Installing an EVSE

Today I installed an L2 EVSE in the garage.  We built this house in 2010, and I asked the electrician to leave me an extra 240V box in the garage.  At the time I thought I might buy a welder, build an arc-reactor-powered flying metal suit and fight injustice.  However, I have since abandoned that plan and instead I bought an electric car.  

Already-installed 240V wiring

Not enough wire, so I cut a hole above the box and pulled it out. This allowed me the needed slack and a higher unit placement.

Wiring the unit is just connecting three wires.  Top right: L2 (red wire) and L1 (black wire).  Ground is the bare copper hanging out with the other green wires.  No neutral (white) is needed.

All level!

Power up!

My car now charges so quickly that, before I'm out of the garage, it's done.  Ok, that's not true, but it feels that way.  On my normal 120V existence I would expect to charge for most of the night.  With 240V I can come home, charge for an hour or two, then hit the town the same night with a full battery.  It's like my phone...just put it on the charger for a little bit and I'm good to go.  

A huge thank you to an incredibly generous EV owner who donated this "old" Schneider EVSE to me.  Without him I would still be listening to Milli Vanilli, wearing parachute pants, and charging my car on 120V.    

I want 240V!

Now in the dead of a Montana winter, I really wish I had 240V charging at home.

120V covers me well, but during the reduced-range cold weather driving season it sometimes leaves me wanting. Take this morning for example.

This morning I ran several errands: dropped two kids off at two different schools, made a McDonald's stop, visited Grandma, and then returned home.  Total miles covered according to google maps: 8.8.  Total charge remaining in my Leaf: 50%.

A view of my driveway

First of all, yikes, that is awful range.  If I assume a constant ratio of miles to discharge that gives me a whopping 18-20 miles of range.  Bear in mind that the outside temperature is -8C (18F) and I was running the heater and A/C (for defrosting the windshield) almost the entire time.  But this is real-world use in a cold climate.  Practically speaking I have to operate the defrosting system.  Also I'm not going to freeze my family.  It's Montana, the heater needs to be turned on.

Upon returning home I plugged in as a normally do.  In the back of my mind I'm thinking, "Do I have enough charge to make another errand run?"  The next errand would be to the grocery store, which would be a 6.4 mile round-trip.  Plugging into 120V for two hours does not give me confidence, it gives me range anxiety.  Thus my desire for 240V.  I'm beginning to see why Nissan vetted prospective owners up front to insure they had 240V.

Back to the range issue, I confess that this is one of the first range measurements I've made this winter.  I realize I did not run the car down to low-battery warning, but I ran it to 50%.  In medicine they often only take your pulse for 15 seconds before extrapolating to the minute...can I be that far off with my 18-20 mile range estimate?

Starting this morning at 100% my guess-o-meter said something like 42 miles of range using climate control so bringing the car to 50% after 8.8 miles seems like a big difference.  It may be the Leaf is using the temperature in the considerably warmer garage to make its range estimate.

Because I live in a small town, I can and do get away with a bunch of low-mileage trips.  My big work commute is only 16 miles round-trip.  And of course when we emerge from the depths of winter I expect a tremendous range gain.  I would still love to have 240V in the winter!