Home Chargers-Weatherproof?

D

David Fisher

New Member
Bear with me as I am new to EV. I am not sure if I am in the right area for my questions. And it is probably a stupid question. I am on the waiting list for a Subaru Solterra. I am looking at the ChargePoint Flex home charger. I would prefer to have my charger in my garage. Unfortunately, my garage is detached and about 30 yards from my house. I got a ballpark estimate from an electrician and he said it might be around $2,000. I have lights in my garage but it is 120 volts service. Rather than going through the cost of installing in my garage. I thought about having it installed on the side of my house. I am told that I should have the charger hardwired so as to not have any issues with the weather. Is is more expensive to have it hardwired or to put in a 240 V outlet? Are these home chargers waterproof? My guess is they are as the commercial charges are exposed to the elements. Any suggestions or ideas greatly appreciated. Again, total novice.
 
David Fisher said:
Bear with me as I am new to EV. I am not sure if I am in the right area for my questions. And it is probably a stupid question. I am on the waiting list for a Subaru Solterra. I am looking at the ChargePoint Flex home charger. I would prefer to have my charger in my garage. Unfortunately, my garage is detached and about 30 yards from my house. I got a ballpark estimate from an electrician and he said it might be around $2,000. I have lights in my garage but it is 120 volts service. Rather than going through the cost of installing in my garage. I thought about having it installed on the side of my house. I am told that I should have the charger hardwired so as to not have any issues with the weather. Is is more expensive to have it hardwired or to put in a 240 V outlet? Are these home chargers waterproof? My guess is they are as the commercial charges are exposed to the elements. Any suggestions or ideas greatly appreciated. Again, total novice.
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Most EVSEs are 3R rated so weather is not an issue.
Hardwire is a good way to go, avoiding any issues with a separate connection (such as a weather proof installation of a 14-50 receptacle).
Your garage is right on the verge of line voltage drop - 30 M - so larger conductors are required, probably why the cost is where it is.
However if that is your preferred area for charging, the additional cost may be worth while.
Solterra looks to be a really nice EV however the AC charging rate is limited to 6.6kW (27.5 A @ 240 V), that may increase in future models and is pretty much the "norm" these days so I would allow for at least 50 amps continuous capacity, but that of course is entirely up to you.
 
In the house I just moved into I have a semi-exposed carport and got a good, basic Grizzle-e charger and had it hardwired. It's great and wasn't that expensive to do (I'm too lazy to pull out the invoice right now, lol, but it wasn't bad, and definitely way less than $2000).
 
You should look up Tom Moloughney's YouTube channel. He does excellent reviews of all types of chargers. He puts the ones rated for wet in tubs of water or hoses them down.
 
Domenick said:
We have a thread to collect his charger reviews (which I probably need to update). https://www.insideevsforum.com/community/index.php?threads/charger-reviews-by-tom-molougney.10647/
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I forgot about that thread. I see you've updated it too. That would be a good thread to be a sticky.
I am about to pull the trigger on ordering an ioniq 5 after testing one last Saturday. I will have a year wait and will be able to rewatch the videos to decide on which EVSE to buy.
 
aamyotte said:
I forgot about that thread. I see you've updated it too. That would be a good thread to be a sticky.
I am about to pull the trigger on ordering an ioniq 5 after testing one last Saturday. I will have a year wait and will be able to rewatch the videos to decide on which EVSE to buy.
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A year wait for the care you ordered?!?!?
 
Bruce M. said:
A year wait for the care you ordered?!?!?
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The orders are not open for the 2023's yet, they open in June. I would be placing a reservation to keep my place in line with the dealer for their allocations. So from this time to order time and build then ship they are saying about a year.
 
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