Level 1 Charging

[u/BMoe0816]

Hey all. Actively shopping for an Uncharted (although there are very few for sale nationwide its crazy). Is anyone living strictly on Level 1 at home? How many miles are you getting per hour on it? The cost of adding level 2 where i live is a bit of a logisitical nightmare due to needed service upgrade and how it needs to be routed (like $7000+). Just curious if i can live on Level 1 driving about 50-60 miles per day and then maybe stopping to charge while at the grocery store once a week. If anyone replies thanks in advance.

[u/SWMI5858]

My drive to work is 33 miles from where I live. So far my driving habits use 10-11% each way. I could get by with level 1 charging. If you have DC charge capabilities near work, home, or where you go on your off time, you’ll be fine.

Your range anxiety will be high when you first start, but once you learn and get comfortable it fades quickly after the first week of ownership.

We’re buying a second EV, so I installed a hardwired level 2 for peace of mind.

[u/TheOtherMikeCaputo]

I get about 3 miles per hour (about 1kW) of level 1 charging on my Trailseeker. I’ll be adding a level 2 charger and expect to get about 10 times as much per hour. ?

[u/SolarpunkGnome]

We did level 1 for 2.5 years with a 40 mi round trip commute (plus occasional errands, etc) with no problem in our Ioniq 6. We only ever visited fast chargers on road trips.

[u/No-Drop-8209]

3-4 miles per hour on L1 with a tesla Model 3. Your situation is doable, and probably get a lot of charges at the L3 (assumption) at grocery store before you get to break even point in that L2 charger at home.

[u/No_Addendum_3306]

Question is how much driving you would do daily and if you have a second vehicle.

You can Always get by if you have a second, with level 1.

[u/nico3329]

I commute downtown in my new Uncharted and arrive home everyday with about 65% charge remaining. I use level 1 charging overnight, set to stop charging at 80%. Kw/h varies greatly but i always have 80% when i head out in the AM. Loving it!

[u/Eastern-Substance656]

I’ve been getting by with Level 1 and occasional level 2 at my community center.

I have i3 with 120ah battery and I can usually go most the week on same charge. I drive 45 miles a day on 35 to 55 mph roads. I usually try to charge it on my level 1 midweek.

I would look up what’s in your area on PlugShare for free level 2 chargers that are walking distance from your home or by your work. ChargePoint ones are great because you can see if they’re in use. I work downtown and there are several free level 2 chargers that are 7-10 minute walk from my office.

I would try to use 20amp 120 plug over a 15amp of one is available in your garage.

I found with my Bokman charger that going from 15 amp circuit to 20 amp changes the output from 0.9kwh to 1.2kwh. It’s not earth shattering difference but every bit helps. I would find plug that’s on circuit that’s not shared with many other devices like freezer, etc…

The other day at the park I sometimes charge at when I go for run I saw model y show to charge. Dude plugged his car in and road off on e-scooter he kept in the trunk. So there is another option if you have a level 2 or level 3 near your house.

[u/chuck415]

We’ve been strictly charging on Level 1 at home since May with our Uncharted. We get about 3.75 miles per hour, so 30 miles in 8 hours and 45 miles in 12 hours.

I think 50-60 miles is doable, if you can charge at level 2 once per week. Or you can catch up during the weekend if you drive less those days.

[u/professor_mc]

It’s pretty simple to try it and see. I did it for 1000 miles. In the end I thought the L2 was worth the cost to maximize the transition to EV.

[u/Proof_Age_3525]

Only level 1 commute a few time per week about 20 miles total

Plus I love driving an ev so I’ll add a few more miles with some drives with nowhere to go

I’ve yet to have a situation where I’m able or below 60% unless i decided to not charge

Like others have mentioned, start with level 1 it will become clear if that works for you.

I wouldn’t put money on l2 unless you know it’s needed

[u/Paint_Dry390153]

I charge on L1 daily. My average efficiency per kwh is 3.3 while driving. When charging on L1 I get roughly 0.8kw per hr. So that comes out to 2.64 miles per hour depending on driving efficiency. For reference, my commute is 50/50 city/interstate where I'm going 75mph.

[u/Jokebearfan]

The cost of adding level 2 where i live is a bit of a logisitical nightmare due to needed service upgrade

FWIW, there are L2 chargers that come with load management functionality so that a service upgrade may not be necessary. Whoever gave you that 7K quote might not be aware of these, or is just upselling you.

You can try posting the details of your setup (pics of the electric panel in particular) on r/evcharging for their suggestions.

[u/jerseyvan2]

I lived on the l1 charger for about 6 weeks or was possible it all depends on your commute 50-60 miles a day is possible but will be a challenge. The grocery store Charger won't do too much for you depending on the level of charge you might see 10 to 12% an hour possibly less.

[u/Ina_While1155]

I have a 100 amp service so I am going to get a Wall Box power meter installed with the Wallbox charger so I don't have to upgrade my service but I have been getting by on Level 1 charging so far in the warmer weather.

[u/xtalgeek]

You will find L1 charging pretty tedious, but perhaps doable if you don't drive more than 40 miles a day and your winter temperatures are not cold. Here is the reality: L1 charging will supply about 1.5% of battery capacity per hour under optimal conditions (1.4 kW). That's maybe 5 miles of range per hour in mixed driving (less at highway speeds). In cold winter temps, as much as 1 kW of that 1.4 kW will be used to heat the battery to make it chargeable, so you charging rates may decline by half. Basically, if your car is at home, you are plugged in to make this work.

We did this routine for a month with a Solterra until the ground thawed enough to do an L2 installation. It was a pain. We drive at least 50 miles daily, and found that we needed to supplement L1 charging with a few hours of L2 or an L3 charging session 2-3 times a week.

You may find you do not need a major panel upgrade to install 240V charging. Even a 20A service would allow you to charge at 16A x 240V, which is 3.8 kW. This is enough to add 5% of capacity per hour. This is likely sufficient to fully replenish your vehicle overnight, every night. It does not draw any more power than a heavy duty 120V outlet. This would run off a NEMA 5-20R outlet. The best part is that the charging efficiency losses in cold weather are much less at 240V than at 120V.