Electrify America Level 2 Home Charger

EA's home charger
at Fully Charged Live
Image Source: Karl Bloss

Charging your Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) or Plug-in Hybrid Vehicle (PHEV) at home in North America hasn't changed much since my 2018 Home Charging essay.  If you have your own garage or parking space and a way to add a circuit, I still recommend a 240V 50A circuit with a NEMA 14-50 receptacle (aka 50A RV plug) and a home EVSE charging unit that plugs into that receptacle.  Together with you vehicle's on-board charger of 6-10 KW, this a great combination to add 25-40 miles of range per hour of charging.

The market for EVSEs, particularly non-networked "dumb" EVSEs is fairly mature.  Rather than increasing power output, established manufacturers like ClipperCreek and EnelX (formerly eMotorwerks) are focusing on more features like two plugs for multi-EV households and smart charging that allows you to take advantage of time-of-day power rates and remote start and stop.

With that background, I was surprised that Electrify America was displaying its new Level 2 home charger at the Fully Charged Live show in Austin February 1-2, 2020.

Electrify America Level 2 Public Charging

As build-out of EA's charging network continues at a rapid pace, I had hoped EA would also be adding a significant number of Level 2 public chargers.  Their representative told me that although some of these would be added in the larger cities like Chicago, EA is focusing on their DC Quick Charging network.  I'm sure this is music to the ears of all the non-Tesla EV drivers who wish to take more road trips.

Now that I ride a Zero DSR electric motorcycle outfitted with a Charge Tank 6 KW J-1772 capable charger, a dense Level 2 public charging infrastructure has a new meaning for me.  As such, I can't help being a bit disappointed that we won't be seeing significantly more EA Level 2 public chargers.  But yes, that's for selfish reasons.

EA Display at Fully Charged Live
Image Source: Karl Bloss

Electrify America Level 2 Home Charger

Available on Amazon.com for $449 as of the publish date of this article, the 32A (approximately 7.6 KW) EVSE is a competent competitor for the above brands.  It ticks all the right boxes of a well-designed product:

• NEMA 14-50 supply power plug for easy installation or the unit can be hardwired by a qualified electrician. Included docking station allows for easier wall-mounting.
• 24 Ft Cable
• Weatherproof enclosure rated for indoor or outdoor installation (NEMA 3R)
• UL listed for electrical safety 
• SAE-J1772 compliant for all current US electric vehicles

The price point is about $100 below the ClipperCreek HCS-40 32A EVSE, slightly below the ChargePoint home charger as well as $150 below the EnelX JuiceBox Pro 40 which, in its refreshed version does offer quite a bit more functionality than its non-networked competitors.

EnelX JuiceBox Pro40
Image Source: https://evcharging.enelx.com/

Incentives

Federal

Congress recently passed a retroactive federal tax credit for those who purchased environmentally responsible transportation, including costs for EV charging infrastructure.

Receive a federal tax credit of 30% of the cost of purchasing and installing an EV charging station (up to $1,000 for residential installations and up to $30,000 for commercial installations) with the retroactive credit.

Previously, this federal tax credit expired on December 31, 2017, but is now retroactively extended through December 31, 2020.

The full details can be viewed on the U.S. Department of Energy website: https://afdc.energy.gov/laws/10513

For more information about claiming the credit, see IRS Form 8911, which is available on the IRS Forms and Publications website: https://apps.irs.gov/a…/picklist/list/formsPublications.html

Michigan Consumers Energy Customers

If you are a customer of Consumers Energy in Michigan, don't forget to check out the PowerMIDrive program which can earn you up to $500 in rebates for approved networked EVSEs.  Note that the EA Level 2 EVSE would not qualify for this program.

Recommendations

If you're in the market for a basic non-networked "dumb" EVSE with a J-1772 connector, the Electrify America Level 2 Home Charger may work for you.  Don't forget to maximize rebates and incentives both on a federal and local level.

You might also consider looking on sources like Facebook Marketplace and eBay for second-hand EVSE.  I've managed to score a few ClipperCreek units for around $300.

For only a bit more, consider that you may be able to get considerably more functionality with a networked EVSE like the ChargePoint home charger and the JuiceBox Pro 40 which will allow you to collect the Michigan incentives.  

Resources:

• EV Charging Adapters and Cables
• EVSEAdapters.com - I have ordered several times from this company and they have always delivered good quality products quickly.  
• Quickchargepower.com - another reputable source for EV charging adapters and solutions.
• Tesla Tap - note these are also sold on eBay
• BSA Electronics 
• Charging Networks
• Blink
• ChargePoint
• EVGo
• Electrify America
• SemaConnect
• PlugShare
• PlugShare for iOS
• PlugShare for Android
• EVMatch
• Coming to Muskegon and need a charge? See my listing on EVMatch: https://www.evmatch.com/public/562
• Follow me on Instagram:  @muskegonevguy
• See also my Plug In West Michigan podcast on WKTV Community Media.

If you are in the market for a Tesla Model S, Model X, or Model 3, Tesla has reestablished its referral program.  Feel free to use my referral code to get 1,000 miles of free Supercharging (at the time of this publishing) for your Tesla:  http://ts.la/karl5062