What capacity L2 at home?

Question for you from a new leaf owner.

I am contemplating an L2 at home. I'm in no rush as L1 meets our needs. 25 km daily commute 5 days a week and 50-70 km on the weekend or more can easily be caught up with the L1.

But, I anticipate there will be times when it would be nice to have more power. Normally I buy the best. I have a 6.6 kw charger in my leaf. Do I buy a 3.3, 4.8, of 6.6 capable EVSE?

Say I could buy the 4.8 for $600 and moving to the 6.6 was $850. The difference at $250 is what it will cost in electricity to drive my leaf for a year. In this situation does it really make sense to get the best? I guess from a future proofing it would make sense, but having just bought the 2013 leaf I don't intend to flip it for a minimum of 5 years, perhaps until generation 2.5 BEVs are out...and the leaf is big about saving $ on consumption right...

Any words of wisdom?

Thanks

Higher amps isn't necessarily "better". It depends on your situation. Part of the consideration is the cost of providing the circuit; not everyone's panel or electrical service can fit an additional 40 amp circuit, for example. It's a good idea to consult an electrician and part of what they should do is a "load calculation" to make sure that an additional circuit can be accommodated, and at what amperage.

I'm happy with our 16A EVSE. Whether or not the different capacities are important to you has a lot to do with your driving habits and expectations as well as other factors -- for example some folks need to fit their charging into a certain time window to take advantage of low off-peak rates.

You have the EVSE and the on-board charger confused. EVSE come in L1 (110-120v and 15-20 amps), L2 (220-240v, 30-40 amps), and L3 (400-480v).

You want the L2 EVSE. That unit is faster and more efficient (charges faster, so the unit has less time to waste energy in the form of heat).

I could go on, but this field has already been plowed many times. Check out the posts at http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewforum.php?f=26 for details from the real experts, recommendations on what to buy and how to get it installed, etc.

Enjoy your Leaf. We love ours.

I will echo most of the above. I'd get an electrician out to look at the circuit. If you have the capacity on the panel, the open breakers, and will need to run the wire either way, you should just go for a L2 30A charger, and also might as well run 6 gauge wire to future proof as well. If on the other hand, you're more limited in you panel, you can get away with a 16A charger. Or if you just want to repurpose the dryer outlet, you can usually go up to about a 20A EVSE. You can also send your existing charger in for an EVSE upgrade and it will become switchable at a variety of modes.

Another thing to keep in mind is that having an L2 charger will allow you to take advantage of time of use plans with you electricity bill and this will likely save you money over time, both on charging your car and depending on your other power usage, lower your overall bill.

vwDavid said:

Question for you from a new leaf owner.

I am contemplating an L2 at home. I'm in no rush as L1 meets our needs. 25 km daily commute 5 days a week and 50-70 km on the weekend or more can easily be caught up with the L1.

But, I anticipate there will be times when it would be nice to have more power. Normally I buy the best. I have a 6.6 kw charger in my leaf. Do I buy a 3.3, 4.8, of 6.6 capable EVSE?

Click to expand...

If happy with L1 charging, would be very happy with an EVSEUpgrade at 4.8. It's difficult to beat for the cost and totally portable. The more critical aspect is wiring capacity from the electrical panel to your charging space. If hiring an electrician, it's best to over-spec the gauge of the wiring in case a more powerful EVSE is needed in the future.

JohnBike said:

You have the EVSE and the on-board charger confused. EVSE come in L1 (110-120v and 15-20 amps), L2 (220-240v, 30-40 amps), and L3 (400-480v).

Click to expand...

Not sure whom you're addressing. I don't see any such confusion in either of the two posts that preceded yours?

As stated above, if your panel will allow a larger circuit, I would put in the largest that it would allow to "future proof" the install for next generation which will allow much faster recharges. The extra cost for the larger capacity is small compared to running an new circuit in the future.

The cheapest way to go is with a DIY, or buy one that is assembled by some members on this forum that do it as a hobby and place them on sale here. I have also seen a few posts of members that have returned their leased Leaf without getting another EV that are selling their home L2 unit.

I was not sure I needed the L2 also, but am VERY HAPPY I did get it. We always plug in the Leaf as soon as we pull into our garage so it is always ready to go again very soon. There have been a few occasions when we got home, plugged it in for the night, then 30 minutes later had to go out again. We had enough range because of the quick charging. If there was an L3 charger that was cheap and designed to work off a home circuit I would be very tempted to get one of those for that reason. Even going from 6.6kw to 13.2kw would make a world of difference.

Once you get one with a minimum of 6.6kw you will start to question yourself as to how you were ever able to live without it. Since your Leaf has the 6.6kw, please do yourself a favor and not get an EVSE less than 6.6kw capacity.

Thanks all for your input. I was surprised to read that the EVSE upgrade enable the standard issue L1 for 6kw charging. I thought it was less than that but I was mistaken.

I think I will go for a 40 amp breaker with 6 gauge wire to the garage. This will give me 6 kw or so and is about the max my panel can handle.

I appreciate the discussion.

DAvid

vwDavid said:

Thanks all for your input. I was surprised to read that the EVSE upgrade enable the standard issue L1 for 6kw charging. I thought it was less than that but I was mistaken.

I think I will go for a 40 amp breaker with 6 gauge wire to the garage. This will give me 6 kw or so and is about the max my panel can handle.

I appreciate the discussion.

DAvid

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You actually only need 8 gauage for a 30A L2 charger, but 6 will enable you to future proof for even bigger chargers Tesla, etc...

My wire run would have to be 75 feet or so I think 6 ga would be nice to mitigate voltage drop?

I'll wait a couple days to see if I win the forum draw for the free L2

vwDavid said:

Question for you from a new leaf owner.

I am contemplating an L2 at home. I'm in no rush as L1 meets our needs. 25 km daily commute 5 days a week and 50-70 km on the weekend or more can easily be caught up with the L1.

But, I anticipate there will be times when it would be nice to have more power. Normally I buy the best. I have a 6.6 kw charger in my leaf. Do I buy a 3.3, 4.8, of 6.6 capable EVSE?

Say I could buy the 4.8 for $600 and moving to the 6.6 was $850. The difference at $250 is what it will cost in electricity to drive my leaf for a year. In this situation does it really make sense to get the best? I guess from a future proofing it would make sense, but having just bought the 2013 leaf I don't intend to flip it for a minimum of 5 years, perhaps until generation 2.5 BEVs are out...and the leaf is big about saving $ on consumption right...

Any words of wisdom?

Thanks

Click to expand...

David,

The EVSEUpgrade is a good value, but if you want to leave your OEM unit untouched and stored in your car for emergencies, you might consider the Clipper Creek models. Their HCS-40P (32 amp / 7.68 kW max) is a good deal at $589, and you can take it off the wall and with you on road trips if desired. Clipper Creek is well regarded on this forum.

Seconding everyone else's "get an L2" suggestion. 6AWG will never hurt (it'll be pricier, but I'd personally opt for the "I never want to touch this again" approach).
My house has a 100A service coming in, and I've got a '12 LEAF, so I never use more than 18A, but I generally charge it overnight. For my usage (a commuter and sometimes an errand runner), I pretty much never need to charge during the day, but I've also got an ICE for times when I'm in a pinch.
The bottom line is, you need to get something that meets your situation's needs.

vwDavid said:

My wire run would have to be 75 feet or so I think 6 ga would be nice to mitigate voltage drop?

Click to expand...

Yes! 6 gauge will help with that long run at not much extra cost.