All electric vehicles come with a 120v Level 1 charge cord, and some of these charge cords are also capable of 240v charging.
When using the supplied Level 1 charge cord, charging at home can be accomplished with an ordinary 120V circuit. Charing at Level 1 provides about 4-5 miles of range per hour of charge.
If you have a short commute and don’t drive much after work, you may only need to replenish 20-30 miles of charge per day. With 200+ mile range batteries, and Plug-in Hybrids, charging each night at Level 1 may be sufficient to keep your battery fully charged.
To charge at home using Level 1, you'll need:
Electrical circuits that handle “continuous load,” like car charging, must be used at no more than 80% of their maximum capacity. For example, a charger that supplies 8 amps would need to be connected to a 10 amp circuit. A charger that supplies 12 amps would need to be connected to a 15 amp circuit. These would need to be dedicated circuits, with no other devices connected. This 80% rule, specified by the NEMA industry guidelines and municipal electrical codes, is called derating.
Almost all residential EV chargers can be purchased with a plug and installed as easily as any other appliance – simply mount it on the wall with the provided screws and mount plate and plug it in to an existing or newly installed outlet.
