When Jay Leno wanted a 240-volt charging station for his new Chevrolet Volt, he turned to a neighbor, Monrovia, California-based AeroVironment, a company with a long history of environmental innovation, including building ultra-light aircraft and the prototype of the General Motors EV1.
“I thought it would be a big boxy thing, but it’s actually OK—it doesn’t take up a lot of space on the wall,” Leno said to Kristen Helsel, AeroVironment’s director of EV Services. Leno likes the AeroVironment charger because “We try to do American-made stuff here,” and the round, nicely designed EVSE-RS is built in the U.S.A.
AeroVironment has been in the EV space longer than most, and its reputation is likely one reason that both BMW (for the ActiveE based on the 1-Series Coupe) and Nissan (for the LEAF) are installing its chargers.
AeroVironment’s EVSE costs approximately $2,200 installed, though there are a lot of variables and that's just a ballpark. Pricing varies, but if you buy the hardware from Nissan as part of a bundled charging package that includes installation and a three-year parts and labor warranty, it’s $721.12. Buy your LEAF charger instead on a “cash and carry” basis and it’s $995 (with the warranty covering parts only). In an interview, Helsel compared this to buying a combo meal at McDonald’s—the individual menu items are cheaper that way.
BMW’s ActiveE-branded charger hasn’t been priced yet. If you don’t have either of those cars, you can buy the same charger with an AV brand name on it for $1,140.
The EVSE-RS is very simple to operate. Of course, it uses the Society of Automotive Engineers’ standard J1772 connector. It can be mounted on a wall or on an optional pedestal. Its output is 30 amps maximum, and it can recharge the plug-in hybrid Volt in just two or three hours (eight hours for the LEAF or a similar battery car).
You can plug in when it’s raining (and install it outdoors), and it shuts off automatically when the car is recharged. It will restart after a power outage. To cut charging short, hit the “stop” button and unplug the unit. Lights on the unit tell you it is ready for action, that a vehicle is connected, and that charging is underway. If there’s trouble, another light blinks, and the blink rate is a code that can tell you what’s wrong.
The Smart One
EVSE-RS+ is the “smart” version of the charger, with the ability to interact with the grid and charge only during low-demand times. You can program it yourself around a work schedule, or it can be calibrated by your utility to start charging when rates go down. AeroVironment says it can turn your home into a “grid-connected smart charging hub.” Nissan sells the standard non-smart version of the charger because its on-board telematics incorporate many of the same smart features. The RS+ adds several hundred dollars to the bottom line.
One of AeroVironment’s selling points is that it coordinates the installation and doesn’t disappear after the sale. AeroVironment has an online scheduler that helps you set up a site assessment, and after the company-approved technician comes by you’ll receive an emailed quote, which greatly depends on the electrical service to your house and where it’s located.
When your appointment date comes up, remember to turn off the alarm, secure pets and remove “any fragile items that may be in the path of the installation.” AeroVironment also approves installers, and those people will also help you set up the municipal inspection necessary before you can use the charger. There’s also post-installation help.
Why Them?
So, when all is said and done, why buy AV’s charger instead of one from rivals Coulomb or Clipper Creek? Helsel was ready with an answer. “We’ve been known for the high quality of our electrical equipment, not for a week, not for a year, but for 20 years,” she said. “We have the best-priced EVSE on the market, with a world-class warranty, and service verifying a perfect installation for the customer. BMW and Nissan aligned with us because they know they’ll never have to worry about the quality of the installation.” And maybe that applies to retail customers, too.
Now if we can see the same high quality in their fast charging stations soon to be installed in various locations in Washington and Oregon state we won't have to worry about the new technology. Aeroviornment has done good work for a lot of years in this space.