darkloki

Yea charing off peak hours is probably a better rate but again I'd like to get that install down if possible, and while this car is a PHEV maybe I'll futureproof myself by going to 220 for the full on EV down the road.

SocalBiker

I installed chargepoint charger and I'm on the Tou 1 plan for sdg&e. cost per night is roughly $1- $2 per night. For our house it doesn't make sense to go to EV pricing rate as raises the on-peak cost goes up. I believe the weekday super-offpeak 12am to 6am is .23kwh and if you the ev plan is .16 kwh.....on-peak (4pm-9pm) goes from something like .58 kwh to .64 kwh

Jggy993

would you recommend the ChargePoint vs any other 220 ev charger out there? Socal Here as well.

SocalBiker

We have chargepoint at 2 offices so I figured I would make it easier on myself. I think chargepoint is the most predominant charger in at least CA (could be wrong). App is pretty user friendly, set my schedule to super -off peak and I get an good idea of the cost. I elected to go with 50 amp circuit to 14-50 plug. Figure it's the most common and I can swap it out pretty easily if there is an issue.

ct6978

I went with the Enel X Juicebox instead of the Chargepoint as it was on sale at the time ($150 cheaper than the Chargepoint), seemed to have all of the same features, and had a slightly longer (25 ft vs 22 ft, I think, helped reach outside the garage for us) cord. I've been very happy with it, but also got a Chargepoint account to use their chargers while traveling. The Juicebox cord is slightly thicker, which would be tougher in really cold climates.

One nice feature of the Juicebox (not sure if the Chargepoint has it) is that they can share the same breaker/line and intelligently share max amperage. This only matters if you have 2 chargers and can't dedicate the full 50amps to each one on your panel. We're thinking of getting a second PHEV or EV, and it would save me a bit of money to use the same circuit, so this feature is potentially very useful to me.

I've also seen them at Costco for even cheaper recently, but that version had a slightly shorter cord and seems to be out of stock now.

Both the Chargepoint and Juicebox seem to have similar positive reviews, with some sites liking one or the other. My recommendation is to find the one that is in stock and has the best price (if significantly different) and just check if a few feet of cord length matters to you.

450hinLA

I went with Chargepoint here in Los Angeles. I spoke with a few different electricians when I was getting quotes for installing the charger, and Chargepoint is the one they all recommended. We hardwired it rather than installing a plug. We do not get any break on our electricity rates, but DWP will reimburse you $1000 for the charger and installation.

LexES300h

Thank you so much to the OP and everyone contributing questions, opinions, and answers.

I went with ChargePoint Nema 14-50 plug. I paid an electrician to run the wire from the electrical panel to my garage. He ran the conduit outside the wall and drilled it into the garage. Cost 1000 in SoCal for wiring, new breakers, consolidating, and moving breakers. He thought Nema 6-50 outlet was good enough and quoted a cheaper install. As many have said, everyone has choices to make; I read that Nema 14-50 outlet is preferred by Tesla. I am not a tesla fan, but they are dominant. I wanted to have some future proofing here.

rlee131

Thank you for your info. I too have a new 450 But not as lucky as you with your charging rate. I live in CA SF bay area and the best rate available is .25KWH from midnight to 3Pm and thats the best rate for elec vehicle charging But with comes with that is a higher rate of .54 KWH for all other hours of the day. You obviously do not live in this crazy socialistic part of the state Thanks again for info

newguytoda

interesting read

LexES300h

I also want to thank everyone for their comments and opinions. I went with the ChargePoint Home Flex, NEMA 14-50 Plug. Cost $1000 to install in my garage.
I see the charge to full around 2.5 hours from the 50A circuit/breaker. The App is estimating the cost per charge based on the SCE plan. Costing me $5-$6 per charge. I want to check this figure but haven't had a chance to understand if this is correct. Honestly, if gas is $2-$3 per gallon, would I charge the car if electricity is costing me double? Big companies get you one way or the other.

450hinLA

- Where is gas $2-$3 per gallon? It's $6.19/gallon for Premium gas at Costco today, and they usually have the best pricing.

- Your car can usually go about 3-4 miles per kWh of charge. So using quick numbers, you would need about 10 kWh to fully charge to 40 miles. I'm with DWP, and the most expensive tier of electricity is 0.327 per kWh. So 10 x 0.327 would be $3.27 for a 40-mile charge.

- If you assume you can go 40 miles on either 1 gallon of gas or a full charge...then it's about half the cost if you use electric vs gas.

dhulipam

Hi

I took Lexus NX 450h+ from northside Lexus, Houston.
As per instruction from Lexus , I am supposed to use or input 32A with 240V.
I bought ChargePoint Home Flex ( $750+) as per Lexus recommendation.
When I set up on chargepoint App I do not see 32A. I see 40A or 50A.

Can anyone suggest which amperage I have to use?
Can we configure to 40A even though Lexus says 32A? Any risk to battery life?
Thanks in advance.

Murali

ct6978

Your app is showing the possible options for maximum output from the charger (40 or 50A) which you can limit if you need to based on your electrical panel/wiring.

The car can only charge at a maximum rate of 6.6kW, which is about 28A, which is why Lexus recommends at 32A charger at minimum. The car will not draw more power than the 28A and it doesn't matter if you set the charger for 40 or 50A. You should set the charger to the maximum your electrical setup can handle in case you ever plug in a car that can draw more than your NX.

compdr59

I spoke to Chargepoint and they recommend the 40A setting unless it’s hardwired. I’m not sure why the app doesn’t report better mileage per kWh per Lexus ratings. I have it timed for best PSEG rate.

ct6978

You want to limit the setting to the maximum your wiring, panel, and plug can handle. Also, you should allow for 20% overhead on the circuit, so a 40A draw needs wiring, breaker, and plug that supports at least 48A (50A is more common).

As far as your app reporting miles, you have a few things going on here. These apps use a generic estimate of miles/kW that might not match what you're actually getting nor what Lexus claims based on the EPA testing rules. I use a different charger brand and have the ability to change the miles/kW to match what I've actually been getting in the car vs. what they think the model gets generically. Check your app to see if you have that too.

Secondly, you may not be bringing the car back at the same charge level each day, and I'm guessing the app is basing its estimates on how much it added. It doesn't get detailed charge data from the car.

Also, the charger only knows how much energy it sends to the car, not how much was actually added to the battery capacity. There's loss during charging, the system (onboard charging system, batteries) isn't 100% efficient. I've calculated it to be about 20% loss, so when I want to add 10kWh, I set my charger app to send 12kWh and start the charging with enough time to finish sending 12kW. Your app may be either adjusting or basing the miles on the wrong # because of this, you'll need to adjust the miles/kW to take this into account to be more accurate.

Finally, your actual driving experience will result in different miles/kW than other people, so any kind of average or EPA # may not apply to you.

Short answer is the apps use lots of estimates and base their estimates of numbers that don't match your reality. If you the ability to update those numbers in the app to match your situation you may get closer to reality.