[SoCalGuy]

So just got approved for the free Chargepoint America program. Has anyone taken advantage of this? What's the relationship with EV Connect?

 

[Fabulist]

So just got approved for the free Chargepoint America program. Has anyone taken advantage of this? What's the relationship with EV Connect?

Congratulations. Hard to beat Free. AFAIK, this program has nothing to do with EV Connect. You basically have the free charger installed in your garage by one of their approved electricians and that's that. @SiliconKiwi had one installed under this program, so he should be able to comment more on this.

 

[ejo3rd]

I've got two of them installed, one for my Volt and one for my Karma. Both were done through Chargepoint. They will send an electrician out to your home and provide an installation estimate. Once that is done they schedule the install at your convenience. Mine were free other than the city permits which they don't cover. I believe you have to agree to let them track usage data for two years. Pretty painless and you can't beat free. EV connect may be who is administering the program for the Karma. The Volt was through SPX.

 

[marswill]

So just got approved for the free Chargepoint America program. Has anyone taken advantage of this? What's the relationship with EV Connect?

I also took advantage of this program. The only cost was the city permit. SolarCity was the installer in my case. They did a great job.

 

[doug]

So what brand EVSE is installed? What is the max current available?

 

[SoCalGuy]

Just spoke to EV Connect. They are using this charger from Coulomb:
http://www.coulombtech.com/files/CT500-Data-Sheet.pdf

CT500: 208/240 VAC; 30 A

 

[marswill]

So what brand EVSE is installed? What is the max current available?

Mine is a coulomb CT500. It will support up to a 7.2kW output (30A) but the Karma will only consume 3.6kW. The CT500 will give you charge status via internet or cell phone. It will give you real time current draw as well as total energy per charge.

 

[SoCalGuy]

So what brand EVSE is installed? What is the max current available?

Mine is a coulomb CT500. It will support up to a 7.2kW output (30A) but the Karma will only consume 3.6kW. The CT500 will give you charge status via internet or cell phone. It will give you real time current draw as well as total energy per charge.

Can you program it to only charge at night for example?

 

[marswill]

So what brand EVSE is installed? What is the max current available?

Mine is a coulomb CT500. It will support up to a 7.2kW output (30A) but the Karma will only consume 3.6kW. The CT500 will give you charge status via internet or cell phone. It will give you real time current draw as well as total energy per charge.

Can you program it to only charge at night for example?

I'll have to check. I'm not aware of being able to set the time although I can't think of a reason why you couldn't do that. It certainly knows time of day. I'm not currently on a TOD schedule so I haven't bothered to check.
Update: I contacted Coulomb and they said that the vehicle could determine the charge time if it supported that feature. Unfortunately the Karma doesn't currently support setting the charge time.

 

[Fabulist]

So what brand EVSE is installed? What is the max current available?

Mine is a coulomb CT500. It will support up to a 7.2kW output (30A) but the Karma will only consume 3.6kW. The CT500 will give you charge status via internet or cell phone. It will give you real time current draw as well as total energy per charge.

Can you program it to only charge at night for example?

I'll have to check. I'm not aware of being able to set the time although I can't think of a reason why you couldn't do that. It certainly knows time of day. I'm not currently on a TOD schedule so I haven't bothered to check.
Update: I contacted Coulomb and they said that the vehicle could determine the charge time if it supported that feature. Unfortunately the Karma doesn't currently support setting the charge time.

@HarleyGuy suggested on this post to put the EVSE on a 220V timer (such as the kinds used for pool pumps and heaters) so that you can control the charge cycle by turning the EVSE on only at the optimal time for your rate plan. Not sure if that will work, but it is worth considering if you get a TOU rate.

 

[SoCalGuy]

@HarleyGuy suggested on this post to put the EVSE on a 220V timer (such as the kinds used for pool pumps and heaters) so that you can control the charge cycle by turning the EVSE on only at the optimal time for your rate plan. Not sure if that will work, but it is worth considering if you get a TOU rate.

Here's a question - doesn't the Karma give you a fault error if it doesn't detect current when you plug in the charger (the manual says plug the Lear charger into wall before plugging into Karma)?

If that's the case, wouldn't a timed charge mean no current detected by the Karma when you first plug it in, thus generating a fault?

 

[Fabulist]

@HarleyGuy suggested on this post to put the EVSE on a 220V timer (such as the kinds used for pool pumps and heaters) so that you can control the charge cycle by turning the EVSE on only at the optimal time for your rate plan. Not sure if that will work, but it is worth considering if you get a TOU rate.

Here's a question - doesn't the Karma give you a fault error if it doesn't detect current when you plug in the charger (the manual says plug the Lear charger into wall before plugging into Karma)?

If that's the case, wouldn't a timed charge mean no current detected by the Karma when you first plug it in, thus generating a fault?

I think that's more an EVSE problem than a Karma problem. I have a Blink EVSE that is programmed to charge my car after midnight. When I get home, I plug the car in and even though no charging current is flowing , both the car and the EVSE acknowledge each other (display on the EVSE, relays clicking on the Karma) and then the charging event starts when it is supposed to and each morning I walk up to a fully charged car with no errors. What I don't know is what would happen if the EVSE is turned on after it has been plugged into the car. Obviously the Lear cannot deal with this sequence but there is no reason another EVSE would not act more gracefully under the circumstances.

 

[cbermudez8]

For those who have taken advantage of this program, didn't you also have to pay for the installation?

My understanding is that you pay for the installation and agree to have your usage monitored wirelessly for a period of time. The charger is free.

 

[marswill]

For those who have taken advantage of this program, didn't you also have to pay for the installation?

My understanding is that you pay for the installation and agree to have your usage monitored wirelessly for a period of time. The charger is free.

The state of California would pay for up to $1,200.00 for installation although after May 4th I understand they will only pay for up to $600.00. My installation came to $1,150.00 and it was all paid for by California. I only had to pay for the permit which was about $71.00.

 

[cwsnhri]

None of you required electrical work to get 220 to where you want it?? I am waiting for my quote from the electric guys
Thoughts?

 

[marswill]

None of you required electrical work to get 220 to where you want it?? I am waiting for my quote from the electric guys
Thoughts?

Like I said above my 220V installation cost was $1,150.00 to get the power run from the sub-panel to the ChargePoint CT500. This included a dual 40A circuit-breaker, the conduit with fittings and of course the wire. In my case, the installation cost was picked up by California and the only cost to me was for the building permit.

 

[Sigurd]

To run my 220 @20amp including an outlet cost $250 in Texas. I don't need more than 15amp, right?

 

[marswill]

To run my 220 @20amp including an outlet cost $250 in Texas. I don't need more than 15amp, right?

You are correct in that the Karma is limited to about 15A at 220V but the ChargePoint CT500 can supply up to 30A and requires a 40A supply. My installation was kind of a package deal and I didn't have a choice in substituting anything withing the package deal. For a total cost to me of $71.00 I'm not arguing. Besides, I'm all set if I want to charge a different vehicle that can be charged at the higher rate. The CT500 says it is charging my Karma at 3.6kW but it is capable of providing up to 7.2kW if the vehicle can consume that.

 

[siliconkiwi]

I got the exact same deal/config as Marswill. Solar city is doing at least the Bay Area installs, and did a great job. I had 220V and a convenient panel in my garage already, so installation was a breeze. They put it on a 40A circuit so I could fast charge another future electric car. I haven't had a chance to get the permitting finished yet, but SolarCity is even help coordinate schedules for that. The only bummer is I haven't figured out how to access the charger info via the Chargepoint web site (Marswill, do you know how?).

I thought Dennis had talked to the ChargePoint CEO and he said the 500 could do timed charging, but I might be wrong.

 

[marswill]

I got the exact same deal/config as Marswill. Solar city is doing at least the Bay Area installs, and did a great job. I had 220V and a convenient panel in my garage already, so installation was a breeze. They put it on a 40A circuit so I could fast charge another future electric car. I haven't had a chance to get the permitting finished yet, but SolarCity is even help coordinate schedules for that. The only bummer is I haven't figured out how to access the charger info via the Chargepoint web site (Marswill, do you know how?).

I thought Dennis had talked to the ChargePoint CEO and he said the 500 could do timed charging, but I might be wrong.

I contacted Todd at ChargePoint support and had him set up Internet access for me. He was very nice and made sure that I was satisfied with the service. I can now go to https://www.chargepointportal.net/index.php/ on the internet and after logging in I can access the data from my CT500. It provides real time current charging status including the current rate of charge. Also, it provides history and calculates how much green house gasses have been saved.

I talked to them about timed charging to take advantage of TOD rates and they said that the vehicle would have to do the timing so it looks like for now we don't have that feature. Also, because the CT500 has to be hard wired in, i.e., no 220V plug, it would be difficult to add an external timer.