Curious What $750 Gets You? Pics of the Guts of Nissan LEAF's Charge Station
http://www.plugincars.com/curious-w...-guts-nissan-leafs-charge-station-106524.html
http://www.plugincars.com/curious-w...-guts-nissan-leafs-charge-station-106524.html
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Nissan Leaf Charging
- Thread starter Kevin Sharpe
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- Electric Vehicles
I suppose you could say it is overpriced, but consider these:
#1: The amount of R&D $ spent compared to the volume they plan to sell.
#2: Liability insurance in case someone has a mishap with the high voltage.
#3: The picture shows the basic 240V wiring in the back (mostly just the contactor and RF filtering), but there is actually some sort of computer on the front panel (behind the buttons and LEDs) which we don't see. So the picture is somewhat misleading in that it doesn't show all of the circuitry and components that exists inside that box.
If these were sold by the hundred thousands in retail stores I bet they could bring the price way down... But for now...
#1: The amount of R&D $ spent compared to the volume they plan to sell.
#2: Liability insurance in case someone has a mishap with the high voltage.
#3: The picture shows the basic 240V wiring in the back (mostly just the contactor and RF filtering), but there is actually some sort of computer on the front panel (behind the buttons and LEDs) which we don't see. So the picture is somewhat misleading in that it doesn't show all of the circuitry and components that exists inside that box.
If these were sold by the hundred thousands in retail stores I bet they could bring the price way down... But for now...
Eh. I saw the inside of the charger MINI installed for my MINI E. It's just as simple, possibly simpler. And while they hid the price by rolling it into the somewhat high lease price, my recollection was that it was reputed to cost in the thousands of dollars. $750 is then a natural progression downward in price. Like TEG, I expect these chargers to continue dropping as economy of scale kicks in.
Don't get me wrong, it is amusing to see how simple they are. But think of it this way: that's precisely a reason why electric cars are so cool. They are simple.
... Oh and at least the Leaf gets an on-board timer!
Don't get me wrong, it is amusing to see how simple they are. But think of it this way: that's precisely a reason why electric cars are so cool. They are simple.
... Oh and at least the Leaf gets an on-board timer!
"Nissan has said that most people who get their LEAF charging stations installed by AeroVironment will pay around $2,200 to $2,500 in hardware, permits and labor—$750 of which is for the actual charge station hardware."
Our total INSTALLED cost is below $750 for a charge point that supports two vehicles charging simultaneously at 32A 240V. We do not support J1772 because that's not a european standard. Once we have a european standard I suspect our hardware costs will rise by 25%. We are also a charity and don't need to make a profit like Nissan and AeroVironment.
However, my main point is that $2,200 to $2,500 is way to much to be paying and this is simply another barrier to the transition of EV's to the mainstream.
Our total INSTALLED cost is below $750 for a charge point that supports two vehicles charging simultaneously at 32A 240V. We do not support J1772 because that's not a european standard. Once we have a european standard I suspect our hardware costs will rise by 25%. We are also a charity and don't need to make a profit like Nissan and AeroVironment.
However, my main point is that $2,200 to $2,500 is way to much to be paying and this is simply another barrier to the transition of EV's to the mainstream.
Yes, that is quite high, but if the charger is $750 then presumably the remainder is mostly the labor costs of installation? Judging by the installation of my MINI E charger, I can understand the cost--it was essentially a custom job for the electrician in that he had to run a new circuit to the garage and install conduit inside the garage. My preferred electrician would have been cheaper, but MINI was "covering" this installation by way of the lease.
Perhaps eventually the installation process will become a little more routine--something a sort of EV GeekSquad could handle. Maybe not.
I wonder how much the permits part accounts for. Presumably that could also be greased slightly by reducing the regulatory overhead of installing a charger in a residential garage.
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