Show off your Level 2 Home Charger installs here

[svet-am]

So you can manage it at the EVSE level rather than the vehicle level. It applies your rules for all vehicles rather than being vehicle-specific. I do this with my Wallboxes. It also allows me to tweak them remotely from anywhere. For instance, if I know I'm going to be using a lot of power in the house I can quickly knock the amperage down from an app on my phone rather than needing to go out to the truck and change the amperage on the screen.

Ok. That makes sense and since I haven't taken delivery of my Rivian yet I don't know what is in the app. But what you just described is something I can do in the Volvo app for my wife's car.

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[astonius]

Ok. That makes sense and since I haven't taken delivery of my Rivian yet I don't know what is in the app. But what you just described is something I can do in the Volvo app for my wife's car.

The Rivian app can't, at least not today. They may add it in the future, but I still find it much easier to manage at the provider level rather than the consumer level. Plus I can manage my load-sharing setup if I'm charging multiple vehicles at once.

 

[svet-am]

Ok. Load sharing management is a good one too. I only have a single port on mine so that's not an issue. Soon we are doing a solar install and will be switching to a SPAN smartPanel which will allow the same types of per-circuit management so I still think I will need a smart EVSE but now I understand the logic. Thanks.

 

[PostMinivanDad]

Nice! Do you feel like wifi is a big miss on the Grizzl-e, or does the Rivian app offer enough functionality for it to be irrelevant?

I dont, except for load sharing, most “smart” features can be provided by the cars (Dont have my R1S yet, but didnt miss anything with my M3). Less stuff to break/bug IMO.

 

[SANZC02]

What would you use the wifi for? I have never understood this. All EVs I have seen (including the Rivian) have on-vehicle charge scheduling so I don't know what wifi would allow beyond that

If for no other reason, that is how the charger gets the software updates pushed.

 

[sevengroove]

This is good food for thought. I'm contending with a close-to-$5k quote to install a hardwired 48A charger in my driveway (and that quote doesn't even include the 40' of trenching that I will have to manage on my own). So I'm debating going to a 14-50 setup with a cheaper 40A charger, and the grizzl-e could fit the bill.

 

[svet-am]

If for no other reason, that is how the charger gets the software updates pushed.

Why would a charger need new software?

 

[SANZC02]

Why would a charger need new software?

They have an OS in them, they could fix bugs or add features. If you search the forums I recall some people needed updates to fix issues when they first started shipping.

 

[marubicon]

Nice! Do you feel like wifi is a big miss on the Grizzl-e, or does the Rivian app offer enough functionality for it to be irrelevant?

There is a Grizzl-e charger that offers wifi capabilities for about $80 more, but our internet is hit or miss at the cottage (thanks Elon + Starlink) and I wanted it as simple as possible.

I will say that the majority of wifi capabilities of the Rivian charger are non-existent today and are still (hopefully) to come in a future firmware update. The Rivian charger still acknowledges any Rivian (or non-Rivian) as "Unknown Vehicle". You also cannot adjust the Amps or set any scheduling, etc in the Rivian app at all. All of that is done only on the infotainment screen as of today.

 

[PostMinivanDad]

They have an OS in them, they could fix bugs or add features. If you search the forums I recall some people needed updates to fix issues when they first started shipping.

You said "if for no other reason". If there is no other reason (IE, no "smart features"), then no firmware updates will be required, and no Wifi. My Grizzl-E has worked perfectly since day one, without OTAs, just like my dining room table

 

[marubicon]

This is good food for thought. I'm contending with a close-to-$5k quote to install a hardwired 48A charger in my driveway (and that quote doesn't even include the 40' of trenching that I will have to manage on my own). So I'm debating going to a 14-50 setup with a cheaper 40A charger, and the grizzl-e could fit the bill.

I don't know all the details for your install but get a couple quotes at that pricepoint -- that seems like a LOT of $$$. I paid about $1k which I thought was a lot but had proper conduit bent/ran about 50+ feet through my basement rafters to the garage for my hardwired install on the Rivian charger. If your quotes are really that much $ and you already have a 14-50 setup, I would go with a plug-in charger from another company all day. The difference of a few miles an hour between 40 and 48 amps is not worth $5k to me.

 

[Bravado21]

Getting excited for my R1S and it will be the first EV I have. I'm torn on if I should hardwire (for max amps) a charger in the garage or outside around the corner. It really depends on if the R1S will fit in my garage or not.

Anyway, I tend to have a lot of outdoor tools lining the sides of my garage and a large wood set of shelves in the back so looking for inspiration on clean installs for charges in the garage and thought it would be great to have a compilation of them here. Doesn't matter if it is the rivian charger, plug in, hard wired, etc.

I went with the Rivian Wall Charger and we put ours outside because we have a little home gym inside and the truck wouldn’t fit in the garage.

I live in Florida and have had the rivian since April and haven’t had any issues with the wall charger outside or with our storms.

I have a universal charger holder (cheap one from Amazon I mounted inside the garage because sometimes we leave it open and I’ll plug it inside the garage when I don’t feel like walking around the corner ?

 

[Gator42]

Since this is supposed to be a post with visuals, here’s mine. Plain vanilla but ready to go….it’s probably bored to death, actually ?…

 

[electruck]

Plain vanilla but ready to go….it’s probably bored to death, actually ?…

Ha ha, mine too. My ChargePoint has been installed and sitting idle since August 2020.

 

[sevengroove]

I don't know all the details for your install but get a couple quotes at that pricepoint -- that seems like a LOT of $$$. I paid about $1k which I thought was a lot but had proper conduit bent/ran about 50+ feet through my basement rafters to the garage for my hardwired install on the Rivian charger. If your quotes are really that much $ and you already have a 14-50 setup, I would go with a plug-in charger from another company all day. The difference of a few miles an hour between 40 and 48 amps is not worth $5k to me.

Oh it's a lot, even for Seattle. The starting price with this electrician if the EVSE is within 10' of the main panel is about $1,200 (+ cost of the EVSE itself). The rest of the cost is for the ~40 foot run of conduit and wiring, wooden post, mounting etc. And trust me I tried getting more quotes but it's like pulling teeth here, they're in so much demand. If they do get back to you they might not be aligned on the approach - I had one electrician state that before doing anything I would need a full panel upgrade. If anyone has reasonable electrician recommendations in the Seattle area please let me know!

Also to clarify, I don't already have 14-50 set up. I will still need an electrician to run wiring and conduit from my main panel out to the driveway whether it's for a hardwired or plug-in EVSE. I just question how they price things out and whether 'ev charger' in the line item has a built-in premium over 'outdoor nema 14-50'. Here's a site pic for reference (about 8' from the main panel on the right to the edge of the home):

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