CES 2022 Demonstrates Ultimate EV Home Charging Equipment
CES 2022 offered a cool new solar roof concept, batteries, and plenty of options for an EV home charger.
Whether you're an electric vehicle owner or buyer who wants to zero out your carbon footprint, or you're hoping to use your EV to power your home when the lights go off, or you're just ready to install a charger where you live, CES 2022 offered a cool new solar roof concept, batteries, and plenty of options for an EV home charger. Here were some that caught our eye.
GAF Timberline Solar Energy Shingle
There's no mistaking most solar roofs. From a mile off you can spot their metal frames, and often you can see the lines demarking each individual square or rectangle of photovoltaic cells. They're often under a clear protector and you CERTAINLY can't walk on them. Well, roofing super-supplier GAF introduced a revolutionary new solar roofing material called Timberline Solar Energy Shingle that looks and installs a lot like asphalt shingles—with a nail gun! You can also walk on it. But instead of staggering the shingle courses to provide a uniform look, these sheets must line up so that each panel can electrically connect to the others along its left edge. Vertical cover strips hide these connections. You also can't trim individual sheets of GAF Timberline, so the solar section of a roof will look slightly different from the rest of the roof, but non-solar shingles that roughly match the color are available. A single warranty covers the product both as a roof and as a solar collector. It's fully certified for wind, fire, and impact resistance on roofs with at least a 2 in 12 pitch, and the shingles are tolerant of temperatures between -40- and 122-degrees F. The product is already shipping, and we're told the cost is competitive with installing a new conventional roof and adding solar panels to it, but the end result is more robust and durable than those solutions.
Bluetti NA300 Sodium-Ion Solar Generator
Las Vegas-based Bluetti showed a home solar generating and storage solution leveraging the much more abundant sodium ion chemical battery storage medium. The new NA300 holds 3 kWh of energy and can charge from 0-80 percent in as little as a half-hour, combining 3,000 watts of solar power with 3,000 watts of grid power. The company sells a B480 sodium ion battery pack that holds 4.8 kWh, and the overall power system can accommodate two of these plus the NA300 for 12.6 kWh of total energy storage and inverter power delivery. Pricing is not yet available, but expect mid-four-figures.
Wallbox Quasar 2 Bidirectional EV Home Charger
The Wallbox Quasar was billed as the first bidirectional home EV charger, allowing owners to charge or discharge an electric vehicle to power the home or the grid on demand. It features facial and gesture recognition control, and the company claims it's the lightest and smallest DC charger of its kind. Now Quasar 2 comes along boasting 48-amp service for 11.5-kW charging in an even more compact form factor. By programming the system to charge during off-peak hours and to give energy back when rates are highest, owners can trim their electric bills. And signing on to vehicle-to-grid power-sharing arrangements may enable further discounts. There's no pricing yet, but the original cost $4,000, so this is likely to be in that ballpark.
Blink HQ200 EV Home Charger
Blink introduced its new WiFi-connected smart home charger at CES. Capable of 48-amp charging it will deliver up to 11.5 kW of energy to your battery. The HQ200 connects to home assistant systems and a smart-phone app that allows scheduled charging to take advantage of off-peak power discounts, and in homes with more than one EV, smart balancing allows two chargers to optimally split the available current on a shared circuit. A 23-foot cable can reach either side of the car. Pricing isn't set yet, but expect a modest bump from the HP150's $550 retail price
Emporia Smart Home EV Charger
On a bit tighter budget but want that full-speed 11.5-kW charging at a $399 price point? Emporia's Smart Home EV Charger packs a 48-amp wallop, comes with a 24-foot cable, and can be plugged into a NEMA 14-50 outlet. It boasts smart-phone-app integration that enables all the same utility-rate scheduling and smart-home energy management integration.
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I started critiquing cars at age 5 by bumming rides home from church in other parishioners’ new cars. At 16 I started running parts for an Oldsmobile dealership and got hooked on the car biz. Engineering seemed the best way to make a living in it, so with two mechanical engineering degrees I joined Chrysler to work on the Neon, LH cars, and 2nd-gen minivans. Then a friend mentioned an opening for a technical editor at another car magazine, and I did the car-biz equivalent of running off to join the circus. I loved that job too until the phone rang again with what turned out to be an even better opportunity with Motor Trend. It’s nearly impossible to imagine an even better job, but I still answer the phone…
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