GE Announces WattStation Electric Car Charger

Good sign as more companies enter the charging market. From today's CNBC interview with GE's Jeff Immelt it seemed this was going to be a commercial product, but this article indicates that a home version will be available as well.

http://earth2tech.com/2010/07/13/the-details-behind-ges-wattstation-electric-car-charger/

Hi Steve,

I think it is good that other companies are getting into the market of EV chargers. GE will have a home unit out later this year. The GE charger is probably the most attractive I've seen and they have considered things like melting snow and ice from the top - something you might need in PA. The more companies involved, the lower the prices will be. If I was a store owner, I'd look at these units for in front of my place. They really stand out and look more futuristic than some of the poles and boxes we have seen.

Azrich said:

Hi Steve,

I think it is good that other companies are getting into the market of EV chargers. GE will have a home unit out later this year. The GE charger is probably the most attractive I've seen and they have considered things like melting snow and ice from the top - something you might need in PA. The more companies involved, the lower the prices will be. If I was a store owner, I'd look at these units for in front of my place. They really stand out and look more futuristic than some of the poles and boxes we have seen.

Click to expand...

Yup! I agree, the more the merrier! I used to live in Minnesota....I was thinking that if they wanted to keep that top clear of ice there, they might need a hot plate!

Azrich said:

GE will have a home unit out later this year.

Click to expand...

I was trying to parse their statement to see when they will have the home unit out. Doesn't look like this year - they will just "announce" the home charger later this year. Just like they announced the commercial one today - but the availability is actually next year.

Quote from link below:

GE’s announcement about its WattStations today says that they will commercially be available in 2011, but with a specialized home version of the charger available later in 2010. Behar told me that a residential version of the charger could possibly have design tweaks that would help it fit better in a garage.

Click to expand...

This is what I read that led me to believe that GE would have a home version of the WattStation available later this year.

GE WattStation will be commercially available globally in 2011. GE will unveil a specialized home version of the charger later this year.

Click to expand...

This is from GE's press release.

evnow said:

GE WattStation will be commercially available globally in 2011. GE will unveil a specialized home version of the charger later this year.

Click to expand...

This is from GE's press release.

Click to expand...

It is that "unveiled" statement that introduced some doubt...

http://blogs.edmunds.com/greencaradvisor/2010/07/general-electric-says-its-home-ev-charger-will-cost-between-1000-and-1500.html

First off, price: "The commercial model will cost between $3,000-7,000 depending on order specifications. The residential unit will cost between $1,000-1,500," wrote GE spokeswoman Megan Parker in an email.
.....
Parker disclosed that the residential unit will be unveiled this fall and available in limited numbers during the fourth quarter of this year, which is when Nissan will begin selling it Leaf EV (and Chevy its Volt EREV) in the U.S. Broad distribution of the chargers will begin during the second quarter of next year, she said.

Click to expand...

evnow said:

http://blogs.edmunds.com/greencaradvisor/2010/07/general-electric-says-its-home-ev-charger-will-cost-between-1000-and-1500.html

First off, price: "The commercial model will cost between $3,000-7,000 depending on order specifications. The residential unit will cost between $1,000-1,500," wrote GE spokeswoman Megan Parker in an email.
.....
Parker disclosed that the residential unit will be unveiled this fall and available in limited numbers during the fourth quarter of this year, which is when Nissan will begin selling it Leaf EV (and Chevy its Volt EREV) in the U.S. Broad distribution of the chargers will begin during the second quarter of next year, she said.

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Thanks evnow! Far better than I expected.

But, still makes the $725 (plus markup, tax, and shipping) AV unit seem fairly attractive, if one could just get them.

But, I am still waiting for a Level 2, 32-amp, plugin product with user-selectable max-current setings.

I really don't understand the need for these 'home charging' stations. It seems like an awful lot of money to spend on a power socket!

All of these electric cars have the intellegence required to charge them built into the car itself, so what does this system actually provide?

For on-street charging, these charging stations make a lot more sense, but they are still very expensive. I recently helped an airport car park install charging points in their car park. Total cost for hardware and installation was around £100 - thats $160, and I'm helping a community in the South of England to set up a charging network in their community of four villages. Total cost for ten charging points with installation? £600 ($1000). That is a fraction of the cost for a single WattStation.

Roughly how many charging-spaces at the airport?
Can you describe what was involved in the installation, please?

There in the UK, what "hardware" did you install for each "charging-space"?

Just a weather-proof (outdoor) 240v socket of some sort?

Do you have a picture, or a link, to show us the socket, ... and the outdoor mounting?
A source and price for the hardware?

Connected to a 13, 15, or ??-amp service?

Individual circuit breakers for each socket?

Over there in the UK, a plug-in "Level 2 EVSE" (240v "safety" extenion cord) is included with the car, right?

Do you have a picture of that EVSE yet?

A source and price to buy one?

Thanks

garygid said:

But, still makes the $725 (plus markup, tax, and shipping) AV unit seem fairly attractive, if one could just get them.

But, I am still waiting for a Level 2, 32-amp, plugin product with user-selectable max-current setings.

Click to expand...

The AV unit has the best price I've yet seen. Don't expect an adjustable max-current setting anytime soon. The two units in the approval pipeline that I know about are fixed - and one is fixed 16A and one is 32A.

AndyH said:

The AV unit has the best price I've yet seen.

Click to expand...

Likely because of volume contract with Nissan. But Nissan got the standard installation cost wrong ...

Possibly the 50% "credit" allows AV to "milk" the system for a little extra profit?

garygid said:

Possibly the 50% "credit" allows AV to "milk" the system for a little extra profit?

Click to expand...

AV would be masters at this - afterall they mainly make money on DOD contracts.

One more thing to ask a friendly AV installer is how much of that installation charge are they really getting. If AV is taking a big cut, you would be right.

ps : What do you guys think should be the std install cost ? Let us assume
- 20 ft of conduit & wire from the panel
- 3 visits to the home
- 2 hours of actual install work
- Paperwork to get permit etc

evnow said:

garygid said:

Possibly the 50% "credit" allows AV to "milk" the system for a little extra profit?

Click to expand...

AV would be masters at this - afterall they mainly make money on DOD contracts.

Click to expand...

Hmmm...If AV sells a 7.7kW capable EVSE to us for ~$750 while others are selling 7.7kW and 3.3kW capable devices for >$1500 who's doing the milking again?

AndyH said:

Hmmm...If AV sells a 7.7kW capable EVSE to us for ~$750 while others are selling 7.7kW and 3.3kW capable devices for >$1500 who's doing the milking again?

Click to expand...

Need to read this with next sentence ... "if they are getting a big cut of the install costs then ..."

evnow said:

ps : What do you guys think should be the std install cost ? Let us assume
- 20 ft of conduit & wire from the panel
- 3 visits to the home
- 2 hours of actual install work
- Paperwork to get permit etc

Click to expand...

Feb2009: $625 (not including permits or anything related thereto). (Don't ask how I know.)

evnow said:

AndyH said:

Hmmm...If AV sells a 7.7kW capable EVSE to us for ~$750 while others are selling 7.7kW and 3.3kW capable devices for >$1500 who's doing the milking again?

Click to expand...

Need to read this with next sentence ... "if they are getting a big cut of the install costs then ..."

Click to expand...

Yes - saw that. I may be wrong in my parsing and/or 'assigning blame', so feel free to grab a 2x4 but don't hit too hard.

I've been involved in recommending purchases for, and working with vendors that supply goods and services to US Government organizations and personnel. It's my belief that vendors see 'Uncle Sugar' as having deep pockets. The 'government' rate at hotels is very often higher than the 'general public walking in off the street with no reservation' rate. Equipment and service contracts are often higher than for the civilian world - and this is for normal items - we're not talking about the mythical $1000 hammers or toilet seats, or delivering jet fuel to a war zone.

I can at least understand why some would suspect that the existence of a gov't incentive might lead to a price increase even if I can't point to proof. But if AV is getting a cut of the installation costs that would reasonably go to the electrician, I see that as a different problem than just gouging.

Aside from the final 'function test' of the EVSE once it's hung on the wall, it seems that an EVSE installation shouldn't carry any higher parts/labor than planting a 240V/40A outlet (excluding price of the EVSE). Maybe a couple of folks that have already gotten their estimate could have an electrician visit and give an estimate for installing a 40A outlet in the same spot?