rental house - installing outdoor charging

[EnvSciTeacher]

Hello -
I'm new to the forum after browsing this helpful site for a while. I am looking to buy/lease my first plug-in vehicle, and at this point I think only the Leaf and C-max Energi would fit my family's needs (haven't seen the Kia Soul EV yet...would consider it). It would be a second car, primarily for commuting ~16 miles RT (hilly, city driving in suburban NJ). Our "first" car is a '99 Subaru Outback with questionable longevity.
I live in an old (1930s?) rental house with no outdoor outlets whatsoever. The landlord is willing to let me install something at my expense, but I don't plan to be in this house more than 1-2 years so want to avoid sinking too much into someone else's house. The house wiring was updated in the last few years.

Main question - should I get 240 V or 120 V outlet installed? I think I could probably trickle charge OK with the amount of driving I'm planning on doing, but I'm guessing getting 240V would not cost much more, and then I could get attach an EVSE that I could take with me to a future home (correct?). I will probably use the landlord's regular electrician, and I can't count on him knowing much about electric cars, so any advice you can provide about what exactly I should have him install would be helpful. Any idea what I should expect for cost? I'm currently guessing in the $400-800 range.

Additional questions -
I'd like to be a 2 car family with one battery electric vehicle (like a LEAF) for daily use and one plug-in-hybrid (like a C-max Energi) for distance. I know that prices will come down and range/quality will improve for both kinds of cars in the next few years (along with increased model options). I'm only looking to get one car right now, with the idea that when my Subaru dies in a year or three I could get the other kind. Opinions on whether to get the plug-in hybrid now and wait for the new & improved Leaf (or mass-market Tesla)? Or vice versa?

Lease/Buy?
I've never leased before - I usually only buy ~5 year old cars for cash, and then run them until they die. It seems that used Leafs are a bit suspect in the battery department, and I think I would want a 2013 model or newer because of the improved charging rate and better heater, but there really aren't many of the 2013's used. Leasing seems like a bad economic model (usually), but maybe the electric car game is so different that the economics are different too. I don't mind driving an older car, just don't like driving a non-functional car.

Awaiting your collective wisdom...
Jeff in Somerville, NJ

 

[flyonpa]

Hello -
I'm new to the forum after browsing this helpful site for a while. I am looking to buy/lease my first plug-in vehicle, and at this point I think only the Leaf and C-max Energi would fit my family's needs (haven't seen the Kia Soul EV yet...would consider it). It would be a second car, primarily for commuting ~16 miles RT (hilly, city driving in suburban NJ). Our "first" car is a '99 Subaru Outback with questionable longevity.
I live in an old (1930s?) rental house with no outdoor outlets whatsoever. The landlord is willing to let me install something at my expense, but I don't plan to be in this house more than 1-2 years so want to avoid sinking too much into someone else's house. The house wiring was updated in the last few years.

Main question - should I get 240 V or 120 V outlet installed? I think I could probably trickle charge OK with the amount of driving I'm planning on doing, but I'm guessing getting 240V would not cost much more, and then I could get attach an EVSE that I could take with me to a future home (correct?). I will probably use the landlord's regular electrician, and I can't count on him knowing much about electric cars, so any advice you can provide about what exactly I should have him install would be helpful. Any idea what I should expect for cost? I'm currently guessing in the $400-800 range.

Additional questions -
I'd like to be a 2 car family with one battery electric vehicle (like a LEAF) for daily use and one plug-in-hybrid (like a C-max Energi) for distance. I know that prices will come down and range/quality will improve for both kinds of cars in the next few years (along with increased model options). I'm only looking to get one car right now, with the idea that when my Subaru dies in a year or three I could get the other kind. Opinions on whether to get the plug-in hybrid now and wait for the new & improved Leaf (or mass-market Tesla)? Or vice versa?

Lease/Buy?
I've never leased before - I usually only buy ~5 year old cars for cash, and then run them until they die. It seems that used Leafs are a bit suspect in the battery department, and I think I would want a 2013 model or newer because of the improved charging rate and better heater, but there really aren't many of the 2013's used. Leasing seems like a bad economic model (usually), but maybe the electric car game is so different that the economics are different too. I don't mind driving an older car, just don't like driving a non-functional car.

Awaiting your collective wisdom...
Jeff in Somerville, NJ

I guess 1st question, is can you charge at work?

At 16m/rt a day sound like you might need a charge twice a week. Is there a charger somewhere near by where you would not mind killing 3-4hrs? Is there a neighbor who has a L2 Charger you could "Pay" to use his/her two night a week?

http://www.plugshare.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; take a look for both the Public ones, and the Private ones that are posted, there may be one near you.

 

[mctom987]

If you're going to install an outlet, do a 240V. The cost difference between the two is $50-$100, depending on length. Labor is the same. I know you won't want to invest a lot, but doing something like the JuiceBox EVSE with a 14-50 outlet is probably your best bet. The JuiceBox you can take with you, so at least you can keep some of the "investment" of the install.

I don't know how far your ideal location is from the breaker, but a rough estimate would be $200 labor, $50 parts, + $10 per foot. This is assuming your SER and panel is rated for the additional load. My house (also a rental) wasn't. I ended up hijacking the 10-30 outlet (not) used by the dryer, because I have a gas dryer. This cost me about $100 to do myself.

I can't give you much direction on lease or buy. Personally, I really dislike leasing. I recognize it's advantages, it's just not something I personally would go for. That said, specifically with an EV like the Leaf, it's probably a better idea to lease.

 

[LeftieBiker]

EVSE: Install a standard (there are several types, so pick a common one) 240 volt outlet, and order a Level 2 EVSE that can have a plug attached, and be made transportable. I suggest a Clipper Creek 250 or 30 amp unit. Cheap, US-made, three warranty, simple design.

The rest of your questions all have one answer: lease a Leaf. Both because the lease is a better "buy" and because it lets you safely drive now an EV that will be much better in two years or so. Then when the improved version comes out, lease one of those. If you love it and it's solid, buy it for the residual value. If it has bugs or flaws, the lease takes the risk away again.

 

[EnvSciTeacher]

Thanks for the tips so far.

Forgot to mention:I haven't been able to find any plugs at work (even Level 1) for charging, and I _just_ started, so haven't yet felt like broaching the "why don't you guys install a charger?" question, but will get there. Don't want to buy a car that would _require_ me charging at chargers that don't exist yet. Similarly, there is both a Mercedes dealer and Nissan dealer a few miles away with charging stations, but I wouldn't want that to be my regular routine - far too much hassle.
Jeff

 

[Deleted member 9549]

Does the house have a garage? If so, any outlet there?
Dryer outlet? You get upgrade the EVSE that comes with the LEAF and charge fairly quickly from a dryer outlet.
In my case, I spent more wiring the outlet for the garage because its my house and I was planning for longevity. I had a 6-50 outlet installed, 50amp in case I want more current later. It ran me over $400 to get it installed, but I had a long run and installed a GFCI breaker which by itself was fairly expensive.

I would definitely lease. Cars are expected to get much better in the short term. Lease prices can be crazy cheap on the LEAF, but not always. I had some quotes for double the total lease payment for the exact same car. Try to get VPP pricing if you can and negotiate down from there. End of the month may help.

We use an older minivan as our second vehicle. Works well as we only take it on long trips and need luggage capacity which the C-Max doesn't have. I'm waiting to see if Mitsubishi introduces the Outlander EV nationwide. Most EVs are only sold in California or a few additional CARB states.