Should I get a new EVSE?

[Vulnox]

I bought our Juicebox Pro 40 in 2016 for our then C-Max Energi, and it has since moved states with us and been charging our current Focus Electric. This is the original, or close to it, model in the all stainless steel very industrial looking box.

It has continued working fine with our FE, and to be honest aside from their smartphone app being ugly and not very fun to use, I don’t have a lot of issues with it. That said, I can get 30% tax credit and our electric company is offering $500 if you switch to a time of use electric rate plan and buy an EVSE and electric car. We bought the FE this year, and our Mach E Premium LR AWD is on order. So I think we could qualify just from buying the FE.

But this feels more like me spending money and doing a bunch of other stuff, like changing our electric rate plan, to get an EVSE that so far I don’t think we need, when the one we have is working.

I was looking at the Chargepoint Flex, or maybe something from ClipperCreek since another poster noted they were bought by Enphase, and we just had an Enphase inverter based solar array installed, so maybe they will have future integration (or maybe not).

Only potential improvements I can see getting a new EVSE like the Chargepoint is better monitoring of usage and that, but if anyone has any other details let me know! Maybe a newer unit is more power efficient in general or whatever that I may not be aware of.

Thank you!

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[SnBGC]

I bought our Juicebox Pro 40 in 2016 for our then C-Max Energi, and it has since moved states with us and been charging our current Focus Electric. This is the original, or close to it, model in the all stainless steel very industrial looking box.

It has continued working fine with our FE, and to be honest aside from their smartphone app being ugly and not very fun to use, I don’t have a lot of issues with it. That said, I can get 30% tax credit and our electric company is offering $500 if you switch to a time of use electric rate plan and buy an EVSE and electric car. We bought the FE this year, and our Mach E Premium LR AWD is on order. So I think we could qualify just from buying the FE.

But this feels more like me spending money and doing a bunch of other stuff, like changing our electric rate plan, to get an EVSE that so far I don’t think we need, when the one we have is working.

I was looking at the Chargepoint Flex, or maybe something from ClipperCreek since another poster noted they were bought by Enphase, and we just had an Enphase inverter based solar array installed, so maybe they will have future integration (or maybe not).

Only potential improvements I can see getting a new EVSE like the Chargepoint is better monitoring of usage and that, but if anyone has any other details let me know! Maybe a newer unit is more power efficient in general or whatever that I may not be aware of.

Thank you!

In my opinion.....some of those older EVSEs are built very very well.

I am not familiar with the older Juicebox units......does that one power share? Can you add another JB on the same circuit? When you get your second BEV.....you might benefit from using two EVSEs and sharing a single circuit. I believe some Juicebox units have that feature.

 

[bshaw]

You could switch to the time-of-use rate plan and use the Ford Pass / Mach E settings to only charge during those hours. That seems like an easy way to lower your charging bill.

As for the new EVSE from rebate, I don't have a suggestion on that decision.

 

[JamieGeek]

I've been using the JuiceBox I got in 2014 for our Focus Electric with my Mach-E without an issue. I've used the same set of EVSE's for all of my plugins (Focus Electric, C-Max Energie, Bolt, and now Mach-E).

You have something that works so you can take your time, do your research to see what works best for you.

I also have had a time-of-use plan for the EV plug (since 2013) and all of the vehicles I've had allowed me to set a schedule in the car for charging. No need for any fancy EVSE with a schedule as the car already does it.

Note that the Clipper Creek transaction has just gone through. If there are any synergies they won't happen right away (I'd say at least 2 years before you'd see anything). Thus there is no sense jumping on that quickly either.

 

[Vulnox]

Thank you all for the replies!

I am not sure on the Power Share, I don't see the option in the app anywhere I look, so that may be the answer. I don't know that the unit I have has had a firmware update in years, so just may not be there.

Otherwise it works great, so as Jamie mentioned I may just leave well enough alone. If I don't see issues with the Mach E then may as well see where units go as they continue to be developed. Also not sure yet on a Lightning, so may be best to wait and see what our future looks like if I replace my PowerBoost F-150 with a Lightning, and the more complex charging situation that will cause as the truck won't fit in the garage.

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