Stop us if you’ve heard this before: the biggest obstacle standing in the way of the electric vehicle isn’t range or battery tech, it’s the infrastructure that has to support it. The solution is obviously to add more fast chargers, but where? In malls? Maybe. At gas stations? Stranger things have happened. But what about right at home?
That makes perfect sense to us. And now Electrify America (a Volkswagen-owned subsidiary dedicated to all things EV) has just announced HomeStation, a brand new connected home charging station. Similar to Tesla’s Wall Connector home-charging station, HomeStation promises to bring Level 2 fast charging to your home.
HomeStation has a maximum current output of 40 amps, meaning that it can deliver charging speeds of up to 9.6 kW. Electrify America says this is nearly seven times faster than Level 1 charging (or, plugging your EV into a conventional 120-volt home outlet). Charging a depleted battery to full obviously depends on a number of factors, including your specific EV’s battery capacity. That said, in its most powerful configuration, HomeStation is said to add up to 33 miles of range per hour.
Let’s say you plug your EV and get a full night’s sleep. By the time you wake up, you’ll have added 264 miles of range to its battery pack—significantly more than the average American’s daily commute. HomeStation also comes with an app that allows you to view charge status, set times for scheduled charging, and start or stop charging remotely.
HomeStation starts at $649 and will be available this spring. If you’re interested, you’ll need to have someone certified in such things install it for you. Unless, of course, you are an electrician (or extremely handy) and can do it on your own.
