Charger Installs - costs and brands

[duncan]

While working through the (long) purchase process, Nissan helpfully handed me over to Origin Energy to install the charger in the garage.

You probably all know this already, but I was amazed when the quote came in at $2750 for running 1 new circuit and supplying the (not smart) charging unit.

What did you pay for charger installs, and if it wasn't through Origin any tips are appreciated.

[Phoebe]

I was going to get one from Better Place but once I found a dedicated 15amp circuit put in by my local electrican for $300 would do the same job, using the devise provided in the boot of my Nissan Leaf I realised I didn't need any fancy installation. Someone tried to tell me it would take 18 hours to charge instead of 8, but in fact it only took 6 hours, so that wasn't right either. Look under the thread '10A charger still requires 15A plug' for another way of charging with a normal 10 amp power point. I don't think those who use their own solar power have any need for either Origin or Better Place either.

[Jim Hare]

Yeah, they always said the trickle charger would take far too long to be practical, but clearly that's not the case. Maybe all the info comes form 110v countries.

We won our level 2 charger but I'm thinking it may not actually be necessary in the end.

That is unless the trickle charger wasn't designed for everyday use and ends up having a short life or something. Does anyone have any info on using the trickle charger permanently?

[Brian]

We also used a local electrician and saved. But it was quite a long run and involved trench work, so paid $1,295 for the dedicated 15 amp line from the meter box to the charge point.

We paid $1,200 for the Circontrol wall unit, with lead and J1772 connector. This is not a charger ( which is in the car ), but basically a communications and current control system.

I, too, was under the impression that charging with the EVSE took longer than with the wall unit.

[Phoebe]

Jim, I hope the trickle charger is for everyday use because it is all I have and the dealer at Artarmon, where I bought my LEAF told me one of his other purchasers uses it all the time, too. Even though Nissan Head Office were horrifed when I talked of using a 10 amp power point, they were perfectly happy that I planned to use my trickle charger all the time.

[duncan]

Thanks guys

Brian, do you have further info on the circontrol unit?

I was thinking about this one: www.e-station.com.au/homecharge.html for about $1700. It includes Nissan Europe's certification which Nissan Oz have confirmed they accept.

But I like the sound of your idea best Phoebe....it would be dead easy in my garage because I already have a switchboard in there

[leafboi]

Hey all!

We went with the Origin ChargePoint simply to not have to pay for it up front, with the ability to pay it off. So that sealed it for us.

As for the trickle charge v the ChargePoint or the like, the dedicated EVSE does charge faster all be it not that noticeable when your asleep!

The ChargePoint and other brands like the Better Place EVSE (which should become available for $1200 plus instal costs without the need for membership according to my contact there) and the e-station unit, all charge at 3.3kwh the maximum allowable by the cars onboard charger. Where as the trickle charge draws around 2kwh max. So the evse does indeed have its advantages all be it minimal.

That said, the ChargePoint EVSE is rated at 32amps which allows a max draw of 6.6kwh so if in the future you purchase a new EV with a 6.6kwh charger on-board like the 2013 US spec LEAF you would be able to take advantage of even faster charging having already installed a dedicated EVSE than with the included trickle charger.

[duncan]

In my case charging needs to start at 10pm and finish before 7am each day. If the 15 amp / trickle charger can do that I'm happy to save the charge point install costs altogether.

I don't have any quick charging requirement....if the leaf is out of juice I'll just take one of the ye olde petrol cars

[Jim Hare]

Well according to Phoebe the trickle charger will fill it up in about 6 hours. And the truth is, unless you are doing a large amount of long distance driving, chances are you will be nothing like empty when you recharge. I usually have 50-80kms in reserve, making the charge time even less.

[Phoebe]

Yes, apart from when I came back from Artarmon in the first place when it did take 6 hours, I have never had to charge for more than 3 hours using the trickle charger, because, basically I only drive around Maitland and charge up about once a fortnight.

[Jim Hare]

Yeah, I'm starting to think the level 2 isn't required at all. It's convenient and all since it has a permanent place in the garage with a nozzle holder, but that's about it!

[Brian]

Duncan, I have the Circontrol CCL-WBC, although the specs of mine specify a maximum consumption of 3.6kW. This would appear to have been upgraded to provide up to 7kW.

I specified a 15Amp plug on the power line, rather than having it hard wired. I added a mounting system so that I could easily lift it off the wall and take it with me, for away-from-home charging.

The first time I tried this, the charger went into error mode and failed to charge. However, an iMiev, using the same charger and power source, had no problem. E-station advised that the unit was not designed to be a portable unit, and have rectified the fault free of charge. It has worked perfectly since then - but has remained fixed to my wall !

[duncan]

Thanks for the extra details. That's the same unit I was looking at except it seems to be $500 more expensive than you paid

[Brian]

I believe that is because it has been upgraded to almost twice the charge capacity, i.e 7kW. This would seem to accommodate the 6.6kW chargers of the recent crop of EVs.

[Brian]

I now have some definitive ( but confusing ) data on charge stations. A friend brought up a power meter and these were the readings we got, from the same power source at our place to the same car ( LEAF ) -

Readings of ---------------kW Amps Volts
Circontrol CCL-WBC ( ours ) 3.84 18.0 212
Circontrol CCL-WBC (friends)2.84 13.2 214
LEAF EVSE-----------------2.17 10.1 219
(Getting the above table to appear in 'Preview' as typed has proven difficult - but I hope you get the idea )

These have been passed on to our local supplier asking ' Why ? '

I would expect some input losses to the 3.3kW on-board charger, but not 0.54kW - unless the charger is absorbing more / outputting more than its 3.3kW.

Seeing the 18Amps, I am glad I am running it on a dedicated ( 15Amp ) circuit.

We also tried out his Holden VOLT EVSE, with results similar to the LEAF's EVSE.