roundpeg said:
Thanks for the detailed answer! Let me see if I understand:
1. Even with the Fast DC charging option, a Bolt driver isn't going to find many Fast DC charging options on the road because most of these charging stations are not CCS compatible? Does this make buying the Bolt's Fast DC charging option pretty much a waste of money?
2. The cord that comes with the Bolt will be for a 120v wall outlet only? You would need to buy an aftermarket cable for 240v? Do you need another for the road?
First, some vocabulary... the way most people use it in the U.S. (technically, not 100% correct, but people often say it this way) :
* level-1 charging : charging from a 110/120V plug (generally, but not always, at home). Provides a 900-1400 watt charge, overnight 9-14 kWh.
* level-2 charging : charging from 208-240V. Most (but not all) public charging stations are these. Generally provides a 3.6-7.2 kW charge. (This depends both on the station and the vehicle - for eample, some cars will only charge at 3.3kW even if more current is available). So charging for 2 hours at a level-2 station which is providing electricity at a rate of 7 kW would give you about 14 kWh. (Not all of that would end up in the battery as there is some some loss, but let's not nit-pick.)
* DCFC : also called fast charging. In the U.S., the car will need a fast-charge port (different from, or added onto, the level-2 port) ; CHAdeMO (Japanese) and CCS/Combo/SAE (most other cars). (Teslas use a third type, but I won't go into that.)
* to be technically correct, the thing you (generally) plug into your car is an EVSE, not a 'charger' (except for DCFC, which
are chargers) - but most people say 'charger' to mean an EVSE. The EVSE provides current to the charger that is in the car, and the charger (in the car) determines the max charging rate for your vehicle. DCFCs by-pass the on-board charger and are full chargers themselves and provide current directly to the battery.
Now, concerning your questions:
1) If you have DCFC on your Bolt, you will have the CCS/Combo/SAE receptacle. Although there are currently more CHAdeMO chargers in the U.S. (due to the early popularity of the LEAF), there are still a lot of CCS chargers. Most new DCFCs being installed are 'multi-standard' chargers that have both CHAdeMO *and* CCS plugs, so they can charge almost any vehicle (not addressing Teslas here). There
are some CCS-only chargers being installed these days, but they tend to be lower-charge-rate (24 kW or less, compared to the 45-50 kW 'full' DCFCs). There are very, very few CHAdeMO-only chargers being installed in North America these days (most of them at Japanese auto dealerships). To put it a lot more simply - there are a LOT of DCFCs with CCS plugs (well, depending on where you live). If you live in an area which mandated low- or no- emission vehicles, (e.g., battery electrics) then you probably have a reasonable # of DCFCs available. The Western and Eastern coasts are where a lot of the DCFCs are at the moment (N of Virginia, at any rate). You really want to use PlugShare (either plugshare.com, or download their smartphone app). You can see a map with just CCS DCFCs by setting the 'filter' parameters. Repeat : you really, really want to use plugshare to FIND the stations. The different charging companies/networks also have their own apps that will show you which stations are
available (currently being used or not, broken or not, etc.) : EVgo, ChargePoint, Blink, and Aeroironment, SemaCharge, Greenlots, etc. Personally, I think that the DCFC option is very, very useful. If you EVER think you'll drive the car more than 200 miles in one trip, you will want a DCFC. That includes a round-trip of 100 miles someplace, and back in the same day (although you could argue that a level-2 charge for 2 hours would get you home, I think the DCFC offers peace of mind).
2. The cord that comes with the Bolt will be for a 120v wall outlet only? You would need to buy an aftermarket cable for 240v? Do you need another for the road?
Well, I don't KNOW what they will deliver with the Bolt, but most car companies deliver a 110/220V EVSE with the car, so I would expect GM to do the same. If you want faster charging, then you would want to buy a 240V level-2 EVSE. There is a company that makes an automatic-sensing 110-240V EVSE, so you get a faster charge if you have 220V available, but can still use it to charge with a 110V socket. (The TurboCord, already mentioned.) Unfortunately, it uses a weird-ass plug that you probably won't find (for 240V charging), so you'll need an adapter - and maybe even several if you want to use it on the road. (Yes, the NEMA 6-20 plug is a 'standard', but I don't think many homes have them - you'll need an adapter cable.) If you want a 240V (level-2) EVSE at home, you can get either a plug version or a hard-wired version. If your house was built over 25 years ago, there's a good chance you'll need electrical modifications to get a 'modern' receptical in the garage (and you may want an adapter cable in any case for on-the-road use). You'll need to go look in the garage and see what sort of receptacle(s) you have available. Look here for North American standards : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NEMA_connector#NEMA_nomenclature
). I don't have a level-2 charger at my home and have never had a problem. I charge it overnight - 12 hours @ 1.4kW is generally enough to MORE than give me enough miles for the coming day trip. On those occasions when I drive further than 60 miles, I either :
