planet4ever said:
RonDawg said:
Some EVSEs (but not EVSE Upgrade) also have the ability to set a timer or start delay, useful if you have a Leaf S (no start timer, end-only timer) and want to ensure charging does not start before a specific time which has a lower price for electricity.
I'm disappointed in you Ron. I thought you knew better than that. A start timer has no advantage over an end timer in trying to hit a lowest cost electricity window.
If you have an extended window to take advantage of it, yes. But let's presume that you have a super-off-peak rate that starts at midnight and runs to 6 AM. That works well for most people. But what if you're one of the "I have to leave at 4 AM" people?
With a 3.3 kW on board charger, if the car is significantly depleted enough, the car may need more than 4 hours to charge. But what if the driver doesn't need all that electricity to get him or her through that day? Why should he or she pay a higher per/kwH cost for an extra hour or two of charging that he or she will not expect to need? Or should he or she now get up at midnight (or ask another family member to do so) just to ensure charging does not initiate too early?
I normally use about 1 bar going to work (downhill) and 3 bars going back home (uphill). Just now, I pulled into my garage with 3 bars left and an estimated 3:30 charging time @240 volts, as I had things to do before and after work that used up more battery than usual. Granted with my oddball schedule I can never take advantage of off-peak charging, but what if I was working a normal dayshift schedule and this happened to me?
I'll admit that relatively few people would fall into this situation. But the possibility does exist. And the person I replied to was asking about any other drawbacks, and the lack of a start timer on the EVSE Upgrade is one of them, whether or not you regard that to be really an issue or not.
Just thought of another possibility: you know those folks here who prefer to charge only to about 50% or so (or whatever that "sweet spot" is) to help preserve their batteries, especially in hot weather? If you know how long to charge your car to get to that spot given the amount remaining, you can adjust your start and end timers to achieve that. Oh wait, the Leaf S doesn't have a start timer...so for folks who got this model, this is the only way to do it, short of going out to the charging station at the right time to initiate charging.
RonDawg said:
Keep in mind that for those who leased, or bought used, there is a 30% tax credit towards buying and installing a new dedicated EVSE which at $1,000 will allow you to also upgrade your included OEM EVSE for basically free, if you want greater flexibility. This tax credit may not be extended after the end of this year.
I don't understand your "basically free" comment. If you pay $1000 for purchase and installation of an EVSE the most you can possibly get as a tax credit is $300. The only way to get a $1000 credit would be to spend $3333 or more. As for "may not be extended", I judge the chance of an extension to be virtually zero. It was slipped in last year as "stimulus" in the pork-laden "fiscal cliff" resolution. It really expired at the end of 2011, and was given a brief second life.
What I'm saying is:
Spend $1000 on a total cost for EVSE plus install. 30% of that means you get $300 at tax time, which just happens to be around the price of an EVSE upgrade to your existing OEM EVSE. In other words, spending at least $1000 towards a dedicated 240 volt EVSE will net you (if you don't fall into AMT) enough tax savings to basically pay for upgrading the "trickle charge" EVSE that came with your car.
The person I was replying to wanted to know which was a better value, spending $1000 on a brand new upgraded OEM EVSE (apart from the one that came with the car) or spending a bit less for a dedicated 240 volt EVSE. I'm saying spend $1000 on the dedicated one and get enough money back from Uncle Sam to pay for the one that's in the car to be upgraded, and have the best of both worlds. This is the route I'm thinking of doing myself, even though I lived with 120 volt charging for 9 months.
I'm aware that this credit has been extended twice, and may not be extended a third time. That's why I decided to buy a dedicated 240 volt EVSE, even though 120 volt "trickle charging" has been sufficient for my needs. Then again, with the current shutdown, you never know what compromises will be made to get DC running again. Isn't that what basically happened the last time with the "fiscal cliff" negotiations?
