Wally5280
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Thought I'd post my experience getting set up for the EV Accelerate at Home/Xcel Optimize your Charge program along with the home wiring rebate they offer. It may be of help to others.
Basically, Xcel offers these two programs as incentives for EV owners. I'm in Colorado but I believe they have programs in other states as well. A quick summary of which each program entails:
EV Accelerate At Home - With this program, you rent a charger from Xcel for $13.29/month and they will get you set up with an electrician to get it set up and hardwired. This ONLY includes the hard wiring of the charger to a nearby 240v circuit that has the proper amperage for the charger. If you require additional electrical work then it will cost you more, however, Xcel does offer a $500 rebate for any wiring work needed for your charger. You can only select a Chargepoint Home Flex or a Enel X JuiceBox as your charger if you enroll in this program. By enrolling in EV Accelerate At Home you also agree to charge at off-peak times and also enroll in the Optimize Your Charge Program. (see following paragraph). https://ev.xcelenergy.com/ev-accelerate-at-home-co
Optimize Your Charge - This program provides a $50 rebate every year if you agree to charge your EV during off peak times. There are 3 options given for your off-peak schedule: 9pm-6am, 12:30am-9:30am, 6am-3pm. You are still allowed to occasionally charge outside of your schedule but may risk your rebate if you're always charging outside of your set schedule. Xcel doesn't actually stop you from charging any time you want so no need to worry about having to plug in at random times. You still have to use a Home Flex or JuiceBox with this option but you can purchase it yourself and not have to pay the $13.29/month. The $500 rebate is also available even if you do not utilize the EV Accelerate at Home Option. You link the ChargePoint app with the Optimize Your Charge program using a 'meter number' that Xcel emails you. This allows Xcel to track your charging and I believe they have a separate break-out on your bill for the EV charging which is nice. https://ev.xcelenergy.com/optimize-your-charge
I had initially intended to go with the EV Accelerate At Home route and rent a charger. I filled out the enrollment form on the Xcel website and received an email immediately stating that I was enrolled in the program and that "An electrician from Xcel Energy’s trusted network will contact you within 2 business days to coordinate the installation and setup of your charger". It ended up taking 5 days to hear back but someone from White Star Electric (https://www.whitestarteam.com) finally reached out to me to set up an appointment. I was able to get an appointment within a week and they came out to give me an estimate. Sidenote: I have a detached garage and would have to bury a 100 amp electrical wire through my backyard about 30' so I knew my costs were going to be more than most others' installs. Anyway, they came back at $2600 to bury the wire and install a sub-panel along with wiring up the charger. They did offer to cut $500 off the cost if I was willing to dig the trench myself.
That seemed a bit pricey to me so I got a referral for another electrician to do the same work. Next estimate came back at $2000 and he would also wire a NEMA 14-50 outlet in addition to the Home Flex (might as well future proof in the event my wife gets an EV as well). At this point I could just buy the home flex with the savings and not have to pay the rental fee so I decided to go this route. I cancelled my enrollment in the EV Accelerate at Home program and just went with the optimize your charge. I chose the 9pm-6pm charge schedule and it's been working great for me since I typically leave for work around 7am. I also submitted for my $500 rebate but have not received it yet. (edit: Submitted the rebate form yesterday and already got an email today that I was approved! I should receive a check in 6-8 weeks).
My main takeaways are:
Basically, Xcel offers these two programs as incentives for EV owners. I'm in Colorado but I believe they have programs in other states as well. A quick summary of which each program entails:
EV Accelerate At Home - With this program, you rent a charger from Xcel for $13.29/month and they will get you set up with an electrician to get it set up and hardwired. This ONLY includes the hard wiring of the charger to a nearby 240v circuit that has the proper amperage for the charger. If you require additional electrical work then it will cost you more, however, Xcel does offer a $500 rebate for any wiring work needed for your charger. You can only select a Chargepoint Home Flex or a Enel X JuiceBox as your charger if you enroll in this program. By enrolling in EV Accelerate At Home you also agree to charge at off-peak times and also enroll in the Optimize Your Charge Program. (see following paragraph). https://ev.xcelenergy.com/ev-accelerate-at-home-co
Optimize Your Charge - This program provides a $50 rebate every year if you agree to charge your EV during off peak times. There are 3 options given for your off-peak schedule: 9pm-6am, 12:30am-9:30am, 6am-3pm. You are still allowed to occasionally charge outside of your schedule but may risk your rebate if you're always charging outside of your set schedule. Xcel doesn't actually stop you from charging any time you want so no need to worry about having to plug in at random times. You still have to use a Home Flex or JuiceBox with this option but you can purchase it yourself and not have to pay the $13.29/month. The $500 rebate is also available even if you do not utilize the EV Accelerate at Home Option. You link the ChargePoint app with the Optimize Your Charge program using a 'meter number' that Xcel emails you. This allows Xcel to track your charging and I believe they have a separate break-out on your bill for the EV charging which is nice. https://ev.xcelenergy.com/optimize-your-charge
I had initially intended to go with the EV Accelerate At Home route and rent a charger. I filled out the enrollment form on the Xcel website and received an email immediately stating that I was enrolled in the program and that "An electrician from Xcel Energy’s trusted network will contact you within 2 business days to coordinate the installation and setup of your charger". It ended up taking 5 days to hear back but someone from White Star Electric (https://www.whitestarteam.com) finally reached out to me to set up an appointment. I was able to get an appointment within a week and they came out to give me an estimate. Sidenote: I have a detached garage and would have to bury a 100 amp electrical wire through my backyard about 30' so I knew my costs were going to be more than most others' installs. Anyway, they came back at $2600 to bury the wire and install a sub-panel along with wiring up the charger. They did offer to cut $500 off the cost if I was willing to dig the trench myself.
That seemed a bit pricey to me so I got a referral for another electrician to do the same work. Next estimate came back at $2000 and he would also wire a NEMA 14-50 outlet in addition to the Home Flex (might as well future proof in the event my wife gets an EV as well). At this point I could just buy the home flex with the savings and not have to pay the rental fee so I decided to go this route. I cancelled my enrollment in the EV Accelerate at Home program and just went with the optimize your charge. I chose the 9pm-6pm charge schedule and it's been working great for me since I typically leave for work around 7am. I also submitted for my $500 rebate but have not received it yet. (edit: Submitted the rebate form yesterday and already got an email today that I was approved! I should receive a check in 6-8 weeks).
My main takeaways are:
- The EV Accelerate At Home program would be much better if you weren't forced to use the electrician that is contracted with Xcel. Their higher costs pretty much negated the benefits of renting the charger (at least in my case). If you already are wired for the 240v outlet then you'd have no out of pocket costs so it may be worth it then. Xcel also provides a lifetime warranty and services the charger if there are any issues.
- I wish the optimize your charge offered reduced rates for charging at off-peak times. The $50 rebate is nice but it would be great if they incentivized you a little more with a reduced rate. Note: This will change a bit as Xcel moves to time of use pricing over the next 1-2 years. (link). Basically, charging off peak will end up saving you 2-4 cents/kWh over the current rates depending on the time of year.
- $500 wiring rebate is awesome! Take advantage while you can!
- I was able to get everything set-up and installed before I even had my car so no need to put off your install until you get your car.
- Xcel is great at responding to emails and answering questions. They have a dedicated email address for their EV programs and are very responsive. [email protected]
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