Got my Level 2 EVSE Charger Install Quote!

My Nissan Leaf Forum

Help Support My Nissan Leaf Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Spacep0d

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 13, 2019
Messages
63
Location
Santa Clarita, CA
Howdy LEAFers!

Got my quote today for the installation of a Chargepoint Level 2 EVSE. $2100!

Granted, this is my third quote or so. I'm in a townhome and the panel is in the downstairs bathroom, buried in a wall with no direct access to the garage. The downstairs connects to a small patio, which connects to the garage. They'd have to go through drywall and such, with conduit. Not easy.

Anyhoot, it's not like I plan to get an ICE car again. This L2 EVSE would be useful for my LEAF, future EVs, any EV my girlfriend might get, and for any new owners of this place if I were to sell it (which is added value).

Help me justify this cost, even though I'm pretty sure I want to do it. :D What did your install cost? Anyone out there have a tricky townhome, condo, or apt. install? Any home installs that weren't straightforward?

Thanks!
 
My quote back when there was a CEC program for a "free" (hardware and basic install included) L2 EVSE (Aerovironment was involved and at the time, they only made a 30 or 32 amp 208/240 volt one) was for $5K. See http://www.myrav4ev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=8264#p8264. No thanks.

An EV has been my primary vehicle since July 2013. I've not needed an L2 EVSE at home. Most of my juice comes from free L2 charging at work. A smaller amount comes from free public L2 charging on Fridays and weekends when Leaf was my primary car. I don't need to do that now w/the Bolt for my current driving.
 
No problem. The issue is making it easier to find info. If there are 12 topics on the same thing, then you can't just look at one topic for info. After you repost this there I'll delete this one. OK with you, Cwerdna?
 
$850, for the wiring alone. I upgraded the Nissan 110v EVSE to 220/110v for another $250.
http://www.evseupgrade.com/

The electrician had to combine 3x220v room heaters onto a single circuit to get one free for the EVSE circuit. Pretty basic stuff for an electrician. The run from the electrical box was maybe 8', out through the external wall next to the box, over to the garage, through the garage wall, and mount the new plug. Pretty simple run. Took him maybe 3-4 hours.
 
OP: if you have handyman skills, run the conduit and wires yourself and pay the electrician to connect the outlet and panel. I paid $100.
Next best: higher a much cheaper handyman for the non-electric part of the job.
 
Combining room heaters sounds like a code violation. I only ever wired each one up on its own dedicated circuit.

I upgraded my original 12 amp leaf Panasonic brick evse to 240v for about $20.
The 16amp 240v duosida evse is only about $160.
 
Spacep0d said:
What did your install cost?
Our house came with an old hot tub that we removed, just outside the garage. There was a dedicated 50 amp circuit that ended in a box in the garage, which went from there to the tub. As soon as I saw it, I had in mind to turn it into an EV charging station, but it took a few years for that to happen. (I didn't actually have an EV at the time we moved here.) Anyway, I took out the box and replaced it with a 14-50. Total cost, parts (negligible), plus the EVSE(s). :)
 
LeftieBiker said:
No problem. The issue is making it easier to find info. If there are 12 topics on the same thing, then you can't just look at one topic for info. After you repost this there I'll delete this one. OK with you, Cwerdna?

Oof, this thread has some life and the other one is pretty light. Can we let this one ride? Is there a way to merge this whole thread, perchance?

Thanks to everyone for contributing! :D
 
Anybody know the status of the Alternative Fuel Tax Credit for 2019? If it's still applicable for this year, the OP can get a 30% credit over the total cost (hardware + install) on his Federal taxes come this time next year.

https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tips/going-green/what-is-form-8911-alternative-fuel-vehicle-refueling-property-credit/L3MRAZHho
 
Are these baseboard heaters?

See nec 424.2b

So you can wire them on one circuit possibly and not fail inspection but the circuit has to be sized so all heaters on the branch can run full blast with out over taxing the wiring or circuit breaker.
Yeah the part of nec that covers fixed heaters is 19 sections long because people don't install them correctly and burn down their homes.
The preferred method is to put each rooms fixed space heater on its own circuit, 1 or 2 heater units per room, if you have 2 or more heaters on a circuit the circuit has to be able to provide power to all of them running at the same time.

I only ever installed 1 to a room and each heater was on its own circuit.
 
$2100 is totally impossible. That sounds like a premium price that some chargepoint subcontractors are giving.... I rewired my whole garage, PLUS underground conduit from my house, a new garage box, and new lines, outlets, switches, and lights, PLUS the darn EVSE for $1200 in the metropolitan New York area...

If you are only running a line through walls to the box, it should not cost like you are remodeling your house. Get an estimate from a local, small electrician to just run a line to the garage, with an outlet.. Don't make a big deal that it is for an electric car. Then mount the EVSE, and plug it into the new outlet... very easy.
 
powersurge said:
$2100 is totally impossible. ...
It probably includes the EVSE itself and installation of it. Also, probably opening and closing the walls, where your remodel may have already had the walls open. Nonetheless, I'd get some alternative quotes, it seems a bit expensive.
 
powersurge said:
$2100 is totally impossible. That sounds like a premium price that some chargepoint subcontractors are giving.... I rewired my whole garage, PLUS underground conduit from my house, a new garage box, and new lines, outlets, switches, and lights, PLUS the darn EVSE for $1200 in the metropolitan New York area...

If you are only running a line through walls to the box, it should not cost like you are remodeling your house. Get an estimate from a local, small electrician to just run a line to the garage, with an outlet.. Don't make a big deal that it is for an electric car. Then mount the EVSE, and plug it into the new outlet... very easy.

Yep, got one quote for $2100 (which turn in to $2375) and then another for $2500. Insane, and two other electricians are saying it's impossible because only 60a is coming in to the sub-panel.

It has been very frustrating. Meanwhile I'm charging at 120v and not too happy about it, though it's all I can do outside of DCFC.
 
It has been very frustrating. Meanwhile I'm charging at 120v and not too happy about it, though it's all I can do outside of DCFC.

If one of your 120 volt circuits has only one outlet in use, you can still convert that to 240 volts, after removing any other outlets on the circuit. You'd need 2 half-sized breakers to make room in your box, and you'd need an EVSE that can charge at 12 amps, but that would double your charging speed without any new cable needed (If the existing cable is good).
 
LeftieBiker said:
It has been very frustrating. Meanwhile I'm charging at 120v and not too happy about it, though it's all I can do outside of DCFC.

If one of your 120 volt circuits has only one outlet in use, you can still convert that to 240 volts, after removing any other outlets on the circuit. You'd need 4 half-sized breakers to make room in your box, and you'd need an EVSE that can charge at 12 amps, but that would double your charging speed without any new cable needed (If the existing cable is good).
Smart idea.

Why are 4 half breakers required ?
 
Why are 4 half breakers required ?

I'm counting a 240 breaker as 2 because it needs 2 slots in the panel. So, four minis to free up two slots for the new double breaker for the converted circuit. Come to think of it, with one existing slot, I guess two minis would do the trick. I'll fix that.
 
Back
Top