• blitzen@lemmy.ca
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    2 months ago

    I think “might be overkill” would be a better title and position than “usually overkill.”

    There is absolutely a subset of EV drivers that could get by with a level 1 charger (ignoring time of day rates), but most people would fall behind anytime they drive further than the average number of miles. Sure, taking 10 hours to recharge your Chevy Bolt overnight when you’ve driven 40 miles is doable; 64 hours when you’ve returned home from a longer trip isn’t.

    I own a PHEV, and installing a level 2 charge has been one of the best quality of life and financial changes.

    • RaoulDook@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      Yep the difference for our setup was going from 12-18 hour full charge times (Level 1) to about 6 hours on Level 2. L1 charger could only put out 12 amps at 120v, and while the L2 charger can do up to 50A of 240v power, our vehicle can only use about a third of that capacity at max draw.

      So as the video’s topic covers, we didn’t need a 50A circuit for Level 2 charging on our limited vehicle. But I put in a full 50A circuit anyway so now I can eventually upgrade our other car to electric or PHEV and be ready for whatever those need.

    • AA5B@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      Agreed, and that headline is needlessly inflammatory . Looking at my EV mileage , I could almost certainly get away with just plugging into a standard outlet. However the level 2 charger means that even if I screw it up, I can be mostly charged in a couple of hours. It’s been really effective at helping me get over what range anxiety I had. It’s really helped keep car usage as a somewhat impulse thing, rather than a process: I’m ready to go anywhere anytime.

      It also means I can charge multiple EVs, if I wanted to.

      • Bytemeister@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        If you screw up, you can usually get to a charger a few blocks away and snag 50% of your battery in 20 minutes.

        I charge entirely off of a standard 120 outlet, and it easily handles my daily and weekly travel needs, along with my partner’s numerous errands and extra trips throughout the week.

    • fuzzzerd@programming.dev
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      2 months ago

      What kind of range do you have on that? I’ve been debating installing a l2 charger because overnight charging is usually good enough. I tend to get about 15-20 miles range tops on pure electric.

      • AA5B@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        The way I explained it to my brother:

        • technically just plug in to an existing outlet will work. Even if you didn’t keep up every day, you would get tot the weekend and make it up then
        • but your garage already has a dryer outlet. Adapters are cheap and it will charge 4-5 times as fast
        • but 50a level 2 charger is the same size as a stove outlet. Maybe a little longer wire run, and the “outlet” is more expensive, but it’s well worth the cost for the freedom, the flexibility, the convenience … and may even add to your house value