Looking for a charger I can contol my charging rate with

[Saberdentures]

+1 for Emporia

I got mine for a future solar upgrade that will let me maximize my charging from the inverter. It will read the inverter’s output by attaching two amp-meters to the output wires, and then the charger will dynamically increase/decrease charge power to match the inverter’s max available power.

It would let you charge at 7 kilowatts (or a little less if you prefer not to run the inverter hard), and if another load turns on, the emporia charger will decrease the load to the truck by the same amount. When the load turns off, the truck will get more power.

It will work with any inverter.

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[FloridaMan655321]

If I'm understanding your question, I like the Tesla wall charger. I went with the universal one so whenever I upgrade to NACS I'll be ready. You can change the amps during setup.

 

[iam-s-Hon]

ChargePoint Home Flex lets you set the amperage for the charger. You set it to the circuit max (so 40 Amp for a 50 amp circuit breaker) when doing the install, and after that you can change the amperage in 1 Amp increments in the app at any time. I usually have mine set to 30 Amps in the summer since it gets pretty hot.

Edit: GarageMahal made a good update. For my ChargePoint Home Flex the lowest Amperage I can set is 8 Amps.

I have the CP HF too. Usually keep mine sround 16A in morning and ramp it up once or twice to match the collection curve of my solar panels. Then ramp down and off at end of day. I allow a little overhead for other appliances to minimize my grid TOU rates. If I need more charge for next morning I finish overnight. I rarely need to charge using >30A

 

[NW Ontario Ford Lightning]

My solar experience since 2021 -
1. add PV to collect more power,
2. add more battery packs to store more power,
3. add more electrical loads to use up excess power,
Repeat.
The Lightning is my most resent Step #3, so now I am back to Step #1 again...for the fifth time...

{3x 12kW-SRNE inverters, 131 kWh LFP battery bank, 13kW Solar PV, so far}

 

[GoodSam]

Are there any great efficiency (metered power in to EVSE vs. power actually getting into the HV battery) differences between Amp/kW rate choices using home L2? Probably different variations for each brand/model charger. I would think higher Amp/kW rates would be worse for efficiency due to I^2*R losses (more heat loss due to higher resistance at higher current rates (I)).

Perplexity AI indicates probably only 1% differences if equipment wiring is adequately sized; interesting about vehicle overhead at low or high rates. table shown:
https://www.perplexity.ai/search/are-there-any-great-efficiency-CUDUvO82RBmDexT62bpQ1A

 

[Maquis]

Are there any great efficiency (metered power in to EVSE vs. power actually getting into the HV battery) differences between Amp/kW rate choices using home L2? Probably different variations for each brand/model charger. I would think higher Amp/kW rates would be worse for efficiency due to I^2*R losses (more heat loss due to higher resistance at higher current rates (I)).

Perplexity AI indicates probably only 1% differences if equipment wiring is adequately sized; interesting about vehicle overhead at low or high rates. table shown:
https://www.perplexity.ai/search/are-there-any-great-efficiency-CUDUvO82RBmDexT62bpQ1A

There’s a thread on here where this was tested. Best efficiency was at 40-48A. It only dropped very slightly above that. At lower rates, vehicle systems overhead decreased efficiency.
It will vary depending on the vehicle, of course, depending on the systems running during charging.

 

[fhteagle]

OpenEVSE will let you do this. I have had mine rigged to be controlled by Home Assistant for years.

 

[MidAtlanticLightningClub]

Are there any great efficiency (metered power in to EVSE vs. power actually getting into the HV battery) differences between Amp/kW rate choices using home L2? Probably different variations for each brand/model charger. I would think higher Amp/kW rates would be worse for efficiency due to I^2*R losses (more heat loss due to higher resistance at higher current rates (I)).

Perplexity AI indicates probably only 1% differences if equipment wiring is adequately sized; interesting about vehicle overhead at low or high rates. table shown:
https://www.perplexity.ai/search/are-there-any-great-efficiency-CUDUvO82RBmDexT62bpQ1A

Analyses I've seen suggest that efficiency peaks around 30-50A. Really slow charging like L1 has heat losses that are low and slow but accumulate over time. 80A charging produces a lot more heat loss than 48A. In fact, the FCSP has overheating problems when run at full charging rate and is more reliable at 72A.

A 40 or 48A seems to hit the sweet spot.

 

[msadan]

Be careful with the cheap online charger purchase. You are dealing with a lot of money (vehicle, home or garage).

This, 100%. Cheapest you can find on Amazon is not good advice when considering an EV charger.

 

[Buruan]

If you live this remote maybe an app/connection based solution may not be ideal.

I live in a spotty area and even without that try to avoid app based stuff where not needed.

Got myself a jplus booster 2 - That one has buttons to select the amperage.

Dont know your situation just adding another option.

 

[Adventureboy]

Add another for Emporia. It allows me to adjust the power in the app from 48 amps right down to 6 amps.

More useful in your situation is that Emporia allows you to charge on excess Solar so you don't have to babysit the settings. The downside to this setup is that you need to spend a few bucks on the Empori VUE monitor and set up on your electrical system so the charger can adjust itself based on your house loads. I just plug in the truck, and Emporia does the rest.

The automation is worth it in my case.

 

[blb228]

ChargePoint HomeFlex Level 2 - Adjustable from 8A-48A for my setup on a 60A breaker. I found that charging at 48A produced more heat (detected by hand and verified with thermal temp gun) than any of my other appliances in my home. Even at 40A setting, it still just seems to be a large load even though I have a brand new electrical service into my home and all new wiring throughout (2022/2023 remodel). This is likely due to the constant draw. I also compared efficiencies at different charging rates and found that ~22A seems to be the sweet spot for charging time vs line loss - for my overnight charges at least.

Do not buy cheap amazon chargers - go with the "buy once, cry once" methodology.

 

[GoBlueLightning]

So you didn’t get a Ford Pro Charge Station with your Lightning? I thought you could change the Amperage in the FordPass app (although I have never tried it) if you had either of the Ford chargers.

 

[Calvin H-C]

I love my Emporia and use the app to change the charge rate regularly.

Add me to the Emporia fan list.

The ability to change its rate (from 6 A to 48 A) is great. My only complaint is that the app cannot schedule the rate, only schedule when the unit is on or off (offering or not offering a charge).

On most weekdays, the truck will be back up to 90% within a half an hour pulling an 11.2 kW load, so turning it down to take 4-6 hours at a lower rate makes sense. On weekends, the charge needed is greater with a shorter window for the cheap rate, so cranking up to full is needed.

 

[EFG]

I have a Juicebox v2 with the OpenEVSE upgrade kit and it allows for this being set. It also has a charge on solar capability which does not play nice with my other EV, a 2019 Chevy Bolt. So I have it just set to a static fixed lower rate so it doesn't drain my Powerwalls when charging the Lightning. I do have to keep an eye on it when evening approaches.

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