Poll: Do you have, or plan to get, an electric car?

[doug293cz]

Moderator note:

Do we need a separate thread to discuss backup power generation, switching, and installation? We're getting off topic in this thread.

doug293cz
HBT Moderator

 

[whoaru99]

My apology for contributing/stringing it out.

Figured it was fair game since discussion of using EV as backup power source came up, and for safety sake the right ways to do it.

 

[doug293cz]

My apology for contributing/stringing it out.

Figured it was fair game since discussion of using EV as backup power source came up, and for safety sake the right ways to do it.

No need to apologize. Threads often deviate from the original topic. I'm just wondering if this diversion has enough legs to warrant its own thread, so others interested could find it.

doug293cz

 

[PCABrewing]

I hear you. I keep my ‘portable’ generator (meaning it has wheels) in a shed with my lawn tractor. When threatening weather is forecast I lug it onto a covered patio where I can run heavy electrical cabling into the house for emergencies. A few neighbors have Generac setups, but as you said, pricey for the amount of use I’d likely get from one.

I do the same but I am still considering a Generac.
I get a couple outages/yr but we have had storms where some people were out for 5+ days.
That's too-many days of load swapping and the added noise of the portable.
Plus I bet it can be a selling feature for the house.

 

[tracer bullet]

Plus I bet it can be a selling feature for the house.

Maybe. I'd think so if I was buying, other folks can be surprisingly easy to freak out. Realtors especially, regarding anything at all different or uncommon.

 

[Airborneguy]

Back on track, how about the “value” in an already installed garage charger? My charger is a plug in but regardless I have two different 240v receptacles available in the garage. In the near future (if not now), that has to be a selling point.

I know for a fact it will be something we look at for our next house.

 

[Kent88]

I wonder about the value of a durable, "dumb", charger vs a "smart" charger that one needs to pair with an app.

If I knew I was going to live in my current house for the next 8 years, I would invest in a nice smart charger, but with all the unknowns I am just going to put an outlet in and use what came with it.

 

[Airborneguy]

Buy a plug in. My juicebox plug in works just as well as any hardwired version. If there are any downsides, I haven’t found them.

 

[whoaru99]

Back on track, how about the “value” in an already installed garage charger? My charger is a plug in but regardless I have two different 240v receptacles available in the garage. In the near future (if not now), that has to be a selling point.

I know for a fact it will be something we look at for our next house.

I'm sure it depends a lot on the buyer.

For me the value wouldn't be a premium above rough cost, if that, because I have an idea how much it costs to do it, maybe could even do it myself.

That's probably not a lot of buyers though.

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

Back on track, how about the “value” in an already installed garage charger? My charger is a plug in but regardless I have two different 240v receptacles available in the garage. In the near future (if not now), that has to be a selling point.

I know for a fact it will be something we look at for our next house.

I doubt it's something (like most things in a house) that will recoup the actual value upon selling. Especially since a charger isn't a massive expense. If I was an EV owner, I'd probably be looking at the electrical service to make sure I didn't have to make some massive change to the service to install a charger (and thus an existing charger would check that box). But assuming that the existing service would support a charger, as I understand it that's generally a <$1K expense.

Something like a recently-replaced roof with solar and battery backup would be a MUCH bigger thing for me, because installing that myself would be a massive expense relative to a car charger.

 

[Kent88]

I have a EVSE charger, looks a lot like Wabasto Go, that Chevrolet included with my Bolt. Having that makes it difficult to justify buying a second EVSE. What kind of ROI would I get from buying a second unit?

If I was to buy something to hardwire into my garage, it would probably be something like a Grizzl-E or a Clipper Creek unit. Solid unit that nobody needs an app to use.

I still need to get in touch with my local Qmerit affiliate.

 

[whoaru99]

I have a EVSE charger, looks a lot like Wabasto Go, that Chevrolet included with my Bolt. Having that makes it difficult to justify buying a second EVSE. What kind of ROI would I get from buying a second unit?

I don't know exactly what that is.

If 120V charging is good enough there may not be any particular benefit to a buyer. Considering, that is, the likelyhood of a 120V 15A or 20A receptacle/circuit already there.

If they/you already have a 240V L2 charger then the value of a second L2 I'd think minimal in most cases. But, a 240V 30-50A circuit available may have some incremental value if have L2 charger or desire to get one.

 

[Kent88]

My experience with a PHEV, in my circumstances 120v was fine. Now with a BEV, I'm going to need a 240v.

Maybe need was a strong word there. But it will definitely make enough difference that it makes sense.

 

[Broothru]

My experience with a PHEV, in my circumstances 120v was fine. Now with a BEV, I'm going to need a 240v.

Maybe need was a strong word there. But it will definitely make enough difference that it makes sense.

The mix we’re looking at is owning a PHEV and an EV. My wife isn’t giving up the Prius anytime soon, but the 120V recharge time of 4-5 hours for >35 miles of range is an annoyance. A single Level 2 charger in the garage could easily handle the ‘job sharing’ duty of charging both vehicles for city driving for the hybrid and greater range for trips.

 

[Kent88]

I'm glad I didn't put a 240v 20amp line in for my PHEV. It was a pain not to be charged up sometimes, but I need more now and the electrician I was talking to didn't know what was going on.

 

[whoaru99]

Maybe I'm not following, but I'd think something along the line of "I'd like a 50A 120/240V circuit installed, with the receptacle right there (pointing to the general location)" would get the job done.

I don't know if L2 chargers take a 240V-only or a 120240V circuit, but a 120/240V covers the bases either way and should be only a small incremental cost increase for the cable and maybe the receptacle.

 

[sibelman]

On the home value question: even if a charger or high current outlet doesn't increase the resale value of a home, it could add a scale-tipping little burst of enthusiasm to the right buyer.

 

[Broothru]

I'm glad I didn't put a 240v 20amp line in for my PHEV. It was a pain not to be charged up sometimes, but I need more now and the electrician I was talking to didn't know what was going on.

On the other hand, the electrician I’m consulting with has done several installations like what I’m wanting with regard to Level 2 charging, plus he’s an RVer and understands what they need and what they can do.

 

[Broothru]

Maybe I'm not following, but I'd think something along the line of "I'd like a 50A 120/240V circuit installed, with the receptacle right there (pointing to the general location)" would get the job done.

I don't know if L2 chargers take a 240V-only or a 120240V circuit, but a 120/240V covers the bases either way and should be only a small incremental cost increase for the cable and maybe the receptacle.

The cost for increased capacity gauge cabling actually is more than “a small incremental increase”, plus the main box and my garage are on opposite ends of a medium-large house.

 

[whoaru99]

The cost for increased capacity gauge cabling actually is more than “a small incremental increase”, plus the main box and my garage are on opposite ends of a medium-large house.

Indeed fatter wire is more expensive and you're going to pay that if you want the higher capacity circuit. That is a given.

But the point earlier of incremental increase was about running 240-only vs. 120/240 circuit, meaning 2 wire cable vs 3 wire cable.

Yes, 3 wire cable costs more than 2 wire cable for any gauge but in the big scope of the electrician's total bill I'd think only a small/incremental increase.

 

[Airborneguy]

On the home value question: even if a charger or high current outlet doesn't increase the resale value of a home, it could add a scale-tipping little burst of enthusiasm to the right buyer.

This is more what I was getting at. Cost wise its minimal and not all that concerning when purchasing a house.

But moving into a new home with an existing EV, it sure helps being set from day 1 rather than having to get an electrician ASAP.

All else considered, I’d prioritize homes with existing charging options, then homes where the installation will be easy, then lastly homes requiring extensive work to complete the install.

Because I’m never going back to an inconvenient gas car.

 

[sibelman]

only a small/incremental increase.

For 8 gauge at home depot prices, it's $1.12/foot difference between 8/2 and 8/3 romex. Seems a good choice even with a long run from panel to brewery/car-charging location.

 

[passedpawn]

For 8 gauge at home depot prices, it's $1.12/foot difference between 8/2 and 8/3 romex. Seems a good choice even with a long run from panel to brewery/car-charging location.

I just ran 6/2 with ground 125' two weeks ago. I think that coil of wire cost me about $150 from Lowes. I think the new breakers I needed cost me another $100.

The second the wife left for church, I killed main breaker, replaced several breakers in a full panel with some doubles to make space for the 60A, climbed into the attic and snaked it all the way to back, out the wall, and down to a fused disconnect box. Power back on, and she was none-the-wiser (some clocks had to be reset).

So if you're handy, you can do these things fairly inexpensively. In image, the 6/2 is the black cable heading left, off-picture

 

[whoaru99]

How do you stretch 12 KWhr over a week? Running the coffee maker for an hour a day uses half of that alone....

Your post peaked my curiosity.

At the risk of transgression, measured our Mr. Coffee with a Kill A Watt and recorded 0.12kWh to brew a 1L batch.

Bear in mind it doesn't sit on the hot plate very long. When it's done dripping I put it in a Thermos pot and shut off the coffee maker.

 

[Thorrak]

Your post peaked my curiosity.

At the risk of transgression, measured our Mr. Coffee with a Kill A Watt and recorded 0.12kWh to brew a 1L batch.

Quit judging the man’s batch sizes. This is a homebrew forum - there’s nothing wrong with making equipment do double-duty!

 

[Agent]

Your post peaked my curiosity.

At the risk of transgression, measured our Mr. Coffee with a Kill A Watt and recorded 0.12kWh to brew a 1L batch.

Don't know about you, but using 1% of my house's available energy for a single serving of coffee is still totally worth it.

Also, I'd probably become waaay too neurotic about power usage if I had a Kill-A-Watt. And I also really want a consumption monitor for my new mini-split.

 

[stealthfixr]

Any Ford Mach-E owners here? Local dealerships have a lot of cars stacked up with low prices, incentives and low to no APRs. California Route 1 version has 312 miles of range and looks great. It's not a NACS plug car (yet), but Ford is supposedly shipping out CCS to NACS adapters to work on Superchargers. Thoughts?

 

[Airborneguy]

I came close, with the charging network being the deciding factor that drove me to Tesla 2 years ago. If I was looking currently, I’d at least consider a Lightning or Mach E.

 

[Bilsch]

Any Ford Mach-E owners here? Local dealerships have a lot of cars stacked up with low prices, incentives and low to no APRs. California Route 1 version has 312 miles of range and looks great. It's not a NACS plug car (yet), but Ford is supposedly shipping out CCS to NACS adapters to work on Superchargers. Thoughts?

If you are into the engineering of it all Munro Live on youtube has teardown videos of most all electric vehicles and then they comment on the design and quality. I know they have done quite a few on the MachE.

 

[Jonakr]

Don't know about you, but using 1% of my house's available energy for a single serving of coffee is still totally worth it.

Also, I'd probably become waaay too neurotic about power usage if I had a Kill-A-Watt. And I also really want a consumption monitor for my new mini-split.

Years ago, I was concerned and bought one. Unfortunately, mine is 110, so I couldn't measure any of my 220 appliances. But, the reality is that the big users are orders of magnitude more than the little ones, so if your electric bill is $300 a month during the summer, an appliance using $1 or $2 really doesn't make a dent in your bill.

I wanted to find all my phantom use from wall-warts and whatnot, but the reality was that chasing it wasn't worth my time. You are better off researching and buying more energy efficient appliances like your AC and washers and dryers.