Since this will be my first electric vehicle and with the US Federal Tax credits expiring at the end of this month, I wanted to know if other, more experienced, owners of EV's could relay recommendations, information, or personal experiences with their own home level 2 chargers to help me.
top of page
bottom of page
Great! The 1440W from just an OEM charge-cord in a standard 120V outlet at home (or work) will fully recharge 120 Aptera miles during 8 hours & 20 minutes of sleep (or work) even IF it's never exposed to any sunlight, according to their specs.
1440W is about the maximum safe continuous draw for a 120v outlet in good condition.
Aptera is SO efficient that you probably don't need to buy anything!
Based on their specs, a 120-mile commute requires adding 12kWh every night, assuming no sun at all. Divided by 8 hours of sleep that's only a 1.5kW charge rate. Every OEM charge cord I've seen supplies 1440W on 110V, so even just that that might work, with a little sun &/or plugging in by a grocery store or the like once in a while.
I don't know of any OEM charge cord that can't also take 240V (with a plug adapter) & then supply 2880W, which is way more than needed for that drive.
When I got my Fiat 500e over 5 years ago, I bought the cheapest JuiceBox charger. Realizing that L1 was fine for me (40 miles added while I sleep), I immediately loaned the JuiceBox to a friend, for whom it has worked flawlessly every single day since then, first on a leased 500e & now on a Tesla 3.
Even with the relatively small charger available for the Volt, L2 cuts the charge time in half. Possible a bit more for other EVs. It depends on your use whether it's worth it. Some drivers manage just fine with L1 and charging overnight.