’t near the panel, but running the wire will be easy enough through the crawl space. The garage is semi-subterranean, so out of the crawl space and into the garage. We’ll run a 30A service to an RV pad at the same time. The conduit for that is already in the ground.

I hear you on the Californication of Oregon. People leave for something different and then turn the new place into the same place they left and wonder why it is no longer the difference place that they moved to 10 years ago.

I’m anticipating higher prices for home improvement and construction projects in our area because of the fire that destroyed most of Talent and Phoenix. A few contractors that we’ve used in the past lost their businesses and the remaining contractors will be neck deep trying to rebuild the lost homes and businesses.
 
I’ve reported this before, but we got very lucky at our E TN house.

We have an electric 42’ bifold hangar door powered by 220v. We wanted a way to open it in case power went out. It was, of course, hard-wired with 30A 220v service - two 110v “hot” and a ground. I installed a “generator” outlet and installed a heavy duty cable and RV plug to the hangar door feed. In the event of a power failure, all we have to do is unplug from the outlet and plug into our 220v generator and we’re good to go:

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All this was before we had the Clarity. That made it simple to make an adapter cable that lets us unplug the hangar door and plug the car into the same outlet:

50645732992_84888a813b.jpg


Very handy since it’s adjacent to our garage door. Probably well under $100 for all the cable, receptacles and plug. Roughly doubles the charge rate with the stock cable. 90% of the time 110v overnight charging is all we need, but this is handy on those days when we need a quick charge between errands.
 
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