[tdlutz24]

100% as BMW in their infinite wisdom has limited the use of the battery.

[KT_OH]

Originally Posted by tdlutz24

100% as BMW in their infinite wisdom has limited the use of the battery.

Definitely 100% since only ~70% is usable anyway.

[walketed]

Originally Posted by dyzfnctional

do you folks charge to 100% all the time or 80%? Been reading around some say ok to 100% and others say otherwise...

I charge at 100%, either way the capacity internally is limited to 80% because of the warranty in the US.

[nZtiZia]

Originally Posted by walketed

I charge at 100%, either way the capacity internally is limited to 80% because of the warranty in the US.

no, it's limited to 68% (20 of 29.5kWh)

[walketed]

Originally Posted by nZtiZia

no, it's limited to 68% (20 of 29.5kWh)

Even worse!!! hahaha!. Bottomline set the car to 100%..

[Zion5]

Wish I would have read more of this thread before purchasing a non compatible 6-20 version 1 cord. 30% restocking fee now

[Jlewisinsyr]

Originally Posted by CAtoMA

Me too.

I installed a Chargepoint Flex on a 40A circuit, so I'm getting the maximum 32A and 7400 watts at the X5 50e. It is awesome. The Chargepoint was super easy for my electrician to install. I like the look with the hard wire.

I'm somewhat looking forward to the math / optimization around two chargers in my garage at some point in the future.. but I'm going to live with one for now. My 200A house feeds a 60A garage sub-panel, so I will likely need some sophisticated amperage balancing via software. Tesla chargers have good ways to do this, as far as I understand, and I'll wait for the other charging companies to catch up then buy theirs instead.

We have 200A service and have never had a load issue, even in the middle of summer with the AC running, car charging, hot tub pumps running (definitely not heating) and using standard appliances/electric dryer, etc. Evenutally you homes will need bigger panels standard (400A), but even with two cars charging 200A should still be sufficient for most homes.

[David3]

Got my 50e home and tried to charge with my new Emporia…no dice. Car says insufficient grid power. Charges fine with BMW supplied lvl 1 EVSE and commercial lvl 2. Seems the Emporia worked for 5 seconds but could be my imagination. Starting to think the Emporia is the issue.

[sk03]

Originally Posted by David3

Got my 50e home and tried to charge with my new Emporia…no dice. Car says insufficient grid power. Charges fine with BMW supplied lvl 1 EVSE and commercial lvl 2. Seems the Emporia worked for 5 seconds but could be my imagination. Starting to think the Emporia is the issue.

Darn - I have two Emporia units waiting to get installed. One for my x50e other for wife's Volvo C40. Please let us know what comes out.

[walketed]

Originally Posted by sk03

Darn - I have two Emporia units waiting to get installed. One for my x50e other for wife's Volvo C40. Please let us know what comes out.

My Emporia works great. Try their tech support through chat..

[nZtiZia]

Originally Posted by David3

Got my 50e home and tried to charge with my new Emporia…no dice. Car says insufficient grid power. Charges fine with BMW supplied lvl 1 EVSE and commercial lvl 2. Seems the Emporia worked for 5 seconds but could be my imagination. Starting to think the Emporia is the issue.

I really like the Emporía when I had it. their customer support is excellent. (I called them for an issue unrelated to the unit itself.)

[jad03060]

The wiring to the thing is pretty simple...three wires, L1, L2, and ground. Make sure there is proper power into the thing. It could be as simple as they didn't twist the wires properly in the wire nut, or the terminals in the box aren't tight.

[ramachk]

Hi all

I picked up my X5 last Friday and would like guidance on the following:

installing a home charger - don't think I have extra slots in my panel and would need an upgrade - any recommendation for a good electrician in silicon valley and approximate cost?

charging in public EV charging site. I tried few different places yesterday, based on the recommendation by the BMW app - EVGo and Charge point, the sites recommended had a different plug that would not fit the X5 - has anyone used a public charging place and appreciate any recommendation?

thanks

[Line Drive]

Preparing for the arrival of my 50e in a few weeks. I've read over the entire thread a couple of times -- tons of helpful content in here for an L2 EV newbie, thank you! -- but still had a couple of questions.

What are the advantages or disadvantages of going with, say, a hard-wired ChargePoint Home Flex unit versus a ChargePoint Home Flex with a NEMA 14-50 plug? The price of the ChargePoint unit doesn’t change whether it's hardwired or not, but does the plug add an additional expense for the electrician (and of course for the plug)?

Also would it make sense for future proofing/flexibility to get the NEMA 14-50 plug for ease of replacing a hard-wired unit down the road? Or does this not matter? (I guess if I moved in a few years, I couldn't as easily take the hard-wired unit with me.) Thanks

[walketed]

Originally Posted by Line Drive

Preparing for the arrival of my 50e in a few weeks. I've read over the entire thread a couple of times -- tons of helpful content in here for an L2 EV newbie, thank you! -- but still had a couple of questions.

What are the advantages or disadvantages of going with, say, a hard-wired ChargePoint Home Flex unit versus a ChargePoint Home Flex with a NEMA 14-50 plug? The price of the ChargePoint unit doesn’t change whether it's hardwired or not, but does the plug add an additional expense for the electrician (and of course for the plug)?

Also would it make sense for future proofing/flexibility to get the NEMA 14-50 plug for ease of replacing a hard-wired unit down the road? Or does this not matter? (I guess if I moved in a few years, I couldn't as easily take the hard-wired unit with me.) Thanks

The difference between hardwire and NEMA 14-50 is basically that you get a little less charging power plugging the charger to the outlet vs hardwiring directly. It doesn't really affect you because you have plenty for the 50e in either case.

[lazy_snail]

Originally Posted by Line Drive

Preparing for the arrival of my 50e in a few weeks. I've read over the entire thread a couple of times -- tons of helpful content in here for an L2 EV newbie, thank you! -- but still had a couple of questions.

What are the advantages or disadvantages of going with, say, a hard-wired ChargePoint Home Flex unit versus a ChargePoint Home Flex with a NEMA 14-50 plug? The price of the ChargePoint unit doesn’t change whether it's hardwired or not, but does the plug add an additional expense for the electrician (and of course for the plug)?

Also would it make sense for future proofing/flexibility to get the NEMA 14-50 plug for ease of replacing a hard-wired unit down the road? Or does this not matter? (I guess if I moved in a few years, I couldn't as easily take the hard-wired unit with me.) Thanks

Harwired gives you a slightly better amperage and hence faster charging, but it wouldn’t really matter unless you have a full electric car. But in case of nema 14-50 plug you can easily replace/install the charger, which is a big + IMO, especially if you ever move out

[nZtiZia]

Originally Posted by lazy_snail

Harwired gives you a slightly better amperage and hence faster charging, but it wouldn’t really matter unless you have a full electric car. But in case of nema 14-50 plug you can easily replace/install the charger, which is a big + IMO, especially if you ever move out

this needs clarification. whether plugged in or hardwired, charging at 32A is charging at 32A. hardwired may be more efficient and experience less charging losses, but the amount of charging time will be the same given the same amperage.

that being said, there are units that “charge faster” when hardwired versus plugged in, such as the Emporía device. it can charge up to 40A when plugged in and up to 48A when hardwired. in that sense yes, charging will be faster because the charging rate is increased which is only capable if hardwired

[Line Drive]

Thanks for all that – super-helpful.

Below is my current plan – would you guys mind looking this over to ensure I’m not missing anything or have wrong info? Thanks!

Because of the supply issues around the adapter cable to the BMW fast charger, I’m thinking of going with a separate unit, like the ChargePoint Home Flex. To accommodate a 40A level 2 charger, I will need to create a 50A circuit. (I will be charging only one vehicle on this circuit, so load sharing isn’t a current issue.) My garage setup has only 110V outlets currently.

The only other users of electricity in the garage would be lights, a refrigerator, garage doors, and if anything is plugged into the existing 110V outlets for temporary use. But because the EV charger would be on a dedicated 50A circuit, other items in the garage don’t matter in the sense that they're not counting toward the dedicated circuit's 50A, is that right? So a 50A circuit would be enough if my charger would be 40A and the most my 50e can pull anyway is 32A, right?

My current main panel has no open slots. An adjacent subpanel has two slots remaining, and an electrician friend of mine said I could move circuits from the main panel to the subpanel and use the open slots on the main panel for the new EV 50A circuit. Does that make sense? If I'm only doing 50A for the EV, can't I use the open slots on the subpanel? Or should I be thinking of something else? (I would be hiring an electrician, not doing the work myself!)

Thanks again

[jad03060]

FWIW, it might take you 5-minutes to disconnect a hard-wired unit versus just removing the plug from the socket...basically, turn the breaker off, remove the cover, unscrew three wire nuts, and basically, you're done. Plugs, especially a cheap one, can be problematic as most are not really designed for constant high current draws that could go on for hours...the common appliances using that plug are a dryer that cycles on/off, and a stove that does as well. A quality receptacle is closer to $100 in parts versus what you might find at a big box store.

Note, IMHO, leaving the EVSE installed, especially down the road where more and more people will be driving a plug-in vehicle, is a selling point. At that time, you'd probably want a new one anyways, and it should bring a slight premium when you sell the house.

It sounds like you'll need a subpanel installed. Note, the main panel will still need a couple of slots to feed the subpanel, but if there are a couple in the garage, they could be moved to the subpanel. The parts would be similar most parts of the company, but labor costs can vary a lot, as can electrical permits and inspections. The distance the wires need to be run and how easy that is (i.e., in the open, or buried in the wall or ground) will add to the labor costs, so without more details, it's nearly impossible to give an estimate.

[jad03060]

Originally Posted by ramachk

charging in public EV charging site. I tried few different places yesterday, based on the recommendation by the BMW app - EVGo and Charge point, the sites recommended had a different plug that would not fit the X5 - has anyone used a public charging place and appreciate any recommendation?

thanks

The X5 PHEV can only use a level1/2 EVSE...what you probably found were CCS (high voltage DC) charging sites. I haven't looked at the BMW app, but on most, they let you sort charging stations by the type of plug. You want one that is level 1/2, ideally at least 32A for your 50e to minimize the time required to recharge the battery pack.

[nZtiZia]

Originally Posted by jad03060

The X5 PHEV can only use a level1/2 EVSE...what you probably found were CCS (high voltage DC) charging sites. I haven't looked at the BMW app, but on most, they let you sort charging stations by the type of plug. You want one that is level 1/2, ideally at least 32A for your 50e to minimize the time required to recharge the battery pack.

look specifically for chargers with J1772 connectors which is what fits in the X5 PHEV

[ramachk]

J1772 or Level 2 charger - see that this only delivers ~7kw which I think will take about 3-4 hours for a full charge - are there faster Level 2 / J1772 chargers available? I am realizing that upgrading the panel is required to add a home charger and there is a waiting line with the local energy provider to get the approvals etc. Looking for options till then. Thanks for all the responses