When you purchase a brand new Chevy Bolt, GM offers you two choices for charging at house: $500 money for DIY, or $1,000 in direction of utilizing certainly one of its licensed installers. I didn’t know a lot about putting in a charger, so I opted for the second. All was performed by electronic mail: click on right here to simply accept, click on there to schedule.
Earlier articles: My First EV, Half 1 and My First EV, Half 2 — How Far Can You Drive In A Chevy Bolt? How A lot Will You Pay?
Picture courtesy of the creator, Mihai Beffa.
Degree 2 Charging At House
In case you are the typical American, you drive 41 miles a day to work (based on zippia.com). If all you’ve got is a daily, 120V outlet, your Bolt will cost about 4.5 miles/hour. When you do not need a charging station at work, it should take you about 9 hours to completely cost for the following day. Cash-wise, you’ll be a lot better off than shopping for fuel, however the very long time is likely to be just a little too lengthy for consolation. Degree 2 charging is a should for many individuals.
Anxious as I used to be for quick charging, I used to be just a little dissatisfied with the 4-week scheduling, however the day got here and the crew confirmed up on time. To make their job simpler, I made room in my driveway for his or her rig.
Picture courtesy of the creator, Mihai Beffa.
The “crew” consisted of 1 installer who did all of the work in about one hour and one supervisor who just about watched what was happening. Sufficient room within the $1,000 tab for 2 folks, I assume.
The very best location for the ability outlet is as shut as attainable to the primary panel. In my case, that was about 2 ft away, which made the entire course of very easy. The installer moved a breaker to a spare location and put in a brand new 50A 2-phase breaker on the underside of the rack.
Picture courtesy of the creator, Mihai Beffa.
As everyone is aware of, the road voltage within the US is 120V, however in case you get two circuits of 120V, every has 120V to impartial, however they’re shifted 180 to one another. The voltage between the 2 phases is 240V.
When you draw 50A at 240V, Ohm’s regulation says you’ll be able to have a most energy of fifty × 240 = 12 kWh. The Bolt has a 65 kWh battery, so in concept you can cost it 5.4 hours. To place it one other approach, in case you journey 250 miles on a full cost, you can cost 46 miles per hour. However wait, that is just a bit over your common commute! Even when we lower the numbers in half, the charging time turns into fairly affordable.
The installer drilled a gap within the wall and put in a brief conduit on the opposite facet to the ability outlet.
Picture courtesy of the creator, Mihai Beffa.
I advised him to put in the outlet about 20” from the ground, simply sufficient for the Degree-2 charger which got here with the Bolt to drift. And very quickly in any respect, the Chevy was fortunately drawing the amps.
Picture courtesy of the creator, Mihai Beffa.
I nonetheless had 198 miles within the “tank,” however I used to be curious to see how briskly it will cost to full. The solar was shining, the photo voltaic panels had been pumping greater than I may use — so let’s see what the Bolt says.
Picture courtesy of the creator, Mihai Beffa.
The Bolt knowledgeable me that the cost shall be accomplished in about 1.5 hours. That’s 35 miles/hour, proper on the cash! All the pieces labored as deliberate. The installer cleaned up all the pieces properly and I gave him a tip.
Earlier than I purchased the Bolt, I promised my spouse that for any longer journey, we’d do what we at all times did: lease a automotive. Now I’ve second ideas. I’m considering to pay a go to to our son, who lives in stunning Sedona, AZ. That’s 1,500 miles spherical journey. This might require cautious planning. Please keep tuned for Half 4.
By Mihai Beffa
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