[ozzied]

I know this topic has been covered in different ways in different threads and I apologize in advance if it covers well-worn territory. Trying to decide on whether to proceed with the installation of a blink system (220 power) thru SPX. Actually I think their quote is pretty reasonable - $800 installation after the $400 credit and some bargaining which brought it down another $300 from $1100. Not a terrific price but not highway robbery either. I am not going to denigrate the folks at SPX or the electrician - they have been pleasant to deal with.

I live in Northern Virginia and have NOVEC and I am not totally sure right now about their tiered power rates - need to research. But I currently have a two year lease and I may or may not buy another vehicle which would benefit from the system. If I did not spend the $800 on blink, that would be about 200 gallons of gas that I could buy or 8,000 gas miles.

If I had the charger instead, to "break even" for the 8000 gas miles, the charger would have to make me more efficient by 11 miles a day (=8000/24/30)--that is the quicker charging ability would allow me to do more than 11 miles than I would with a slower charging ability. I could see this being the case on the weekends but not so much on the weekdays. I suppose then it may come down to whether tiered power charges would make it cheaper for me to charge?

Are there any other pieces of the equation I am missing? For those with 24 month leases, what would you consider the breakeven point for your decision to install a blink?


Thanks for thoughts!

Dave

 

[gaulfinger]

I spent about $750 for mine after all the discounts. The ROI is two-fold. There are days when the fast charge allows me to get back on the road gas-free that would have turned into a gallon or two of gas. But the other ROI is the piece of mind that I can keep the 120V unit in the trunk as a spare or when traveling.

 

[drbruns]

Go with the level 2. After driving a Volt for 2 years I would be surprised if you went back to an ICE vehicle.

 

[jfkirk]

Check out the thread on the Blink... some folks are not happy with the unit after install. Wifi issues can be avoided with a simple stand alone Level 2.

 

[grand enigma]

I live in an area where we have hot summers and cold winters, I bought my L2 charger largely to precondition the car and to allow it to run the TMS when baking in the sun or freezing during the winter. A fringe benefit for me has also been I can take a trip in the morning and do so again a few hours later without having to use gas.

 

[DonC]

A 240v charger is great. I'm not sure you need two of them even if you had two EVs, but one of them is fantastic. If nothing else, if one EVSE fails you have a backup.

 

[JamesMcQuaid]

We have had numerous and repeated problems with Blink's hardware and software updates. The unit has been unusable for weeks due to a software update they pushed out knowing it was bad. I would avoid them like the plague. Our Clipper Creek has never had any downtown, and we love it.

 

[cab]

In my case, my Blink is unlikely to ever pay for itself during my 3 year lease - much like the articles denigrating the Volt because of its $50K "development" costs per Volt. However, after test driving a Volt a few times (prior to purchase) I knew EVs one one type or another were the future and figured an L2 charger would likely be needed for later vehicle purchases - thus I'm amortizing that up front investment past my initial ownership (hey, just like the development of the Volt). The Blink's reliability is, admittedly, a question but under the Ecotality program there is at least some kind of warranty.