Problems with EVSE install in 3 story condo

[jcc35]

I apologize if this topic is covered elsewhere, but I did not see it.
So I have my Leaf on order, scheduled for a January 2012 delivery. I live in Portland Oregon and Ecotality has told me I’m approved in general for the government grant for the EVSE install.
However, since I live in a condo, apparently they are having trouble actually approving it now… has anyone else seen this? I have been talking to Blink, who appear to be the front of the organization (apparently it is impossible to contact anyone at Ecotality directly) to try and see what the problem is and assure them that I am the owner of the condo, not merely a renter.
My second concern is that my unit is a stacked 3-story unit; the garage is on the ground floor, with the main living space on the 2nd floor, and bedroom with the only circuit breaker panel on the 3rd floor. Obviously the electrician will have to install a new 40 amp breaker in the panel and somehow run wires all the way down to the garage on the bottom floor. Not sure if or how this will work…. Has anyone else had a 240volt charger installed in a unit like this, and if so, how did it work?

Thanks in advance for the help and feedback!!! -John

 

[padamson1]

Do you know who built the condo? Typically there is a virtual duct for the wire run, sort of like a plumbing wall in the old days, to make it easy to run a new wire to a different floor. If you could get a copy of the plans from the builder you could figure this out without cutting a hole in the wall.

Worst case the city will have the plans in the permits department (I know b/c I gave Portland 3 copies of the plans to my house).

 

[Kataphn]

4 story condo. 165 units. Underground parking. Meters in electrical room in garage. We installed ev meter in electric room. Then ran conduit to our parking spot for 240 outlet. We use portable mod 2 evse.

 

[smkettner]

Well if there was an unused dryer outlet in the garage you could use a 20a evse or the modified Nissan unit.
Otherwise you will need to wait and see what the cost is for the free blink. Post the estimate and go from there.

Unless your commute is extreme most can get by for months on L1. No need to panic and spend a big bucket of money.

 

[jcc35]

Just to follow up - finally got Ecotality to approve all aspects of the installation, had the electrician come out for the assessment (which was ugly due to the nature of the 3-story cable run), and then he returned and performed the installation, which is now complete.

It took two full days of the electrician's time, with much cussing, but he finally got the cable ran from 3rd story breaker panel to ground floor garage without running anything on the exterior of the building, or damaging anything inside. He then discovered that the Blink charging unit was dead right out of the box and had to wait 3+ hours for a replacement to arrive. However, after all of this, the charging installation is now complete and seems to be working great! Ecotality covered the $1200, and I had to pay an additional $568 out of pocket...

Another nice thing to note is that per the recommendation of other users on this board, I did rely on Level 1 (110 volt) charging for about two weeks, and it worked just fine. However this does assume you have 10-12 hours each night to let your car charge, as I did. Thanks to everyone that offered feedback!

 

[smkettner]

Great to hear it worked out well

 

[sirtom]

Just to follow up - finally got Ecotality to approve all aspects of the installation, had the electrician come out for the assessment (which was ugly due to the nature of the 3-story cable run), and then he returned and performed the installation, which is now complete.

It took two full days of the electrician's time, with much cussing, but he finally got the cable ran from 3rd story breaker panel to ground floor garage without running anything on the exterior of the building, or damaging anything inside. He then discovered that the Blink charging unit was dead right out of the box and had to wait 3+ hours for a replacement to arrive. However, after all of this, the charging installation is now complete and seems to be working great! Ecotality covered the $1200, and I had to pay an additional $568 out of pocket...

Another nice thing to note is that per the recommendation of other users on this board, I did rely on Level 1 (110 volt) charging for about two weeks, and it worked just fine. However this does assume you have 10-12 hours each night to let your car charge, as I did. Thanks to everyone that offered feedback!

I'm considering install in a condo as well, with the parking area multiple floors below the unit.

I had a question - when you said "Ecotality covered the $1200, and I had to pay an additional $568 out of pocket..."
How do I go about approaching them to do this - and how / why did they decide to cover $1200 but charge you $568?
What was your total out-of-pocket for installation?

Also - does anyone know of any other people or threads discussing condo installation? I searched but only found this one. Thought there would be more ...

 

[sirtom]

One other thing:
I have reserved my nissan leaf, I still have to schedule a home assessment.

Is there a charge? I believe it's $99, but not sure.

Also, I found a video of an AeroVironment home assesment that I wanted to share:
http://www.plugincars.com/video-nissan-leaf-charging-station-home-inspection-detail-51562.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Are there any other viable alternatives to going the AeroVironment route, especially for someone in a condo?

 

[91040]

I had a question - when you said "Ecotality covered the $1200, and I had to pay an additional $568 out of pocket..."
How do I go about approaching them to do this - and how / why did they decide to cover $1200 but charge you $568?
What was your total out-of-pocket for installation?

Also - does anyone know of any other people or threads discussing condo installation? I searched but only found this one. Thought there would be more ...

jcc35 must have been accepted in the EV project run by Ecotality. It provides you with a Blink EVSE, installation credit and, originally, a Quick Charge port. It is restricted to certain areas and number of participants. Look on your Nissan status page, there should be a link to the EV project or call customer service.

Do not waste money on the Aerovironment assessment. If you get that unit, buy it and get your own electrician to install. Better, get your portable EVSE upgraded to handle 240V (evseupgrade.com).

There are one or two other threads. Use the google search on this board's search function.

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=3030" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=1317" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=3134" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=2455" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[EricBayArea]

It took two full days of the electrician's time, with much cussing, but he finally got the cable ran from 3rd story breaker panel to ground floor garage without running anything on the exterior of the building, or damaging anything inside. He then discovered that the Blink charging unit was dead right out of the box and had to wait 3+ hours for a replacement to arrive. However, after all of this, the charging installation is now complete and seems to be working great! Ecotality covered the $1200, and I had to pay an additional $568 out of pocket...

Wow that is amazing that you only paid $568 out of pocket. I feel like I was taken when my electrician spent 7 hours doing my non-standard install and I paid $900 out of pocket. My panel is in on the first floor of my house and my garage is detached. He ran wire down from the panel, inside the wall, to the crawl space (luckily the access to the crawl space is immediately below the panel). Ran cable under the house to a vent across from the garage, ran the cable through conduit out from the crawl space, down into the ground, under my walkway, up to my garage wall and in. I even dug the ditch and burrowed the hole for the conduit. I figured if I didn't pay the $900, I was still out $700 for the QC port because it wouldn't be reimbursed without the Blink unit. Electrician said something about that since it was a federal job he had to charge union rates. Whatever, long over with.

Congrats for getting it all setup and working. I know people have had mixed feelings and results with the Blink units but I can say that since mine was installed in September of 2011, I haven't had a single issue with it.

 

[sirtom]

I had a question - when you said "Ecotality covered the $1200, and I had to pay an additional $568 out of pocket..."
How do I go about approaching them to do this - and how / why did they decide to cover $1200 but charge you $568?
What was your total out-of-pocket for installation?

Also - does anyone know of any other people or threads discussing condo installation? I searched but only found this one. Thought there would be more ...

jcc35 must have been accepted in the EV project run by Ecotality. It provides you with a Blink EVSE, installation credit and, originally, a Quick Charge port. It is restricted to certain areas and number of participants. Look on your Nissan status page, there should be a link to the EV project or call customer service.

Do not waste money on the Aerovironment assessment. If you get that unit, buy it and get your own electrician to install. Better, get your portable EVSE upgraded to handle 240V (evseupgrade.com).

There are one or two other threads. Use the google search on this board's search function.

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=3030" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=1317" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=3134" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=2455" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Thanks for the info - very helpful!
Where on the Nissan status page should I find the link to the EV project?
Is there another way to request Ecotality to consider me for their program?