nedfunnell said:
boba said:
The final subject is L1 vs. L2. I don't think that the cost of L2 is justified in our situation. There is a dedicated line for 110 but not for 220 so I assume that would make 220 hookup even more costly.
Thanks again!
Bob
FYI: Is the line really is dedicated to EV charging? If you wouldn't mind losing it as a 110V outlet, you could just switch it over to 240V using the existing wiring if it is the correct gauge. It's not uncommon at all for 110V outlets to be run with 12ga wire with a 20A breaker. A quick check would be to look in the breaker box- if it's a 20A breaker, then it should be 12 gauge wire. It'd be necessary to pull some wire out of the wall box to be sure. You, or an electrician, could change out the breaker for a 2-pole (240v) one, change out of the receptacle for a suitable one such as a NEMA L6-20R. Then you'd have a handy outlet capable of L2 charging with an EVSEupgrade cable or any other 20A or less L2 EVSE.
I'm not a licensed electrician or lawyer, but I have done my own electrical work, and it's what I'd do if the wiring were right.
This is actually a very valid path... if you're comfortable working in the circuit breaker box. Power down the CB box before working on load breakers. (There's usually one very large breaker near the utility meter - use it.)
If you expect to preheat the car in the winter while plugged in, the heater draws more power than the L1 provides. The heater would draw most of its power from the L1, but some would come out of the battery.
L1 charging is available to get you out of a bind. 120V outlets are everywhere. With these, you can acquire enough charge in an hour to get to a faster charger. Otherwise L1 is generally too slow for practical use.
Get your Leaf trickle charger upgraded, and have a couple adapters to plug into home clothes drier outlets (NEMA 14-20, and 14-30 are common. 14-50 may be available. 10-20 and 10-30 are older standard. The "-xx" refers to the current rating of the outlet.)
Charge Timer:
Off - timer is disabled. Charging starts as soon as the vehicle is plugged in.
On - timer enabled. Can set either or both of start and stop times.
...If end time only is set, the car computes when to start the charge.
...If the set or computed start time has already passed, charging will NOT start until the next day.
This could be a problem with L1 charging if the start time occurs before you can plug in at home.
Charge Timer overrride:
When pressed, charge timer is disabled for one plug-in/charge session. Charging starts as soon as vehicle is plugged in. Necessary for charging from public charger network. When unplugged, or charge completes, the charge timer is re-enabled.
Climate Timer:
Off - disabled. No heating.
On - enabled. Set the departure time. The car begins warming about 20 minutes before departure. Power comes from L1+batt / L2 if plugged in.
Timer priority: Select which timer (charge or climate) takes priority.
Charge priority - If timed climate control is running, it is stopped. L1/L2 is dedicated to charging.
Climate priority - If a timed charge is in progress when the climate timer trips, the climate control starts. Climate control powered from L1/L2. If there is excess power from L1/L2, charging continues, otherwise charging stops while power comes from battery.
I have a programmable L2 charger in my garage. I've set it up to not charge weekdays during high rate times (M-F, 3PM-6PM), otherwise charging starts at plug-in. The car always charges (charge timer disabled), but has climate timer enabled for morning departure.
I've had instances when the charge timer prevented charging at a public charger. I was billed for the time I was plugged in, but didn't get any charge. I may not have overridden the charge timer - and it's not always clear to me when the car is actually charging, or just plugged in. Disabling the charge timer resolves this.