Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Cars
  3. News

Electrify America’s home station lets you charge your EV while watching Netflix

Stephen Edelstein
By
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Electrify America was created to spend $2 billion of Volkswagen “Dieselgate” penalty money on zero-emission vehicle infrastructure. So far, most of the money spent has gone to public charging stations along major highways, and in high-traffic urban areas. Now Electrify America also has something for drivers who like to charge their electric cars at home — its first home charging station.

The charging station is a 240-volt Level 2 unit that can charge at up to 7.6 kilowatts. That allows for a charge up to six times faster than a standard 120-volt household outlet (also known as Level 1), according to Electrify America. Many drivers do more than 80% of their charging at home, Nina Huesgen, senior manager of Level 2 operations and program management at Electrify America, said in a statement. But the battery packs in many electric cars have gotten so big that charging from a household outlet isn’t a practical option anymore — hence the need for upgraded home charging equipment.

Recommended Videos

The home charging station connects to a NEMA 14-50 outlet — the same kind used by large appliances. It can be installed inside or outside and comes with a 24-foot cable to plug into a car. As with any home charging station installation, customers will need to ensure their homes’ wiring is in good enough condition to handle the added voltage. Customers can take an online survey to determine installation needs, and Qmerit, the company overseeing installations, will provide up to three pricing quotes from local electricians.

Related

Other companies offer home charging station, but Electrify America claims to bring the advantage of greater connectivity. The station links with the Electrify America app, allowing drivers to view their complete charging history — including public and at-home charging — in one place. A built-in Wi-Fi connection can also provide data on home charging sessions separately, according to Electrify America. This could also enable “demand response” programs, allowing owners to take advantage of lower electricity rates during off-peak times, Electrify America noted.

The Electrify America home charging station is available on Amazon for $499, as well as through Electrify America’s own website.

Home charging is an important response to customer needs, but a robust network of public charging stations is still needed. Drivers who don’t own homes must often rely on the public charging network, and public stations ensure drivers can take long trips. Electrify America hopes to have 800 charging sites, with about 3,500 individual plugs, in operation by December 2021. That includes more powerful DC fast-charging stations to keep pace with new electric cars like the Porsche Taycan. Electrify America is also experimenting with automated charging for potential future self-driving cars.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Stephen Edelstein
Stephen Edelstein
Contributing Editor
Stephen is a freelance automotive journalist covering all things cars. He likes anything with four wheels, from classic cars…
Inside the Vietnamese giant that wants to sell you your next EV
VinFast VF 8.

The list of companies hoping to grab a slice of the electric car market in America grows monthly. Many are start-ups that you’ve never heard of -- and that you may never hear about, because the leap between loudly stating that you’re going to build a car and doing it is significant.

Vietnam-based VinFast harbors similar ambitions but it has a very different background. It’s part of Vingroup, an industrial giant that stands proud as one of the largest conglomerates in Vietnam and whose revenues accounted for about 2.2% of the nation’s GDP in 2020. That's huge. It does not lack the funds to become a global carmaker; it also doesn’t lack the experience. VinFast’s cars, buses, and scooters are a reasonably common sight on Vietnamese roads, and Vingroup operates a stunningly wide selection of businesses in sectors like construction, education, tourism, and health care. This isn’t the automotive equivalent of a middle-school garage band -- it's Warped Tour material.

Read more
Chevy will pay charging-station installation costs for 2022 Bolt EV buyers
Silver Chevrolet Bolt EV

If you're buying an electric car, chances are you'll need a place to plug it in. Chevrolet knows that, so it's covering home-charging installation costs for buyers of the 2022 Bolt EV and Bolt EUV. However, the offer only lasts through June, and comes with some caveats, according to InsideEVs.

Chevy, through partner Qmerit, will install a NEMA 14-50 outlet fed by a dedicated 50-amp circuit with its own breaker. This is the kind of outlet used by large appliances, and it also allows so-called Level 2 charging, at 240 volts (a standard 120-volt household outlet is considered Level 1). However, Chevy is only covering what it calls a "standard installation," so any added costs will be the customer's responsibility.

Read more
A $1 billion investment will bring more EV charging stations to rural America
ChargePoint an NATSO to spend $1 billion on electric car charging

Lack of charging stations remains one of the biggest obstacles to widespread adoption of electric cars, but two companies are planning to spend $1 billion to help address that shortage. Charging station operator ChargePoint and the National Association of Truck Stop Operators (NATSO) plan to add charging stations at 4,000 sites in the U.S. While most charging infrastructure initiatives focus on heavily traveled corridors between major cities, ChargePoint and NATSO plan to focus on rural areas.

The agreement between ChargePoint and NATSO calls for charging stations to be installed at the 4,000 sites by 2030. At this point, the companies have only gone as far as signing a memorandum of understanding, so no actual work has started yet.

Read more