How many prime owners have invested in a L2 Charging station at home?

I have a PiP and a ChargePoint Home L2.... but we also have a Leaf.

Also had the incentive on the L2, so got it for half price. Wouldn’t have spent the money if I only had the PiP, but it sure is nice to charge in 70 minutes, and not have to worry about packing/locking the EVSE all the time. I barely use the L1 cable.

The routine is I plug in the PiP right away when getting home in the evening with the charge timer to start at 7pm (off peak), the just swap to the Leaf sometime before going to bed and leave the BEV plugged overnight. Works great as a shared service.

 

I’m using my Tesla charger for my Prime.

 

The level 1 and charging schedule works well for me. Takes about 8.5 hours at the 8 amp rate and is ready to go for me at 6 am. Unless you're going home and then leaving again soon, I really dont see the need for a level 2 to get it done faster.

 

Does your outlet not support 12 amp or you choose to charge slower?

 

Yes, at default 12A. L1 takes about 5.5 hours to full charge. If your circuit can not handle big enough A, you can reduce the current to 8A by car setting. This increase the time to ~8 hours.

 

I chose to slow it down for several reasons:
1. Not a dedicated circuit. I dont want to trip the circuit if I need to run the garage door opener or shop or flood lights in the middle of the night.
2. Old house with interesting wiring. The garage is wired together with the downstairs bathroom. Seriously.
3. I don't need a fast charge and 8 amp reduces load on my local grid, reducing the need for grid upgrades.
4. Slower charge means less heat in the summer hopefully avoiding the need for AC battery cooling.

 

I purchased an L2 charger in Anaheim California. The city gave me $1,000 credit for this purchase and installation. With the electrician and all parts and 30 feet of conduit, charger, breakers, etc, the entire installation cost $1,100, of which I paid $100! I charge daily two to four times due to my work load. I Never know when a customer will be calling me for help. So Yes, getting an L2 charger is vital and worthwhile for me and MY situation; it depends on your circumstances. I currently drive about 4000 miles before refilling with gasoline which I need for occasional 300+ mile trips. The Prime is perfect for my lifestyle.

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AChoiredTaste.com

 

My municipal electric utility essentially paid for my Chargepoint Home charging station, and I paid an electrician about $400 to put in a 240V outlet and install the charging station. I was fortunate in that the breaker box is on the outside of a garage wall, and our home builder had already put a blank outlet box on the inside right under the breaker box, so the entire cable run is about 3 feet. I understand that it is now in the electric code somewhere for builders to "make ready" for 240V service in the garage.

 

I think your lifestyle is perfect for my lifestyle.

 

For a Prime, it draws 16 A on 240, so a 20 amp breaker will do the trick, if you are limited. If not, pull a bigger wire and go with a 40 amp which isn't much more expensive and will support an EV.

 

An L1 will support an EV as well - better, in fact, than it supports a Prime.

This is an often-confused issue. People think the bigger battery you have the bigger charger you need when, in fact, the opposite is the case.

A short-range car like the Prime in EV mode is what needs a fast charger, precisely because you may have to charge it repeatedly during the day to finish the job (I charged mine four times today). However, a long-range EV can be charged at night and run all day on that charge without needing during-the-day fast-charging.

My friend had a Model S 90D. He charged on L1 about once every other day.

On a long-range car, it comes down to how many miles you drive each day on-average. If it's a lot, you might need a faster charger, but if you don't, L1 is likely plenty. Even on the very-inefficient Model S, a 13 hour L1 charge can get you in the neighborhood of 40-60 miles of range, which is all most people need on-average. Yes, sometimes they'll drive more, but sometimes they'll drive less and the large battery will average that out.

Remember, 50 miles a day is 18,250 miles a year, which is well over the average.

 

That’s actually a very good way of looking at it, a way I had never considered. However, I would think that most people who buy a long range EV like a Tesla may do so because they somewhat regularly need to drive distances (like me, I drive about 125-175km a day on average).... Which is why I have a PiP with a lifetime average of only 12% EV despite charging at every opportunity, but I digress....

 

If you are installing a 40 amp EVSE, the circuit(wiring, breaker, etc.) needs to be 50 amp. Putting that in shoudn't cost much more than a 20 amp line in terms of materials and labor, but permitting maybe more. If there isn't a big jump in cost, install the higher amp circuit. then the home is ready for a plug in requiring the faster EVSE.

 

Rule of thumb: 8 hours on a 40-amp line will deliver 200 miles.

More is nice, but not necessary. Remember, you'll be wanting to add additional chargers at some point... one for each vehicle. So, consideration of max capacity from your service-panel is a factor.

 

I purchased a level 2 charger and had a 240V receptacle added to my garage when I purchased a used 2013 Plug-in Prius that did not come with a charging cable. I figured as long as I was setting it up and buying the charging cord I may as well "do it right."
I'm assuming that at some point in the future I'll be glad I did this but, for now, the fact that my new Prius Prime charges in less than two hours rather than taking 4 or 5 hours does not to matter to me. At some point, I'm assuming we will all be using fully electric cars that need level 2 chargers to charge them in a reasonable time frame but for now, a level 1 120V charger would work just fine for me.

If you have an existing 120V receptacle you can conveniently plug your charging cord into, I'd stick with it. However, if you have to pay an electrician to install a new receptacle I'd be tempted to pay a little more an get the 240V plug for the future.

Hope this helps!

 

I put in a 240V outlet and got a Duosaida L2 EVSE about 2 years ago for my PiP because I often get home from work and have a meeting to get to after supper. I probably average about twice a week, sometimes more. L2 lets me get a lot more EV miles. I figured it would take a long time to pay for itself, even though it was inexpensive since I did it myself. IIRC, I spend about $300 all together. And with the Prime's longer range, it still helps. I can't be sure, but it may have actually paid for itself by now.

 

I've had my L2 about 7 years, so I'm sure it paid for itself by now.

 

I've been charging at Level 2 speed since late winter 2019 by using my stock Toyota Prime 120v EVSE unit at 240 volts.

A full charge from 0% to 100% takes me about 2 hours and 25 minutes, everything runs cool and works great because the Toyota EVSE is actually a dual voltage unit. I currently have hundreds of hours on my EVSE, I always find it very satisfying to use because the only thing I had to purchase was the 120v to 240v conversion plug.

Using the Primes 120v Charger at 240 Volts, Cost $20 !!! | PriusChat


Rob43

 

Only? No, you give up the possibility of opportunity recharges elsewhere.

For example, I was at grandpa's yesterday, where I plugged in to recharge. That wouldn't have been possible if I had converted the charger.