What are the cons of changing at level 1 daily?

[mateo]

To me, the most important thing is don't run a car charger on old wiring, regardless if it's 120v or 240v.

My house was built in the 1950s and due to remodeling I wouldn't trust any of the existing wiring for something heavy duty. I would never know what the previous homeowners did behind closed spaces. The wiring to my semi-detached garage already literally blew up while I was away... only load was a garage door opener. Definitely would never have wanted to charge a car on that.

So I'm running a new dedicated line (6 gauge) in buried conduit direct from main panel to outlet just to make sure there's nothing unknown in the setup. But If you have new wiring that was done with care, then L1 should be fine if you don't need to precondition in extreme weather or have a second car to charge.

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[bcaceres]

There is a minimum amount of energy it takes to overcome the battery's resistance to charging as it charges and also to run the computer that monitors the charging and battery temperature. This creates an overhead. When charging at Level 1, a much smaller percentage of the electricity you are feeding the car is actually going to the battery versus Level 2 which easily meets the minimum overhead and then charges the battery with the remaining juice. This is partly why Level 2 charging is more than twice as fast as Level 1 charging. You are going to spend a lot more electricity on the overhead with Level 1 simply because it takes long to charge.

If you are charging daily on Level 2 to 80%, 85% or even 90% you are going to avoid a lot of the unwanted heat that builds up from resistance by keeping the battery away from the 100% mark and you are going to avoid running the electric components in the vehicle for the many hours you would with Level 1 charging. Also, with a Level 2 charger installed, you have the option of getting your charge back faster when you need it. If you find yourself doing a single DCFC to charge up faster in a pinch you would probably undo any of the benefit gained from charging Level-1 instead of Level-2.

Just my thoughts.

 

[evfinder]

I've only had the Mach-e for a couple of weeks and have been charging L1 since I got it. I am retired now so I have no regular commute. I tend to drive about 10-15 miles per day just running errands etc. I already had an L1/L2 charger in the garage for the Prius Plug-in I used to drive (not the Toyota supplied charger) but have never bothered to install a 220V outlet in the garage. I can add about 70 miles of range to the car by plugging in overnight and don't always charge every night unless I know I need to travel further than normal. My wife has an ICE car which would be a back-up if we needed it but it doesn't get drive very much anymore.

If it works for you L1 would be fine. Check plugshare.com to see if there are public chargers nearby if you need to get a faster charge for an unexpected longer trip.

 

[AKgrampy]

I did not realize the difference was so great between L1 and L2. If you purchased an EV just to have a battery powered vehicle then I guess go with whatever. If you purchased one to be environmentally conscious than L1 is a significant waste of resources. I can only imagine how significant that will become if apartment dwellers, renters, etc age forced to go with L1 charging. In my case at 26 cents per kWh a L2 charger pays for itself in less than a year. To be clear I believe people are fine choosing whatever route meets their need but I always scratch my head when I think people pay $50 - $70k for a new car but do not want to upgrade their electrical for a fraction of that cost.

 

[Knuckles39]

Which one is safer, L1 vs L2 (NEMA 14-50)?

I'm now tending to L1.
10% more energy efficiency does not justify the cost. My state rebate program ended about a couple years ago. It may cost 1k to install the NEMA 14-50, may need a city permit, that costs $$.
The garage wall would get messed up. Now the wires are all hidden inside the wall. I don't think they can hide the new wire, not with this budget.
Both our working place have ev charging station, we commute 60% weekdays, and we have another ice car. Winter is not harsh here.

My house was built within 5 years, hopefully it can manage the extra .

It doesn’t really look bad with metal conduit running on outside of drywall. You could always paint it to match color of wall

 

[devmach-e]

About 10.5 years ago I got a Plug-in Prius. I used L1 charging for that car for about the first 6 months. When an opportunity to install an L2 EVSE presented itself, I leapt at the chance. Even though it would only cut my recharge time from 3 hours to 1.5 hours, eliminating the hassle factor of pulling out the portable EVSE every day and plugging it in was a bigger factor. I spent $500 for the EVSE, and another ~$750 for the hardwire install of it, including permits/inspections and some additional electrical work in the garage done. I was basically future proofing things. 5 years later, when I got the 2017 Bolt EV, that future proofing paid off in a big way. And again when I got the MME earlier this year.

I get that for some older homes it can be a challenge, especially since you have to do some significant upgrades. But in the long term, it's a really good investment for the home. When we bought our house 23 years ago, it still had the original fuse box from when the house was built in 1963. First thing we did was hire an electrician and replace it with a new panel with breakers, clean up the old knob/tube wiring, and install GFCI/grounded plugs in key places. That early work has continued to pay dividends 23 years later. It made installing solar way easier/cheaper, and it made installing the L2 EVSE tons easier, too.

 

[iaming]

L2 is safer in my opinion.
L1 is a duplex receptacle and many times there may be multiple duals on a single circuit. That makes it much more likely for the circuit to be overloaded.

When that happens, the panel will be shut, I think.

 

[iaming]

I did not realize the difference was so great between L1 and L2. If you purchased an EV just to have a battery powered vehicle then I guess go with whatever. If you purchased one to be environmentally conscious than L1 is a significant waste of resources. I can only imagine how significant that will become if apartment dwellers, renters, etc age forced to go with L1 charging. In my case at 26 cents per kWh a L2 charger pays for itself in less than a year. To be clear I believe people are fine choosing whatever route meets their need but I always scratch my head when I think people pay $50 - $70k for a new car but do not want to upgrade their electrical for a fraction of that cost.

Yes, $1k is just a small fraction of that cost.
The car is necessary for the commute, and it has $7500 tax credit.
The fuel cost saving is significant. Other EV choices are not cheap either.

The electrical update on the other side is not that attractive, especially after the state rebate program ended.

 

[SnBGC]

When that happens, the panel will be shut, I think.

I am not following...??
Panel should always be shut.
What I am saying is many homes have 120v receptacles on 15A circuits instead of 20A and lots of connections between panel and plug. The more connections the more points of failure.

Usually a 14-50 L2 receptacle is the only outlet on that circuit so fewer connections, larger terminals, better plug etc.

 

[iaming]

I am not following...??
Panel should always be shut.
What I am saying is many homes have 120v receptacles on 15A circuits instead of 20A and lots of connections between panel and plug. The more connections the more points of failure.

Usually a 14-50 L2 receptacle is the only outlet on that circuit so fewer connections, larger terminals, better plug etc.

My bad, I mean the panel will break the circuit when overloaded

 

[Mrn]

I rescued my car from a local Ford Ogre (sorry, Dealer) only about 2 weeks ago, but I find using an L2 charger about once a week for a 20-80% charge before bedtime quite convenient. I also like the idea of being done before bedtime and occasionally walking out to the garage to make sure everything is AOK.

 

[SnBGC]

My bad, I mean the panel will break the circuit when overloaded

Hopefully, yes.
Sometimes the breaker doesn't trip and an air gap allows an arc and then things melt and sometimes catch fire. Ask me how I know....

 

[Mach1E]

I rescued my car from a local Ford Ogre (sorry, Dealer) only about 2 weeks ago, but I find using an L2 charger about once a week for a 20-80% charge before bedtime quite convenient. I also like the idea of being done before bedtime and occasionally walking out to the garage to make sure everything is AOK.

Oof…… that is the kinda anxiety that keeps you up at night.

Hopefully you’ll get past this phase. You should never have to “check on” your car while it’s charging. If curious of the status, just check the FordPass app.

It’ll also be better for your anxiety, and battery to keep it 50-80%. No need to drain to 20% before charging.

 

[Mrn]

Yes, I think that will pass as I get used to the charging routine.

 

[gordonf238]

I heard people saying it's the best for the battery if you charge daily.

My commute distance can be fully recovered at night with level 1, should I still install level 2 in the garage?

Is level 2 safer than level 1? More energy efficient? How much more?

No cons. The car "charges" everytime you press the brake pedal. The only difference between Level 1 and Level 2 charging is the speed.

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