Enphase introduces new EV Charger with J1772 - charges $1,176 for 64A version

[CodemanCMC]

EV chargers for home | Enphase

enphase.com

IQ 80 EV Charger (Hardwired, 64 A) | Enphase

The IQ 80 EV Charger is a smart Level 2 station that integrates with the Enphase Energy System and allows you to charge with solar. It has a 25 ft cable, an all-weather enclosure, and a 5-year warranty.

enphase.com

No word on bi-directionality (won't matter for us older Tesla owners) but how about the decision to stick to J1772 as opposed to NACS?

My Tesla Wall Charger happily charges at 48A (for headroom) 31mi/hr both my MS and my Rivian R1T and costs only $475.

I have an Enphase system, but this product seems like a huge miss...

 

[Rocky_H]

but how about the decision to stick to J1772 as opposed to NACS?

I have an Enphase system, but this product seems like a huge miss...

I don't think so at all. Nearly 100% of all electric cars in North America that are not Tesla still have the J1772 port on the cars. If people have a Tesla, then they will likely just get a Tesla wall connector anyway so that's not their market. If they have anything else, a J1772 plug is still the better, easier, more convenient product to get. Enphase is intelligently addressing the needs of the market.

 

[davewill]

Plus, they can come out with a model that has an NACS connector pretty much any time they want. It's only a change in cable. There's also some older S and X owners whose cars can charge at greater than 48a who might appreciate a higher powered choice (which Tesla doesn't offer).

 

[CodemanCMC]

Plus, they can come out with a model that has an NACS connector pretty much any time they want. It's only a change in cable. There's also some older S and X owners whose cars can charge at greater than 48a who might appreciate a higher powered choice (which Tesla doesn't offer).

True, but since NACS and CCS can be adapted to each other so readily on level 2 charging why default to the (now) defunct CCS and expect all future cars to need a $70 adapter or cable retrofit instead of the more future-proof NACS connector, and at nearly *triple* the price of a Tesla Wall Charger. CCS is now the USB-A of connectors.

 

[Supcom]

True, but since NACS and CCS can be adapted to each other so readily on level 2 charging why default to the (now) defunct CCS and expect all future cars to need a $70 adapter or cable retrofit instead of the more future-proof NACS connector, and at nearly *triple* the price of a Tesla Wall Charger. CCS is now the USB-A of connectors.

Perhaps the company already had this unit designed and in production before the NACS adoption was announced. It takes time to implement a design change, even one that seems simple. New parts have to be sourced and evaluated, engineering revised, including manufacturing processes. Even the packaging of the product may need to be redesigned to accommodate a different connector. The pipeline for implementing a design change can be many months.

 

[davewill]

.... CCS is now the USB-A of connectors.

Which is still ubiquitous in the industry.

 

[Rocky_H]

why default to the (now) defunct CCS

It's not defunct, and it's not CCS. It's J1772, since it's a home level 2 station.

and expect all future cars to need a $70 adapter or cable retrofit instead of the more future-proof NACS connector,

You're talking about it like you think the cars in people's garages are going to suddenly just convert themselves to NACS ports in 2025. I assure you they will not. People will be buying cars that have J1772 ports on them for another two years yet, and then those existing cars WILL STAY with those ports for another 10+ years or however long people keep the cars. Why would people intentionally buy a kind of station that doesn't fit the car in their garage and have to use an adapter for another decade or more?

and at nearly *triple* the price of a Tesla Wall Charger.

That's the thing Tesla has going for them. They have been the leader in price/value for level 2 charging equipment for a long time now.

 

[CodemanCMC]

It's not defunct, and it's not CCS. It's J1772, since it's a home level 2 station.


You're talking about it like you think the cars in people's garages are going to suddenly just convert themselves to NACS ports in 2025. I assure you they will not. People will be buying cars that have J1772 ports on them for another two years yet, and then those existing cars WILL STAY with those ports for another 10+ years or however long people keep the cars. Why would people intentionally buy a kind of station that doesn't fit the car in their garage and have to use an adapter for another decade or more?


That's the thing Tesla has going for them. They have been the leader in price/value for level 2 charging equipment for a long time now.

Solid points. The discussion has helped me condense my opinion on it to “Tesla’s is cheaper and equally good or better in every other way, adapter or no” which makes this product, at this time, a miss. My R1T has a J1772 connector and I use my Wall Charger with an adapter. Seems like a better option even for those without Teslas now that Tesla has (finally) opened the app to non Tesla owners (though app is definitely not required for Wall Charging in any case).

 

[Big Earl]

It's not defunct, and it's not CCS. It's J1772, since it's a home level 2 station.


You're talking about it like you think the cars in people's garages are going to suddenly just convert themselves to NACS ports in 2025. I assure you they will not. People will be buying cars that have J1772 ports on them for another two years yet, and then those existing cars WILL STAY with those ports for another 10+ years or however long people keep the cars. Why would people intentionally buy a kind of station that doesn't fit the car in their garage and have to use an adapter for another decade or more?


That's the thing Tesla has going for them. They have been the leader in price/value for level 2 charging equipment for a long time now.

Solution: Tesla Universal Wall Connector with built-in J-1772 adapter. $595

 

[SalisburySam]

I’ve used my now 12-year-old 32amp AeroVironment dumb EVSE to fill the tanks on my (recently sold) 2012 Nissan LEAF, existing 2018 Model 3, and our current 2023 Ioniq5. Its J1772 connector nozzle has done yeoman’s work for all three vehicles for over a decade and I expect it to perform as such for many years to come given that the Model 3 and Ioniq5 are in for the long haul, whatever amount of years that is.

It will be some years before the adoption of NACS has an effect on me and J1772 is the current (ha, ha) solution besting anything else. After NACS full adoption, and after I’ve changed to NACS-equipped vehicles, THEN I’d consider a newer EVSE of whatever seems to fit at that time.

I’m certainly not going to upgrade to the expensive Enphase device just to upgrade, but if my EVSE dies it could very well be a multi-year option. I don’t think I’m alone.

 

[davewill]

I’ve used my now 12-year-old 32amp AeroVironment dumb EVSE to fill the tanks on my (recently sold) 2012 Nissan LEAF, existing 2018 Model 3, and our current 2023 Ioniq5. Its J1772 connector nozzle has done yeoman’s work for all three vehicles for over a decade and I expect it to perform as such for many years to come given that the Model 3 and Ioniq5 are in for the long haul, whatever amount of years that is.

It will be some years before the adoption of NACS has an effect on me and J1772 is the current (ha, ha) solution besting anything else. After NACS full adoption, and after I’ve changed to NACS-equipped vehicles, THEN I’d consider a newer EVSE of whatever seems to fit at that time.

I’m certainly not going to upgrade to the expensive Enphase device just to upgrade, but if my EVSE dies it could very well be a multi-year option. I don’t think I’m alone.

Yes, those Yazaki J1772 connectors are built like battleships, and I think they may last forever.

I'm in the same boat, my Blink EVSE (with retrofitted Yazaki plug) is charging it's third generation of EV, just as well as it ever did. If I had to buy a new EVSE tomorrow, I'd probably go Tesla Wall Connector since I now own two Teslas and NACS turned out to be the long-term choice, but I've been grateful that the Blink has its own charge scheduling in it, and if a third-party EVSE offers me attractive features and pricing, I'll go for it.

The Enphase doesn't do it for me because of both the price and the fact that I don't have an Enphase solar system, and I don't value the "charging with excess solar" feature. The plug is much less of a concern.

 

[miimura]

Yes, those Yazaki J1772 connectors are built like battleships, and I think they may last forever.

I'm in the same boat, my Blink EVSE (with retrofitted Yazaki plug) is charging it's third generation of EV, just as well as it ever did. If I had to buy a new EVSE tomorrow, I'd probably go Tesla Wall Connector since I now own two Teslas and NACS turned out to be the long-term choice, but I've been grateful that the Blink has its own charge scheduling in it, and if a third-party EVSE offers me attractive features and pricing, I'll go for it.

The Enphase doesn't do it for me because of both the price and the fact that I don't have an Enphase solar system, and I don't value the "charging with excess solar" feature. The plug is much less of a concern.

I do have Enphase solar and I still won't go for their station when I want to enable "Charge with excess solar". Emporia has the feature and it's much cheaper - even including the cost of their SmartMeter HAN device to monitor the solar surplus. Of course, if Tesla will support the feature with their Universal Wall Connector to send solar surplus to non-Tesla vehicles, that would be even better since I have Powerwalls and that system already knows my grid energy flows. Today, Tesla doesn't use the pilot signal to modulate the car charging, the car talks to the cloud which gets the grid flow from the Powerwall Gateway. It should be straight forward for the UWC to talk to the Gateway over WiFi and LAN without going out to the internet, but I doubt Tesla will provide that feature anytime soon.

 

[cylonmode]

I just got the Enphase IQ 60 Charger and not having a NACS plug is annoying, although a minor annoyance. My issues with the Enphase Charger is the app and scheduling. I had the schedule set for weekdays and weekends, for some reason last night (Friday) it didn't charge at all. Not sure how long this will last in my garage, I may go with the Tesla Charger and not worry about solar integration.