• blitzen@lemmy.ca
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    15 hours 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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      15 hours 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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      14 hours 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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        6 hours 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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      15 hours 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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        14 hours 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
          • Rivalarrival@lemmy.today
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            8 hours ago

            Can you cite a time stamp? I don’t want to watch a 30 minute video.

            I’m very curious where “42 amps max” comes from, as NEMA outlets are rated for 15A, 20A, 30A, 50A, or 60A. 42A is a rather oddball number; I’d like some context for it.

            Most dryer outlets are rated for 30A, NEMA 10-30, or 14-30.

            • KubeRoot@discuss.tchncs.de
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              5 hours ago

              Not the same person and cba to get a timestamp right now, but it’s the 80% rule - the electrical stuff isn’t designed to deliver the rated amperage continuously for hours on end, so for car charging, you’re apparently supposed to limit it to 80%. Now, 80% of 50 isn’t 42 but 40, so not sure if it’s a case of 80% not being a precise number or a mistake here, but it roughly checks out.

          • AA5B@lemmy.world
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            8 hours ago

            I believe dryer outlets are typically 30a@240v. That’s a nice step up than a standard outlet and simple math shows 4x the power of 15a@120v

            If you have one in your garage, then you already have an outlet that can do faster charging than a standard outlet.

            Just like you technically don’t need a 50a level 2 charger, you may not have to settle for a standard outlet. I bought a heavy duty extension cable with adapters for several different outlet types.

    • Ulrich@feddit.org
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      12 hours ago

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

      It factually is not.

      most people would fall behind anytime they drive further than the average number of miles.

      Assume you drive it all the way to empty, then park it and plug it back in at 7PM. Leave it for 12 hours until you leave again in the morning at 7AM. A typical small EV will charge at ~5MPH on a 110V, 1.2kW connection (faster on a 20A circuit). So 5MPH x 12 hours means you already have 60 miles of range again for the next day. And I would say that’s a pretty extreme scenario.

      Realistically you would never drive it to 0% and you would probably leave it parked longer than 12 hours.

      I use L1 almost exclusively, BTW.

      Probably if you have a Hummer or something you might want something a bit faster.

        • Ulrich@feddit.org
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          6 hours ago

          What electric vehicle gets 5 miles/1.2kWh?

          Most of the small ones.

      • blitzen@lemmy.ca
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        13 hours ago

        It factually is not.

        Factually, it’s not either. Both are statements of opinion, although I’d say saying the word “usually” should have some degree of proof behind it.

        My statement of “might be” recognizes that there are many instances that L1 makes sense, and I agree with the video that for those for whom it does shouldn’t needlessly install a 240v outlet. Sounds like you’re among those.

        I’d say that, sadly, most EV drivers drive more than 40 miles per day on average, and that the moment you drive more than 60 miles per day you’ll have difficulty recharging to full. Most days, you’ll have no trouble recharging overnight. But if you’re like me, you might take a day trip over 100 miles away a handful of times per year. When that happens, I’d arrive home with very little battery left; am I supposed to have the ability to charge for 50 hours?

        • Ulrich@feddit.org
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          13 hours ago

          Factually, it’s not either. Both are statements of opinion

          It is not. Hence “factually”. We know for a fact how far people “usually” drive.

          But if you’re like me, you might take a day trip over 100 miles away a handful of times per year. When that happens, I’d arrive home with very little battery left; am I supposed to have the ability to charge for 50 hours?

          I just explained this in the comment you replied to.

          • blitzen@lemmy.ca
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            12 hours ago

            I just explained this in the comment you replied to.

            You explained how it’s doable when you drive 60 miles, which I admit will be most people most days (12 hours of charging at 5 miles per hour charged.) Average EV has 293 miles of range currently; even if you arrived home with 20% battery remaining and you only wanted to recharge to 80%, that’s (at 5 miles per hour charged) over 25 hours. Empty to full is over 58 hours!

            At least once every few months we take a day trip to the nearest “big” city, which is 105 miles away. Typically a Sunday. Leave on a full battery, arrive home nearly empty. 8 hours of charging, and I maybe have enough for the next day. I will run a deficit until the weekend.

            Again, I’m certainly not saying that a L2 charger is a must for all people, or even most people. But I would not agree that L1 is enough for most people.

            • Ulrich@feddit.org
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              12 hours ago

              You explained how it’s doable when you drive 60 miles

              Read it again. I said 60 miles the day after driving it to 0%. People don’t “usually” need this.

              Average EV has 293 miles of range currently; even if you arrived home with 20% battery remaining and you only wanted to recharge to 80%,

              Thats 176 miles of range. People don’t “usually” need that.

              At least once every few months we take a day trip to the nearest “big” city, which is 105 miles away.

              You said all of this already and I already replied to it.

              I’m certainly not saying that a L2 charger is a must for…most people. But I would not agree that L1 is enough for most people.

              🤔 Wat. Do you think there’s like a L1.5 or something?

              • Rivalarrival@lemmy.today
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                4 hours ago

                Wat. Do you think there’s like a L1.5 or something?

                There’s the option of a level 1 charger at home, supplemented with an occasional stop at a fast charger.

                The L1 charger is not quite enough to keep up with their usage, but their usage isn’t enough to make an L2 absolutely necessary.

              • blitzen@lemmy.ca
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                12 hours ago

                Let’s agree to simply not tell people what they do and do not need.

                • Ulrich@feddit.org
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                  12 hours ago

                  I’m not telling anyone what they need. I’m telling you what people usually need. Which is the topic of the conversation you started.