I'm lovin' my 220v level 2 charger

[Mr. Fusion]

I went with the LCS-25 220 charger from Clippercreek ($599) because it seems we are often using the car in the evening, after the work commute has drained the battery.

 

Being able to charge up in 2 hours let's me take advantage of the all electric range more effectively. I added a meter so I can measure how much juice I'm using and to also remind me that the electricity isn't "free"

 

Will I ever save over the investment? Who knows. If I wanted to save money, I'd be driving a 10 year old Focus...

 

It's also nice being able to leave the level 1 in the car.

 

To anyone on the fence, it's worth it.

[Russael]

Bottom line is, yes, you will save over the investment because at this time, electricity is less expensive to propel the car than gasoline is, which is also why I went with an L2 charger, and why I have a flat electricity rate.  I plan on plugging in the minute I get home.  That way, if I have somewhere else to go in the evening, I can bring the car out on battery power again.

 

How long will it take you to recoup that investment?  Forever, and not too long, depending on your electric rate and what a gallon of regular gas goes for in your area.  Meh, lets run some numbers just using averages and numbers given by Ford...

 

Example:

 

Cost per mile in gasoline, assuming 3.50 a gallon and 43MPG in hybrid mode:  $0.081

Cost per mile in electricity, (we'll go liberal at 18 cents/kwh, 7.6kw/h battery):  Costs $1.368 to fill a totally dead battery. Assuming you get 21 miles of range out of it, it comes to $0.0651 per mile.

 

Difference is $0.016 (rounded) to electricity's advantage per mile.

 

Setting up a ratio, we get:

 

0.016   599

------- = ----

   1         x

 

So, how many miles on electricity would you need to drive to pay off the charger? :)  37,437.5 electric miles to reach break even (of course, that's a really high rate for power too, and DTE will charge that if I were on a peak/off peak timeframe).  BUT - it is still cheaper to drive on electricity than gasoline even at that rate.

 

My electric rate is 12 cents/kwh, which will cost me $0.912 to refill a totally dead battery, making my electric cost per mile (using 21 average still): $0.043.

 

Advantage electricity by $0.038/mile

 

My charger cost me 750 + 71 (install kit): 821.

 

I would have to drive 21,605 miles to recoup the cost of my charger vs using hybrid mode.

 

But, you're still not using gas, thus, not generating emissions from the car.  You drive in silence.  Every mile you drive on electricity means less greenhouse gases going in to the atmosphere.  Plus you have the convenience of a much faster charge, better performance from the HVAC system for your go times, and things like that. 

 

OK, I'm going to go curl in to a ball in a corner somewhere while I have high school mathmatics flashbacks. :)  Hope I didn't screw any of that up.

[BadRock]

That's good to hear that you like this charger. I have been on the fence about this one. 

 

It looks like with a little electrical creativity I could make this portable and use it at work and at home. I think I might bite the bullet soon.

[CombsAuthor]

Excellent post Russael.

 

Congrats Mr. Fusion. 

 

You both may have convinced me to make the jump as well...because after driving the Energi one thing is for certain - I'm hooked!!!

[BadRock]

I wonder if they'll run that $595 for another month. I would at least like to get a build date for my car before I make the investment.

[shaggy314]

And ALWAYS look for local rebates. My power company offers a 50% rebate on L2 chargers and installation. If they don't call and ask why not. They will only act if people ask.

[murphy]

My power company is going to give me $50 for telling them I have a plug-in electric car.

[Mr. Fusion]

I'm around $.10 / kwh after adding all the administrative costs in, which is cheap compared to others. That's the only rate (No off peak advantage)

 

People make a big deal that mostly coal is used to generate electricity (I thinks it's a little over 50%), but I don't think anyone considers the semi truck tankers emissions used to deliver gas.

[Russael]

If you're 10 cents per kw/h, you're doing pretty dang good. :)  Your payoff will be pretty quick then.

 

Even though people scream that a lot of our electricity is generated from coal, the emissions from that to propel a car on electricity is FAR less than burning gasoline directly.  Nobody said you're going to eliminate emissions, but you substantially reduce it.  Now, if our electric car was only able to use 25% of the electricity in forward motion while wasting the rest as heat or some other form (talking propulsion, not the onboard heater), then it would probably be equvalent to driving on gas as far as greenhouse gases go.

 

Tesla had a nice presentation to show how much greenhouse gas was generated by charging the Model S and driving it on various forms of power generation, and then comparing that to a regular automobile.  Even if ALL of your power was generated from coal, you still reduce your carbon footprint in comparison to gasoline, and that's the whole point that seems to go over people's heads.

 

Once my place is paid off, I want to cover the roof of both my garage and home with solar panels.  Initial investment is really expensive, but it is an investment - you will get your money back unless someone snuffs out the sun, puts a dome over your place, or steals all of them (You still may get your money back from insurance for that last one. :))

[Mr. Fusion]

My wife's cottage (shared with siblings) has solar panels on the roof and because it's rarely used, it's selling back to the electric company, so we'll get a free charge when we're up there.

 

I would love to put up solar on my house, but my biggest problem is my roof faces east and west, not south.

[Russael]

I have the same issue... my roof peak is north/south and the faces are east/west, but they do still work, just not quite as effectively.  But because I have east/west faces means I can put panels on both sides, not just the south side.

[TX NRG]

Bottom line is, yes, you will save over the investment because at this time, electricity is less expensive to propel the car than gasoline is, which is also why I went with an L2 charger, and why I have a flat electricity rate.  I plan on plugging in the minute I get home.  That way, if I have somewhere else to go in the evening, I can bring the car out on battery power again.

 

How long will it take you to recoup that investment? 

 

So, how many miles on electricity would you need to drive to pay off the charger?

 

I would have to drive 21,605 miles to recoup the cost of my charger vs using hybrid mode.

 

 

Thanks for posting your calculations. How many years do you estimate it will take to travel that many 'L2 evening miles' to break even? (The morning miles wouldn't count toward that because of existing overnight L1 charging capability)

[Russael]

The calculations are based off of the price difference between hybrid and electricity - so no matter when you drive, the more you drive on electricity is how it pays for itself.  I never intended on using the 110v charge cord and didn't calculate any savings based on using that since it was rolled in to the cost of the vehicle.  The more electric miles you drive, the more money you save.  The 240 charger was an expensive accessory, so in order to break even on the investment of the charger, I would need to drive that distance on electricity to recoup the cost of it, and then anything after that is just normal accelerated savings over gas.

 

For me specifically, I usually leave and return to the house only once per day.  Could I have gotten away with the 110?  Sure.  I could probably also take advantage of off peak rates (if I was signed up for that).  Mine was more of a 'just in case' kind of thing, and my goal was to stay as far away from gasoline usage as I possibly could, but still have gas as an available alternative.  I'm actually thinking about siphoning half the gas out of the car and dumping it in to my truck. :)  I have a cordless lawnmower, I'd like to get the Ariens AMP24 snow blower, and find a weed whip that was cordless and still powerful enough to have multiple attachments like my current one does.

 

Reason I went with the Fusion over the Focus Electric was because I didn't want to have a 35 mile radius range, and there is NO trunk space in that car.  It's insanely nice for what it is, but I hate the front styling and was missing the subwoofer that provides those great low notes with music.  Plus it didn't have any employee discount options for it.  Ford considers it a specialty vehicle, sort of like the GT500, Raptor, the BOSS 302, and multiple commercial chassis (none of those are eligible for X, A, or Z plans).  If it DID, then I might actually have one of those instead.  I do have a second vehicle to go on trips with so I don't have to worry about renting anything.  It was a really rough decision, but I love the style of the fusion too much, i still get the electric car I've been jonesing for, the electric range is perfect for me to go to work and even visit the parents, so it fit the bill just perfect. :)