Why I finally embraced home charging and became a grid-master

I resisted getting a home charger after I bought my electric vehicle in early 2022. I preferred charging my EV with cheap public options over spending thousands of dollars on my own setup.

Nearly three years later, I’ve done a 180.

Let me explain. My resistance to home charging began because public options sprang up in our neighbourhood. There was always a charger available when I needed it, and one was located just a block from my home in Toronto. The price was reasonable.

At the same time, I couldn’t see a financial payoff from installing a home charger.

Ours isn’t an easy layout: We don’t have a garage and our parking spot is located off a back alley, far from our electrical panel. That means running a cable in a sturdy conduit along the side of our house and fence for about 30 metres. It boggled my mind for years.

So what changed?

First, my go-to public charger was taken offline recently because of construction in the area. Then I was hit with a couple of expensive parking tickets while using alternative on-street charging (I blame poor signage).

I began to reconsider the downside of public charging infrastructure. It can take several hours, which means that I would have to arrange a time roughly once a week when I knew the vehicle wouldn’t be needed.

I was also limited to charging during the day. Daytime charging is more expensive, and I was drawing electricity from the grid when demand was high. That’s not ideal if we want to accommodate millions of EVs.

Leaving my car overnight, though cheaper, meant picking it up at some ungodly hour in the morning to avoid tickets or extra charges.

Now, I’m not suggesting that home charging is essential for EV owners. If you rent an apartment or you don’t have a designated parking spot, you can probably do just fine without it. And yeah, the grid will survive.

Apart from on-street charging, malls and parking lots often have charging facilities. Some offices – including my own – offer free charging when you pay for parking, which could make home charging redundant.

Or you might be able to take advantage of fast chargers. These high-voltage beasts, which aren’t suitable for home use, can get the job done in as little as 30 minutes. They are typically located along major highways, but I’ve found them at Canadian Tire locations and they’re just about everywhere in Quebec.

I’ve also spoken with a few people who do just fine plugging their EVs into regular household outlets, or what is known as Level 1 charging. A full charge can easily take a full day or longer, so this approach is best suited to top-ups or vehicles with small batteries.

In my case, I don’t have an accessible outlet for Level 1 charging, nor the patience to charge for days. And I don’t drive to work, so I can’t take advantage of free charging there.

That’s why I bought a Level 2 charger, which uses a 240-volt power source and requires a dedicated circuit, like an electric clothes dryer. It can deliver a full charge overnight or substantial top-ups in a few hours in the evenings, while I’m easing into a pair of slippers.

There are different types of Level 2 chargers. The main division is between smart ones that are WiFi-connected and can offer features such as scheduling and notifications; and “dumb” ones that just deliver the juice.

I chose dumb – a Canadian-made Grizzl-E “Classic” model (the company also offers smart versions), which promises to withstand tough winter weather. For installation, I went with a company called Connectiv, which I found online. They have experience with EVs, and the electrician completed the work in about four hours.

Charging is now cheap-cheap-cheap.

By plugging in after 7 p.m., when electricity rates drop significantly in Toronto, I can get a full charge for $4.40 – or $1.62 if I sign up for the ultralow overnight plan. Either way, that gets me a range of about 400 kilometres in ideal driving conditions.

The cost for using a typical Level 2 public charger in Toronto during the day is about $16, though as low as $6 overnight. The equivalent for filling the gas tank of a car with an internal combustion engine is about $48 when gas costs $1.50 a litre.

Based on my driving habits, which include frequent trips outside the city when I’ll be using public infrastructure, I estimate I’ll save at least $300 a year by charging at home. More if I avoid parking tickets.

I guess there’s also the argument that my charger has added some value to our house, since it is now EV-ready and might appeal to other EV owners if we ever decide to move. It’s a nice thought, if nothing more.

Still, when I factor in the upfront cost of the charger and installation – a combined $3,000 – I’m under no illusion that I’ll break even on my investment any time soon.

What I’m really gaining here is convenience, along with the satisfaction of knowing that my EV is not a burden on our grid. Can I put a price on that? Right now, home charging feels like a million bucks.