Why is EVSE so expensive?

[Cobra427]

Since an EVSE is not really a 'charger', but simply a power supply, why are they so pricey? The low-end ones are $500, and higher-rated ones, like the ChargePoint Home Flex, are $700. For some wires, cables, connectors, and circuitry in a plastic box? Or is it supply and demand?

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[Lord Polymath]

Valid question for sure. Lots of copper involved, and the initial cost of tooling/manufacturing would be considerable.

 

[slimothyjames]

I would say materials, tooling, R&D, and of course certification fees. Then they usually build in their profit margin which is usually around 3 times the cost of the unit. Gotta pay people's salaries too. For example the Grizzl-e chargers are "Made in Canada" (with what I assume is globally sourced parts) so the product has to sustain a staff.

There is also some liability in these products - if they sell you a cheap junky charger that bursts into flames, then they are going to get sued.

 

[Mach-Lee]

Probably the same reason a Hubbell NEMA 14-50 receptacle was going for over $150 on Amazon earlier this year, whereas 5+ years ago they would only cost $50. They went up dramatically after Tesla started recommending them for home installs.

 

[MacherAWD]

I bought this one 8 years ago, it cost a bit more back then, and have never had an issue, it charged my Leaf daily for 4yrs, then my Bolt, now my MME. 25 ft long cable, very thick, well built, nothing fancy. But for $250 I would say I have gotten my money's worth.
https://jadaniell.com/

 

[Guss-E 2021]

Mostly what has been said. Lots baked into the price. Raw materials are ridiculous right now. That CP Home Flex was as high as $900 a little while ago. Remember, though, there is likely to be a tax incentive of some kind or perhaps a rebate on products like that. At least on the installation.

https://www.kiplinger.com/taxes/605201/federal-tax-credit-for-electric-vehicle-chargers

 

[Logal727]

Since an EVSE is not really a 'charger', but simply a power supply, why are they so pricey? The low-end ones are $500, and higher-rated ones, like the ChargePoint Home Flex, are $700. For some wires, cables, connectors, and circuitry in a plastic box? Or is it supply and demand?

UL certification is expensive

 

[Cobra427]

I bought this one 8 years ago, it cost a bit more back then, and have never had an issue, it charged my Leaf daily for 4yrs, then my Bolt, now my MME. 25 ft long cable, very thick, well built, nothing fancy. But for $250 I would say I have gotten my money's worth.
https://jadaniell.com/

Does it still sell for $250? If so, this tells me that ChargePoint can charge (charge?) $700 for theirs just like Apple can charge $1000+ for an iPhone. People will pay it.

 

[4sallypat]

I can't believe Ford is now charging $500 for a 32A mobile charger when you order a 2023 Lightning when it used to be standard equipment on a 2022.

$500 price point for the Ford mobile charger is ridiculous IMO.

Have never opened the Ford mobile charger bag so far...

OTOH, my EVSE is an $450 Emporia L2 UL listed and charges my Lightning at full 48A (11kW) rate even in the blazing hot temps of summer.

It will also charge my incoming MME so well worth a single charger doing double duty...

 

[SnBGC]

Since an EVSE is not really a 'charger', but simply a power supply, why are they so pricey? The low-end ones are $500, and higher-rated ones, like the ChargePoint Home Flex, are $700. For some wires, cables, connectors, and circuitry in a plastic box? Or is it supply and demand?

Check out openevse.com and see what is involved. There is a little more involved than you list above.

 

[MacherAWD]

Does it still sell for $250? If so, this tells me that ChargePoint can charge (charge?) $700 for theirs just like Apple can charge $1000+ for an iPhone. People will pay it.

Yeah, the site is up, I think it was $300 or maybe $350 when I bought it, so he has lowered the price, and even made an improvement since I bought.

 

[Blue highway]

Check out openevse.com and see what is involved. There is a little more involved than you list above.

+1 just an observation, but anything that people don't understand, but think they understand seems too expensive.

 

[21st Century Pony]

When I junked my 2012 Leviton 16-amp permanent wall EVSE for the Grizzly-E, I opened it up. This well-built steel wall box was about 90% empty inside. It had one fairly small printed circuit board, several connectors for the two cables, one electric winding, and two sizable (not too sizable) thick metal donuts around the several wires. Again, 80 - 90% open space in there. Let's remember, that was a 2012 era "dumb" EVSE. The Grizzly-E, which I also opened to hard-wire it, has several printed circuit boards but is about 1/2 the size of the old Leviton box, so its inside space is much more filled up.

 

[bshaw]

Keep in mind, the Chargepoint and other "smart" EVSEs have a lot of software that it takes to run them. People have to develop and maintain that software and maintain the apps you expect to use on an ongoing basis.

To me, that's an unnecessary complication on what should be a basic device. Plug it in, and it supplies the requested amount of power. Anything more is just bells and whistles, and adds to the things that can go wrong.

The utilities should be coordinating with the car manufacturers to control TOU discounts, etc.

 

[RickMachE]

Keep in mind, the Chargepoint and other "smart" EVSEs have a lot of software that it takes to run them. People have to develop and maintain that software and maintain the apps you expect to use on an ongoing basis.

To me, that's an unnecessary complication on what should be a basic device. Plug it in, and it supplies the requested amount of power. Anything more is just bells and whistles, and adds to the things that can go wrong.

The utilities should be coordinating with the car manufacturers to control TOU discounts, etc.

Well, not quite.

You want the utilities to coordinate TOU discounts. The utility has two ways to do this.

1) Coordinate charging with the car company. My utility has a program to do this. They have "no charge" events lasting 2 hours, in which they tell Ford to prevent my car from charging. Ford does this by lowering the threshold to 50% charge (it appears). 2 hours later, they put it back. They also have "must charge" events lasting 2 hours, in which they have surplus power and want me to charge. They do this by forcing the car to charge via Ford. They also don't differentiate between peak hours, so they do this often during then. By me having a smart charger, I can stop the car from charging during peak hours no matter what Ford tells the car to do.

2) Controlling the EVSE. My utility gave me a $500 rebate to get the data, but they haven't made an attempt to control charging, and I won't agree to that. The rebate was only for the data. They didn't provide any conditions on the rebate except being in a TOU program (which I already was), so they cannot ask to control the charging.

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