Wiring for an EVSE

seems like a good idea, from what gauge wire to what gauge wire and how long is the run? do you need 3 wires plus ground? how much more money do they want?

 

No you need 2 wires plus ground (I wound up having to buy a 3 wire plus ground though because you CANNOT use the bare copper wire as your ground)... In my Voltec EVSE it was pretty straight forward. You have your 2 power, and then your return to ground back in your main panel. In my house the charger is only 15 feet away, so all supplies were less than $100 including conduit, 25ft of 10ga wire, and all the minor stuff.

On the wiring also be sure it is the solid copper, and not the stranded. Depending on your amperage rating of your EVSE you may have to go bigger than 10gauge.. For the Volt it recommended 12 minumum, but I wanted to be on the safe side. That is just for 240V/15amp. It really is not to bad as long as you are either installing it outside near the main panel like I did, or you have a bare garage like the OP. Definately do your research though, and have it done by professionals/or the work inspected & signed off on by a master tech before connecting power. I did the later, and bought all the materials myself so I knew exactly what was going in/where it came from. Was about $150 for them to come by, inspect it, and hook it all up in the main panel. So around $300 after taxes for the install and another $490 for me for the L2 charger. Do not take any outrageous quotes you get (IE from SPX, or some of these other companies).. The locals are a lot freindlier, and a lot more eager to earn your business. Best of luck!

 

makes sense.

 

What type of L2 EVSE had you purchased @ $490.00?

 

Sounds like the SPX Voltec unit for the Chevy Volt...

 

I'd run two separate outlets and breakers, 110 and 220V. When the 220V EVSE costs $99 in a few years, you can plug it right in.

 

You are correct. I went to Lowes/Home Depot and looked at I think either a Columb charger, or whichever one if is they sell for $999 that was a white box with the almost Ipod like design/look to it. My main battle was even I paid $999 for a L2 charger that can charge at 30-50 amps the max the Volt will ever draw is 15a. So it would increase my cost for wiring, because I would need really beefy wiring as you must go off the chargers max capabilities, and not what the cars max charge rate is. So in the end for $490+tax (was I think $520 shipped, would have to look at the reciept) I saved $500, and got a charger that is a perfect fit for the car. The ONLY upside I see to getting one of the other chargers is they are UL approved, and the Volts is not for some reason. Then I got the free evaluation from SPX, and their estimate to do my install was almost $1400 (not including charger price). I found a local electric company that specializes in alternative energy (Dynamo for those of you in the Norfolk area). Extremely professional, and very helpful. I installed the charger where I wanted it. Hooked it all up, ran the wires/conduit and all inside the house to the wall under the main panel. Guy came and inspected all of it, checked inside the Voltec unit. We then closed it all up, and connected power. Have not had one issue with it, and it has been charging daily since December before Christmas. So if you go with a local install you can save a lot of money. I know Toyota is claiming to install the PiP's charger for $999, but something tells me that will not be correct for everyone. Especially for guys with long runs from their main panel, or if you need to put in a sub panel with its own ground. You could run well above $3000 in some of those cases if you go with the "approved installers." You are better off getting your own charger, and paying a local to install even if you don't buy the supplies. Cause he told me even if I had not bought my own supples it still would have been only $600-$700 for him to of completely done my install. Which would have still been under the original SPX estimate for the installation alone.

To wrap it all up though I do not believe you guys really need a L2 charger, and you can really save yourselfs a lot of money and hassle.. I myself even with the Volt really do not "need" the L2 charger, BUT it takes a lot of power to pre-condition the car in cold areas. So since the Volt has an electric heater that the #1 reason I bought the L2 charger. I really think you guys can get away with using the charge cord that comes with it. The only secondary advantage to the L2 is that you don't have to worry about someone grabbing and stealing your charge cord overnight. Lastly the faster charge times, but your charge times will be fast anyway. On a L2 3.3kwh charger the PiP should be done in not much more than hour. Either way you just need to do the cost/benefit analysis for yourself. In my opinion the Volt is borderline whether you need it or not, but with the PiP running the engine anyway for heat I think it would just be a waste of money.

https://www.homecharging.spx.com/volt/Display.aspx?id=7&menu=14

 

I just wanted to clarify a bit here, even though you might know this, others might not. It is not necessary to install thicker gauge simply to accommodate the higher voltage. The thicker wire is for higher amps.

Even with regular gauge wire, it would still be possible to use a 240V EVSE, but at the lower amp setting. (such as Ingineer's modified EVSE)

 

but code requires 12 gauge for a 20 amp breaker. otherwise, someone might pull more amperage and melt the wire before the breaker blows.

 

Using regular gauge wire is a bad idea, and it is not recommended by any of the EVSE manufacturers. I am pretty sure things like that are what are responsable for these home fires involved electric cars. Either people using incorrect gauge or wire, or using alumnimum wire and then drawing to much current across it.... The first sheet of paper in the box for my Voltec EVSE was a warning stating that I must use 12 gauge wire, and a 20 amp circuit breaker. I went with 10 mainly because after my experience with the portable charge cord heating up I wanted to make sure that I had big enough wires to safely handle 240V@15 amp for 4 hours.

As stated by bisco even if your car does not use the max amperage the EVSE can pull there is a risk of it tripping the smaller breaker. This comes up a lot over in the Volt forums because the Volt is incapable of even drawing half of what some of these EVSE's offer.. So some people in an attempt to save money will try to put it on a smaller breaker and wire than recommended. The equipment wasn't made for that, or tested. Not to mention if you ever do decide to get an upgraded Leaf, Focus EV, or some of these other EV's that can charge at 6.6kwh then you would need to go back and pay to completely redo the wiring you already paid to have done. So if you guys buy a good EVSE I recommend just doing it right the first time. Isn't worth burning down your house, ruining your main box, or damaging your car to save $100 on materials for the install cost.

 

That would be a good thing! Depending on the EVSE you could possibly use the old wiring, and just remove the plug for the dryer and have it installed if it is already in the garage.. Now if you get one of those really nice units that puts out 240V@40/50/60A I would put in new wiring. I wound up using an old circuit for a hot tub that is no longer in the back yard. It was on a 50A breaker that I removed and reinstalled with a 20A. We have an electric dryer so taking that circuit would have been a no go. Depends on your driving habits like you say though. I think the PiP will be more than adequate the way it is designed to operate. For those that wish to use it an EV the most they can though will need 240V.