New Leviton EV Charger Has Plug-in Capability
When you join the EV bandwagon, an important consideration is how you charge your expensive new pet. While you can use a standard 120V plug or, if you’re lucky, a 208-240V plug you have at home, they charge your car significantly slower than an EV charger. Your own EV charger will give you greater flexibility, time savings and actual cost per kilowatt compared to what you pay at a supercharging station. The reason more people don’t is the cost: installing a Level 1 or 2 charger can cost $1,000, and that doesn’t include the cost of the charger.
That’s what makes Leviton’s announcement of updates to its EV Series line of smart homes so highly anticipated. The most exciting news is that it is now possible to simply plug in the charger rather than connecting it to an electrical panel. Although the line offers 32-48 amp home chargers (the entire line is rated up to 80 amps), only the 40 amp model is available as a plug-in. They require a NEMA 14-50 receptacle, which Leviton also sells. Leviton will soon begin shipping the model at a very reasonable price of $473.57.
Note that a plug-in charger will only supply the same electrical voltage that the wiring supports, but it still has some advantages. One of the reasons to choose Leviton as your charger is that it works great with the My Leviton app, allowing you to manage and schedule your charging from your phone, so you can take advantage of off-peak utility services to save money and qualify for benefits. programs. You can remotely start and stop charging from anywhere and receive multiple status reports.
Leviton EV chargers work with any industry standard SAE J1772™ cable, making them suitable for Audi, BMW, Ford, Honda, Subaru and Tesla electric vehicles (adapter required for Tesla).