Northwestern
Member
- Joined
- Jan 21, 2013
- Messages
- 21
Just a thought, I have a licensed electrician/contractor at my house every now and then, so while he is at the house, why not ask him about what modifications I need to perform to charge the i3? A separate trip for a 5-minute "looksy" doesn't seem to benefit either party.
So the i3 can be charged w/120 volts or 240 volts. Does the 120 volt have to be on a separate circuit? If the answer is no, how much room do I have on the circuit to run things like lights/clocks/etc. without tripping the breaker? As an aside, 120v is slow but since I would buy one with a REx if I leave home with only a 75% charge that's ok.
If I use 240, I assume the contractor can just use an idle breaker on my panel and wire 12-gauge to a new socket. BMW quotes a 6-hour charging time for this type of arrangement. I'm a bit confused as to why I would need anything faster or purchase one of BMW's wall units it is selling.
Extra credit question: I'm in San Diego, CA, the most expensive place in the US for electricity. Rates are 15c-17c/kwh below about 380 kwh/mth, but rise to 26c-28c a kwh afterwards. To add insult to injury, they are suppose to go up by 11% in September. TOU (time of use) can be had for 15c/kwh between 12a-5a, but you have to install a second smart meter (I guess the first smart meter isn't smart enough). The second smart meter requires drilling into the stucco and its own circuit. Anyone have any hard data on the cost?
Thank you.
So the i3 can be charged w/120 volts or 240 volts. Does the 120 volt have to be on a separate circuit? If the answer is no, how much room do I have on the circuit to run things like lights/clocks/etc. without tripping the breaker? As an aside, 120v is slow but since I would buy one with a REx if I leave home with only a 75% charge that's ok.
If I use 240, I assume the contractor can just use an idle breaker on my panel and wire 12-gauge to a new socket. BMW quotes a 6-hour charging time for this type of arrangement. I'm a bit confused as to why I would need anything faster or purchase one of BMW's wall units it is selling.
Extra credit question: I'm in San Diego, CA, the most expensive place in the US for electricity. Rates are 15c-17c/kwh below about 380 kwh/mth, but rise to 26c-28c a kwh afterwards. To add insult to injury, they are suppose to go up by 11% in September. TOU (time of use) can be had for 15c/kwh between 12a-5a, but you have to install a second smart meter (I guess the first smart meter isn't smart enough). The second smart meter requires drilling into the stucco and its own circuit. Anyone have any hard data on the cost?
Thank you.