Aerovironment EVSE install information

[smkettner]

Or wait until next year and get a Leviton for probably even less than the CC with a tax credit
Only 16 amps is needed for Leaf. Even AV is double the usable capacity.

yep, you can do that. you are not "future proof" on fast charging EVs that will come out in the next 3 or 4 years though.

I am purchasing and will drive the Leaf 10+ years so I am as future proof as I can imagine.
I will worry about the new system when I get to that point. Maybe it will be natural gas or hydrogen and the evse will not even be used.

March 2nd will mark ten years on my present vehicle and the previous I also drove 10 years and 240,000 miles

 

[mitch672]

Well, I don't keep any vehicle for 10 years. I am on my third Prius (and Prius generation), had the Gen1 2002 MY, then upgraded to the Gen2 2004 MY, then just this January got the Gen3 2010 MY. I guess I am more of a "gadget guy", than thrifty.

Hydrogen? really? hydrogen is an energy carrier, like electricty, it's not an energy source.

I think electricty will be with us for the forseeable future, hydrogen is just too expensive, and in fact, either hydrocarbons or electricty is used to make hydrogen... no way for that to be clean unless you use renewable electricty to "crack water" for the H2, but then, why not just use the electricty directly to charge the batteries in an EV? nope, wouldn't count on hydrogen...

 

[evnow]

Maybe it will be natural gas or hydrogen and the evse will not even be used.

NG is not the future - but the past (present?).

Hydrogen will ofcourse become more efficient than EVs and thus common as soon as they suspend laws of thermodynamics.

ps : In general V1 is not for people who want to keep it for long ... I doubt anyone who bought a HDTV in 1998 still uses it.

 

[smkettner]

I did not mean to say those alternatives would become a better solution
Just an example to show that we do not know what the future holds

BTW I still have a 27" tv (crt) from 1996 that works perfectly fine. Although it is soon going to a friends house to continue its life.

 

[EVDRIVER]

I did not mean to say those alternatives would become a better solution
Just an example to show that we do not know what the future holds

BTW I still have a 27" tv (crt) from 1996 that works perfectly fine. Although it is soon going to a friends house to continue its life.

And uses quite a bit of energy form the wall and your eyes

 

[tomguy]

Hi, I really need some suggestions from all you right now. I was scheduled to have my EVSE installed on 12/21/2010. I never received a call from AV regarding my installation so I called AV up on the 20th asking them why they haven't confirmed a time for the installation. My dashboard shows that the dock has been paid for and the installation scheduled, but there was no time frame. Nissan told me they will schedule a time frame for the installation 24 hours prior to the installation date. So I called AV on the 20th and they told me they had a bug in their system and even though my dashboard shows the installation scheduled, on their side, it wasn't. So they told me they would contact me on the 21st and they would give me priority to get it installed by the end of this year for tax purposes.

So today I get a call from AV telling me that they won't be able to install the charger until Jan 7 and they were fully booked before then. They told me don't worry about the tax credit because something passed and they would give 30% of the cost back for 2011. So I argued with them that not only will I get 20% less tax credit but also I won't get to file it for the 2010 tax year. They told me this is the best they can do and apologize for the inconvenience.

I already had my electrician install the second meter and also the outlet, so I have already paid for that installation.

AV really screwed up and now I'm taking the hit for everything. I asked them if at least they could send me the charger then and I will just wire it up myself, but they told me the cash and carry has already been reserved and they can't give me one, only the contractor they have can.

So I'm extremely mad right now at AV and should've listened to the forum members on being cautious with AV. Right now I need some suggestions on what I can do. I have the installation scheduled for January for now, so it won't get delayed any further. But this type of nonsense is just ridiculous. This is not a small bug in the system but will end up costing me quite a bit of money.

I would just like everybody to know this is the way AV treats their customers and the way they operate is just pathetic.

 

[mitch672]

Really all you could do is call Clipper Creek http://www.clippercreek.com/ they have the CS-40's in stock, with the EAA discount ($35 to join), http://eaaev.org/ it will cost you $2250 + $50 S/H, they could get it out to you this week.. of course its more money than the AV unit, a lot more, but its a quality unit, much higher quality than the AV unit (in my opinion)... Don't know what else to tell you, I have ordered a CS-100 for $300 more ($2550 + $50 S/H), that is being sent out the end of this week/begining of next week (they have to modify CS-40's with a different J-1772 connector/cable and relay, etc), should arrive just before new years, but the invoice will be dated in 12/2010, and my electrician will also date the install for 12/2010 as well.

BTW, you will get the %50 credit for the unit, which will amount to $1150, and it will cost you $1150 for the unit as well, when said and done. Or you could wait until 2011 and take the %30 credit (up to $1000 max) on the AV unit/install..

 

[smkettner]

Tomguy, when is your delivery date? I would just cancel AV (I did) and get an evse from another supplier. No way in heck would I pay AV to do the install if your electrician has already done the real work. My home is fully prewired and inspected and no way will I pay AV $1400 to simply plug their $800 evse into the connector and screwit onto the wall. You could pay the big money for a CC in 2010 as that is all that is available. Or I plan to wait for the smaller Leviton to be available in early 2011. You may lose some deduction but you will spend way less net compared with CC or AV install.

 

[tomguy]

Tomguy, when is your delivery date? I would just cancel AV (I did) and get an evse from another supplier. No way in heck would I pay AV to do the install if your electrician has already done the real work. My home is fully prewired and inspected and no way will I pay AV $1400 to simply plug their $800 evse into the connector and screwit onto the wall. You could pay the big money for a CC in 2010 as that is all that is available. Or I plan to wait for the smaller Leviton to be available in early 2011. You may lose some deduction but you will spend way less net compared with CC or AV install.

smkettner, you know.. you're right.. My delivery date is probably in April or so. I placed the order on Sep 9 but haven't received a delivery date yet. I'm just thinking, if I am already paying 1200+ dollars for this 800 dollars + installation, the reason I chose AV was because they were the only company that can delivery the charger to me by the end of this year. If for sure they cannot delivery, why pick them right? I would rather go for the Blink Charger which I like much more for less cost.

Now the question is, since I had my electrician did some work already on the EV charger, would I be able to use the 50% for 2010 for the outlet and meter work and use the 30% next year for the EVSE?

But actually, would the IRS actually audit the "in-service" date of the EVSE? I have all the paperwork right now showing my electrician doing the work for the outlet and AV's work order date of 12/21. However can I just say that something came up and they installed it on the 1/7 instead? I'm just thinking how strict they are to the "in-service" date and how they will be able to tell when it's been put into service.

 

[Jimmydreams]

But actually, would the IRS actually audit the "in-service" date of the EVSE? I have all the paperwork right now showing my electrician doing the work for the outlet and AV's work order date of 12/21. However can I just say that something came up and they installed it on the 1/7 instead? I'm just thinking how strict they are to the "in-service" date and how they will be able to tell when it's been put into service.

I'm not an IRS agent, but it seems to me that the receipts for whatever amount you're claiming must be dated 2010. Simple as that. If you have purchase and install paperwork for 2010, the IRS won't even bat an eye. (they probably won't ANYWAY, but you never know). Putting an item 'in service' doesn't necessarily mean you have to use it. The gas pumps as the gas station are 'in service' even though they're not in use at the moment. If it's operational and I have receipts, I claim it. The dates on your paperwork are the important parts.

 

[mitch672]

I have to agree with JimmyD, which is why I am spending more on the CC CS-100 than I would really like to... I look at it like this, I get %50 of $2600 for the EVSE now, or it could be %30 of $2600 with a $1000 max in 2011 (or %30 of a less expensive but smaller unit), and perhaps nothing in 2012. The dated receipt for the equipment and installation is all the IRS would ever require, and perhaps the electrical inspectors signoff, but you can always say that it was the end of the year and he was busy, but the unit was installed and operational in 2010, it just wasn't inspected until early 2011

 

[tomguy]

Thanks for the suggestion guys. I'm trying to find some paperwork from AV that I fully paid for this charger but can't find it. The only thing I have is a CC statement showing the charge and the dashboard showing the order statement, no formal receipt. I'm hoping that should be okay for tax purposes. Otherwise I'm really considering cancelling the AV charger and going for the Blink charger. It actually will cost me a little less but I'm getting a much more advance charger. In the end I'll probably be spending about 200 dollars or so more and have to wait till 2012 to get the tax credit.

Mitch, as for the electrical inspector signoff, the city is inspecting the work the electrician has done on my house today without the charger in place. I don't think they will come back out again to see the charger in place. Otherwise I'm playing a bit of a chasing game here. SCE won't put in a meter unless the city signs off on the electrical work. The city won't inspect it if the electrical work is completed. So now if the charger is not in place, the electrical work is not completed therefore the city won't inspect it. And I believe AV would probably want a live connection when they install and test the unit so that's never going to happen without a meter in place. So I think I should be ok without the sign off.

 

[tomguy]

I would like to just post an update on what happened.

I contacted Nissan Leaf Support and told them about what had happened and how AV was treating my situation. They were able to escalate the situation to a supervisor and then they contacted a supervisor over at AV. Within 2-3 minutes of waiting during the chat, I was contacted by AV and they told me they will use their own electrician and have my charger installed on the 27th. That's what I call service!

Before I was extremely disappointed at how one person at AV was handling my situation, but persistence helps and getting it to the right people helps also. Now I'm just crossing my fingers that they will show up on Monday.

Thanks for all the advice.

 

[LakeLeaf]

Does everyone's AV install quote expire at the end of 2010?

What happens then - you're supposed to get another assessment for another $100?

 

[garygid]

Expire: according to the "fine print", yes, it expires.

Unknown how AV and Nissan will handle this situation.

I refused to pay the first $100, so I am not "in that loop".

Has anybody with an AV quote had any discussions with AV (or Nissan) about this issue?

 

[smkettner]

All bids should have an expiration. Most likely AV would still do the work at the same price but they can change things if they like after the expiration. Just standard stuff incase some install requirement changes or pricing needs to be adjusted etc.

It will be interesting if the ability to schedule the install on the dashboard will go away after 12/31/2010

 

[BlueSL]

My AV appointment was today. AV did not call the day before as promised. I checked with Nissan in the morning, which got to an AV dispatcher, who called me and said the installer would be here today in the morning.

The installer came, and my unit is up and running. I live in Orinda, CA (SF Bay Area).

While I would have preferred for AV to have called the day before, I am VERY HAPPY.

 

[Yanquetino]

A few weeks ago, I wrote to my contact at AV to inquire about purchasing their EVSE directly, since the November 15th promised availability date had come and gone without a word. Here is the reply I received:

I apologize for keeping you waiting on this front. Unfortunately, I have learned from my supervisor that we must provide charging docks to customers taking receipt of the LEAF within the next couple of months first. Also, we are unable to provide charging docks to customers that have not yet been able to order their LEAF. I apologize for the inconvenience that this may cause, but it is unlikely that we will be able to provide you with a charging dock until sometime next year (after you have ordered your car, and closer to the time that your car will be delivered).

Well... yesterday an odd thing happened. I got a phone call from AV! This rep said that they now have EVSEs available, and that I could order one. He told me that I could order either a 15' or 25' cable for the same price. They couldn't ship the longer length for a couple of weeks, but they could ship the shorter length immediately. I told him I wanted to measure my garage this weekend to determine which length I would prefer, and that I would call him back with an answer. The price he quoted was the same $720, plus shipping.

I was genuinely surprised by this policy flip-flop. Could it be that AV has decided to ramp up their efforts, lest potential customers instead opt for the Leviton/Best Buy and GE Wattstation docks that were announced at CEO in Las Vegas this past week?

 

[smkettner]

Now that the initial panic is over I think their business might be ramping down a bit.
Next step will be a price drop

 

[EVDRIVER]

I'm sure they got a does of reality when people decided to pass on their brilliant install model. There is plenty of margin in their cheap EVSE to lower the price.