Mx5racer said:
I was told that the evr green 160 will retail for about $1500
And will not be available until at least June
Sounds like there are still some details to get. Like does that $1500 include professional installation?
At that price, I'd definitely go with the Ford branded Leviton Evr-Green 320 from Best Buy, including professional installation for $1499, presumably available late 2011 .
http://www.earthtechling.com/2011/01/ford-ev-charger-tries-to-stand-out/
That way when a you have a gen 2 LEAF or another EV that can charge at 6.6 kW you won't need to replace your EVSE or have an electrician upgrade the wiring since the Evr-Green 160 would likely be installed on a 240V 20A circuit for the 16 amp version of the Evr-Green 160, or 240V 30A circuit for the 24 amp version of the Evr-Green 160. Upgrading to a 6.6 kW, 240V 32A EVSE, will require the time and considerable expense of another electrician visit to upgrade the circuit - breakers, wires, socket to 240V 40A and pull a new permit. $200 - $500 ($1400 if it's AV) plus the cost of the new EVSE.
The 6.6 kW 240V 32A charge level is going to be a sweet spot for many EVs with 100+ mile range. The fact that the LEAF is 3.3 kW is largely an oops because they didn't have time to work out a 6.6 kW charger for the Gen 1 LEAF. Nissan is already making comments that future LEAFs will have 6.6 kW. Don't sell yourself short with the Evr-Green 160. The Evr-Green 160 is more for Volts, and Plug In Prius households that are never going to purchase a vehicle with more than 40 miles pure electric range.)
It may also be possible to get the Leviton Evr-Green 320 installed and if your home requires a panel or service upgrade to go from 20 to 40A, that you could have them install it, but program to only offer 16A to the EV. Then several years in the future, if you get an EV that charges at 6.6kW, you do the panel or service upgrades then, keeping the same EVSE and wiring - initially a 40A socket, 40A wiring on a 20A circuit and upgrade the just the breaker since the wiring and socket is already large enough. Then you get the EVSE re-programmed to upgrade the current available to the EV from 16A to 32A.