240 VS 120 Charger

[VoltMama]

Has anyone figured out if it is a good investment to buy the 240V charger VS using the 120V charger - or are you putting in the 240V purely for convenience?

We were just figuring out what it might save us -I am using this for a 20 mile round trip commute plus mostly misc. local errands.
Am I wrong or will it take many years for this payback?
Thanks
VM

[stephent]

-Check on the spx site if you are in an area that qualifies for free EVSE, and/or installation credit. This could potentially make it quite cheap, perhaps even free if your install is easy. I'm getting an estimate in a couple weeks, in the SF bay area I qualify for the Coulomb. If installation minus the $1200 credit is only a few hundred I'm going to get it. If it's a grand+ I'll definitely pass. In between I'll mull it over.

- For me it's almost totally for convenience. It'll save a tiny amount of money by allowing full charges completely within PG&E's 7 hour off-peak window (off-peak being 5-6 cents per kw-hr on weekdays vs. 11-12 cents, on a full 10 hr charge that's only saving about $0.24 a charge though, maybe $50-60 over a year). Also it'll help me remain pure EV when I get home at 4:30 in the morning and don't have a full 9+ hours to charge before going to work. I've been playing too much late night poker at the local casino in order to replenish the savings I spent on the car and capture the full tax credit .

I don't think it'll ever pay back if you have to pay full price and can manage on the 120v. Especially with your 20-26 mile daily driving not requiring full charges. If you contemplate getting an additional pure BEV in the future, could be worth it, though you could always just wait if you can't get a free EVSE. More companies are coming out with them, prices on the equipment should drop.

To me the only people who really need a 240v are those doing 60 mile days going back and forth from home for whatever reason, with 2hr charge windows. Not the typical home to work and back commuter. For the rest it's just a convenience thing, top off for an hour before going out to restaurant/movies/other activity after some 30 mile commute.

[pbmanx2]

Hello VoltMama i just use the 120v charger i looked at the 240 v chargers and don't see why i need one my intention when i bought the car was to get one after a couple days of owning the car i realized the 120 v charger was fine for me
my daily commute is about 18 miles round trip the 120 charger easy handles this even when i have used the car to go on longer trips
when battery is charge deplete it only takes 10 hours so as long as i plug it in by 9:30 pm it is fully charged by 7:30 am
Robin
Volt 1963 Torrington CT

[bonaire]

There was a thread/chart around here a while back based on a Tesla study (or was it owner?) who charged at three different voltages and found the most kWh consumed during re-charge was 120v versus 220v and 440v. Meaning - it may cost more kWh to re-charge on 120v than 220v for the same amount of battery re-charge. As for how much? I'd have to find the chart for that or if anyone remembers, post it up here. I don't think it will pay for the 220v charger with the difference, but you also should have less chance of "wearing out" the 120v charger cord which is the achilles heal of the Volt. Many cords have had to be replaced due to heat-wear on the wall-plug side of the cord.

[rhellie]

It pretty much depends on how much the 240 volt charger costs to buy and install. Many have been able to enroll in a program that provides the charger for free and, depending on where you live, have access to a credit that pays part of the installation cost. In that situation it might pay, depending on how many times you end up charging in a day.

I have a Coulomb Charger that takes about 3.5 hours to charge and have managed to drive more than 250 miles on electricity in a single 24 hour period (by driving 50 miles on the battery charging and repating as many times as possible in a day). It is not a real world situation, at least I can't of anyone who would find the need to return so many times to the charger and then set off on a 50 mile romp each time. Nevertheless, it would not be difficult to rack of 100-150 electric miles a day if you could return to the charger every 40 or 50 miles.

For me the 240 volt charger is a major convenience on weekends when I can run errands in the morning, come home and charge up between 2 and 3 hours, and still be able to travel to events in the afternoon and evening without using any gas. Without the 240 volt charger I'd be burning a gallon or two of gas every weekend. It is really satisfying, but the cost of having the charger installed was $2,000 so I don't envision saving that amount any time soon. Maybe in four or five years at that rate.

[MichaelH]

I picked up my 2011 Volt March 25, 2011 and have just about 7500 miles on it at 45% electric use.

I bought the SPX Voltec Charge Station outright for a little over $500, did most of the electrical work myself, and paid an electrician about $400 to do the rest and make it legal (up to code). So, about $900 total for me. I find it a major convenience, it's more efficient, and I have had ZERO charging problems. Take a look at some of the threads here that deal with "charger" or charge cord problems. They are almost all with regard to the 120V system. I have never been sorry that I bought and installed the 240V station.

[VoltMama]

Stephent... YOU do NOT qualify for that $1200 credit. It sounds like you may have talked to "Steve" at SPX. That credit is for LA area only. By the time you add for the "installation by an SPX approved QEC" you will be at least $1000 for the installation.
I am looking at the charger more as a convenience and an extravagance now that I have done a bit of computing...$50 a year savings does not make since -even if I bought a 240V charger and did the "install" myself.
Really....Am I wrong in my thinking and computing? I came up with the same "savings per year" as Stephent...which might be a 20 year payback if it had no problems or breakdowns - Is this what others are computing???
Thanks again...
VM

[MichaelH]

VotlMama, please remember, on a purely "financial basis," purchasing a Volt doesn't make sense. You probably bought it for a whole variety of reasons as did I. You can't put a strict dollar figure on convenience. I view the 240V system as very convenient and not an extravagance. JMHO.

[scottf200]

Convenience for weekends or weekdays when you drive > 40 in summer or > 30 in winter (north).

The 120v charges overnight. Probably 1/2 of a night for many that do not use the entire battery/EV_miles each day.

I paid $490 + $200 for parts and install of the SPX one with a electrician friends help.

We don't buy THIS car to save money. Not likely. Could be in unusual circumstances over a very long haul 10+ years. You may be fooling yourself if you think you are saving money <grin>. We are early adopters! We could have all bought used highly efficient cars and been way ahead in most categories.

[DonC]

What Scott said.

Personally I recommend a 240V charger -- we've seen some issues with 120V charging but not AFAIK with 240V charging -- but if you don't go that route make sure you have a dedicated 120V outlet.