120 or 240V hookup

Before you go overboard on garage remodeling, why do you think you have to keep the OEM L1 charge cord in your trunk all the time? Unless you plan to use it where you often visit, there is no point in carrying the cord with the car all the time. Mine has sat in the garage from day one connected to the outlet. I use the compartment in the back for tire repair kits and other emergency items.

If your existing outlet can handle the charging, using OEM EVSE and an extension cord would be the easiest and most economical set-up. If your existing outlet is not capable of handling the charging need, then you may have to upgrade the electrical. Toyota recommends a dedicated circuit with at least 15A breaker and GFCI protection, but I have been using a 20A circuit in a garage shared with other appliances namely, at least 9 lights, a large freezer, and two garage door openers, for over 3 years without problem. I do most of my charging over night, so there are no other loads other than occasional freezer that turns on during the period. If you really need to put a new circuit, then you may want to future proof it by installing lager amp breaker 40A or higher 240v line. My garage is detached and placing a new circuit was way too expensive for me to consider any benefit of having a dedicated 240v outlet.

Others will likely to chime in, but there is a thread by @Rob43 that discuss the option of using OEM EVSE on 240v outlet.

 

i would start by just using the 120v cord w/extension as sal mentions above. get a feel for charging habits before deciding if you want to go L1 or L2.
i love L2 because we're always dashing out somewhere and it's nice to have a quick charge available.
the cord is 25', and my outlet is on the left, but reaches the car port no prolemo

 

I don't have a plug-in, but here's a general idea to consider ...

Are you using that 240V outlet for anything else? Ever? If not, you might consider using the existing wiring and just updating the outlet and circuit breaker back at the service panel.

The wiring is probably AWG10/4 or 12/4 already in there. For the 240V, they take the two "hot" 120V wires there, which are 180* out of phase, to get you 240V. The other two wires are neutral and ground of course. If you use just one of the hot wires, you have 120V. You'd also want to update the circuit breaker back at the service panel accordingly.

Disclaimer - I know this would work, and that it can be done perfectly safely. But I also know that sometimes building codes are written to protect future owners who may be confused by what they find, so you might consider whether this would be code worthy.

 

Level 1 is 120v charge cord, Level 2 is 240v charge cord. L1 is at 12A max, L2 is 16A max. So if you need to put a 240v outlet for L2, it needs to be at least 20A, but for future-proofing, you may want to make it 40A.

 

In the US, public charging stations provide the plug to the car, so you don't need the factory cord to get a charge. In Europe, OTOH, the customary practice is that the car owner has to provide the cord at public charging stations.

I have a 240V charging station (from ChargePoint) in my garage, so the factory cord is still in its spot in the car, for lack of any reason for it to be anywhere else. When I had a 2012 Plug-In, I used the factory cord, and it was essentially permanently "installed" in the garage and plugged into an ordinary wall outlet.

 

There have been many good suggestions so far, here are mine:

1) First, just get your Prime in your possession without worrying about the plethora of charging ideas.

2) Keep things very simple at first without spending any real money, this means using a ~25 ft long 12 AWG extension cord. A 25 ft extension cord and your Toyota EVSE (charger) will yield roughly 50 feet of total cord length, this should be enough for any typical garage. As long as you don't have any other high load devices connected to this 120v (most likely 15 amp) circuit, it will operate perfectly while charging your prime over the needed ~5 1/2 hours.

3) Later, figure out it you want to stay with L1 charging (5 1/2 hours) or if you want to spend the $$ for an L2 charging upgrade.

***********************************************************

Charging at 240 volts:

1) You will need to spend roughly ~$350* dollars for an electrician to install a dedicated 240v outlet.

2) IMO, I'd recommend installing a NEMA 14-50R outlet, they are what's called "Future Proof".

3) Then decide what you want for an L2 charger, on the cost saving side you could buy a high quality adapter for less than $50 dollars which will let your Toyota EVSE unit operate at 240 volts yielding 2:28 minute charge times. Or you could spend ~$170 to ~$600 (the sky is the limit) on a charger that will charge a few minutes quicker.


Decisions decisions,

Rob43

* Prices will vary based on needed options.

 

That "needed options" is an oxymoron, especially without context... which is what we should highlight.

Some people simply don't have the capacity available. Too small of a service-panel may either mean an upgrade to the existing one or an entirely new one. That depends upon location and how things were originally wired. Then there is the matter of location and future plans. Running a lot of wire through a finished area is quite different from a short distance in an open garage.

So, we should be asking questions to base advice upon. Another is to simply share experiences.

For me, we had a 200-amp box in the garage. So, running 2 lines (1 for each car) with conduit wasn't a big deal in itself, but we also wanted a meter for time-of-use discounts.

The best advice is to see if you can get a free quote from someone. For perspective, a 40-amp line will deliver 200 miles in 8 hours.

 

LOL,

Like I said, Needed Options....



Rob43

 

... or make an adapter to plug your 120V charge cord directly in to 240V. Many people here have found that it works, the Toyota 120V cord has the same internals as the 240V, just a different plug. And Rob43 custom builds and sells such adapters here, though you certainly could do your own.

But make damn sure than no one plugs any 120V-only device into this adapter. That will let all the smoke escape, , the internal 'smoke' that makes electrical devices work.

PS. Edited after Bisco's clarification below.

 

here's another one for future information, EVSE: electric vehicle supply equipment.

thats the cord that comes with the car, or the stations for public charging.

the charger is inside the car itself. all the cord does is safely allow the juice to flow from the power source to the car.

 

Toyota does not sell or make 240v L2 EVSE. If you plan to use OEM L1 EVSE that comes with the car on 240v, what you need is a pig-tail adapter that can be DIYed or order from @Rob43. It is not true L2 EVSE that runs at 16A, but will charge at 240v 12A. The 240V receptacle can be any one of the widely used as you are making the adapter but as stated above in comment #10 by @Rob43 , NEMA 14-50R is recommended for near universal use for L2 EVSE.

If you are buying L2 EVSE, then the receptacle need to be compatible, but many makers of L2 EVSE offer several variations on 240v plug on the end as well as the option to hardwire into the wall.

 

As already stated, NEMA 14-50 is by far the most common 240-volt outlet, an option heavily favored for level-2 charger sellers. Keep that in mind when shopping.

Something else to keep in mind is getting a charger with Wi-Fi support. The very first no-meter-required program in the entire country available for all customers in the provider's district was just started by Xcel here in Minnesota. It takes advantage of Wi-Fi connectivity, which enables time-of-use discount on a non-dedicated circuit. In other words, you can get reduced electricity rates when charging your vehicle, yet share the same 240-volt line. The billing distinction is automatic due to the charger, not a stand-alone meter you would have to install.

That means if you have other devices that can plug into a 14-50 outlet, there's no need for any separate wiring. For example, you may have a heater or compressor that also uses 240 volts. That same line can be used. It's a no-brainer advancement in EV support at home... if you have a Wi-Fi enabled charger.

Right now, the program here supports ChargePoint and JuiceBox Pro. My wife and I both have JuiceBox's, which have proven bullet-proof. The software interface is really nice too.