Bosch Introduces Sub $450 Level 2 Car Charger

May 9th, 2013 by Nicholas Brown

Power Max 16A / 12’ cord entry level model. Image Credit: Bosch

Bosch Automotive Service Solutions has introduced a level 2 electric vehicle charging station that costs less than $450.

This is decent, compared to the prices of level 2 chargers from General Electric and Siemens. A GE Wattstation level 2 charger can cost $850, while a Siemens Versicharge can cost $995.

This Bosch Power Max charger is Underwriters Laboratory (UL) certified in both the United States and Canada, and has a NEMA 3R enclosure suitable for both indoor and outdoor use. (NEMA, or the National Electric Manufacturers Association, is an electrical standards organization.)

Level 2 electric vehicle chargers are 208-240 volts, and the residential ones can deliver up to 30 amps of power, which can provide the vehicle with 10–20 miles of range for every hour spent charging. This one provides 16 to 30 amps.

This news may help increase the number of electric vehicle chargers installed worldwide, and hence increase EV adoption due to increased charger ubiquity.

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Tags: Battery-powered car chargers, BEV chargers, car charging stations, EB charger, electric car chargers, EV chargers, EV level 2 chargers, EV level 2 fast chargers, level 2 chargers, level 2 fast chargers

About the Author

Nicholas Brown writes on CleanTechnica, Gas2, Kleef&Co, and Green Building Elements. He has a keen interest in physics-intensive topics such as electricity generation, refrigeration and air conditioning technology, energy storage, and geography. His website is: Kompulsa.com.

Mohan Raj

Wonderful. Even if it costs $500 for installation, its less than $ 1K. So install it everywhere in Parking lot, Public library, Government office, Rest area and so on.

For $ 1 million, we can install 1,000 chargers and for $ 100 million, we can install 100,000 stations. Slowly as EVs increase we can start installing Level-3 chargers.

Right now the number of charging stations stands @ 16,900 +

http://www.afdc.energy.gov/fuels/stations_counts.html
anderlan

Screw everything about this. Automakers should ship cars with 10kW-capable 240V plugs instead of just the wimpy 120V cords. An electrician can run the proper circuit out to your garage. In fact, that’s half the job in installing this farcical piece of hardware called a ‘home charging station’. And half the money for the job. So, yeah, cumulatively these are a giant waste of money siphoned from EV owners.
- Bob_Wallace
  
  A circuit breaker. A few feet of wire and some plastic conduit. An outlet.
  
  It’s a butt-simple installation. Think adding an outlet for a electric clothes dryer.
  
  We need to make EVs “sidewalk charging” ready. Start putting metered outlets along the sidewalk and in parking lots. Keep the chargers (except for the really big boy rapid chargers) in the cars.
  
  Make the meters ‘plug and charge’. Let the car tell the grid which account to bill. Keep it very simple on the outlet end so that more outlets get installed.