Level 1 Charging - Is That Still Relevant?
I came across a newly installed Level 1 public charging station recently which seems like an anachronism in the day and age of 100+ kWh battery packs. In this case, it was a set of two 120V 20A Clipper Creek chargers which, based on the 80% NEC continuous use specification, only run at 16A (80% of 20A = 16A). That puts the power output at just under 2 KW (120V * 16A = 1,920 Watts). The average light-duty EV has an efficiency of around 3.5 miles per kWh, so this station would add a whopping 7 miles of range per hour of charging. A 60 kWh battery pack in something like a Chevy Bolt EV would take 30 hours to fully charge from empty. Why in the world would anyone want that? The answer is quite simple: When the vehicle will be sitting and charging for a long time, it doesn't matter. What is the use case for that? How about airport long-term parking? If you're gone for 2-3 days, who cares whether your EV is done charging in 3 hours or 36 hours. The battery is still fully ch