Easiest and cheapest is to install the 240v outlet just use the cable that came with the car. I had the 240v outlet installed and have been using the included cable for at least a year. No issues, and it charges at 39amp, about 10% battery charge per hour.

An EV charger on the 240v outlet will charge at about the same as the included cable, and a hardwired EV charger will give you the full 48 amps.

I actually survived on the 120v plug for a few years when I wasn't driving as much.

Rough estimates to add 10% charge
240v @ 38amp - 56 minutes
240v @ 48amp - 48 minutes
120v @ 12amp - 6 hours

 

Thanks so much for this super helpful reply! I feel good about just using the included charger on a 240v outlet.

 

With a garage, a 240v outlet should be fine. If installing a new outlet, you should make sure to get an industrial grade outlet (probably 100-125$ and not a cheap 10-30$ one) and at least a 50amp breaker to get full charging capacity from the included cable. I went with a hardwired separate device because I don't have a garage and I needed something that could stand up to Canadian winters. I'm quite envious of all the garage owners out there.

 

wait a sec: i knew that in the u.s. you just use 120V, and i thought you could use it for everything, even a charger.
why do you need a 240V outlet??

 

You can use a 120v outlet--it will just be VERY, VERY, SLOOWWW. (Max home 120v/15a output to EVSE is around 1.4 kW, whereas you can, if your circuit breaker box can accommodate it, get up to 11 kW, and a few will even get to 19.2 kW. If you have a 120v/20a circuit, you can max out at 1.92 kW, but most portable EVSEs don't have the appropriate plug for that rate (mine does, but I had to pay extra to get it).

In the US and Canada, 240v is a much better option (if it's possible to install). If not, a few more trips to DCFCs than typical will be in order for all but those who do little driving. I could not rely only on a 120v outlet--I drive about 45,000km/yr (about 1000km/week for 30-35 weeks a year).

 

@Jonomite , the other thing you need to consider is the plugging/unplugging from a 240V outlet. It's one story if you intend to leave the charger plugged in, but a whole another story if your intention is to plug/unplug every charging session (from the wall outlet). Those are not geared for such use and might cause electrical issues. When it come to using an EVSE, a hardwired version is better over a plugged one (if you are putting in a charger, you typically will be leaving it plugged in, so there's not much of a point in having a pluggable EVSE over a hardwired one). The other thing to note is that typically 240V outlets are capable of supporting a max of 50A, which means that you can charge you car at best at 40A (recommended continuous load = 80% of rated breaker capacity). If you get a hardwired one, you can go for greater amperages and hence charge your car faster. A 60A charger can output about 10kWh (give or take). What you need to factor in are your typical daily/weekly mileage, the opportunity/time you have to charge your car and then decide with the setup. Personally, I have a hardwired 60A EVSE, even though I do not travel more than 100 miles per week. The state I live in provides a $1000 (max) credit for EVSE install and I wanted to maximize that and future-proof the EVSE.

 

Thanks for this. When you say plugging and unplugging might cause electrical issues, what do you mean exactly? And is it the plug itself that isn't designed for regular plugging and unplugging, or the outlet? My impression after reading the comments here is that as long as I get a high quality outlet, a daily plug/unplug wouldn't be a ln issue.

 

The cheaper outlets are designed for electric ranges and dryers... items that get plugged in once and left alone. Plugging and unplugging with one of them loosens the contacts and the resistance goes up causing overheating and fire danger. If you get the industrial grade outlet that we are recommending, it will stand up to plugging and unplugging. I got the industrial grade outlet but I also got a second Polestar cable from eBay so I leave one plugged in at home and keep one in the trunk of the car.

 

Thanks! What is the part # for the plug you used? I'd like to see if I can procure it on eBay!

 

Does anyone think the few extra apps from a hardwired charger are worth it? It seems like a marginal difference to me, but I don't have the experience to judge it yet. Wallboxes do seem to have some fun bells and whistles, but the Polestar app has the only functionality I think I'd really need.

 

Depends on the room you have on the electric panel for the house

You can get a 60 amp breaker and get 50 amp charging

A 50 amp breaker and get 40 amp charging
A 40 amp breaker and get 32 amp charging

Those are all going to get you basically full overnight

You don't necessarily get more amps because you choose to hardware, depends on the wiring.... But the fastest charging is hard wired only, don't think you can do 50 amp charging on a plug.

 

This may be a bit pedantic but charging at 120v need not be inherently slower than charging at 240v simply because it's a lower voltage. It's all about how much power can be drawn from an outlet, which is measure in Watts or kiloWatts, kW. This is simply calculated as volts x amps.

We don't have 120v circuits in the UK but the same principle applies and while all domestic charging arrangements will be 240v they will charge at different rates. Thus a 'granny charger' designed to plug into a standard 240v outlet will charge at around 10Amps (de-rated from the max 13A for safety reasons whereas a fixed EV charger (like my Zappi) will charge at around 30A, even though both are working with 240v. 240 x 10 = 2400 = 2.4 kW and 240 x 30 = 7200 = 7.2 kW

Thus a 'granny charger' will require about three times as long to deliver the same amount of charge as a fixed EV charger, even though they are both operating at 240v.

If 120v outlets in the US are limited to 15A and 'granny chargers' are similarly de-rated to operate at around 10A then they will only be able to provide a charging rate of around 1.2kW. This is extremely slow and it will take days to fully charge an EV battery, which might be acceptable if the car is only used at weekends but is highly unlikely to be adequate for a daily use vehicle. A 12 hour charge at 1.2kW will only deliver about 14kWh of charge, which even at around 4 miles/kWh is only about 60 miles.

These numbers are not precise because of other factors such as charging losses, ambient temperatures, etc, but they are proportional. I can't imagine a 120v/15A outlet being of much practical use for charging an EV. Better than nothing, but only just!

 

...
If 120v outlets in the US are limited to 15A and 'granny chargers' are similarly de-rated to operate at around 10A then they will only be able to provide a charging rate of around 1.2kW. ...

As far as I know, all 110/120V items that fit a 15am outlet draw max of 12 amps continuous, so it is a bit higher. So if you can add even a basic 30 amp 22 line and set the car for 24amp, you end up 4x as fast charging. I did that for about 8 months, and it is fine. But I now wired a 50 amp circuit and charge at the full 40amps the polestar cable can do for both my cars. And yes I used the cheaper range style outlet for a couple reasons including how it mounts. It isn't like you ever need to unplug the charger so no wear on the connectors anyway. If/when I get rid of this P2 (hopefully very soon, when they finally make my new Dodge Charger Daytona Scat Pack Stage 2) I will probably remove the outlet and hardwire in a wallbox.
One other option IF you have a dedicated 110 - 12 gauge line to a single outlet, so technically able to handle 20 amp peak, it can safely be rewired to 220v and you can safely draw 16 amps. This gives you 2.67 times faster charging for minimal expense. Or running that line new is MUCH cheaper than running everything for 50 amps. BUT I wouldn't recommend it, unless you already have that line, or wiring laying around already. You can get a matching adapter for the Polestar cable for that outlet.
I think it is this one, but don't quote me.

 

I would recommend splurging for a hardwired EVSE in the garage, especially if you're not planning to move from that house anytime soon. It's so much nicer an experience to juts come home, grab a cable from the wall and plug it in...

You don't need to go nuts on speed; like it may be a lot more to do a 60 amp circuit (which can max out the car's capability) than a 40 or 50 amp circuit, so a 50 amp is probably good enough. And if you hardwire you'll save money on both the plug and the charger. I'd also recommend something like a ChargePoint Home Flex where they sell a Tesla conversion kit if you get a car down the road that has the NACS style plug you won't need an adapter or to replace the charger.

Another big advantage of hardwire is you don't need a GFCI breaker which are really expensive and can cause nuisance trips. (According to most EVSE manufacturers.)

 

@Jonomite , there are answers to your question above already, but want to reiterate that the decision is personal. If YOU believe that it's worth getting a hardwired EVESE, go for it. If not, use the provided charger. Laying out my personal choice here. I will be living in my house at least for the next 10 years, and it was worth my time/effort/money to have the 60A EVSE installed. This enables me to charge at 10/11kWh which is very close to the max the P*2 can accommodate (11.9kW). When our ICE car dies, we will be getting another EV, so having the ability to quickly charge a car using the max we can afford (and our electric panel can support) makes it worthwhile for us. As mentioned, your daily/weekly mileage, your driving habits (on-the-spur decision to go on a longer drive etc.,), cost of electricity, any subsidies/grants provided by your local government, the time you have available to charge your car, the number of electric cars in your family, the likelihood of friends/guests coming over for a weekend and wanting to charge their EVs, the cost tiers of electricity (lower in off-peak) etc., are SOME of the factors to be considered and make a decision

 

Have been using the supplied charging cable with a cheap 240 outlet for a year now with no problems. I do leave it plugged in to the outlet, only removing it for a rare trip to our mountain place. Easily gets me back to 90% overnight from around 20% set at 32 amps.

 

Also, check for any state/local incentives. There are a lot of them, but somehow nothing ever applies to me, EVER.

 

As I mentioned before (in some other thread) - the car will have a fixed power draw while it is 'on' during charging, probably around 200-300W. So that waste/overhead will get worse the slower you charge. E.g. 120/12A -> 1,440W, effectively 1,240W, so only 86% efficiency. 240/40A -> 9,600W, effectively 9,400W, so 98% efficiency.

Not sure about the exact overhead power draw, this is from Tesla experience.

 

My 120 is consistently at 13 amps. Our state, Chicago restarts our rebates Jan 1st. Our rebates are steep and well worth the wait. Will live with the slow charger till then. Since I don't drive daily and have many free level 2 around me it's just not a problem. I just don't go very low either so I can get back up to 80/90 usually overnight or maybe sometimes in like 12-15 hours.

Also as stated above I would use an industrial Nema like Hubble or Bryant. Think Bryant is made by Hubble actually.

 

Also check into the federal tax credit: Alternative Fuel Vehicle Refueling Property Credit (Section 30C), which provides a tax credit for 30% of the cost of purchasing and installing an EV charger at your home, up to a maximum of $1,000. There are some restrictions on location (non-urban), but unlike most state and utility rebates, it covers the wiring and other related upgrades as well.

 

Nice explanation and yes Hubble bought Bryant.

 

Also just learned that the Nema should also have 75 pound torque on them. Some cheaper Hubble and Cooper have 25 pound torque so like the cheap Leviton at the big box stores.

 

Thank you everyone for the very helpful replies and great discussion! Just to let folks know, I decided to change course from my original response and ended up getting an emporia wallbox charger and plan to hardwire to a 60amp circuit. Should have it all installed next week. Looking forward to some faster home charging.

 

I think you've made the right decision. FWIW, I did a long journey yesterday and ended up with 30% battery remaining. I was away from home so used my 'granny charger' to charge the car. In the UK this runs at 240v at 10A, about 2.4kW.

It took 19 and a bit hours to charge from 30% to 80%

 

So here's another question for this extremely knowledgeable group of folks! For people who use a wall charger, do you use the charger's app to control things like schedule, charge limit, amperage, etc. or do you use the Polestar app for that? I feel like there's effectively no difference, but curious for others' thoughts.

 

In my case, my electricity provider offers an 'intelligent' low-cost tariff which guarantees a fixed 6 hours of low-cost electricity from 11:30pm to 5:30am but also additional periods of low-cost electricity when demand is low or renewable generation is very high. It can remotely control my charger and switch it on/off whenever the electricity is low-rate, hence it being called an 'intelligent' tariff, the idea being that I simply plug-in the car (with no car timer set) and it will only be charged with low-cost electricity, regardless of the time of day.

However, in practice, I still use the car timer to limit charging between 11:30pm and 5:30am because I also have a home battery which is set to also charge during that same period. If I allow the car to be charged outside of those hours then the home battery will be used to charge the car, which is a bit pointless really. What I really need to do is figure out how to stop the home battery discharging during periods of low-cost electricity, but that's a work in progress.

What I'm basically saying is that there are various ways of controlling a mix of home chargers, the car itself and any other stuff such as home batteries and solar panels and the best solution will depend on your own personal circumstances and requirements. if it's just a case of a home charger and EV then I'd say you're correct to say there is basically no difference between controlling charging via the charger app or the car timer, so just use whatever app you prefer.

 

You can do either…. But I use the wall box because I want the Polestar to charge all the time when I’m away from home. The schedule in the car isn’t location based so it might prevent you from charging if you plug in during the day at a free charger somewhere.

 

There's one advantage of the Tesla implementation here, as the charging schedule links to the location, so it would only limit home charging to e.g. midnight to 6am. Fortunately I could program my J1772 Tesla wall connector to limit charging hours.

 

My charging station doesn't have any apps (it's a "dumb charger"). So I used the limited in-car programming in my Prius Prime and will likely use the Polestar itself as well. However, I have a very irregular schedule, so I never set repeating charging times on my Prius. It's easily done. Hope it's as simple on the Polestar.

 

Scheduling is only for AC charging, level 3 charging will work normally

It's pretty rare for me to level 2 charge away from home

 

Scheduling is only for AC charging, level 3 charging will work normally

It's pretty rare for me to level 2 charge away from home

Correct, but for me it doesn't help as I mostly use level 2 charging away from home, as I can charge near my office (which is too far without charging). On the other hand, when going on a road trip it would be pretty simple to just disable timed charging when leaving for the trip.

 

Greetings, all! I am writing with a brief update and question.

I had my wall charger installed today on a 60A circuit. It's an emporia charger that is hardwired with a junction box. The new charging speed is quite the upgrade over a 120v wall socket. 😁 I have noticed though that I am only getting up to 46A out of the max 48A charging speed. Any thoughts on why it doesn't seem to be going to 48? Could the time of day be a factor? I've been experimenting during the late afternoon.

 

Greetings, all! I am writing with a brief update and question.

I had my wall charger installed today on a 60A circuit. It's an emporia charger that is hardwired with a junction box. The new charging speed is quite the upgrade over a 120v wall socket. 😁 I have noticed though that I am only getting up to 46A out of the max 48A charging speed. Any thoughts on why it doesn't seem to be going to 48? Could the time of day be a factor? I've been experimenting during the late afternoon.

I've got a (Tesla) wall charger that is set to 40A, which charged at 40A with my Tesla, however the Polestar draws 38A. Unclear if it is trying to display the actual current going into the battery (i.e. excluding overhead) or if it just limits the current to a few amps below the maximum.

Anyway if you're getting 46A I wouldn't worry about it, it will only be marginally slower than 48A, in particular doesn't matter when charging overnight.

 

...The new charging speed is quite the upgrade over a 120v wall socket. 😁 ...

You got that right!

... I have noticed though that I am only getting up to 46A out of the max 48A charging speed. ...

For whatever reason, I see that on ANY charge current I select. I can only go to 40 max, and it always seems to show 1 or 2 amps less.
MAYBE, The car is showing what is going in the battery, at the current , uh, current. So youare seeing the loss in the AC to DC conversion? (This is a reach I know, but what the heck, maybe)

 

You got that right!

For whatever reason, I see that on ANY charge current I select. I can only go to 40 max, and it always seems to show 1 or 2 amps less.
MAYBE, The car is showing what is going in the battery, at the current , uh, current. So youare seeing the loss in the AC to DC conversion? (This is a reach I know, but what the heck, maybe)

There would be losses in the conversion but also in wiring and also power drawn to power other components like the cooling system and DC charger to power 12v system. A few hundred watts seems reasonable?

 

I thought this was normal that the car /chargers were supposed to be under the top charge it can do as a default so you don't and blow your charger or circuit? Maybe I am not thinking correctly. Like a safety default

 

The charging station, if properly installed, cannot draw more than 80% of the total amperage rating of the breaker to which it is assigned. So a 40 amp breaker allows a max of 32 amps to the charging station (and so on with all proportional power levels). It seems the Polestar, on the dash, shows the power that is entering the battery from an AC circuit AFTER the unavoidable losses along the cable and elsewhere in the car rather than showing the amount leaving the charging station BEFORE it is distributed to the battery (ie, before losses). As I understand from the various points made in this forum, the losses appear to be consistently around 2 amps—nothing huge, but certainly measurable.