programmable charger?

[sleepydoc]

I just saw a post from someone having issues because Tesla's definition of off peak times didn't match their utility's definition and the car would start charging during higher rate times. I have a charger that I got from our electric CoOp that is actually connected to our WiFi and controlled by the CoOp so it doesn't even supply power during peak periods and that got me thinking - There's no reason you couldn't set the off peak times in the charger itself if it was designed to do so. Are there any chargers on the market that let you program charging from he charger side rather than the car side?

 

[LoneStarEve]

What you’re referring or is an EVSE not a charger, the charger is in the car.
Most smart chargers do what you want.
I have an OpenEVSE “brand” one that lets me do just that. Mine is probably not a unit I would recommend widely however as it needs a bit more tech savvy to setup and is designed for nerds not the Average Joe, but I got it because it is not cloud linked and has an API so I can write my own software to control it.
There are plenty of others that are very easy to use.l but they will likely be cloud linked.

 

[sleepydoc]

What you’re referring or is an EVSE not a charger, the charger is in the car.
Most smart chargers do what you want.
I have an OpenEVSE “brand” one that lets me do just that. Mine is probably not a unit I would recommend widely however as it needs a bit more tech savvy to setup and is designed for nerds not the Average Joe, but I got it because it is not cloud linked and has an API so I can write my own software to control it.
There are plenty of others that are very easy to use.l but they will likely be cloud linked.

You're correct, but for most people the charger is 'the thing hanging on the wall with a cord,' not the hardware in the car that actually manages the charging.

Cloud linking is what I was thinking of and what most people would likely want - not to many people even know what an API is much less have the abilities to make use of it.

 

[qdeathstar]

What you’re referring or is an EVSE not a charger, the charger is in the car.

Thank you for letting us know about this very important difference for the 6000th time on this forum. What would we do without this knowledge.

Looks like chargepoint has a solution

https://www.chargepoint.com/drivers/home

 

[LoneStarEve]

Thank you for letting us know about this very important difference for the 6000th time on this forum. What would we do without this knowledge.

You’re welcome.
Happy to continue doing so as this will avoid confusion as to whether someone is having a problem with their charger or with their “charger”. Especially given it didn’t sink in after 5,999 times.
The same goes for someone having a problem with their “USB” vs their USB memory stick.

By sticking to a common language we all understand each other better.

Was that last sentence a question or a statement? It’s not clear…

 

[LoneStarEve]

You're correct, but for most people the charger is 'the thing hanging on the wall with a cord,' not the hardware in the car that actually manages the charging.

Cloud linking is what I was thinking of and what most people would likely want - not to many people even know what an API is much less have the abilities to make use of it.

Absolutely agree.
It’s why I don’t recommend them generally.
But almost any Smart EVSE will do what you need. It can be useful to check if there is a simple “override” button on the associated phone app in case you want to temporarily enable charging outside the window, for example if it’s a hot day and you want to precondition before departing later in the day.

 

[240vPlug]

Juicebox and ChargePoint are two that come to mind that will do what you want them to do. I had bad experience getting a Juicebox replaced a couple years ago so I don’t really recommend. ChargePoint units are a little more expensive the last time I checked.

 

[sleepydoc]

You’re welcome.
Happy to continue doing so as this will avoid confusion as to whether someone is having a problem with their charger or with their “charger”. Especially given it didn’t sink in after 5,999 times.
The same goes for someone having a problem with their “USB” vs their USB memory stick.

By sticking to a common language we all understand each other better.

Was that last sentence a question or a statement? It’s not clear…

Yes, that’s why I use the term ‘charger’ since it’s common language. ‘EVSE’ may be technically correct, but the majority of people neither use nor understand the term. (I.e. it’s not common language)

 

[ElectricAnt54]

I just saw a post from someone having issues because Tesla's definition of off peak times didn't match their utility's definition and the car would start charging during higher rate times. I have a charger that I got from our electric CoOp that is actually connected to our WiFi and controlled by the CoOp so it doesn't even supply power during peak periods and that got me thinking - There's no reason you couldn't set the off peak times in the charger itself if it was designed to do so. Are there any chargers on the market that let you program charging from he charger side rather than the car side?

Look in to OpenEVSE brand. I have the 48Amp unit. The software is open source with many existing hooks to let you expand the system. It integrates with a few systems out of the box. Give it a look and if it seems too technical, consider other brands.