What do I tell the solar installers? Recommendations for chargers??

[abirozy]

Good evening

I am getting solar and need to make a decision by the end of next week to make sure I stay on NEM 2.0 for southern california. A lot of the quotes I have been getting include two chargers installed and the price is pretty high (4-6k). I have a Tesla Model S and an R1T. Both park outside.

1). Can I just tell them I want an outlet installed? and if so, what kind of outlet is it?

2). What are the thoughts of having a hard wired charger vs a plug in charger?

3). For those of you who have both Tesla's and Rivians.... or even if that isn't the case.... What would your recommendations be for chargers to buy if they are the plug in ones?

Best

Adam

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[jjswan33]

I have been happy with my Chargepoint Home Flex, if you get the Nema 14-50 (outlet type) you can upgrade later to direct wire if you want the extra 8A of juice.

If you think you might want to upgrade later you can ask them to wire it such that it can support a 60 A circuit in the future which would be THHN 6 AWG wiring I believe.

Bottom line for the Rivian if you do Nema 14-50 the max charge rate you will get is 9.6kW, if you hardwire you can get 11.5kW. I know less about Tesla chargers but I guess the same is likely true.

 

[abirozy]

I have been happy with my Chargepoint Home Flex, if you get the Nema 14-50 (outlet type) you can upgrade later to direct wire if you want the extra 8A of juice.

If you think you might want to upgrade later you can ask them to wire it such that it can support a 60 A circuit in the future which would be THHN 6 AWG wiring I believe.

Bottom line for the Rivian if you do Nema 14-50 the max charge rate you will get is 9.6kW, if you hardwire you can get 11kW. I know less about Tesla chargers but I guess the same is likely true.

Is there a big difference in charging speed?

 

[jjswan33]

Is there a big difference in charging speed?

20%

Assuming an R1T with 125kWh battery:

Hard wired: 125kWh/11.5kw = 10.9 hours
Nema 14-50: 125kWh/9.6kw = 13 hours

Now if you charge to 70% lets say from 20% in a typical night then you can cut them numbers in half to 5.5 and 6.5 hours respectively. I personally have a Nema 14-50 and never had an issue charging overnight but I can see the draw to have 20% faster charging. Also I only installed it that way because I had some Romex left over from wiring a hot tub and that would only support a 50A circuit.

 

[LTD in CBTS]

We are in SoCal and have two Teslas and a R1T. We have a Tesla level 2 charger that is hardwired to a dedicated 60 amp circuit and mounted inside the garage where our Model X resides. I bought a Lectron 60AMP Tesla to J1772 adapter. Works flawlessly charging the R1T which I just pull up outside the garage to charge overnight. Delivers about 22 miles of All Purpose range on 21s per hour of charging. I put two long 3/4" thick boards under the garage as it closes to not crush the cord and to keep meecy mice out.

 

[connoisseurr]

What’s the energy management solution for your solar system: Enphase, Solar Edge, or Tesla?

If Enphase, consider upgrading your solar install to include a System Controller and get a spare conduit run from your charger location to the controller. This allows you to be V2H-ready when Enphase releases their bidirectional charger, and Rivian unlocks the V2H protocol on the R1 platform. (I did this)

If Solar Edge, get a ChargePoint Home Flex.

If Tesla, get a wall connector, and an adapter for the R1.

As a fourth and costly option, consider upgrading your main load center to a Span smart panel, and couple that with a Span EV charger.

 

[abirozy]

What’s the energy management solution for your solar system: Enphase, Solar Edge, or Tesla?

If Enphase, consider upgrading your solar install to include a System Controller and get a spare conduit run from your charger location to the controller. This allows you to be V2H-ready when Enphase releases their bidirectional charger, and Rivian unlocks the V2H protocol on the R1 platform. (I did this)

If Solar Edge, get a ChargePoint Home Flex.

If Tesla, get a wall connector, and an adapter for the R1.

As a fourth and costly option, consider upgrading your main load center to a Span smart panel, and couple that with a Span EV charger.

I am narrowing down my solar options, but 2 of my choices use enphase, and 1 uses solar edge. Tesla was my first choice for cost, but they said they could only fit 1/2 of what I need on the roof and didn't know if they would beat the NEM 2.0 deadline

 

[agame32]

+1 with a Tesla Y, Tesla wall charger hardwired on a 60amp circuit, an R1T, and the Lectron adapter. Zero issues. My wife commutes and charges 3x per week. I work from home and charge 1x/week before each weekend just in case adventure calls.

 

[agame32]

Also +1 for solar and our net electricity cost is near $0. It’s amazing. Enjoy the journey!

 

[agame32]

One thing I was glad I did was to add extra panels up to what my South+West facing roofs could support. I think I asked for two extra panels beyond what they recommended and that “filled” up those roofs. Once you have the panels and the generation capacity, you’ll start to think about things to convert to electric (dryer, induction stove, water heater, pool heater, more EVs, etc).

 

[Matthuw]

We are a two EV house (Model Y and Ioniq 5) and we charge both off a Grizzl-e plugged into a NEMA 14-50. Your charging need is going to be controlled by how much each vehicle is driven. One of our cars is a commuter and gets plugged in at night. The other is only used for errands and school drop-off/pick-up and charges during the day, so one charger works fine for us.

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