Wow first I’ve seen of those. I hope we get some in the Boston area some day.
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What's with all the 6 kW public L2 chargers? Why is it so rare to find faster AC charging options?
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dgpcolorado
high altitude member
Back to the OP's original question. Around here there are lots of free public L2 charge stations and most are in the 6.6 (Chargepoint) to 7 or 8 kW range. They are 80% funded by a state grant system that, in turn, is paid for by a $50/year EV registration fee — $30 to roads and $20 to the charge station grant fund. Colorado has been strongly supporting EVs since the early days of the LEAF, both with the charging network and a generous refundable tax credit for EV purchase (currently $5000 per car.)
I've been opportunity charging at those stations since they first began to appear about a decade ago. In the short-range LEAF it helped me make the seventy mile grocery runs in winter. In the early days, when I was pretty much the only person to drive an EV out here in rural mountain Colorado, I used them to show them being used. Now I plug-in and walk four to seven blocks to the stores to get some exercise schlepping groceries back to my car. Or plug-in to go see a movie.
About a year ago, however, Rivian opened a six stall DCFC station plus two 11.5 kW L2 stalls at a shopping center. The DCFC stalls are only for Rivian vehicles but the two L2s are free and open to anyone. Those give a useful amount of charge for a typical shopping trip. So, at least Rivian is installing 11.5 kW L2 stations as part of their Rivian Adventure Network (RAN).
Out here in the boonies it is rare for all the L2 stations to be full, although it does happen on occasion. I suppose it is different in big metro areas.
I've been opportunity charging at those stations since they first began to appear about a decade ago. In the short-range LEAF it helped me make the seventy mile grocery runs in winter. In the early days, when I was pretty much the only person to drive an EV out here in rural mountain Colorado, I used them to show them being used. Now I plug-in and walk four to seven blocks to the stores to get some exercise schlepping groceries back to my car. Or plug-in to go see a movie.
About a year ago, however, Rivian opened a six stall DCFC station plus two 11.5 kW L2 stalls at a shopping center. The DCFC stalls are only for Rivian vehicles but the two L2s are free and open to anyone. Those give a useful amount of charge for a typical shopping trip. So, at least Rivian is installing 11.5 kW L2 stations as part of their Rivian Adventure Network (RAN).
Out here in the boonies it is rare for all the L2 stations to be full, although it does happen on occasion. I suppose it is different in big metro areas.
In case anyone happens upon this thread via search, as did I, I'd like to clarify that using a residential line fed 250v charger, vs using a commercial line fed 208v charger, is a 16.8% speed improvement. ("240v", "220v", "120v", "110v" designations are all outdated and no longer accurate.)
I check on PlugShare to look for 250v chargers, which are less common than 208v, to harness the extra wattage.
Also as Earl mentioned, both 250v and 208v chargers will suffer decreased voltage/charge speed the farther away they are from the breaker box. The lowest I've charged at is 237v residential and 196v commercial.
While your heart is in the right place, your numbers are just wrong. 240V is the real nominal target that the utilities are aiming for. They have tolerances some % above or below that. A lot of utilities do try to deliver a few volts over though, just to leave some room for voltage drop along the way.
Just like @Rocky_H said, the voltage is often a little high to allow for voltage to drop.
Or another way to put it, if 250V was the target, then the utility would already be in trouble at your house. They aren't delivering the desired voltage.
Take a look at Standard and Common Voltage Levels in the US and CA - NEC
The difference between some of the voltages is because three-phase is sometimes delivered as wye or delta and residential is a center-tap 240, yielding 120V or 240V.
Informative read, thanks, learned something new.
I was just parroting National Electric Code 2020 update to 250v, and assumed it must be in use since I saw close to that voltage around my house and at public chargers.
Still, I think other EV users will find it helpful to know that supply voltage can significantly increase (not a chill out rounding error) their charging speeds, choosing single phase over 3 phase.
I was just parroting National Electric Code 2020 update to 250v, and assumed it must be in use since I saw close to that voltage around my house and at public chargers.
Still, I think other EV users will find it helpful to know that supply voltage can significantly increase (not a chill out rounding error) their charging speeds, choosing single phase over 3 phase.
You normally don't get a choice.
And if you are L2 charging, 10% really doesn't make a huge difference. 4 hours or 4 hours 24 minutes, in neither case are you probably sitting there waiting.
stopcrazypp
Well-Known Member
There is a discussion here. NEC bumped up the receptacle ratings to 125/250V in anticipation for future increases (just like when 110/220V moved to 120/240V) but that doesn't mean the power companies have moved to it yet.
Why are breakers 120, 240 but receps and plugs 125, 250?
The title says everything, you know so yeah. Why do certain wiring devices have the ratings 125v, 250v.
forums.mikeholt.com
For example, my recent charge session was still 236V and my outlet is literally on a sub panel on the other side of the wall where my main panel and service entrance is. I'm pretty sure most people if they take a multimeter and measure the voltage at their residential service entrance, it'll be around 240V, not 250V.
doghousePVD
My grandfather’s car
It isn’t just about everybody with 240v. Voltage can vary a lot over the course of the day (brownouts, anyone?). Making generalizations isn’t useful, voltage varies because of internal wiring, utility wiring, utility capacity, and time of day, among other variables. Don’t sweat it. No consumer devices are that sensitive to care.
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