Coulomb or Voltec Charger, 15A vs 30A?

[Marty]

If you have concerns about not getting the tax credit because you have no taxes due. For the car at least...lease it. They pay the rebate to the leasing company directly which lowers your residual, then you can buy it outright after a payment or two for the balance of the residual + principal left on the lease. This way you get the $7,500 discount on the purchase without having to use it as a tax credit.

That would be nice in theory, but in reality the leasing companies pocket the rebate. Residual is on full MSRP, plus $695 (or $795 if the dealer pads it) plus $395 disposal fee, maybe less $2K which may go away at the end of 2010. Leasing is a very bad deal if there's any chance that you want to buy the car at the end. Even worse if you want to buy it early.

[ocryan]

Hi Marty, what are you basing that on? I don't know for sure with the Volt, but here's an article that spells out what I'm talking about for the Leaf...

http://www.allcarselectric.com/blog/...ather-than-buy

[Michael]

Got estimate for installation of the 'free charger'; for cost of $900. Darn good thing that I already had 8 gauge wiring to a subpanel installed within 1 foot of where they plan to install the charger. I'd be really worried at how much the installation would be if they had to actually run any wiring to anywhere.

Now I have to consider whether it would be more cost effective to purchase the Voltec unit and pay an electrician to install it instead of having to pay the $900 to get the 'free' charger!!!!!

[frede]

Got estimate for installation of the 'free charger'; for cost of $900. Darn good thing that I already had 8 gauge wiring to a subpanel installed within 1 foot of where they plan to install the charger. I'd be really worried at how much the installation would be if they had to actually run any wiring to anywhere.

Now I have to consider whether it would be more cost effective to purchase the Voltec unit and pay an electrician to install it instead of having to pay the $900 to get the 'free' charger!!!!!

I had a similar experience -- SPX quoted me $2800 for the installation, less $1200 for the CA rebate so it would cost me $1600 to get my "free" Coulomb charger installed. I said no thanks and ordered the Voltec for $490, and will hire an electrician to install.

The reason the install charge was so high is that they were going to upgrade my main panel from 100A to 125A, in order to make room for the 40A breaker required for the coulomb. However, I already have a 240V/30A outlet in my garage that is ready to go, it just needs to be rewired to hook up the Voltec.

[PatsVolt]

Ocryan is right on. like the Leaf the Volt is about 3.2Kw/hr charge rate based on a 4 hr charge time stated by GM. So that works out to about 13A draw from the source. It dose not hurt to have the 30A (max), because in the future newer EV/Hybrid cars may need to be charge at higher rates then we have today, they may even need a 40A at 240A service.

P

[maynard]

I also have my garage wired for 40 amp. 240. I bought a Voltec charger. The install will take less than 1 hour. Now I find out that our electric company offers a reduced rate meter system. When I do the calculations on their site I find that this system will save us $195/year on our electric bill. The problem is that they want the meter next to the main meter and I will have to pull wiring from there to the Voltec unit in my garage. I think my underground conduit is large enough to hold those 3 wires in addition to my existing service wires. The distance is about 40 feet though. No fun for sure.

[Marty]

Hi Marty, what are you basing that on? I don't know for sure with the Volt, but here's an article that spells out what I'm talking about for the Leaf...

http://www.allcarselectric.com/blog/...ather-than-buy

Based on the US Bank lease examples posted here by several people. They indeed take it off at the beginning, but add it back at the end. The "contract residual" is what you would pay to buy the car at the end and is bumped up $7500 from the calculatede residual.

There's also a $695 "acquisition fee" and a $395 "disposal fee" at the end to consider. These are more than offset by a $2000 rebate that some people are getting but it's rumored to be going away January 1.

[RevnRev]

I got a "free" Columb charger installed through the DOE grant. It was expensive to install, but with the 50% tax credit on the install, it made it slightly more palatable. The Coloumb charger retails (according to their site) for $1800. It's a nice unit, has a display, and you can monitor the energy it is using to charge the car in just about real time (minute by minute, anyway) through a web interface. It also tells you how many kilowatts it used to complete the charge (allowing you to calculate your costs, if you want). Here's how I rationalized it:

Voltec Unit: $551 shipped to my door
Install by my local electrician: $100?
Effective cost to me after federal 50% credit of up to $2000 install costs (expires 12/31/10): $325.50
Value (What I got for what I ultimately would have had to pay, including installation): $551 (unit plus tax, shipping) for $325.50

Columb: $0, (unit priced at $1800 according to recent check of Coloumb website)
Installation: $1300 (that's AFTER I negotiated it down a bit, but my panel is in a different level from my garage, it was deemed not a "standard" install)
Effective cost to me after federal 50% credit of up to $2000 install costs (expires 12/31/10): $650
Value (What I got for what I ultimately will have had to pay, including installation): $1800 (unit not including tax, shipping) for $650

It seems to me I paid more to participate in the DOE program, but I got a greater value. I'm probably a moron, but there's my two cents.

[sgc]

I got a "free" Columb charger installed through the DOE grant. It was expensive to install, but with the 50% tax credit on the install, it made it slightly more palatable. The Coloumb charger retails (according to their site) for $1800. It's a nice unit, has a display, and you can monitor the energy it is using to charge the car in just about real time (minute by minute, anyway) through a web interface. It also tells you how many kilowatts it used to complete the charge (allowing you to calculate your costs, if you want). Here's how I rationalized it:

Voltec Unit: $551 shipped to my door
Install by my local electrician: $100?
Effective cost to me after federal 50% credit of up to $2000 install costs (expires 12/31/10): $325.50
Value (What I got for what I ultimately would have had to pay, including installation): $551 (unit plus tax, shipping) for $325.50

Columb: $0, (unit priced at $1800 according to recent check of Coloumb website)
Installation: $1300 (that's AFTER I negotiated it down a bit, but my panel is in a different level from my garage, it was deemed not a "standard" install)
Effective cost to me after federal 50% credit of up to $2000 install costs (expires 12/31/10): $650
Value (What I got for what I ultimately will have had to pay, including installation): $1800 (unit not including tax, shipping) for $650

It seems to me I paid more to participate in the DOE program, but I got a greater value. I'm probably a moron, but there's my two cents.

What part of the country are you in? So Cal? If so, what company did your install?

[RevnRev]

What part of the country are you in? So Cal? If so, what company did your install?

Sorry, no, I'm in the Northeast, in CT. The electrician that did my install was a local electrician contracted out/chosen by SPX.