Considering Chademo Adapter instead of 240V

[Pilot1226]

Hi all. I've had a few posts here about the potential home charging solution. I have access to a 5-20 outlet in my garage, but, my panel is fully maxed. I won't be able to install 240V until I replace the panel. Yes, I've been down this road before with tandem and subpanels, and it's truly, fully, maxed. It probably should have been done back in 2018 when we installed our central air conditioning but we figured this was a better option.

I have an Electrify America site less than a mile from my house. I shop in this area anyway, there's a grocery store and a retailer nearby. They have one Chademo connector at 50 kW.

With pass, the rate is 0.18 cents per minute. Assuming I maintain a 50 kW charge rate, this means I'd be getting 0.8333 kW per minute. A full 50 kW over an hour will cost me $9 (you could factor in the monthly pass of $4 for the reduced rate, otherwise it's $1 per session plus 0.25 cents per minute, this would be $12.50+$1 session fee.)

My home utility rate is $0.17 including the delivery fee. We are not interested in doing solar. We do not have time-of-use plans, nor are they available from my utility.

My plan is to use 5-20 to charge at 1.9 kW/h. My commute is 10 miles each way, and I drive about 10k miles per year outside of pandemic. So, that's 104 "weekend" days without a commute, and 261 days with a 20 mile drive; 5,220 miles.

So, I believe I drive around an average of 30 miles per day. Some days it's simply 20. Some days it's a little more.

At minimum, I will have 10 hours to charge, which would give me about 19 kWh energy. With a 333 WhPM, that would give me 57 miles "at minimum"... nearly all days would allow me to charge longer thanks to working weird shift schedules - some days I could keep it plugged in for close to 14 hours, some days I don't drive at all...

I also have access to a V3 Supercharger near work.

I am looking at the Chademo (or CCS if they ever do that in the US) adapter for $450 instead of going through the $2000+ panel replacement and new 14-30 outlet (can't do 14-50 due to maximum amperage feed.)

Does this seem reasonable, especially because the EA station is also close to my home price?

 

[Saghost]

With that little driving, your 5-20 outlet will probably be plenty to keep the car charged.

With the V3 site less than ten miles away if something goes pear shaped, I think I'd be inclined to buy the 5-20 pigtail for the UMC, and then hold off on the CHAdeMO and wait a month or so to see how the 5-20 works out.

The 5-20 is a significant upgrade over the 5-15 - more than just the 25% it appears, because of the overheads involved in charging.

 

[phil4791eng]

I’m curious where you live with that kind of utility rate. I have a rural Oklahoma cooperative for my power company. They have an EV rate that is $0.09/kWh during the day but $0.05/kWh from 9pm to 5am.

 

[SSedan]

The charge rate falls as the battery fills, so the 50kw rate wont hold for an hour unless you show up empty.

Cold weather can dramatically increase consumption, you don't have a location listed so i don't know if that plays into your use. Highway speeds use more power too.

 

[frankvb]

Charging on Chademo (there's an EVGO station with Tesla adapter close to where I live) usually starts at around 40 kW, then slowly goes up (after 15 minutes) to around 46-48 kW. Today it was a bit slow, I started at 16% battery, and only got around 21 kWh in just under 31 minutes.

So in one hour of continuous charging I'd estimate you'd get around 44 kWh (provided you started low enough not to exceed 80%).

BTW: the charge rate stays pretty much stable anywhere in between 25 - 80 % battery level, I never tried higher but I'm sure it will fall off.

I wouldn't bother to buy the adapter and just charge at the v3 supercharger when needed.

 

[Pilot1226]

With that little driving, your 5-20 outlet will probably be plenty to keep the car charged.

With the V3 site less than ten miles away if something goes pear shaped, I think I'd be inclined to buy the 5-20 pigtail for the UMC, and then hold off on the CHAdeMO and wait a month or so to see how the 5-20 works out.

The 5-20 is a significant upgrade over the 5-15 - more than just the 25% it appears, because of the overheads involved in charging.

Thanks. I’m also confident that a 5-20 will be adequate for daily driving as well. I am a little concerned over the winter months but I figure I can always figure the 240V plan out down the road if it was a necessary expense. Even a meager 6-20 would provide double the power from the 5-20 I am planning on.

The big concerns are more along the line of trips to shore/beach areas in the summer. That being said, my wife’s car is a three row SUV with tons of room. The Y wouldn’t necessarily need to become the vacation car for trips where we needed space. So, I’d need to be able to reasonably recover those 120 miles total of round trip shore drives. Again, I suppose this is where the V3 SuC could come in handy.

I’m curious where you live with that kind of utility rate. I have a rural Oklahoma cooperative for my power company. They have an EV rate that is $0.09/kWh during the day but $0.05/kWh from 9pm to 5am.

I’m in the northern NJ area part of the NYC metro area. Basically if you draw a line between the Turnpike and Parkway and Route 80, in that general area. The only thing I can change with my electric utility is I can change the supply company, but this saves literally a fraction of a cent. They have a monopoly.

The charge rate falls as the battery fills, so the 50kw rate wont hold for an hour unless you show up empty.

Cold weather can dramatically increase consumption, you don't have a location listed so i don't know if that plays into your use. Highway speeds use more power too.

Good to know. I was expecting 50 kW until the big 80% taper. I figured it would ramp quick since they do that at SuC’s.

My commute is a mix. About 2 miles of suburban driving, 25 mph roads with stop signs, few lights. Then about 3 miles of 55 mph highway, and then about 3 miles of 40 mph very urban city, lights every 250 feet, traffic, and then finally about 2 miles of ramps/overpasses and such and work is right there off the 50ish mph road.

Charging on Chademo (there's an EVGO station with Tesla adapter close to where I live) usually starts at around 40 kW, then slowly goes up (after 15 minutes) to around 46-48 kW. Today it was a bit slow, I started at 16% battery, and only got around 21 kWh in just under 31 minutes.

So in one hour of continuous charging I'd estimate you'd get around 44 kWh (provided you started low enough not to exceed 80%).

BTW: the charge rate stays pretty much stable anywhere in between 25 - 80 % battery level, I never tried higher but I'm sure it will fall off.

I wouldn't bother to buy the adapter and just charge at the v3 supercharger when needed.

Thanks. That’s something to consider. I guess I was not thinking the 5-20 would be strong enough to get me through the winter and I would have to supplement.

Also,

Let me clarify the location of the SuC’s. If I’m doing the shore trip, there’s a SuC v2 at MM 100 off the Parkway. Then, I’d have to get back on the road and get home which is around 153.

The V3 SuC I mentioned is near work but not on the way home, I could run there on my lunch hour if I had to. There’s another V2 that’s on the way home from work but obviously slower speeds here.

There are a few EVGo stations on the Parkway near a small service area around MM 150ish that would allow me to Chademo at 50 kW with adapter too in a pinch. But, these are really expensive to use. I suppose it’s all about the versatility. I tend to overthink and overplan things so I M probably making this a bigger deal.

 

[Rocky_H]

The V3 SuC I mentioned is near work but not on the way home, I could run there on my lunch hour if I had to. There’s another V2 that’s on the way home from work but obviously slower speeds here.

Barely. People make waaayyy too big a deal about V3 charging speeds being higher.

 

[Pilot1226]

Barely. People make waaayyy too big a deal about V3 charging speeds being higher.

You’re right, but there is the benefit of no shared cabinet. I guess it depends on how saturated the site is. It’s also very easy to run out on my lunch hour to the V3 and I won’t be delayed going home with the extra stop, but I do agree with your point about V2 and V3 being similar unless someone’s next to you.