Recommended Workplace Chargers?

[camalaio]

Hi everyone,

My wife's workplace is looking at installing an EV charging station now that someone has an EV. Are there any especially recommended charging stations in Canada? They'll be outdoor in Salmon Arm, BC so there's some necessary weatherproof requirements. Preferably not a Tesla Wall Connector since other EVs will be using it in the future. I believe they're currently considering EVBox chargers.

 

[Oveeus]

I’d guess a J1772 charger will be the most ideal as most if not all ev can adapt to it, including but not limited to Tesla.

 

[camalaio]

I’d guess a J1772 charger will be the most ideal as most if not all ev can adapt to it, including but not limited to Tesla.

I'm fairly sure they've decided on J-1772 over a NEMA 14-50 for various reasons, just unsure which of the many brands to get, if residential vs. commercial actually matters, etc.

 

[Casmium]

Just make sure it's one that the cable can be replaced, after some time you know a snowplow or someone doing something weird is going to damage it

 

[duanra]

No snow in BC ! ;-)

 

[camalaio]

Just make sure it's one that the cable can be replaced, after some time you know a snowplow or someone doing something weird is going to damage it

That's a very interesting point I hadn't thought of, thank you. I'll see if I can find this information.

No snow in BC ! ;-)

I wish, but then that would mean no skiing!

 

[X.l.r.8]

Clipper creek
Juice box
Both would be good commercial units, find one with the best support.

 

[bpjod]

Sun Country Highway - Bringing Sustainability to Life

Bought a charger for my office from Sun Country Highway. They're the Canadian distributor for Clipper Creek in Canada. I'm very happy with the purchase and the EV40 charger has worked great with both my Volt and my Tesla Model 3.

 

[ewoodrick]

There's indeed a number of J-1772 solutions available, either as just simple but and install or your area may be covered by some charging networks and those networks may have options. Ask a Leaf owner for details.

Don't worry about providing full power for all of the charging points, it's better to have more chargers than faster chargers. Even simple 120V 20A outlets can be quite advantageous.

Why is more slower chargers better? Many companies have had to get in the habit of daily swaps. Where whoever makes it in first chargers, but then has to move before lunch, so that someone else can get some charging time in the afternoon. Not having to change is advantageous. You should also not assume that everyone has a 500km battery and that they will empty it on the way to work. Look at the 100km Leaf and the employee that lives 55 km from the office.
And as is starting to become much more popular, plug-in hybrids also want the "free electricity" (NEVER use that name). So there can be a lot more cars wanting to plug in than you may think about.

The place where I park my car at the airport has a wall with about 50 120V 20A plugs on it for EVs. Not the best option for an office, I'd much rather have enough slow plugs than not enough fast plugs.

 

[Vawlkus]

Eatons & Bullfrog chargers have the best track records for me. ChargePoint can sometimes have grounding issues with Tesla’s, and Flo ones tend to be pricey from what I’m told.

 

[Lon12]

Be sure to check with Tesla to see if you qualify for their free EVSE install. My work place qualified for it but elected to go with Leviton units.
Tesla will provide two destination chargers and one Clipper Creek J1772.
Parking lot already had 120v block heater units so they were not difficult to install.

 

[thesteve]

Wow that looks awesome, I see the pedestal mounting pole thing on Home Depot: https://www.homedepot.ca/product/leviton-ev-pedestal-mounting-pole-and-base/1001042653

Can you mount a Tesla charger on it? (ie/ one side Tesla one side Leviton)?

Can you lock the Leviton down so only authorized users can use it?

 

[KJD]

I like these because they offer an 80 amp option as well as a key lock option that might be nice for workplace usage.

WattZilla | The most powerful, dependable and durable charging stations for home or business.

 

[camalaio]

Sun Country Highway - Bringing Sustainability to Life

Bought a charger for my office from Sun Country Highway. They're the Canadian distributor for Clipper Creek in Canada. I'm very happy with the purchase and the EV40 charger has worked great with both my Volt and my Tesla Model 3.

Noted, I totally forgot about these ones. There's some local installations of these ones for public access.

(...) Don't worry about providing full power for all of the charging points, it's better to have more chargers than faster chargers. Even simple 120V 20A outlets can be quite advantageous.

Why is more slower chargers better? Many companies have had to get in the habit of daily swaps. Where whoever makes it in first chargers, but then has to move before lunch, so that someone else can get some charging time in the afternoon. Not having to change is advantageous. You should also not assume that everyone has a 500km battery and that they will empty it on the way to work. Look at the 100km Leaf and the employee that lives 55 km from the office.
And as is starting to become much more popular, plug-in hybrids also want the "free electricity" (NEVER use that name). So there can be a lot more cars wanting to plug in than you may think about. (...)

Yeah, I've tried to steer them to more but slower chargers for future use for the reasons you've mentioned. Thanks for the notes.

Eatons & Bullfrog chargers have the best track records for me. ChargePoint can sometimes have grounding issues with Tesla’s, and Flo ones tend to be pricey from what I’m told.

Interesting regarding ChargePoint since they're fairly prevalent. I'll have to look up those two.

Be sure to check with Tesla to see if you qualify for their free EVSE install. My work place qualified for it but elected to go with Leviton units.
Tesla will provide two destination chargers and one Clipper Creek J1772.
Parking lot already had 120v block heater units so they were not difficult to install.

Oh dang. If they provide a J1772 that becomes a legitimate option, since I doubt the next EV in the lot will be a Tesla. Will have to look into that. Initially dismissed because while free units are nice, being Tesla-only unfortunately is not.

 

[Vawlkus]

I’ve only tried a couple ChargePoint units and I always get the ‘grounding issue, power reduced’ on my binacle display. That usually cuts the charging rate down by a 1/3, so I tend to avoid them.

 

[taylortbb]

I’ve only tried a couple ChargePoint units and I always get the ‘grounding issue, power reduced’ on my binacle display. That usually cuts the charging rate down by a 1/3, so I tend to avoid them.

I've charged at countless ChargePoint units, do almost all my charging with them (no home charging), and never had an issue.

 

[Vawlkus]

I've charged at countless ChargePoint units, do almost all my charging with them (no home charging), and never had an issue.

I’m inclined to think it’s an installation issue, not endemic to the charger hardware itself. I just can’t prove it. *shrug*

 

[hingisfan]

Clipper Creek isn't the prettiest, but they are rock solid. I think they make the sun Country units too

 

[int32_t]

Clipper Creek isn't the prettiest, but they are rock solid. I think they make the sun Country units too

I second that. I've heard nothing but good things about Clipper Creek and Sun Country EVSEs if you're looking for a specific brand to go with.

In my humble opinion, if I was installing chargers with the intent of allowing public access, I would avoid charging networks like ChargePoint because they require a card/account and fiddling with the station rather than just showing up and plugging in. It's just a nitpicky user experience thing though.

 

[DMC-Orangeville]

Flo/AddEnergie is a Canadian-owned, Canadian-made product. They have commercial and home units, networked and stand-alone. I'm pretty sure they have a rep in BC.