CNET
The Best Way to Charge Your New Electric Car at Your House
Understanding the difference between Level I and Level II is key to always having the range you need with the least expense and complication. Follow @briancooley on Twitter: Subscribe to CNET: Like us on Facebook: Follow us on Twitter: Follow us on Instagram: Follow us on TikTok:
Rating ARK Gadgets
April 22, 2022 at 5:10 pm
Great video!
Novilicious
April 22, 2022 at 5:11 pm
Everyone includes it but Tesla (they stopped starting April 17). Cost $200 meow
R P
April 22, 2022 at 5:45 pm
Meow indeed
Del
April 22, 2022 at 5:24 pm
I wonder if i can use my magsafe charger for my EV …
Lubz M.
April 22, 2022 at 5:29 pm
I don’t understand folks who charge their electric vehicles in their homes. Do americans not have electricity bills?
R P
April 22, 2022 at 5:55 pm
Yes we also have gas cards and you save at least half with an EV whilst not polluting so much.
Joseph Camacci
April 22, 2022 at 6:03 pm
Where does your car sit unused the most? Maybe you’re lucky enough to have free or low cost charging at work, but for everyone else their car sits unused at home for about 8 hours overnight. It’s easy to take 10 seconds to plug it in overnight. Our electricity in the US is inexpensive compared to gasoline, but more importantly the cost is much more stable than gasoline. DC fast charging costs more (much closer to gas) and might be inconvenient unless coupled with an activity like grocery shopping or when traveling.
Epsilon
April 22, 2022 at 5:33 pm
Legit only subscribed still because I love watching videos of this guy by far some of the best content on cnet
michael ansbro
April 22, 2022 at 5:55 pm
VERY useful for new car buyers.
I already have a 220v outlet in my washroom next to the garage from a previous outer.
Did not know they were sooooo expensive.
R P
April 22, 2022 at 6:01 pm
We need these instructional videos, not everyone knows how EVs work, that’s where much of the pushback comes from.
Delfin Vasquez
April 22, 2022 at 6:16 pm
This was excellent. Thank you very much sir. Long live Cooley!
CalienteFrijoles
April 22, 2022 at 6:22 pm
Honestly I’m fine with just the 120V outlet located in my garage. I only used a Supercharger once for fun. It’s not bad bc I can get back 12% juice when I sleep and everything is close by
Sam G
April 22, 2022 at 6:25 pm
All electric cars come with charges, except as of late Tesla 🙃
Tharun V
April 22, 2022 at 6:54 pm
Youtube channels and Politicians trying to save Ford lol
Gregory S. Jackson
April 22, 2022 at 7:14 pm
Unfortunately I don’t have a house
Trent Bell
April 22, 2022 at 7:34 pm
Posted 3hr ago and already out of date, Tesla no longer includes an FC with their car
Frank Coffey
April 22, 2022 at 7:44 pm
My Tesla wall connector install was $1000 and I had to wait weeks for the electrician to come so I suggest you install it before you get the car. I did have a 240 socket with a 60 amp breaker I could use but if you only was 120 it’s going to be super slow charging. The Tesla mobile connector was able to do 30 miles per hour and the wall connector can do 50 miles per hour so it was worth the upgrade. Plus I don’t have to get the cable out of the truck each time, I just unroll some wire and plug it in, very handy. Also, some connectors have to be hard wired like my Tesla and some can just plug into a 240 socket. If you plan on installing a 240v NEMA 1450 I recommend using the expensive HUBBELL HBL9450A if you are going 50 amps or more. Those $15 ones at home depot won’t cut it.
Kongolox
April 22, 2022 at 8:10 pm
It is a charger.. the one inside the car is a voltage converter. same thing with laptops and smarphones
sikhswim
April 22, 2022 at 8:11 pm
The Tesla Mobile Charger supports level 2 with adapter plugs. It’s pretty sweet, unfortunately it’s no longer included with teslas.
Nature's Spiritual Being
April 22, 2022 at 8:46 pm
I’m shocked he didn’t mention that you can plug the EV directly into a 240v outlet for level 2 charging without needing a charge station.
Nathan Ramlochan
April 22, 2022 at 9:04 pm
Kia Ev6 does not come with any charger
couchpoet1
April 22, 2022 at 9:10 pm
Blood batteries
Paul G
April 22, 2022 at 9:23 pm
The moment I see a sensible headline for the video from CNET, it would be Brian Cooley. Never disappoints.
Andrew
April 22, 2022 at 9:51 pm
No matter what you choose you will be waiting a while for a charge and waiting a while to get the electrician into the home to set up your Level 2 charger and a price increase in your electric bill.
Bill Hurt
April 23, 2022 at 3:54 am
I never wait to charge. I plug in when I get home and go inside to enjoy my evening and don’t think about it. Most people don’t have to get on a waiting list for an electrician to install an outlet. That’s just ridiculous. I’ve never even noticed the cost of charging on electricity bill. Electricity is dirt cheap compared to gas, and thanks to renewable energy, it’s getting cheaper. Electric cars aren’t for everyone yet, but your silly uninformed reasons here aren’t why.
steev the technophile
April 22, 2022 at 11:00 pm
I wish they all include a Level 1 adapter with every car, but they don’t. Great video!
Michael Luscher
April 22, 2022 at 11:15 pm
Ironically, Tesla just stopped including a Level 1 charger with new models
Rob Oo
April 22, 2022 at 11:46 pm
NO MORE LEVEL 1 CHARGER W ALL NEW TESLA CARS. ELON IS TAKING AWAY YOUR LEVEL 1 CHARGING CABLE, AND YOU HAVE TO BUY IT SEPARATELY FROM NOW ON (ASSUMING THEY HAVE THEM IN STOCK).
Karen H
April 25, 2022 at 6:01 pm
The teslas ordered after April 17 will not get the included charger…. That gives people plenty of time to have the sub panel for the charger put in. I’m not saying this is right….cuz i do think every ev should come with a charger…. But if you are ordering a tesla after April 17….start preparing for your electrical. Fortunately for me, i have a 60amp clipper creek….that i am using on my cheap ev…my LRMY is tentatively headed my way in june…..i also have the tesla charger (which i will install myself soon) . If anyone is looking for a fantastic clipper creek- I’ll be selling mine soon!
Peachy love
April 23, 2022 at 12:37 am
👌🏾👌🏾👌🏾👌🏾👌🏾
nonameleft1
April 23, 2022 at 1:42 am
Rivian!!!!!! Review Rivian please!
E. v. K.
April 23, 2022 at 5:45 am
We should have all the same Chargers around the World
Tim Campbell
April 26, 2022 at 5:22 pm
Agree! Europe mandates that ALL cars must use the same plug (even Tesla). In North America the CHAdeMO plug was finally outdated (the last cars that use it have finally switched over) and now it’s just J1772 vs. Tesla. There are adapters that let Teslas charge via J1772 and let non-Teslas use Tesla AC chargers (emphasis on AC only … these adapters DO NOT work at Tesla SuperChargers (which are DC Fast Chargers)).
But Elon Musk has announced that Tesla will start to open up markets to allow non-Tesla’s to use Tesla SuperChargers. The plug is not compatible — or long enough for most cars. So they would need to add a 2nd charge cord with the CCS connector (CCS = Combined Charging System … this is the DC Fast Charger plug design that Brian showed on the Rivian when he opened the little flap that exposed two more pins).
Once that is done … Musk *could* start making North America cars with just the CCS1 plug if he wanted (don’t know that he would do that … his plug is smaller so the cars would need a bigger charge port door.). But theoretically … all cars could eventually just get ONE plug.
GetOffaMyLAN
April 26, 2022 at 5:46 pm
@Tim Campbell Last I heard, the 2023 Leaf is still using CHAdeMO. Don’t ask me why; it makes ZERO sense.
Tim Campbell
April 26, 2022 at 6:17 pm
@GetOffaMyLAN That’s not good. In 2020 Nissan announced they were switching to CCS. But your reply prompted me to go dig and I did see that they have yet to switch over the Leaf. Meanwhile, Electrify America has already announced plans to phase out CHAdeMO. It’ll start getting harder to charge a Leaf if they don’t switch over (or just discontinue to the Leaf and replace it with something else.)
Taofiki Gafar-Schaner
April 23, 2022 at 5:57 am
Kia EV6 and Hyundai Ioniq 5 don’t come with plug….
GUTS
April 23, 2022 at 7:21 am
All companies need to make the switch and we need to make the power grid switch to hydrogen fuel source. The Mustang EV is now defacto but does Ford have other EVs still in production?
M B
April 23, 2022 at 10:45 am
Excellent video.
Kevin Everything
April 23, 2022 at 12:02 pm
enjoy this untill apple starts making cars, then you know they are going to make a 20k charger that’s different from the standard
DesmoLocke
April 23, 2022 at 12:25 pm
Brian Cooley is the best! CNET should feel lucky to have him.
Tyler King
April 23, 2022 at 1:14 pm
Wasn’t expecting that Depeche Mode cameo.
Michel Courtines
April 23, 2022 at 1:45 pm
I would add that the 120V 15 amp plug rarely delivers 15 amps of max current. More like 8-10 when plugged in. May be a safety factor by the car’s computer to not overheat the “standard” outlet? Bottom line is I disagree with the advice that a level 1 may be sufficient. If you have a garage and are spending $40-100K for an electric car, I recommend you plan on installing the level 2 as soon as possible. Also, level 1 is very inconvenient in that it negates one of the main advantages of an electric car versus a PHEV – plugging in once a week instead of daily!
Dupont550
April 23, 2022 at 2:20 pm
Tesla not even on the list in your article? Higher amperage, J1772 option available, able to chain them together on the same circuit. Great information in the article, but I think you left one of the best off the list.
Bruce Wayne
April 23, 2022 at 2:35 pm
So is it more beneficial to wire a home in DC than AC? We barely use AC anyway
Jesse Potter
April 23, 2022 at 3:06 pm
If you drive more than a few miles a week, the 120v connector that comes with the car will not be enough. You’ll want at least a NEMA 14-50 connector or just go all the way and get a wall charger setup. I was originally going to just have a 14-50 connector installed, but it was going to cost the same as having an electrician install the wall charger. I paid $500 for the charger and about $1200 for the install. This is south of Atlanta for reference. I also submitted the GA Power rebate of $250 for installing an EV charger, but have yet to see that money after a month.
Mike Shafer
April 23, 2022 at 3:48 pm
The Level 2 is worth it if only because you don’t need to plug in every single night.
sladesurfer
April 23, 2022 at 5:04 pm
I wonder how fast the included charger is, let say in asian countries .The standard wall plug is 220 volt instead of 110 volt in the U.S.
Daniel McGauley
April 24, 2022 at 4:38 am
Weird thing is Tesla isn’t going to be shipping their cars with the ‘charger’ for much longer.
B M
April 24, 2022 at 3:47 pm
Confusing. Showing level 1 whilst taking about level 2 is not OK.
G-Force PC Repair
April 24, 2022 at 5:47 pm
Brian Cooley please never stop making car videos, love the way how u explain things, and ur honest opinion, thanks 😊
Own A Piece Of The Booming Food Delivery Servcice!
April 24, 2022 at 8:13 pm
Gotta love Technology!!
T.J.
April 25, 2022 at 1:28 am
All new cars don’t include these. Need to call out Tesla for the shortsighted move of removing these from standard vehicle load out.
Phat Gunpla Builds etc
April 25, 2022 at 4:03 am
brian makes it so easy to understand the high tech! and btw, i love my level 2 charging! wake up and ready to go!
Alberto Miura
April 25, 2022 at 5:55 am
Could you please do a security video? Is it safe to charge when charger is wet? during rain? what to do and not to do.
Tim Campbell
April 26, 2022 at 5:15 pm
It is safe to charge in the rain. Much of what the EVSE does is keep you safe. When not connected to the car, the high-voltage pins are actually shut off (there is a relay in the EVSE that switches off the power). There are two smaller pins on the J1772 connector and these are used to detect when the car is connected and also tell the car how much load it can safely draw. Once the car is plugged in and the negotiation is completed the EVSE will switch the relay to let the high-voltage power flow.
This means that when you are connecting or disconnecting, the power is actually completely off — no risk to you even in a downpour.
The EVSEs are weather sealed and designed for outdoor use (even outdoor installation of the whole thing). They have a built-in GFCI and would trip off the power immediately if they were to detect any problem.
If you use the “mobile” charger that tends to be included with most EVs, those are also safe to use in the rain and are weather sealed BUT … the ‘brick’ on the mobile charger should not be allowed to lay in a puddle of water. They are weather sealed and getting wet in the rain isn’t a problem — but they should NOT be underwater (they aren’t sealed enough for that.)
Altaaf Ismail
April 26, 2022 at 10:34 am
CNET, we see you…. we see that R1T in the into!
scharkalvin
April 26, 2022 at 2:35 pm
If you know what you’re doing, and have done any electrical work before, you can install the necessary 240 volt outlet yourself. You will have to be able to use a conduit bender, or snake a heavy romex cable to run the line from your breaker panel to the outlet location, and install and wire a new circuit breaker into the panel. You have to be careful here, once you remove the panel cover there is live and deadly current flowing about in the heavy bus bars in the panel! However running the cable from the breaker to the outlet is safe IF you have the new breaker in the OFF position! If you are ‘chicken’, you can throw the main breaker and kill power to your breaker panel while you install the new breaker, but that will leave your entire house dark for the duration.
The outlet you will install will be a three or four prong heavy type typically used to plug in a dryer or electric range, usually rated between 40 and 60 amps. Some oi these outlets are call “crows foot” due to the spacing of the prongs. If you do your own wiring, you might not need to pull a permit, but you DO need to do the wiring per local code.
jay5729
April 26, 2022 at 8:23 pm
2:30 I think this aspect is sadly overlooked in the discussion of EV’s. With a L1 cord you can literally charge an EV anywhere there is a plug. No need to go out of your way to find a gas station, just plug in to any plug and as long as you have time you can charge. I once had to stop and plug in at a sandwich shop to get a couple extra miles to get to work. If I had run out of gas in an ICE car I would have been hoofing it to the closest gas station and back.
Grétar Orri Kristinsson
April 26, 2022 at 11:25 pm
Since CNET has viewers from all over the world you might want to think outside of USA when talking about charging standards and setup. The most common charging connector in Europe is CCS Type 2, even Tesla uses that connector in Europe.
mike coppola
April 27, 2022 at 1:16 am
Good video but 4 key points that should be addressed.
1. Some EV’s come with both the 120 and 240 volt adapters as does the kit provide by Ford as is the case with my Mach-E.
2. Since most electrical panels in today’s homes are in the garage the cost to install a 240 outlet is much less than the estimate given.
3. If the 240 dryer outlet is in reach of your EV’s cable, as is the case for my Mach-E a $35 adapter is available to allow you to use that outlet.
4. Although higher amps allows for faster charging it is much more detrimental to the life of the battery pack than the 15 amp circuit. I use a 120 15 amp outlet and charge at 4 miles per hour. In a 12 hour overnight charge I get at least 48 miles of added range. If I use my 30 amp outlet I get 20 miles of range added per hour. What should also be noted is that you should not charge beyond 90% to conserve battery life.