240V outlet installation costs

[moonpoint]

Hello,
I am located in Union City, Bay area, California and planning to buy a Nissan leaf model s with quick charge tomorrow. I am a bit confused about the home charging installation options.

1) Apparently there is a form I need to fill in on the day I buy to see if I qualify for a free EV.
http://evsolutions.avinc.com/products/cec/how_to_apply" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Has anyone in California got it recently. How much is the wait time.

2) If I can't get free(see (1) above, the cheapest option seem to be to get a 240V garage outlet
(seems to be the electrican wants $400?) for putting this outlet?
3) after (2) get, the upgraded plug from the berkeley folks at http://evseupgrade.com/?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=2" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
(about $300)

So the total is about $700.

Can I get all of this back after tax credit next year. Their seem to be a $1000 federal tax credit
(https://www.blinknetwork.com/ev-infrastructure-tax-credits" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false

Alternately is there a better option that can get me a charging station as in amazon.com
Nissan LEAF Residential EV Charger, 25' cable (Level 2 EVSE-RS: 7.2kW, 30A)
by AeroVironment

 

[LTLFTcomposite]

Check out the schneider evlink, home depot reduced the price to 699, and that can give you the 6kw rate. Also the clipper creek lcs 25 is on sale another day or two. The evse upgrade is very popular and cost effective. $400 sounds high to put in the circuit/outlet if the service panel is in the garage, but every situation is different, hard to say without seeing it.

 

[stjohnh]

We got one of the free charge stations. Waiting time for the site check was a few days. What is free is a standard installation that includes up to 30' of wire and conduit, the "charger" (actually EVSE) and installation. However only a very simple installation will qualify, and you need to pay any extra, also the permit cost is extra ($250 in Palo Alto). All worked well, no funny business, but ours was a complex installation, so there were considerable extra charges.

Even if you qualify for the free unit above, you may very well pay less for the 240 outlet+ upgraded EVSE that comes with the car. But you won't have the snazzy permanent installation to show off to your friends ;-).

The charge for a 240v outlet will be variable, depending on the complexity of the installation. Get bids as electrician charges can vary a lot.

I'm not sure about the charge station credits, my impression from a few other posts in this forum is that applying for it automatically triggers the AMT (alternative minimum tax) so that if your tax situation is such that you will get the full $7500 federal income tax benefit for the LEAF, you will end up losing more than you gain by trying to get the charge station credit. The charge station credit wouldn't change our decision, so I didn't worry about it. We will see what my accountant does when he files my tax return next year.

We have both, but we have 2 Leafs.

 

[johnrhansen]

I live in Washington state. I didn't know about the free charger... oops! EVSE!!... I just bought one and installed it myself... Did I mess up? Could I have gotten a free one? My service panel is in my garage, and I only used 15 feet of conduit to wire it in.

 

[planet4ever]

Can I get all of this back after tax credit next year. Their seem to be a $1000 federal tax credit

If you buy your LEAF you are very unlikely to get anything back on the EVSE federal tax credit. If you are already subject to AMT, forget it. If not, you have to calculate what your AMT would be, and can only claim an EVSE credit if the AMT would be less than subtracting the $7500 EV tax credit from your tax. Very few people can pass that test.

If you lease your LEAF you can probably get a credit for 30% (definitely not 100%!) of everything you pay for the EVSE + installation, because you aren't taking the $7500 credit - Nissan is, and then passing it on to you as if it were cash at closing.

Are you sure you want to buy? The majority opinion here appears to be that the lease deals are too good to pass up right now, and the battery degradation (even where you are) is such that you may not want to keep the car more than three years.

Ray

 

[moonpoint]

Thank you, thank you!

LTLFTcomposite: thanks, clipper creek lcs 25 seems to be $200 cheaper.
I am still considering the home depot( mainly because I can ask for installation discounts)
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Schneider-Electric-EVlink-30-Amp-Generation-2-5-Enhanced-Model-Indoor-Electric-Vehicle-Charging-Station-EV230WS/203670265#.UkfDQIZ6YRA" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ($700)

For reference clipper creek:

http://stores.homestead.com/clippercreekinc/-strse-6/level-2-evse,-level/detail.bok" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


I also checked the red beacon(http://www.redbeacon.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false , and I got multiple quotes for installation.
ranging from $174-350). It looks like a simple installation with the panel is already in the garage on the same wall where i want the outlet.

stjohnh, planet4ever: thanks. I was not clear in my prev post, I am actually leasing it, so hopefully the $1000 tax credit for the ev install won't trigger the AMT.


I am going to try for the free ev(hopefully the city permit won;t be very costly (>$250)

Cheers

 

[RonDawg]

I just had an EVSE installed in my garage last week. Not including the cost of the EVSE, it ran to about $1000 including permit. My service panel is in the garage,, but my municipality imposed certain requirements that made this install a bit pricey:

1.) A dedicated meter for the EVSE alone. That meant a run from the panel to the back wall of the garage, a distance of about 3 or 4 feet up to the ceiling, 10 feet horizontally to the back wall, and another 2-3 feet down that wall. I was told that although I do not get a discount for the kWH used to charge my car, they need to track how much is actually being consumed by EVs so that they can plan for future infrastructure upgrades.

2.) The EVSE has to be installed opposite the garage door, and not on the side wall where the panel is. My municipality requires "30 foot" clearance in front of the EVSE, and an open garage door qualifies. Because of the layout of my garage, that meant another 10 foot run horizontally from where the meter was to where the EVSE was installed.

3.) A dedicated cutoff switch located adjacent to the EVSE, as it's now "too far" from the panel :roll:

My electrician and his apprentice were at my house for about 7 hours over a two day period, so it wasn't a quick install either. So I would say the price is fair.

I went with the Clipper Creek LCS-25. Excellent quality unit. I have an older Leaf which won't take full advantage of its 20 amps, and while it won't take full advantage of a newer Leaf's 6.6 kW charger, it is still sufficiently fast for an overnight charge even for a fully depleted Leaf battery.

As far as using Home Depot for their "installation discounts" keep in mind that their installation prices are generally inflated, as they take a cut of the profits.

 

[moonpoint]

thanks RonDawg.

Looks like the EVSE option is much more expensive than I initially thought.

I am going to go for a new 240V outlet in the garage (My electric dryer outlet has 240V, but not in the garage, but in a closet upstairs!)

Irrespective of whether I buy EVSE station($500 - $1000), or EVSEupgrade( http://evseupgrade.com/?main_page=products_id=2" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false, or the free, needs to get the city permit.

I looked up the permit costs in our city
(http://www.ci.union-city.ca.us/admin/admin_pdfs/Permits.Licenses/Fees_master.fee.schedule.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false

Looks like it is mostly the city inspection fee(not the unit's cost)

At least $105 per hour + (less than $100) etc.
Will update after I go through this process...

 

[moonpoint]

Just wanted to update, that I qualified for the free charger and installation program as in

item (1) in my original post
http://evsolutions.avinc.com/products/cec/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
I was #196 out of the 300 monthly quota for California, I think.
They still have about 100 left around on day 5 of the month.

Not sure my costs to get the city permit for the install. I will know in a few weeks.

 

[cwerdna]

http://evsolutions.avinc.com/products/cec/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

My dealer applied for the above for me. http://www.myrav4ev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=8179#p8179" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; and http://www.myrav4ev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=8264#p8264" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; were my outcome. No thanks. I'm not spending $5K for something I don't even need.

I was already hesitant to spend the $360 I outlined there, as I don't need it (at least not for my current job and commute).

Also, for future reference, see diagram at http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=262630#p262630" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; re: EVSE and the car's on-board charger (under the hood of '13+ Leafs).

 

[moonpoint]

Update:
I got the free ev charger installed by the contractor they picked. (AV solutions - http://evsolutions.avinc.com/uploads/products/3_AV_EVSE-RS_consumer_061110.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false

The total cost from me was $250(City permit fees of $120 some thing + rest for the contractor to prepare for the permit)

Made the first charge today from the new unit. Happy that this was done within 30 days( I got the car on Oct 2 , and the charger install was done on Oct 30)

Best

 

[Epi117]

If you have a used dryer outlet in garage, it could save you money, we used a old dryer outlet.

i placed my unit right next to circuit box, was told by electrician that that would reduce cost.