Mon May 15, 2017 10:35 am
Ansibe - you can look at the installation two ways.
One way, you have found an electrician who I assume you are happy with and comes well recommended. If he has experience installing EVSE or car charging stations, buying that whole package from him is a good thing to do. It is certainly the most prudent. He knows how to install what he sells and stands behind the installation.
The other way, and many here would recommend this, there are a lot of other charging stations available for a lot less money - somewhere in that $600 to $300 range. Have the electrician install a NEMA 14-50 outlet and buy a charger with that plug on the other end. You have now actually installed a fairly universal charging station. If you have some mechanical ability and aren't afraid of connecting a 240 Volt 50 Amp wires to the charging station, you could buy one that is a permanent install in your home.
There are good solid reasons for going either way. Buying a charging station on your own might not necessarily save you a lot of money. If you want the hardwired route, and you don't want to risk doing the connection yourself, your electrician might charge you a couple hundred to figure it out and install it. So if you bought a $500 charger, and $200 for installation - that's $700. I'd say the $1,000 deal is not a bad way to go, and just have the guy do the job.
And one thing to not forget - if your community has rebates for installing electric car charging stations - the ONLY thing that qualifies is a full blown charging station hardwired. You can't get a rebate for a 14-50 outlet - they will deny that portion of the cost. At least that's how it worked in Illinois when they had a rebate (actually a really huge rebate, around 50% of the full installation cost).
I personally paid an electrician to do everything. And oddly, he charged $1,000 for the GE WattStation. That was 3 years ago, and the price might be cheaper today. And I could have potentially saved some money. In the big picture, it wasn't worth the hassle (I had an extremely involved install that was far more expensive than what you are paying).
2014 Platinum White FFE (Turning in mid Dec. 2016 25,000 miles)
2013 Ingot Silver FFE
2012 Titanium ICE Focus
2014 Tesla Model S 85