Charging - plugged-in climate control and EVSE overhead

[mitch672]

I have to wonder, everyone is so worried about how much power the EVSE is drawing, when we have things like the FIOS Motorola ONT, and the associated Verizon WR424MI WiFi router, have to see how much that takes, I imagine it's way more than a 30W constant load... I mention this, as I just (finally) got FIOS Internet in my area. And of course we all have converter boxes and HDTVs as well..

[DaveinOlyWA]

Amen mitch.... I advised my router went from 20-80 watts and everyone thought that was outragoeus so I started monitoring it more often since my killawatt ain't doing anything until my Leaf arrives and I found that 100 watts does happen when I am streaming Netflix to both tvs at once

[DarkStar]

Amen mitch.... I advised my router went from 20-80 watts and everyone thought that was outragoeus so I started monitoring it more often since my killawatt ain't doing anything until my Leaf arrives and I found that 100 watts does happen when I am streaming Netflix to both tvs at once

Wow, what type of router is that?! I'm running a couple of different Netgear routers (one router, one in AP mode) and their power supplies can't even provide much more than 20 watts (5 volts @ 3 amps).

[HIOJim]

I have to wonder, everyone is so worried about how much power the EVSE is drawing, when we have things like the FIOS Motorola ONT, and the associated Verizon WR424MI WiFi router, have to see how much that takes, I imagine it's way more than a 30W constant load... I mention this, as I just (finally) got FIOS Internet in my area. And of course we all have converter boxes and HDTVs as well..

After reading the thread(s) about idle EVSE current draw I broke out my Kill-A-Watt and started measuring the devices in my living room. The one I was worried about most was my cable modem/wireless access point, but both together only drew 13W. Not bad. The DVR was also quite low. So I was on the whole pleasantly surprised at how frugal the devices were.

[mitch672]

The Motorola ONT is the optical interface Verizon installs to terminate their fiber to the home (FTTH) network in your house. It has a battery backup for up to 4 POTS lines, the coax interface for MOCA, and an Ethernet port as well. Then they install an Actiontech MI424WR router as well. There isn't much you can do about this load, as it provides your Internet, WiFi, cable tv and phone service. I'm going to get out the kilowatt and measure it this weekend. On the positive side, it did replace an old Toshiba DOCSIS cable modem and a Linksys RV-082 dual WAN router. The point being, sometimes we just have to live with these loads, and sometimes you can shut them off... Verizon FIOS being one you probably can't do much about.

[botsmaker]

Not that bad.

Not too bad - but enough that you might consider having a switch so you could switch it off the 12 hours a day your car isn't plugged in to it...

Gotta remember that on a typical TOU rate, you are likely to be charged at rates MUCH higher than 11c/kWh (over 30c/kWh), especially in the summer.

I have been considering adding a DPDT series switch. As a mobile homeowner, I plan to do my own install after getting the proper permits. Lowes has a 240V/30 amp rated switch that can be easily added to the system. Since I'm planning to use level 2 at less that 16 amps input (with 20 amp breaker) a 30 amp size is perfect. The switch can be mounted inside a weatherproof cover such as used for outdoor outlets. The area for the EVSE is a carport with protected outdoor exposure. A proper switch is much better that using the indoor breaker as a disconnect. I need to first go over the NEC code about outdoor mounted switches.