Help me pick the right EVSE please

I've read some of the other posts on the topic of EVSE's, and I've looked at the website that lists the multitudes of equipment options. Unfortunately (for me), the net result is that I'm a bit confused as to what to buy. Here are my specs/requirements:

Will have two home charging locations: outside carport (primary) & in garage (stubbed, in case we sell antique currently living in the garage)
Electrician is running a 30A 220v underground cable to the garage.
An outlet (dont know which one yet) will be installed in the garage (why not, we already have a service box there)
I'd like to have a pigtail on the EVSE to support the above portability.
The car will be a Leaf S w/ charger package.

:?: Does this narrow down to one or two logical choices?

:?: Also, I've seen something about some units needing some sort of upgrade. Will that apply in my case?

Thanks an advance for all your expert help.

I would STRONGLY recommend running 40 amp or better yet a 50 amp line. 30 amp won't allow you to charge at the 6.6 kw rate. If you only have a 3.3kw charger (16 amps) it will work for that, but if your spending the $ I would pull a line and install an evse that can handle a larger charger as well. You might spend another $100, but you would have a lot more options in the future. The only time I might not recommend this is if your existing service can only handle another 30 amp load and not a 40 amp or 50 amp load.

As far as EVSE's themselves, I have a Clipper Creek and have been pleased with it, there are quite a few of them out there, I looked at Bosch, Siemens and Leviton as well. Keep in mind the length of cord you might need from the EVSE location to the vehicle as well. Most are 25 foot cords some are shorter.

BrockWI said:

I would STRONGLY recommend running 40 amp or better yet a 50 amp line. 30 amp won't allow you to charge at the 6.6 kw rate. If you only have a 3.3kw charger (16 amps) it will work for that, but if your spending the $ I would pull a line and install an evse that can handle a larger charger as well. You might spend another $100, but you would have a lot more options in the future. The only time I might not recommend this is if your existing service can only handle another 30 amp load and not a 40 amp or 50 amp load.

As far as EVSE's themselves, I have a Clipper Creek and have been pleased with it, there are quite a few of them out there, I looked at Bosch, Siemens and Leviton as well. Keep in mind the length of cord you might need from the EVSE location to the vehicle as well. Most are 25 foot cords some are shorter.

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I have two of the Siemens and generally they are ok. I found out they use the 5mA ground fault rather than the 20 mA, which is fine for Leaf, but trips instantly on the Tesla (you won't care for now but may care for another car). One of the two units is developing a false ground fault problem, but their customer and technical support has been first rate. The unit itself is nicely made and functions well. Currently around $700.

The upgrade you keep reading about is for the OEM charging cable that come with the car, allowing it to handle 240 volts at, IIRC, 16 amps. There may also be a 20 amp option. This isn't necessary if you have a home charging station installed. I agree with the others that you should have a 40 amp cable run, at least.

LeftieBiker said:

The upgrade you keep reading about is for the OEM charging cable that come with the car, allowing it to handle 240 volts at, IIRC, 16 amps. There may also be a 20 amp option. This isn't necessary if you have a home charging station installed. I agree with the others that you should have a 40 amp cable run, at least.

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I see the price of the upgrade is only $287... it seems like a no-brainer if it were apples-to-apples, so what am I missing? Why is getting a $700 EVSE better than upgrading OEM?

AthLeaf said:

LeftieBiker said:

The upgrade you keep reading about is for the OEM charging cable that come with the car, allowing it to handle 240 volts at, IIRC, 16 amps. There may also be a 20 amp option. This isn't necessary if you have a home charging station installed. I agree with the others that you should have a 40 amp cable run, at least.

Click to expand...

I see the price of the upgrade is only $287... it seems like a no-brainer if it were apples-to-apples, so what am I missing? Why is getting a $700 EVSE better than upgrading OEM?

Click to expand...

Not much, except a dedicated L2 will provide up to 30 amps (6.6KW) while an upgraded OEM will provide up to 16/20 amps 3.5/4.4KW. So a little slower for charging (still probably way less than 8 hours for overnight charging).

You may also need a 220->110 adapter to go with upgraded EVSE.

Upgrading the OEM unit will allow it to charge at 16 amps at 240v or approx 3.3kw. Getting a dedicated EVSE installed will allow you to charge at approx 6.6kw assuming you get the charge package on an S, the 6.6 is included with the 2013 and 2014 SV or SL.

AthLeaf said:

LeftieBiker said:

The upgrade you keep reading about is for the OEM charging cable that come with the car, allowing it to handle 240 volts at, IIRC, 16 amps. There may also be a 20 amp option. This isn't necessary if you have a home charging station installed. I agree with the others that you should have a 40 amp cable run, at least.

Click to expand...

I see the price of the upgrade is only $287... it seems like a no-brainer if it were apples-to-apples, so what am I missing? Why is getting a $700 EVSE better than upgrading OEM?

Click to expand...

That certainly is a key selling point. You'll still need a 240V outlet in the garage, and if you want to use the EVSEupgrade with other plugs (such as for 110V or for, say, campground charging) you'll have to pay for extra plugs, but that's still way under the cost of a stationary EVSE plus you get those additional features.

One disadvantage I've heard of is that the EVSEupgrade is not UL listed and, in theory, the upgrade kills the warranty. But I've not heard of people having problems with that. Another disadvantage is that the EVSEupgrade can't charge quite as fast as a regular EVSE that supports the 6.6kW charger (if your car has it, which it sounds like it does), however that may have changed - the last time I looked the EVSEupgrade web site had some data on just how fast they can charge. The last point is that a permanent EVSE can benefit from the 30% federal tax credit while the EVSEupgrade in theory cannot. However, this is not an absolute in either case - first, the 30% tax credit is subject to AMT and for the vast majority of people won't have any benefit in the same year you claim the $7500 credit (if you bought your LEAF) - second, if the EVSEupgrade is installed in a permanent manner it might be claimable for the credit - some people have done so.

Personally, I have both. A Schneider unit that works great which I bought before I heard of EVSEupgrade, and an EVSEupgrade I got on a swap with someone who was turning his in at the end of his lease. Both are fine and if I was choosing only one I'd get the EVSEupgrade.

If I had to do it all over again, I would still choose the permanent EVSE install on the 40a dedicated circuit. And get the 25 foot cable, it will give you much more charge location options than the 15 foot. Depending on where your carport is in relation to your garage, you may be able to locate the EVSE in one spot in the garage and still reach the carport.

Yes, while it sounds like a no-brainer to just upgrade the OEM EVSE, in actual use it's less convenient, unless you mount it indoors as a semi-permanent station, and don't need a long reach. I charged full-time with the OEM unit, before installing an L-1 wall station (no 240 in the garage), and it was more of a PITA than just lifting the cable from a wall-mounted holder and plugging in.

BrockWI said:

I would STRONGLY recommend running 40 amp or better yet a 50 amp line. 30 amp won't allow you to charge at the 6.6 kw rate. If you only have a 3.3kw charger (16 amps) it will work for that, but if your spending the $ I would pull a line and install an evse that can handle a larger charger as well. You might spend another $100, but you would have a lot more options in the future. The only time I might not recommend this is if your existing service can only handle another 30 amp load and not a 40 amp or 50 amp load.

As far as EVSE's themselves, I have a Clipper Creek and have been pleased with it, there are quite a few of them out there, I looked at Bosch, Siemens and Leviton as well. Keep in mind the length of cord you might need from the EVSE location to the vehicle as well. Most are 25 foot cords some are shorter.

Click to expand...

Concur here - go at least 40 amps. I have the Clipper Creek HCS-40 and am very happy with it. According to my TED500 it pulls exactly 6.6 Kw. It's made in the USA super easy to install (only one stud is needed) has a 25ft cord. My electrician loved how easy it was to install.

One disadvantage of EVSE Upgrade for some is that if you also want to carry it in the car, it is a nuisance to remove and put it in the car each day. However, for most people there is no need to carry the portable EVSE in the car unless they know there is a possibility they will need to plug-in away from home, which is rare. For those people a fixed EVSE in the garage/carport is best. Also, when used outside the EVSE Upgrade will need some sort of weather shield over the outlet that it plugs into, although those are readily available. If you plug it inside the garage and just run the cable out to the carport, then that's not a problem.

EVSE Upgrade will charge at up to 20 Amps. While that's not full speed for a LEAF with a 6.0 kW charger, it is plenty for home use. The real advantage of 6.0 kW charging, versus the slower 3.3 kW charging, is picking up charge away from home since that's when you might find yourself waiting for the charge. At home the small increase in charging time rarely matters.

All that said, I've done all of my home charging with EVSE upgrade and am one of thousands who are happy with it.

Regardless of what EVSE you end up with, if you are installing new lines I second the suggestion to pull wires capable of 40 Amps, assuming that your panel can handle it. That way you can go with a higher power EVSE in the future in case you don't do so now.

We have an AeroVironment L2 wall unit with a 40A 240V circuit. It functioned well with our old LEAF (2011 SV) at 3.3 kW and the same with our 2014 SV with the 6.6 kW. We get thunderstorms and outages fairly frequently and the unit has never had a problem. It just picks up where it left off.