Excuse my idiocy when discussing power coming out of the panel. Two hot lines! Also - if any electricians want to join us in talking about install considerations please reach out.
Kyle, Just letting you know that at 19:30 there is a jump cut backwards in the video a certain amount and repeats material until the finish. Still a wonderfully informative video, just wanted you to know.
In terms of the wiring, modern EVSEs go with the 4-pin NEMA 14-50 standard. L1 (hot), L2 (hot), Neutral (typically wired but unused), and Ground (required). But there are lots of adapters and EVSEs that take various older styles of dryer plugs, which I recommend avoiding as much as possible because dryer plugs aren't designed to run high amps for hours on end. For 240VAC, the actual power is carried on L1 and L2. L1 or L2 against 'Neutral is just 120VAC, but L2 is 180 degrees out of phase with L1 so L1 against L2 gives you 240VAC. In the U.S. Neutral is right smack in the middle at the same potential as ground. In the E.U., however, 240VAC is not symmetric around ground, it is entirely above ground, and there is usually only one hot. It will be 240VAC against neutral, offset above ground. Neutral is not used at all for U.S. 240VAC, but on some devices it is monitored. Most EVSEs just ignore the neutral entirely... it is often not even wired internally. However, the EVSE is required to test ground against L1 and L2 to make sure there is a solid ground connection at least to the EVSE. More sophisticated EVSEs will test that ground and neutral are bonded (at the main service breaker box). All EVSEs are required to test for ground faults (current on the ground) and disconnect. Usually the EVSE also checks the L1 and L2 voltage against ground to make sure the ground is real and voltages are as expected for the region. -- Now, in terms of wiring, one thing people need to be careful about is that traditionally NEMA sockets were designed for dryers that only run an hour at a time, not for EVs that might be sucking max amps for 8+ hours. So a lot of NEMA sockets out there are actually quite deficient, even when they are advertised to have a 50A circuit rating, and even when they are 14-50's. Always get a quality socket, don't low-ball the price. Even if you only have, say, a 20A circuit, you still want to use the beefiest NEMA socket that you can find. Even if you have a 50A circuit and socket, you might still want to program your EVSE for a lower max amperage just as an added safety. After a new installation, check that the socket is not melted or burned or smells funny at least once a week for a few months before you get comfortable with it. Tesla EVSEs tend to be hardwired. Well, many EVSEs in general are hardwired, and many are not. Hardwiring is theoretically safer than using a plug, but even hardwired wiring can have severe issues if installed improperly. To be honest, a good NEMA socket is just more useful than hardwiring. The breaker should always be sized to protect the wiring, and then down-sized from there as desired. So a 50A NEMA 14-50 with appropriate wiring would get a 50A breaker. But if you have only 20A wiring with your 50A NEMA 14-50, you would obviously put in a 20A breaker. And of course you would program the EVSE to not suck up more current than the wiring can handle. Double safeties... very important to avoid turning the wiring into a line of fire. -- Finally, in terms of which EVSE to get... to be completely honest, I don't like the ones that have fancy displays, wifi, bluetooth, or are too smart for their own good. I just want a basic weather-proof unit and dip-switches to set the highest negotiated current are just fine. I wound up getting an out-door Grizzl-E for my garage (Canadian product so obviously it can handle any weather), and a stupid cheap programmable portable EVSE with a NEMA 14-50 plug to throw into the car, along with some adapters when visiting friends houses who have convenient dryer or 14-50 plugs to plug into instead of 120VAC. That's pretty much it.
Oh, one more thing... NEMA plugs are VERY DANGEROUS. When the plug is being put into the socket or is partially but not completely pulled out of the socket, those long prongs are fully accessible to your fingers. People often grasp the plugs wrong and wind up touching live prongs. So always be careful when plugging or unplugging one. For an EVSE, you have that convenient breaker... make sure the breaker is open. I know it may seem a bit silly to some, but its a good habit to get into. Even the most experienced electrician will have touched a live wire or prong dozens of times in his or her career. The breaker will be double-pole, it disconnects both L1 and L2. In addition, either the breaker or the EVSE will have a GFCI or equivalent capability for safety. The rules are a bit relaxed in the U.S. unfortunately, but in the EU and the UK the breaker itself must integrate a GFCI, I believe.
Level 2 charging is what most EV drivers should be doing most of the time. It’s much cheaper and when done at home it is most convenient. Save the DC fast charging for longer road trips.
EV ownership is every bit as fun as Kyle presents. Home charging off solar is like having an oil well on your property and gas pump at your house. EV6 in our garage and a Denali EV reservation with GM.
It's hard to get people to think about this as you presented, but that is the best way to pitch it. I am starting the deployment of my solar array next week (starting at 8.9kW with potential for 10-15% gain from bifacial), really looking forward to driving off of power from the sun!
With my driving patterns I almost never use the Tesla Supercharger network. Charging at home overnight gets me all I need. Hopefully makes my battery last longer too!?
Yes AC charging is def better on the battery. I have two same year same model Teslas. One is 90% Supercharging, other is 99% AC charging and the battery on the supercharger one is much worse after a year compared to the AC one
I still have access to free supercharging and only use it on long road trips. For the majority of my charging I charge at home. It's just more convenient.
Level 1 and 2 should be everywhere. Home, work, shopping centers, movie theaters, grocery stores... Anyplace people are parked for a while. Having power available everywhere would greatly reduce the load on the DCFC. Those DCFC locations should be just needed if your in a pinch and need a fast charge or your road tripping/travelling.
Level 1 is great for at your job, where you'd work an 12 hour shift, even then Plug in Hybrid would be the ones getting topped off. For Full Electric Vehicles, it would restore the milage driven to work and MAYBE a few extra miles. (idk let someone crunch those numbers) Level 2 is generally better due to quicker charge times for Plugs ins to get topped off and for BEVs to get a full charge within a work shift. thing is, is it worth the money or time? since if i recall correctly it costs more when using someone else's electricity rather than your own. which is interesting, cuz on one hand its easier to scale at common points of interest BUT the company does want to get their return on investment so yeah they kinda need to charge both cost plus a profit margin. whereas as homeowner only gets billed for their consumption rate. still sucks but nothing is free so i guess the cost must be added in. back to the original point, Level 1 isnt bad, but its best for Plug Ins and technically could offset commuters milage for the employees (not for public use since its an 8 hour charging period, essentially a staff memeber)
@@rk-jc9se for me it would be perfect If I owned an EV, my work allows free charging, they have level two charger's at the main office but I'm sadly at an aux campus but they still let us plug in, I only live about 5 miles from my work so level one would fully fill me.up while working easily
Good to see another level 2 review. Our BMW i4 e40 just passed 10,000 miles with all charging done at home. For various reasons we bought rather than leased the car and want to protect the battery. It left the dealership with 100% SOC but hasn’t been above 80% or below 15% since then. Based on a Tom M. review from a few years ago, we got a ChargePoint Home Flex. It’s hardwired and delivers 9 kW. We’re very happy with it so far.
Yes, you're too concerned with DC fast charging. I have a BMW i4. At 13 cents per KWH, it costs about $11 to recharge the battery at home from a zero state of charge and that will yield about 300 miles of range under optimum conditions. In contrast, our 4Runner gets about 19MPG and to go that same 300 miles costs about $52 in gas. That's a huge difference. When I add the solar production from the array on my roof, the real cost is zero. I don't worry about public charging because we have a gas vehicle that can take us to distant places. For now, the i4 works great around town and, its a lot more fun to drive. I fully expect public charging to improve in the future but, until then, I'm good.
FYI, the residential unit also has the RFID reader. You could use it to charge people to use it or if you have to install the unit outdoors it can prevent others from stealing power. It would be a great charger to put at an AirBnB or VRBO and you could allow charging for an additional fee. Also, check your edit. Part of the video is repeated.
Several people have mentioned this and thanks for affirming it. Is there a monthly service charge to the owners to charge people or pay as they use it? This would be great for apartment buildings with common parking and house power or at my cabin in the woods for that emergency charge someone might need to get down the mountain. There aren't many good options in the less expensive range. Shine pay and orange charger stand out but the owner has to pay on their own system.
Good to know. Actually had someone asking at Fully Charged Live about situations where he'd charged at friends houses and while they were fine with it, he felt guilty not knowing how much to repay them. So this could maybe help in those situations as well. I'm in a multi generation household and while going to the fuel station had that moment of 'oh help once I get an EV how will I cover my home charging fuel costs, if I can't see or track how much it costs my parents?' or just track different car usages in general, so good to know some residential chargers have stuff like this.
I upgraded my service and had my Tesla Wall Connector installed via QMerit. I had a 100 amp box in a house built in 1910 and it cost me $3840 (plus the cost of the Wall Connector.) It’s great! My garage is my gas station now! I pay a bit more for electricity than Colton ($0.142 per kWh) but it still works out to about $0.04 per mile driven in my Model 3 standard range. Very happy!
Just to clarify, and maybe others have also, for 240VAC in North America, the red wire is L1 and the black is L2 and the green is ground. Both the L1 and L2 are HOT and alternate between positive and negative relative to ground. When L1 is positive , L2 is negative, then the other way around. There is no positive and negative wire in AC wiring. For 120VAC, there is a hot wire (black) which alternates between positive and negative in relation to ground, and a neutral (white) which is a current carrying wire but always stays at 0 voltage relative to ground (when everything is working correctly
17 cents per kwh right now, over 95% of our charging is at home and most days our EV's are charged between 40% and 60%. With that in mind both of our EV's, on average, are plugged in once a week. Thank you for sharing.
One important consideration for home charging - even with L1/L2 charging, how much speed do you need? Everyone talks about 50A, 60A, 70A, etc. circuits and those just aren't available (or needed) in a lot of cases. I have two EVs at home and two EVSEs - both EVSEs are 240V 16A units. So I really only need a total of 40A @ 240V of load capacity in my panel. 16A EVSEs are inexpensive. 12 gauge cable costs a heck of a lot less than 6 or 4 gauge. I can plug and unplug 6-20 plugs all day long with less worry about wear and tear than I would with a 10-50. And I can still replace over 100 miles of range in each car in about 10 hours. Obviously there are people who need relatively "fast" L2 charging at home. But if you drive fewer than 40 miles a day, even the humble 120V 15A outlet can probably serve you pretty darned well.
I am glad to see you putting some focus on charging at home. We have two electric cars at home, but probably only fast charge about once a month, even though we go through 1-2k miles a month between the two cars.
Bring on the level 2! Been thinking about how it would be great to hear more about level 2 rollouts lately, especially public slow chargers for grazing for your day to day charging as the market matures and more and more people with different life situations are using them. Also really want to hear about workplace charging becoming a thing for more and more people. So it's great to hear you talking about that side of things!
Service entrance conductors from existing electric company residential transformer feeds 2 120 volt 100 amp panel that feeds 240 v 60/80 amp charger Commercial buildings are 3 phase 277 v add amps across breakers
I'm glad you've done a video on L2 charging and will be working more on some home charging content coming up! I'm a hopeful future home buyer and one of the first things I'm going to do is install an EVSE. None of the apartments I can afford in my area have EVSE and the place I'm at _said_ they were going to install a charger... 3 years ago... I haven't seen hide nor hair of one. We've got some public EVSE but not enough for me to be able to fully rely on it - also I don't wanna hog the public infrastructure. (and yes I say EVSE because, while we do have DC Chargers, I've got a PHEV without CCS).
And yes, I do watch Tom's State of Charge reviews on all the EVSE - I really like his deep freeze cable test, even though snow and truly cold weather are mythical to us here in the southeast XD
This might've been too basic for some, but as a new EV owner who recently got a level two EVSE (see, I'm learning!) and didn't know most of this information. Happy you all endorse the Autel units! THat's the one I have!
I just got that one, unfortunately overheats after about an hour in hot temperatures. I bought the commercial version because I thought it would stand up to the heat better because my location is out in the Sun but it's not even summer time yet and it's already overheating.
You may want to reduce the level of charging to reduce heat generation. You can do this within the evse or the car software. I am sure you know that per NEC, the evse should be set at no more than 80% of the rated amps of the circuit; in other words if your circuit breaker is 40 amps and you have a 40 amp evse, the evse should provide no more than 32 amps to the car. I use a 40 amp rated evse on a 40 amp circuit and have the evse set to 32 amps; I use the car software to downrate the amp draw to be 28 amps. The difference between 7.5 kw at 32 amps and 6.8 kw at 28 amps is negligible on an overnight charge.
I really like my Grizzl-E EVSE with the "extreme" cable that's more flexible. (I think all come with that now by default) That thing is simple and built like a tank, I don't expect any failures for a long time. I didn't get the smart version as you can monitor pretty much everything you need through the Tesla app, along with setting up scheduled charging. But it would be cool if they had a more modern smart charger that allowed load sharing, payment options, and max amperage setting. Their current smart EVSE is really just for monitoring/scheduling.
I've been looking at their Duo hoping to have one PHEV and one EV in the next few years if we can get an EV that can go for 3 hours with under 15 minutes of charging.
You didn't miss out on not getting the smart version; I did, and the app (3rd party) is mostly useless. I'm disappointed by that aspect, but for everything else, the Grizzl-E has been solid.
That Autel 'commercial' unit looks identical to the residential unit with the only difference being the touchscreen. I've been using the Autel unit with the separate holster to charge my Wrangler 4xe for the past 6 months. Very reliable charger that will charge my Jeep at its maximum rate of 32 amps.
Tesla owner here. I installed a 240V Nema 14-50 recepticle in my garage. At the time of purchase my Model Y LR included the mobile connector in the price. My Tesla mobile charger is constantly plugged in and isn't removed from the wall. It's tied down with zip ties, actually. I bought a 2nd mobile connector to stay in the car. This cost me half as much as going with the full 60 amps (48A) charger from Tesla. Granted I only get 32A but I don't miss that extra 16 amps when I'm asleep and my car is charging overnight. The car is finished charging by the time I get up and has a full charge (I go to 90%) when I'm ready to go.
In 2014 in the UK most chargers were AC, power up to 43KW. Only 1 car could use all that power, the original Renault Zoe. Given all the 'stuff' needed to convert AC to DC at high power levels was already in the car (inverter, enabling regenerative braking), it made perfect sense to use it. AC is of course, demonstrably safer than DC, also requiring only a tiny housing, it made sense for charge power below 50KW. Thermal constraints in the car are the sole reason DC exists below 50KW.
Former Yugoslavia has one huge benefit: Almost every house has 3 phase power and we have 3 phase sockets, rated at 16A which gives 11kW. I was on a road trip, and in one town, 2 chargers were occupied and 3 were broken. So I asked in a diner to plug in my car. By the time I finished my lunch, it had added 150km of range.
Finally talking to 90% of us that use level 2 either at home, work or at a hotel. I have a Mach E for over a year and 15k miles and have used DCFC 4 times. At home I have 1450/50amp service in garage and a charger that is switchable 24/32/40 amp and I used this based on how quick I need to top off. Most often I use 110v plugged in 24/7 which works for me.
So, I don’t have a garage. Is it possible to put a home charger outside. I could put it under my deck, build a box for it. Yes we have winter here. So minus 30 something spells in winter. Do I need a garage?
2022 Mustang Mach-E, had to upgrade my panel to 200 amps. Had a 48 amp Lectron ectron level 2 charger installed. It's called a 48 amp vbox. Chose that because of the price and the simplicity of the use. Figured I could just use the settings in the car for timing it. Right after it was installed this Altel charger 48 amps was on sale for only $20 more. I wish I would have got that nothing wrong with the Lectron it's just the Altel does have more features.
We need level 2 chargers at apartment complexes and places of business. You can put in something like 100+ level 2 chargers 🔌 or outlets for the cost of 1 Level 3 DC fast charger.
What the heck. This video is 34:54, but it looks the second half is exactly the same as the first one. It's the same video twice. :D Is it UA-cam glitch?
I installed a Enelx L2 charger in my garage in March. Checked my charging for the last 30 days and I've spent just over $10 in the last 30 days on my "fuel". Level 2 charging at home is the best.
I have one too…but it’s just a dumb EVSE now that Enel X has pulled out of NA. I’m looking for a new smart EVSE, I think it will be either ChargePoint or Autel.
Let me ask a very basic question. Why should I use an EVSE? I have a 240V outlet on my wall. I plug the cable that came with my Model 3 into that outlet, and plug the other end of the cable into the charge port on my Model 3. That seems to work just fine. How would adding an EVSE into the mix be better?
I am not a Tesla owner, but I believe your "mobile wall charger" provides the 32 amps that an evse would provide. So for you, you're all set! Buying an evse would be for those whose cars don't come with that nice Tesla mobile charger.
Thanks Kyle, this and the other video you guys recently make me feel like my complaints have finally been heard. :-) I have had a Blink charging unit professionally installed in the garage of the new home, with its own breaker box, and it allows me to do the local errands in my PHEV on electrons. The only downside is when I am at the old condo, packing things up, because that doesn't have a way to charge, community parking lot, etc. The Volta public chargers near the condo are routinely hogged by Teslas, so from the old place I can only charge at the office or sometimes from public charging. That is a contributing factor to why I have a PHEV and not an EV car.
It's true. The vast majority of people with EVs charge the vast majority of the time at home, so DC fast charging is not usually a daily thing. For me it's a once in a blue moon thing. That being said, I'm glad the EV manufacturers finally got with the program and made DC fast charging capability standard on their vehicles instead of optional (I'm looking at you, Chevy Bolt!)
Interesting, but why does this video sound like a Autel info-mercial? Usually you hear both positive and negative aspects of something. Not here. Just the positive.
Hey not sure if this video was edited properly because it starts over and repeats itself like the video just started over and should have only been like 15 minutes long
Just got a tesla M3 rwd so max charge is 32amps (my charger app shows its pulling 33amps). I have a 100 amp service at home. I ran 6/3 wire to the garage to wire it up to a 14-50 outlet. Works great. No issues.
Some local power companies and governments have rebates on Level 2 installations. Los Angeles Department of Water & Power *requires* them to be hardwired by a licensed electrician and kept in place for 3 years. I am filling out the forms for the rebate and was surprised by these requirements.
ETHERNET connection is BIG PLUS with Autel units! Trying to get Wi-Fi to work sometimes is an exercise in frustration!! It is always worth effort to wire something in.
Load sharing is great. If you don't have that equipment you can still have two EVSE's when you only have 50 amps to play with. I have one 32 amp EVSE and one 16 amp EVSE. We can charge both our EV's overnight.
I'd like to see a video on charging solutions for large-scale multifamily. Are there any charging solutions out there that scale well enough to handle a parking garage for a 300-unit apartment building where all cars parked in the building are electric? A dedicated level 2 charger and 70 amp/240V circuit for each resident in the building seems like it would be very expensive and that the right solution that combines load sharing and charger sharing might do the job for far cheaper. Apartments is a much more challenging charging situation in an all-EV future than retail businesses; even if every car is an EV, most customers visiting a retail establishment won't need to charge at the store because they will be charging at home, so a relatively small number of chargers at retail establishments still serves the community just fine. But, homes is a different story. This is where everyone expects to be able to plug in.
Bear in mind that the average commute is about 40 miles round trip in the US. 120V @ 12A (on a 15A outlet) charges about 4-5 miles per hour. So the average US commuter could charge their car to support their daily commute in 10 hours (probably less time). Obviously this is not going to support everyone, but providing 15A standard outlets at home parking spaces will solve charging for a lot of people. You could put in one 60A 240V circuit to support a single 48A EVSE for one car, or for the same power load on your breaker box you could put in 8 120V 15A outlets and help 8 people out.
We need more 80A 240v (not 208v) at Superchargers CCS stations. On holidays / busy the networks can dis-incentive staying on the DCFC part 30kW and dropping. Also, in a pinch I’d rather sit on a 32A/48A/80A L2 while waiting, especially if I squeak in low or it’s super hot/hold I can at least manage thermals and get 20-60 mph added
I know you're not an editor, and you don't love editing, but a little bit of quality control wouldn't go amiss. The video skips and repeats itself in the middle. For now that can be fixed in the youtube editor
16:00 min, you mentioned why BMW did that as they don't have 80amp on-board chargers. What if they are planning something for the future and therefore installed those?
No expensive EVSE for me. Mine is a $350 portable variable amperage unit(up to 48) with a 25 ft cord that I have mounted(easily removable when traveling) on a wall in my garage and it plugs into a NEMA 14-50. Having recenlty taken a road trip, I was disappointed in the availability of non-Tesla DC fast charging, so having a portable unit makes sense given the state of charging infrastructure in the US today. DC fast charging along major corridors here in Texas are ridiculously expensive and have wait times in excess of an hour during peak times even with folks just doing an 80% top up. Not to mention that the Texas heat really stresses the charging stations and I found that many were out of service further reducing availability. This needs to get better. So carrying a portable unit means that I can use an RV park connector if necessary.
Ya baby. I have a conversion 1974 super beetle Tesla powered down here in Parker CO. Only can use level 2. Thanks for covering. From bills cool projects on youtube.
Just to add to the confusion of the charger to utilize, my utility is now applying an energy fee to the power bill. A level 2 charger will jack up my bill by $15-$20/month due to the 9 kW value of my level 2 charger, beyond the actual electricity usage and cost. This is a normal fee in the industry, usually applied at a utility-to-utility level where the utility purchasing power exceeds the contracted maximum power value (kW, an instantaneous measurement). I have a level 2 charger (Emporia), operating at 40 amps and it easily charges my Ioniq 5 from 20% to 80 % overnight. But, due to the energy fee, I am now charging more often with my level 1 charger, usually from around 70%. I hope Kyle can comment on this situation. I realize this may be confusing.
Between this and a Tesla universal wall connector on CCS Now but eventually EV going NACS What provisions does the commercial one have to say switch the cable to NACS If I change vehicles Thinking tesla for home only because intially has adapter and is simple and later just nacs already there I just love the onboard display for the Autel
Would love to see discussions and reviews on cable management solutions for typical home garages. Especially overhead systems. I hate(!) tripping on cables.
I run mine from the ceiling! I keep a little plastic storage rack in the middle of the garage to just rest the charger cable on. It is super easy to plug in and out and it is never in the way...
I really think we need to get rid of Level 1 vs Level 2 EVSEs especially when there are so many different charging speeds on Level 2 chargers. I think both Level 1 and Level 2 EVSE should just be labeled by the max kW they can deliver. For example an EVSE that can operate at 240V/40amp (50 amp circuit) would be called a 9.6kW EVSE. The other thing that is really needed with level 2 public charging is plug and play use and billing. If shopping centers and other short term stops (30min to 2 hour stops like shopping/movie/restaurant) then small battery EVs start making a lot more sense for every day use.
Current is a better measure as it is maximum capacity of the device. Voltage varies so the resulting power varies as a result. A 208 volt 3 phase line would typically send less power than a 240 volt line , (or 120 volts} . ( 3 Phase in a 3 phase Device would multpy the power by 3 - a 3 phase line could send 22 kW AC in Europe to a Renault Zoe but only 6 kW to a regular car). Like in plumbing a 1 inch pipe restricts how much water moves depending on the pressure. A DCFC called 350 kW really means it could supply a maximum of 350 amps at 1000 vollts DC. The power supply to that charger might be power constrained to less than that due to site limitations. I have a 12 amp charger it's 1.2 or 2.4 kW depending on the voltage.
A year from your comment and I think you’ll find a number of EVSEs with either NACS or J1772 options. Of course the Tesla EVSE comes with both built in.
My electric company charges a higher rate during the morning and afternoon in the winter and a single peak rate in the afternoon during the summer. Are there any electric vehicle chargers that allow me to schedule charging so that it’s only done during off-peak hours?
I think most roadtrips will only even require a hundred or so miles of charge which can be done over a sitdown lunch we’re looking at lucid pure and that should have enough range if we even used level 2 over a lunch to get us from Washington DC to upstate New York the longest drive we do at all often
14:29 I found this QR Code scanning scheme difficult to launch from a phone and use in the bright sunlight: ua-cam.com/video/neL3_ewGlxk/v-deo.html I see a large percentage of unplugged EVs parked in front of Autel's Charging Stations and wonder if it's related to the awkward interface.
I have an older 2015 BMW i3 I have been charging mostly at my house. When I purchased the car I bought the BMW brand level 2 charger to use in my garage. It hangs on the wall. I had an electrician install a 220 volt plug to match the charger plug. He installed a 40 AMP double breaker in my panel which is less than 12 inches away and went straight from the plug to the breaker in the panel. I have never had a charging issue for several years now. Now I am wondering if my breaker is undersized. What if I want to charge a Volvo XC40 or other EV? Should I make changes to my breaker? It appears I am ok for the BMW but I am considering another EV and thinking I should increase the breaker size to a 60 AMP?
If there can be enough level capacity for everyone, I’d agree. I just can’t see a world yet where every single parking space in a mall parking lot has a level 2 plug, but that’s the sort of future we’ll need once everyone is driving EVs especially if shorter range becomes popular as a lower cost vehicle option. Personally, I feel like I’d prefer to just have to do one quick 10-15 minute DC fast charge and be done rather than have to worry about finding a level an available 2 capable parking spot wherever I’m going throughout the day/week. Figuratively of course, as I personally would have level 2 charging at home whenever I get an EV. I’m just thinking from the viewpoint of if I didn’t have that option. On the plus side, I’d assume level2 would much more easily have long cables do parking orientation could be less of an annoyance.
Yeah, not having a place to charge the car at home, work, or somewhere you can leave the car plugged in for a number of hours in the day makes EV ownership much less convenient. If you don't have that option, DCFC is probably going to be your best bet.
Kyle, I have the Autel 50amp charger with the off-board handle mount. I bought that one thinking that if the handle mount broke, on-board, fixing/replacing would be more difficult. Yes, I could buy a separate off-board mount, but then I’d have a broken/unusable base or on/board mount.
Great vid, thank you for this (and your others as well) ! I wonder if your explanation of total amps available to charge and the 20% buffer is a bit off? Max current available is determined by the details of your electric supply setup, i.e., literally the juice being supplied by the transformer in your neighborhood and the gauge of the power supply lines feeding your house or apt complex/condo or commercial garage or whatever. Then also, of course by the gauge used and routing length from home input to desired charging point. After max current available is determined, then take that 80% cut, meaning select a breaker that will trip at 80% less than max available current. So.... you said you have 200A available, that means your unit can take 50A and your breaker ought to be 50A, that gives you far more than 20% tolerance. That would be my understanding, anyway. Maybe I misinterpreted but I went and listed again and you said 75A breaker for a 50A appliance so... I think it would be 50A for 50A. Again, thanks for the vid!
I spoke with Autel twice in the past week and they both told me they are NOT shipping any models with the newer flexible cord! They said it’s not available yet!!
Kyle I need, we need you to do a deep dive on cost of dc fast charging, all companies. I still think Tesla will be cheaper. I am tired of paying .51 to .56 cents per kw and sometimes a 2.99 connect fee. So wrong. I want to start a company that is fair to the consumers and spreads use on a comparable price like Tesla
why arent the cables white? isnt electricity reduced or has a lower quality with more heat, (interal heat from electricity and external heat from the sun baking a black cable)
Yes, level 2 should be everywhere but also implemented wisely, not to have 100 apps for various providers... but even if you cannot charge at home, if level 2 was everywhere, you could charge the car while at work, shopping, watching movies, having a day at a beach etc. So unless you go on a long road trip (or are a taxi driver or delivery guy etc.) you would not even use a fast charger. And when batteries get more energy dense and we have bigger ranges, it could be quite possible fast charging will be needed very very seldomly, of course it still should be available but it will also be one reason why the grid won't ''collapse'', that actually we do not need the same fast charging capacity as we need gas stations for cars. Might need to increase some local capacity and maybe in some properties the wiring will be really old to support it, but if it is everywhere you do not need to charge at home too if your wiring is super questionable
Instead of offering 2 SKUs, one with the exterior handle holder and the other with the built in handle holder, would it really be prohibitively more expensive to just make 1 SKU and offer the exterior handle with a closed off front plate that could be swapped out included in the box with the unit that has the front plate w/ built in handle holder?
Excuse my idiocy when discussing power coming out of the panel. Two hot lines! Also - if any electricians want to join us in talking about install considerations please reach out.
It's a 240V circuit, that's why there are 2 hot lines.
Kyle, Just letting you know that at 19:30 there is a jump cut backwards in the video a certain amount and repeats material until the finish. Still a wonderfully informative video, just wanted you to know.
In terms of the wiring, modern EVSEs go with the 4-pin NEMA 14-50 standard. L1 (hot), L2 (hot), Neutral (typically wired but unused), and Ground (required). But there are lots of adapters and EVSEs that take various older styles of dryer plugs, which I recommend avoiding as much as possible because dryer plugs aren't designed to run high amps for hours on end.
For 240VAC, the actual power is carried on L1 and L2. L1 or L2 against 'Neutral is just 120VAC, but L2 is 180 degrees out of phase with L1 so L1 against L2 gives you 240VAC. In the U.S. Neutral is right smack in the middle at the same potential as ground. In the E.U., however, 240VAC is not symmetric around ground, it is entirely above ground, and there is usually only one hot. It will be 240VAC against neutral, offset above ground.
Neutral is not used at all for U.S. 240VAC, but on some devices it is monitored. Most EVSEs just ignore the neutral entirely... it is often not even wired internally. However, the EVSE is required to test ground against L1 and L2 to make sure there is a solid ground connection at least to the EVSE. More sophisticated EVSEs will test that ground and neutral are bonded (at the main service breaker box).
All EVSEs are required to test for ground faults (current on the ground) and disconnect. Usually the EVSE also checks the L1 and L2 voltage against ground to make sure the ground is real and voltages are as expected for the region.
--
Now, in terms of wiring, one thing people need to be careful about is that traditionally NEMA sockets were designed for dryers that only run an hour at a time, not for EVs that might be sucking max amps for 8+ hours. So a lot of NEMA sockets out there are actually quite deficient, even when they are advertised to have a 50A circuit rating, and even when they are 14-50's.
Always get a quality socket, don't low-ball the price. Even if you only have, say, a 20A circuit, you still want to use the beefiest NEMA socket that you can find.
Even if you have a 50A circuit and socket, you might still want to program your EVSE for a lower max amperage just as an added safety. After a new installation, check that the socket is not melted or burned or smells funny at least once a week for a few months before you get comfortable with it.
Tesla EVSEs tend to be hardwired. Well, many EVSEs in general are hardwired, and many are not. Hardwiring is theoretically safer than using a plug, but even hardwired wiring can have severe issues if installed improperly. To be honest, a good NEMA socket is just more useful than hardwiring.
The breaker should always be sized to protect the wiring, and then down-sized from there as desired. So a 50A NEMA 14-50 with appropriate wiring would get a 50A breaker. But if you have only 20A wiring with your 50A NEMA 14-50, you would obviously put in a 20A breaker. And of course you would program the EVSE to not suck up more current than the wiring can handle. Double safeties... very important to avoid turning the wiring into a line of fire.
--
Finally, in terms of which EVSE to get... to be completely honest, I don't like the ones that have fancy displays, wifi, bluetooth, or are too smart for their own good. I just want a basic weather-proof unit and dip-switches to set the highest negotiated current are just fine. I wound up getting an out-door Grizzl-E for my garage (Canadian product so obviously it can handle any weather), and a stupid cheap programmable portable EVSE with a NEMA 14-50 plug to throw into the car, along with some adapters when visiting friends houses who have convenient dryer or 14-50 plugs to plug into instead of 120VAC.
That's pretty much it.
Oh, one more thing... NEMA plugs are VERY DANGEROUS. When the plug is being put into the socket or is partially but not completely pulled out of the socket, those long prongs are fully accessible to your fingers. People often grasp the plugs wrong and wind up touching live prongs. So always be careful when plugging or unplugging one.
For an EVSE, you have that convenient breaker... make sure the breaker is open. I know it may seem a bit silly to some, but its a good habit to get into. Even the most experienced electrician will have touched a live wire or prong dozens of times in his or her career.
The breaker will be double-pole, it disconnects both L1 and L2. In addition, either the breaker or the EVSE will have a GFCI or equivalent capability for safety. The rules are a bit relaxed in the U.S. unfortunately, but in the EU and the UK the breaker itself must integrate a GFCI, I believe.
How about the editing of the video?
Level 2 charging is what most EV drivers should be doing most of the time. It’s much cheaper and when done at home it is most convenient. Save the DC fast charging for longer road trips.
AC level 2 Charging also will help prolong the life of your battery.
Yes, but DC recharging is also less reliable
Of course. But the ability to DC fast charge quickly when you do need it-even if it’s only once or twice a year-is critical.
I agree with you 100%
Level 1 120v 30 amp trickle charge in is best u plumber
EV ownership is every bit as fun as Kyle presents. Home charging off solar is like having an oil well on your property and gas pump at your house. EV6 in our garage and a Denali EV reservation with GM.
It's hard to get people to think about this as you presented, but that is the best way to pitch it. I am starting the deployment of my solar array next week (starting at 8.9kW with potential for 10-15% gain from bifacial), really looking forward to driving off of power from the sun!
what's the best bang for buck solar array I should be looking into? (complete noob here)
@@Robosan4000 Tesla makes good equipment but Tesla doing the install should be avoided.
Only takes 20 years to pay off the solar!
109% pre las sentence
With my driving patterns I almost never use the Tesla Supercharger network. Charging at home overnight gets me all I need. Hopefully makes my battery last longer too!?
Yeah AC charging is less harsh on the battery
Yes AC charging is def better on the battery. I have two same year same model Teslas. One is 90% Supercharging, other is 99% AC charging and the battery on the supercharger one is much worse after a year compared to the AC one
I still have access to free supercharging and only use it on long road trips. For the majority of my charging I charge at home. It's just more convenient.
I charge my Chevy Bolt at home to keep from annoying the waiting owners of faster charging cars when I am using the 350kw DCFC stations! Yay!
Level 1 and 2 should be everywhere. Home, work, shopping centers, movie theaters, grocery stores... Anyplace people are parked for a while. Having power available everywhere would greatly reduce the load on the DCFC. Those DCFC locations should be just needed if your in a pinch and need a fast charge or your road tripping/travelling.
Level 1 is useless. level 2 at a minimum
Level 1 is great for at your job, where you'd work an 12 hour shift, even then Plug in Hybrid would be the ones getting topped off.
For Full Electric Vehicles, it would restore the milage driven to work and MAYBE a few extra miles. (idk let someone crunch those numbers)
Level 2 is generally better due to quicker charge times for Plugs ins to get topped off and for BEVs to get a full charge within a work shift.
thing is, is it worth the money or time? since if i recall correctly it costs more when using someone else's electricity rather than your own. which is interesting, cuz on one hand its easier to scale at common points of interest BUT the company does want to get their return on investment so yeah they kinda need to charge both cost plus a profit margin. whereas as homeowner only gets billed for their consumption rate.
still sucks but nothing is free so i guess the cost must be added in.
back to the original point, Level 1 isnt bad, but its best for Plug Ins and technically could offset commuters milage for the employees (not for public use since its an 8 hour charging period, essentially a staff memeber)
@@rk-jc9se for me it would be perfect If I owned an EV, my work allows free charging, they have level two charger's at the main office but I'm sadly at an aux campus but they still let us plug in, I only live about 5 miles from my work so level one would fully fill me.up while working easily
I think you and Tom need to start “Out of Spec Consulting” for companies interested in having level 2 or CCS installations.
Ia the video looped? At the end starts over
I like Clippercreek. It seems reliable, no bells and whistles that can break, reasonable price given the build quality.
I’m using a Chargepoint HomeFlex level 2 charger at home. Rock Solid. I use it to charge Tesla Model Y + Audi Etron.
Same.
Love how it works well with public ChargePoint locations.
Good to see another level 2 review. Our BMW i4 e40 just passed 10,000 miles with all charging done at home. For various reasons we bought rather than leased the car and want to protect the battery. It left the dealership with 100% SOC but hasn’t been above 80% or below 15% since then. Based on a Tom M. review from a few years ago, we got a ChargePoint Home Flex. It’s hardwired and delivers 9 kW. We’re very happy with it so far.
His channel is excellent.
Yes, you're too concerned with DC fast charging. I have a BMW i4. At 13 cents per KWH, it costs about $11 to recharge the battery at home from a zero state of charge and that will yield about 300 miles of range under optimum conditions. In contrast, our 4Runner gets about 19MPG and to go that same 300 miles costs about $52 in gas. That's a huge difference. When I add the solar production from the array on my roof, the real cost is zero. I don't worry about public charging because we have a gas vehicle that can take us to distant places. For now, the i4 works great around town and, its a lot more fun to drive. I fully expect public charging to improve in the future but, until then, I'm good.
FYI, the residential unit also has the RFID reader. You could use it to charge people to use it or if you have to install the unit outdoors it can prevent others from stealing power. It would be a great charger to put at an AirBnB or VRBO and you could allow charging for an additional fee. Also, check your edit. Part of the video is repeated.
Several people have mentioned this and thanks for affirming it. Is there a monthly service charge to the owners to charge people or pay as they use it? This would be great for apartment buildings with common parking and house power or at my cabin in the woods for that emergency charge someone might need to get down the mountain. There aren't many good options in the less expensive range. Shine pay and orange charger stand out but the owner has to pay on their own system.
Good to know. Actually had someone asking at Fully Charged Live about situations where he'd charged at friends houses and while they were fine with it, he felt guilty not knowing how much to repay them. So this could maybe help in those situations as well.
I'm in a multi generation household and while going to the fuel station had that moment of 'oh help once I get an EV how will I cover my home charging fuel costs, if I can't see or track how much it costs my parents?' or just track different car usages in general, so good to know some residential chargers have stuff like this.
I upgraded my service and had my Tesla Wall Connector installed via QMerit. I had a 100 amp box in a house built in 1910 and it cost me $3840 (plus the cost of the Wall Connector.) It’s great! My garage is my gas station now! I pay a bit more for electricity than Colton ($0.142 per kWh) but it still works out to about $0.04 per mile driven in my Model 3 standard range. Very happy!
Just to clarify, and maybe others have also, for 240VAC in North America, the red wire is L1 and the black is L2 and the green is ground. Both the L1 and L2 are HOT and alternate between positive and negative relative to ground. When L1 is positive , L2 is negative, then the other way around. There is no positive and negative wire in AC wiring. For 120VAC, there is a hot wire (black) which alternates between positive and negative in relation to ground, and a neutral (white) which is a current carrying wire but always stays at 0 voltage relative to ground (when everything is working correctly
Yes in fact any color AC lead except white and green is a hot lead.
On 3 phase th neutral Carries unbalanced load back to panel
17 cents per kwh right now, over 95% of our charging is at home and most days our EV's are charged between 40% and 60%. With that in mind both of our EV's, on average, are plugged in once a week. Thank you for sharing.
One important consideration for home charging - even with L1/L2 charging, how much speed do you need? Everyone talks about 50A, 60A, 70A, etc. circuits and those just aren't available (or needed) in a lot of cases.
I have two EVs at home and two EVSEs - both EVSEs are 240V 16A units. So I really only need a total of 40A @ 240V of load capacity in my panel. 16A EVSEs are inexpensive. 12 gauge cable costs a heck of a lot less than 6 or 4 gauge. I can plug and unplug 6-20 plugs all day long with less worry about wear and tear than I would with a 10-50. And I can still replace over 100 miles of range in each car in about 10 hours.
Obviously there are people who need relatively "fast" L2 charging at home. But if you drive fewer than 40 miles a day, even the humble 120V 15A outlet can probably serve you pretty darned well.
Wire size is important for load calculations
Was about to ask you a good J1772 option. Perfect timing on the video. Thanks!
I am glad to see you putting some focus on charging at home. We have two electric cars at home, but probably only fast charge about once a month, even though we go through 1-2k miles a month between the two cars.
Bring on the level 2! Been thinking about how it would be great to hear more about level 2 rollouts lately, especially public slow chargers for grazing for your day to day charging as the market matures and more and more people with different life situations are using them. Also really want to hear about workplace charging becoming a thing for more and more people. So it's great to hear you talking about that side of things!
WOW Kyle someone messed up on the editing! it will just start over at 19:31. It will repeat what you said before.
Two (AC) hot legs and a ground. No DC out of your AC panel.
Service entrance conductors from existing electric company residential transformer feeds 2 120 volt 100 amp panel that feeds 240 v 60/80 amp charger
Commercial buildings are 3 phase 277 v add amps across breakers
I'm glad you've done a video on L2 charging and will be working more on some home charging content coming up! I'm a hopeful future home buyer and one of the first things I'm going to do is install an EVSE.
None of the apartments I can afford in my area have EVSE and the place I'm at _said_ they were going to install a charger... 3 years ago... I haven't seen hide nor hair of one. We've got some public EVSE but not enough for me to be able to fully rely on it - also I don't wanna hog the public infrastructure. (and yes I say EVSE because, while we do have DC Chargers, I've got a PHEV without CCS).
And yes, I do watch Tom's State of Charge reviews on all the EVSE - I really like his deep freeze cable test, even though snow and truly cold weather are mythical to us here in the southeast XD
This might've been too basic for some, but as a new EV owner who recently got a level two EVSE (see, I'm learning!) and didn't know most of this information. Happy you all endorse the Autel units! THat's the one I have!
Me neither yehehe
I just got that one, unfortunately overheats after about an hour in hot temperatures. I bought the commercial version because I thought it would stand up to the heat better because my location is out in the Sun but it's not even summer time yet and it's already overheating.
Also when it's not in use it displays Autel advertising in my driveway trying to figure out a way to get rid of that
Yikes. Might be solvable with a hood, but there's no way a glorified smart lightswitch should be overheating.
I’d be on the phone with Autel.
Hey Crazypostman, Autel official account here, we're sending you a DM to get your issue troubleshooted and resolved. Check your inbox, thanks.
You may want to reduce the level of charging to reduce heat generation. You can do this within the evse or the car software. I am sure you know that per NEC, the evse should be set at no more than 80% of the rated amps of the circuit; in other words if your circuit breaker is 40 amps and you have a 40 amp evse, the evse should provide no more than 32 amps to the car. I use a 40 amp rated evse on a 40 amp circuit and have the evse set to 32 amps; I use the car software to downrate the amp draw to be 28 amps. The difference between 7.5 kw at 32 amps and 6.8 kw at 28 amps is negligible on an overnight charge.
I really like my Grizzl-E EVSE with the "extreme" cable that's more flexible. (I think all come with that now by default)
That thing is simple and built like a tank, I don't expect any failures for a long time. I didn't get the smart version as you can monitor pretty much everything you need through the Tesla app, along with setting up scheduled charging. But it would be cool if they had a more modern smart charger that allowed load sharing, payment options, and max amperage setting. Their current smart EVSE is really just for monitoring/scheduling.
I've been looking at their Duo hoping to have one PHEV and one EV in the next few years if we can get an EV that can go for 3 hours with under 15 minutes of charging.
You didn't miss out on not getting the smart version; I did, and the app (3rd party) is mostly useless. I'm disappointed by that aspect, but for everything else, the Grizzl-E has been solid.
FYI at about 19:20 the video restarts again. aThis video plays twice.
Is the video doubled?
Yes - editing mistake. Apologies! Video will be edited in a couple hours (UA-cam processing edits is slow)
Editing error? At 19:36 the video starts over again.
Yes. Must be a different editor.
That Autel 'commercial' unit looks identical to the residential unit with the only difference being the touchscreen. I've been using the Autel unit with the separate holster to charge my Wrangler 4xe for the past 6 months. Very reliable charger that will charge my Jeep at its maximum rate of 32 amps.
Kyle is super laid back, fun to watch, and amazing at explaining. Always enjoy your videos. Keep it up and thank you for your hard work!
109%👍
Kyle is the least laid back guy I think I've ever seen but he is fun to watch
As soon as you said positive and negative I paused the video, looked at comments.... phew. okay you saved credibility. Great video
Tesla owner here. I installed a 240V Nema 14-50 recepticle in my garage. At the time of purchase my Model Y LR included the mobile connector in the price. My Tesla mobile charger is constantly plugged in and isn't removed from the wall. It's tied down with zip ties, actually. I bought a 2nd mobile connector to stay in the car. This cost me half as much as going with the full 60 amps (48A) charger from Tesla. Granted I only get 32A but I don't miss that extra 16 amps when I'm asleep and my car is charging overnight. The car is finished charging by the time I get up and has a full charge (I go to 90%) when I'm ready to go.
In 2014 in the UK most chargers were AC, power up to 43KW. Only 1 car could use all that power, the original Renault Zoe. Given all the 'stuff' needed to convert AC to DC at high power levels was already in the car (inverter, enabling regenerative braking), it made perfect sense to use it. AC is of course, demonstrably safer than DC, also requiring only a tiny housing, it made sense for charge power below 50KW. Thermal constraints in the car are the sole reason DC exists below 50KW.
i talked with an engineer at ACT conference at anahiem from Autel he really walked me through it i am impressed too
Former Yugoslavia has one huge benefit:
Almost every house has 3 phase power and we have 3 phase sockets, rated at 16A which gives 11kW.
I was on a road trip, and in one town, 2 chargers were occupied and 3 were broken. So I asked in a diner to plug in my car. By the time I finished my lunch, it had added 150km of range.
Finally talking to 90% of us that use level 2 either at home, work or at a hotel. I have a Mach E for over a year and 15k miles and have used DCFC 4 times. At home I have 1450/50amp service in garage and a charger that is switchable 24/32/40 amp and I used this based on how quick I need to top off. Most often I use 110v plugged in 24/7 which works for me.
So, I don’t have a garage. Is it possible to put a home charger outside. I could put it under my deck, build a box for it. Yes we have winter here. So minus 30 something spells in winter. Do I need a garage?
2022 Mustang Mach-E, had to upgrade my panel to 200 amps. Had a 48 amp Lectron ectron level 2 charger installed. It's called a 48 amp vbox. Chose that because of the price and the simplicity of the use. Figured I could just use the settings in the car for timing it. Right after it was installed this Altel charger 48 amps was on sale for only $20 more. I wish I would have got that nothing wrong with the Lectron it's just the Altel does have more features.
Actually you have two line voltage and a neutral wired into the unit. No positive and negative. It’s AC. Thanks for the video
We need level 2 chargers at apartment complexes and places of business. You can put in something like 100+ level 2 chargers 🔌 or outlets for the cost of 1 Level 3 DC fast charger.
Kyle you put this video on as the same video twice back to back. Should be half the length.
If you have a Tesla, would you recommend Autel over the Tesla wall charger or mobile charger?
Stick with the Tesla charger. Fantastic.
What the heck. This video is 34:54, but it looks the second half is exactly the same as the first one. It's the same video twice. :D Is it UA-cam glitch?
I would like to see you talking about charging loss and strategies to lower it. Thanks. Love the channel
I’m digging this residential series.
Can we take a look at bidirectional chargers? Particularly with solar for residential use cases?
I installed a Enelx L2 charger in my garage in March. Checked my charging for the last 30 days and I've spent just over $10 in the last 30 days on my "fuel". Level 2 charging at home is the best.
I have one too…but it’s just a dumb EVSE now that Enel X has pulled out of NA. I’m looking for a new smart EVSE, I think it will be either ChargePoint or Autel.
Let me ask a very basic question. Why should I use an EVSE? I have a 240V outlet on my wall. I plug the cable that came with my Model 3 into that outlet, and plug the other end of the cable into the charge port on my Model 3. That seems to work just fine. How would adding an EVSE into the mix be better?
I am not a Tesla owner, but I believe your "mobile wall charger" provides the 32 amps that an evse would provide. So for you, you're all set! Buying an evse would be for those whose cars don't come with that nice Tesla mobile charger.
@@ramonmorales1980 thanks!
Thanks Kyle, this and the other video you guys recently make me feel like my complaints have finally been heard. :-)
I have had a Blink charging unit professionally installed in the garage of the new home, with its own breaker box, and it allows me to do the local errands in my PHEV on electrons.
The only downside is when I am at the old condo, packing things up, because that doesn't have a way to charge, community parking lot, etc.
The Volta public chargers near the condo are routinely hogged by Teslas, so from the old place I can only charge at the office or sometimes from public charging. That is a contributing factor to why I have a PHEV and not an EV car.
It's true. The vast majority of people with EVs charge the vast majority of the time at home, so DC fast charging is not usually a daily thing. For me it's a once in a blue moon thing. That being said, I'm glad the EV manufacturers finally got with the program and made DC fast charging capability standard on their vehicles instead of optional (I'm looking at you, Chevy Bolt!)
Love my ChargePoint Flex
Yep, charging available always is way more important than fast charging. Imo.
Thank goodness. My U.K. Ami Vibe only uses type 2 or a 13 plug.
Interesting, but why does this video sound like a Autel info-mercial? Usually you hear both positive and negative aspects of something. Not here. Just the positive.
Hey not sure if this video was edited properly because it starts over and repeats itself like the video just started over and should have only been like 15 minutes long
Twice th knowledge tyvm
Just got a tesla M3 rwd so max charge is 32amps (my charger app shows its pulling 33amps). I have a 100 amp service at home. I ran 6/3 wire to the garage to wire it up to a 14-50 outlet. Works great. No issues.
Me too. I set mine at 22 amps on the app. The cable gets a bit warm at the full 32 amps. Doesn’t get warm at 22a.
4:30 The way he incorrectly explained AC power makes me glad he uses professional electricians, and so should most people.
Not plumbers???
Emporia has the best non-Tesla EVSE. Up to 60A @ 48A hard wire (but includes the 14-50).
What makes it the best?
Some local power companies and governments have rebates on Level 2 installations. Los Angeles Department of Water & Power *requires* them to be hardwired by a licensed electrician and kept in place for 3 years. I am filling out the forms for the rebate and was surprised by these requirements.
How does this compare to the Tesla home charger? Or is this just an Autel infommercial?
99% is L2 for me, on a 5.5kw wallbox at home (25A limited, 220V)
ETHERNET connection is BIG PLUS with Autel units! Trying to get Wi-Fi to work sometimes is an exercise in frustration!! It is always worth effort to wire something in.
This is a 35 minute ad for Autel.
Load sharing is great. If you don't have that equipment you can still have two EVSE's when you only have 50 amps to play with. I have one 32 amp EVSE and one 16 amp EVSE. We can charge both our EV's overnight.
What charging speed does this charger provide? Thanks for the content.
I'd like to see a video on charging solutions for large-scale multifamily. Are there any charging solutions out there that scale well enough to handle a parking garage for a 300-unit apartment building where all cars parked in the building are electric? A dedicated level 2 charger and 70 amp/240V circuit for each resident in the building seems like it would be very expensive and that the right solution that combines load sharing and charger sharing might do the job for far cheaper.
Apartments is a much more challenging charging situation in an all-EV future than retail businesses; even if every car is an EV, most customers visiting a retail establishment won't need to charge at the store because they will be charging at home, so a relatively small number of chargers at retail establishments still serves the community just fine. But, homes is a different story. This is where everyone expects to be able to plug in.
Bear in mind that the average commute is about 40 miles round trip in the US. 120V @ 12A (on a 15A outlet) charges about 4-5 miles per hour. So the average US commuter could charge their car to support their daily commute in 10 hours (probably less time).
Obviously this is not going to support everyone, but providing 15A standard outlets at home parking spaces will solve charging for a lot of people. You could put in one 60A 240V circuit to support a single 48A EVSE for one car, or for the same power load on your breaker box you could put in 8 120V 15A outlets and help 8 people out.
We need more 80A 240v (not 208v) at Superchargers CCS stations. On holidays / busy the networks can dis-incentive staying on the DCFC part 30kW and dropping.
Also, in a pinch I’d rather sit on a 32A/48A/80A L2 while waiting, especially if I squeak in low or it’s super hot/hold I can at least manage thermals and get 20-60 mph added
I know you're not an editor, and you don't love editing, but a little bit of quality control wouldn't go amiss. The video skips and repeats itself in the middle. For now that can be fixed in the youtube editor
Just made my mind up. I choose the Autel. Thanks again!
Went with wallbox Pulsar Plus 48. They opened a plant in Texas which influenced my purchasing decision.
16:00 min, you mentioned why BMW did that as they don't have 80amp on-board chargers. What if they are planning something for the future and therefore installed those?
No expensive EVSE for me. Mine is a $350 portable variable amperage unit(up to 48) with a 25 ft cord that I have mounted(easily removable when traveling) on a wall in my garage and it plugs into a NEMA 14-50. Having recenlty taken a road trip, I was disappointed in the availability of non-Tesla DC fast charging, so having a portable unit makes sense given the state of charging infrastructure in the US today. DC fast charging along major corridors here in Texas are ridiculously expensive and have wait times in excess of an hour during peak times even with folks just doing an 80% top up. Not to mention that the Texas heat really stresses the charging stations and I found that many were out of service further reducing availability. This needs to get better. So carrying a portable unit means that I can use an RV park connector if necessary.
I got a $150 48a charger on temu and it has never been anything but perfect
7:33 I think level 2 240 volt is 100 amp max or no?
Ya baby. I have a conversion 1974 super beetle Tesla powered down here in Parker CO. Only can use level 2. Thanks for covering. From bills cool projects on youtube.
Just to add to the confusion of the charger to utilize, my utility is now applying an energy fee to the power bill. A level 2 charger will jack up my bill by $15-$20/month due to the 9 kW value of my level 2 charger, beyond the actual electricity usage and cost. This is a normal fee in the industry, usually applied at a utility-to-utility level where the utility purchasing power exceeds the contracted maximum power value (kW, an instantaneous measurement). I have a level 2 charger (Emporia), operating at 40 amps and it easily charges my Ioniq 5 from 20% to 80 % overnight. But, due to the energy fee, I am now charging more often with my level 1 charger, usually from around 70%. I hope Kyle can comment on this situation. I realize this may be confusing.
Wow what state are you in? My guess is it’s a conservative run state that doesn’t care about ev adoption.
i had autel installed for home. great service and info provide.
Between this and a Tesla universal wall connector on CCS Now but eventually EV going NACS
What provisions does the commercial one have to say switch the cable to NACS If I change vehicles
Thinking tesla for home only because intially has adapter and is simple and later just nacs already there
I just love the onboard display for the Autel
Would love to see discussions and reviews on cable management solutions for typical home garages. Especially overhead systems. I hate(!) tripping on cables.
I run mine from the ceiling! I keep a little plastic storage rack in the middle of the garage to just rest the charger cable on. It is super easy to plug in and out and it is never in the way...
@@nafnaf0 Sounds like a great idea!
If this is not an ad, it should be. Now I want to get an Autel EVSE even though I don’t have an EV.
I really think we need to get rid of Level 1 vs Level 2 EVSEs especially when there are so many different charging speeds on Level 2 chargers. I think both Level 1 and Level 2 EVSE should just be labeled by the max kW they can deliver. For example an EVSE that can operate at 240V/40amp (50 amp circuit) would be called a 9.6kW EVSE.
The other thing that is really needed with level 2 public charging is plug and play use and billing. If shopping centers and other short term stops (30min to 2 hour stops like shopping/movie/restaurant) then small battery EVs start making a lot more sense for every day use.
Current is a better measure as it is maximum capacity of the device. Voltage varies so the resulting power varies as a result. A 208 volt 3 phase line would typically send less power than a 240 volt line , (or 120 volts} . ( 3 Phase in a 3 phase Device would multpy the power by 3 - a 3 phase line could send 22 kW AC in Europe to a Renault Zoe but only 6 kW to a regular car). Like in plumbing a 1 inch pipe restricts how much water moves depending on the pressure. A DCFC called 350 kW really means it could supply a maximum of 350 amps at 1000 vollts DC. The power supply to that charger might be power constrained to less than that due to site limitations. I have a 12 amp charger it's 1.2 or 2.4 kW depending on the voltage.
@@JohnRoss1 I think you made my case better than I did.
My favorite EVSE has to be the Tesla Wall connector. I find it very unfortunate nobody else really offers an EVSE with NACS.
I am with you. I will stick with my hardwired Tesla unit in my garage. NACS!
A year from your comment and I think you’ll find a number of EVSEs with either NACS or J1772 options. Of course the Tesla EVSE comes with both built in.
My electric company charges a higher rate during the morning and afternoon in the winter and a single peak rate in the afternoon during the summer. Are there any electric vehicle chargers that allow me to schedule charging so that it’s only done during off-peak hours?
Dryer splitters come in handy pre panel upgrade- change out
I think most roadtrips will only even require a hundred or so miles of charge which can be done over a sitdown lunch we’re looking at lucid pure and that should have enough range if we even used level 2 over a lunch to get us from Washington DC to upstate New York the longest drive we do at all often
Excellent video, thank you for covering this product.
14:29 I found this QR Code scanning scheme difficult to launch from a phone and use in the bright sunlight: ua-cam.com/video/neL3_ewGlxk/v-deo.html
I see a large percentage of unplugged EVs parked in front of Autel's Charging Stations and wonder if it's related to the awkward interface.
I have an older 2015 BMW i3 I have been charging mostly at my house. When I purchased the car I bought the BMW brand level 2 charger to use in my garage. It hangs on the wall. I had an electrician install a 220 volt plug to match the charger plug. He installed a 40 AMP double breaker in my panel which is less than 12 inches away and went straight from the plug to the breaker in the panel. I have never had a charging issue for several years now. Now I am wondering if my breaker is undersized. What if I want to charge a Volvo XC40 or other EV? Should I make changes to my breaker? It appears I am ok for the BMW but I am considering another EV and thinking I should increase the breaker size to a 60 AMP?
If there can be enough level capacity for everyone, I’d agree. I just can’t see a world yet where every single parking space in a mall parking lot has a level 2 plug, but that’s the sort of future we’ll need once everyone is driving EVs especially if shorter range becomes popular as a lower cost vehicle option.
Personally, I feel like I’d prefer to just have to do one quick 10-15 minute DC fast charge and be done rather than have to worry about finding a level an available 2 capable parking spot wherever I’m going throughout the day/week. Figuratively of course, as I personally would have level 2 charging at home whenever I get an EV. I’m just thinking from the viewpoint of if I didn’t have that option.
On the plus side, I’d assume level2 would much more easily have long cables do parking orientation could be less of an annoyance.
Yeah, not having a place to charge the car at home, work, or somewhere you can leave the car plugged in for a number of hours in the day makes EV ownership much less convenient. If you don't have that option, DCFC is probably going to be your best bet.
Kyle,
I have the Autel 50amp charger with the off-board handle mount. I bought that one thinking that if the handle mount broke, on-board, fixing/replacing would be more difficult.
Yes, I could buy a separate off-board mount, but then I’d have a broken/unusable base or on/board mount.
Great vid, thank you for this (and your others as well) !
I wonder if your explanation of total amps available to charge and the 20% buffer is a bit off?
Max current available is determined by the details of your electric supply setup, i.e., literally the juice being supplied by the transformer in your neighborhood and the gauge of the power supply lines feeding your house or apt complex/condo or commercial garage or whatever. Then also, of course by the gauge used and routing length from home input to desired charging point.
After max current available is determined, then take that 80% cut, meaning select a breaker that will trip at 80% less than max available current.
So.... you said you have 200A available, that means your unit can take 50A and your breaker ought to be 50A, that gives you far more than 20% tolerance.
That would be my understanding, anyway.
Maybe I misinterpreted but I went and listed again and you said 75A breaker for a 50A appliance so... I think it would be 50A for 50A.
Again, thanks for the vid!
"Zap up for 15 minutes" - love it. Gotta make "zap up" the phrase for people to use.
I wonder what your thoughts are about the grizzl-e 80 amp charger.
I spoke with Autel twice in the past week and they both told me they are NOT shipping any models with the newer flexible cord! They said it’s not available yet!!
9c per kilowatt hour??? I wish. Is that including admin and transmission/delivery charges on the bill? Or just the raw cost of the power.
Kyle I need, we need you to do a deep dive on cost of dc fast charging, all companies. I still think Tesla will be cheaper. I am tired of paying .51 to .56 cents per kw and sometimes a 2.99 connect fee. So wrong. I want to start a company that is fair to the consumers and spreads use on a comparable price like Tesla
Is there a specific reason to go with Autel residential over the Rivian level 2 charger they offer?
Load Sharing if you plan to get two EVs
why arent the cables white?
isnt electricity reduced or has a lower quality with more heat, (interal heat from electricity and external heat from the sun baking a black cable)
Yes, level 2 should be everywhere but also implemented wisely, not to have 100 apps for various providers... but even if you cannot charge at home, if level 2 was everywhere, you could charge the car while at work, shopping, watching movies, having a day at a beach etc. So unless you go on a long road trip (or are a taxi driver or delivery guy etc.) you would not even use a fast charger. And when batteries get more energy dense and we have bigger ranges, it could be quite possible fast charging will be needed very very seldomly, of course it still should be available but it will also be one reason why the grid won't ''collapse'', that actually we do not need the same fast charging capacity as we need gas stations for cars. Might need to increase some local capacity and maybe in some properties the wiring will be really old to support it, but if it is everywhere you do not need to charge at home too if your wiring is super questionable
Instead of offering 2 SKUs, one with the exterior handle holder and the other with the built in handle holder, would it really be prohibitively more expensive to just make 1 SKU and offer the exterior handle with a closed off front plate that could be swapped out included in the box with the unit that has the front plate w/ built in handle holder?
So if I bought a new Autel, will it come with the upgraded cables? Residential or only avail on commercial units?