I have just bought new Hyundai Ioniq ultimate and have questions on level 2 chargers. where to buy the unit and find an electrician. I live in Ft. Langley.
30 or 40 watt? If 40 watt do I need a 50 amp breaker?
suggestions for brand.
thanks
Hello Eric ....and congratulations on your purchase of an EV !
I've been driving EV for over three years now. For the first 8 mos we would simply plug the supplied 120V AC charger into the garage socket and overnight charging for our Lower Mainland driving, worked out just fine. I got a deal on obtaining a 240V home charger so went ahead and bought it. The 240V charger (from AddEnergi (Quebec) aka FLO) puts out at 32 Amps as do most. The electrician that I hired told me that 50A circuit breaker would not 'trip' soon enough if a problem occurred (heat) and so the breaker was changed to the (recommended) 40 Amp. A good online source of where-to-buy is at Plugin BC: your hub to find out the latest on EVs in BC. http://pluginbc.ca
Thanks so much for your input
Regarding electrical contractors, one that I'd suggest would be Sukhdeep Gill of Cielo Electric. Sukhdeep and handle a complete range of electrical work, however he specializes in EV charging solutions.
One thing you didn't mention is the electrical capacity of your site (I'm assuming a single family dwelling)... this needs to be factored in so as to be Canadian Electrical Code compliant.... which is encouraged! Your electrical contractor should be doing this..... and this can be an issue, especially with older dwellings.... the more so if energy efficiency upgrades have been done or are planned. One typical example being lets say switching from a gas furnace to a heat pump system. To note in this context is the Better Homes BC does offer rebates for both heat pumps when installed and replacing gas furnaces. As well electrical system upgrades when done in this context.
The FLO EV charger was specifically mentioned.... and I'd highly recommend it for a number of reasons. As well I'd suggest the X5 model. More costly, but then firmware upgrades and remote access by web or smartphone app is part of the feature set. A key reason I've installed this model (I've had 4 units installed at my 2 residential sites), is that the outdoor weather rating is high (perhaps the highest of all EV chargers on the market). A consideration especially if the unit is being installed at an exposed outdoor location. And like most Level 2 EV chargers on the market requires a 40 amp breaker (aside from the interesting situation that Bruce Stout came across!.... and regarding that "dirty power" situation, I'm wondering if a whole house surge suppression device might resolve that problem?)
As per one of the feedback comments, I do encourage you to use and at least try out the supplied Level 1 — 120 VAC charging connector... there may be some times when this is your only option!
.... and enjoy your new vehicle!
Thanks.
great info. My house is fairly new. The electrical panel is right where I park and has a few empty slots. It is also wired for a hot tub so it has a 40 amp breaker with about 50’ of flexible conduit inside the garage so it should be easy for the sparky. I’ve heard flo is very good. That may be the way to go especially now that the rebate has doubled. I used the 120 v for the first time and was quite impressed. The battery was at 69% and took just over 2 hours to charge.
cheers
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