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Coming Soon to Best Buy: Electric Car Home Charging Stations

 
3,500 views Jan 7, 2011
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2012 Ford Focus Electric

2012 Ford Focus Electric

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Until recently, getting Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE) installed in your home required you to go directly to the manufacturers of the equipment, or buy direct from your electric car dealer. 

But in a deal announced today at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show, Ford and Best Buy announced that they were revolutionising the way electric car owners shopped for their EVSE. 

Coinciding with the unveiling of Ford’s 2012 Focus Electric, the Level 2 240-volt Ford-branded home charging station will be capable of providing up to 32-amps of current, providing the Ford Focus Electric with the full 6.6-kilowatts it needs to fully charge in under 4 hours. 

Available shortly at 1,200 Best Buys nationwide and through Best Buy’s website, the home charging stations will retail for around $1,499, including installation.  

2012 Ford Focus Electric

2012 Ford Focus Electric

Enlarge Photo

Installation will be handled by Best Buy’s very own Geek Squad, who are no strangers to electric cars.  Geek Squad technicians will visit customer’s homes to carry out an electrical audit to ensure the home is capable of providing the necessary power to the EVSE.  

If suitable, they will then schedule an electrician to visit the customer’s home to install the unit, carrying out all necessary tests and paperwork to make the unit legal. 

But the unit won’t be hard-wired into consumers’ homes. Instead, it will plug into a 240-volt outlet, allowing the owner to upgrade or move the unit if they need to.  

Not only does this move lower the installation costs, but it makes it easier for those who rent a home to own an electric car without unnecessary modifications to their home. 

The move is designed to make consumers more at ease with electric cars and electric car charging technology. 

2012 Ford Focus Electric

2012 Ford Focus Electric

Enlarge Photo

Mike Tinskey, manager of vehicle electrification and infrastructure at Ford Motor Company, explained the decision to sell EVSE in an electronics store rather than a car dealership. 

“With fast charge times, low pricing and a user-friendly design, the 240-volt home charge station will be on the shopping list of most Focus Electric buyers. By working with Best Buy to offer the charging station installation service solution, Ford is providing electric vehicle customers a familiar, trusted source to turn to for their installation needs”

While Ford’s EVSE may be designed to work with the 2012 Ford Focus Electric, we can’t help but wonder how many 2011 Nissan LEAF and 2011 Chevrolet Volt owners will take advantage of its non-permanent design, portability and cost.

Ford has already shown that it has the 2011 Nissan LEAF in its sights and plans to beat the world’s first mass-produced electric car in many key areas. But now it looks as if Ford and Best Buy may win in the electric vehicle home charging station war too. 

[Ford] [Best Buy]

 





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Comments (14)

  1. By  Kevin Sharpe Posted: 1/7/2011 11:38am PST

    At last we get below $1,500 including installation. The next challenge is to get below $500.... this time next year?
     
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  2. By  Gav Posted: 1/7/2011 12:14pm PST

    New Zealand's standard 240v sockets can draw a maximum of 2.4 kW, and England's can pump out 3.1 kW.
    I'm curious how they'll get 6.6 kW out of a standard 240v socket without turning the house into a Christmas tree. I didn't know the USA had 240v outlets - if so, what's the amp rating on those?
    Ugh. Another Wrong ReCaptca. Well it looked like "Gramm. Perirur" to me.
     
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  3. fb_535830066 avatar Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield Posted: 1/7/2011 12:44pm PST

    Gav, in the U.S. I think we're talking about drier sockets here. Generally they're capable of the 32A needed.
    You're quite right - we use lower power in NZ and the U.K. However, I do have a 32A socket on the outside of my home as well as a 16A socket. Both are for EV charging.
     
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  4. By Rick Posted: 1/7/2011 12:48pm PST

    lemme get this straight, I need the services of geeksquad and an electrician to put a plug into a socket.
     
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  5. By James Posted: 1/7/2011 1:40pm PST

    Wow..this was a smart move. I like the idea of just having a 32A socket and your good to go. Also, you can take the charger when you move. Our laundry room is attached to the garage. I can just unplug the dryer and plug in the car charger. We typicaly only use the dryer on the weekends.
     
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  6. By Dennis Posted: 1/7/2011 3:22pm PST

    Hello Gav,
    Most homes built in Canada and the USA since the 1970's have 240V, 200 amp electrical service. This is accomplished by the utility running 2 120V, and 1 neutral lines to the consumers house. The 240V is obtained by using both 120V feeds and the neutral. I have an electric stove that is on a 240V, 50 amp circuit breaker. The socket for this is quit large, about 7 inches by 4 inches. Most all other house loads are on 120V, 15 or 20 amp circuits.
    I am looking looking forward to getting an electric car someday, but I cannot see paying over a few hundred dollars to have what amounts to an intelligent box installed.
     
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  7. By Paul Scott Posted: 1/7/2011 4:27pm PST

    This is similar to the Leviton concept of running a 40A circuit for a 240V outlet to where you want the charge station, then just mounting the station on the wall adjacent to the plug and you're done. Removal when you leave that house is easy and the plug is available for the next tenant with an EV.
    I wonder who makes the box. The Ford branding is a good idea, but will look funny charging a Volt:~).
     
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  8. By daveinolywa Posted: 1/8/2011 10:03am PST

    cut it down to $700 and i am in, otherwise i will continue with my 110 volt
     
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  9. fb_1001015277 avatar John Briggs Posted: 1/9/2011 8:44am PST

    Gav,
    All the houses do have 240 V service, but there really isn't a standard plug. There is one plug for a 20A, another plug for a 30A, etc. The strange plugs are designed so that you don't try to pull 30A out of a 20A socket.
    Personally, I have more confidence in my electrician than anyone at GeekSquad.
    John C. Briggs
     
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  10. By Matt Posted: 1/10/2011 10:41am PST

    Just sell the charger without installation costs already. I don't trust the idiot electricians in my area and I definitely don't trust the idiots at geek squad to "help" with the installation.
     
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  11. By steved28 Posted: 1/10/2011 12:35pm PST

    I thought I read were some Leaf owners were allowed to purchase the charging station only (no install) for under a grand. I am with Matt, if I can't install it myself, I won't buy it.
     
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  12. fb_550541923 avatar Neil Carmichael Posted: 1/11/2011 12:50am PST

    @Paul Scott, if you look at the bottom right of the box you'll see the Leviton logo, so I guess they are the makers of it.
    Wiring out to socket first is a really good idea and I know electricians will find it more comfortable way to work.
     
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  13. By JM in San Diego Posted: 2/8/2011 11:27am PST

    My garage used to have a 240v outlet but -- here's the rub -- I had a licensed electrician put in a sub-panel for my workbench and ham radio equipment using the 240v feeder. (Our clothes dryer uses the more-economical gas.)
    Net result: I'm not plug-and-play, anymore. Furthermore, the breaker panel is not in the garage, so installing a new 240 line from the far side of the house would be significant, possibly including trenching to my detached garage. I'm sure, when my house was built in the 1960's, they weren't thinking about 32 amps for charging the electric car.
    Plus, I think that feeder was rated for 30 amps
     
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  14. By SMG Posted: 4/9/2011 8:13pm PDT

    The Smart Car for two has come out with an electric car. Does anyone know if this charging station will be able to be used on the Smart car?
     
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