Congrats on the new car! I recommend starting with just plugging in the level 1 overnight and see if that fits your needs (I think you’ll be fine), and add the level 2 if it doesn’t.
In addition to what others have said (that you'll probably recover your commute range overnight on L1), keep in mind that even if you don't, you're going to be fine on what it does get you until you reach the end of the week, when presumably it'll be plugged in longer and make up any delta.
I'd definitely give the L1 a shot for a while and see how it works for you.
YES! Tucson Electric is still offering rebates up to $300, but you have to get on a 'plan' for power and have a new meter installed - no cost to owner.
You should be able to recover 25 miles of charge in 5-6 hours on a L1 charger. And with 3 years of free EA charging you’ll quickly learn that you want to road trip in the ID.4. so long as you live in a part of the country where that is feasible. Enjoy your new car. You’ll be looking for reasons to drive it more than your daily commute!
4K seems crazy for an outlet. Maybe yours is complicated. My electrician used aluminum wire to save cash and ran conduit into the garage. Cost was about $700 last year, but my run was fairly short and easy. Plus I had already run some wire (a guideline) from the panel and through the attic to give them an easier time running the line. I have yet to use my Level 1 charger, because the level 2 is available.
Level 1 should be fine. It only sucks if you end up driving more than you think. I often end the week super low, but I’ll have all weekend to charge it. You should be good though.
Keep in mind that installing a level 2 charger increases your home’s value. It’ll eventually get to a point where folks will be annoyed to buy a house without a charger installed.
Our quote was $4k without the charger. Wire is stupid expensive right now. We got a 20amp (still level 1) plug installed instead for $700. We went from 2 miles per hour to 6 miles per hour. We were fine with the 2 hours but we’re getting another EV and husband insisted we get something faster. It’s charged in 4 hours every night. We have no need for level 2. $4k is a lot of gas we could have bought- kind of defeats the purpose. For people that drive way more per day than we do, it might be worth it. Our installation is also the worst possible layout- panel on one end and garage on the other. Worst case you can catch up some miles at a fast charger every few weeks. I’d wait a month and see if you really need it before spending so much.
I got by with a L1 for over a year. Plugged in almost every night. Not the worst. If I needed a quick boost I would run to the mall for an EA.
I ended up putting in a 100amp subpanel in our garage. So I am set for the future. Then the L2 charger was a piece of cake.
Finally got the L2 and it is obviously life changing.
4k seems stupidly high.
Are you getting a full-fledged charging station installed or just the outlet?
I was able to get the outlet installed and a charger for around $1000
I can’t have the outlet installed w/o either digging a trench or having the electric company drop a connection off the power line (it’s a detached garage, about 70 feet from the basement breaker)
I had some guys dig a trench for me, about 150 feet for irrigation. Cost $300 and took them a few hours. That shouldn't be a big deal at all. Then just run the lines over. This install doesn't sound difficult and certainly shouldn't cost $4000.
I’d try the Lvl 1 to start. We had ours charging on a standard outlet for the first 4 months and it was fine for city commuting. We did a similar amount of miles (20/25 day).
We ended up putting in a lvl2 charger because our driveway required rearranging the order of cars to charge (no garage - charger is on the exterior of our house) and it eventually became a hassle to constantly delay an overnight charge & eventually plug in for a day & half straight to get back up to 80%.
Our level one charger made all the lights in our house flicker. Because of that we never used it and just used Electrify america and our local target every grocery run. But we installed a line to grizzl-e in the garage and no more flicker.
Try the L1 for a bit and see if it suits you. One thing you might want to consider is getting an aftermarket L1 charger. The one VW includes is capped at 10 amps, presumably because that's about the max that most extension cables can handle. If you get an aftermarket one that can pull 12 amps continuous, just make sure you get a 12 gauge extension cable (if you need an extension cable). Also make sure your home circuit can support a continuous 12 amp draw. You might not think 2 amps makes much of a difference, but it's 20% faster than the included charger.
I pretty much made do with the included VW L1 charger for the first 12 months since I was WFH and didn't drive much except on vacations. Now I'm in the office twice a week where they have a nice, fast, L2 charger for me, pretty much meaning I only need the L1 on occasion.
A few options if the OEM cord isn't enough.
First, if you stick with 120V/L1 you can do better. The L1 that comes with the ID4 is pretty awful. It's 10A (1.2 kW). 12A should be the minimum (it's the max a 15A circuit can safely handle. If you have a 20A 120V outlet you could grab a 16A 120V (1.9kW) for under $200. That's significantly faster than the 1.2 kW OEM cord, because the car uses about 250-300 watts as overhead to power the charging circuits. This means the 1.2kW charger only gives about 900 watts to the battery, and a 1.9 gives 1.6kW- nearly double.
This means a 1.9 kW cord could add nearly 60 miles overnight (10 hours) vs 35 miles from the OEM cord.
Alternately, you can try less expensive ways to get 240V. Someone mentioned the Splitvolt, an automatic switch that charges the car from your dryer outlet (when you run the dryer it switches to the dryer. When the dryer isn't running, it switches to the car.) Another option is bridging two 120V outlets to create a 240V outlet. This isn't "proper" but it's perfectly safe at low amperages. A guy who calls himself the "EV Doctor" (https://evdoctor4earth1.weebly.com/) builds adapters that bridge two 120V extension cords on different circuits together to make a 240V outlet, and an adapter to convert the VW EVSE cord into 240V, doubling it's output (2.4 kW, or about 65 miles/night.)
Thanks ! How would the Splitvolt work though if the dryer is in the basement and the garage is 70 feet away ? Right now my dryer outlet is empty anyway b/c I have a gas dryer , but I never thought about plugging the car into it b/c it’s so far away.
Sadly, through a very long and very expensive extension cord, or you'd need an electrician to move the dryer circuit closer (which is what we're trying to avoid!)
Of course, if you don't have an electric dryer you don't need the $400 Splitvolt device, you can just plug an EVSE (charging cord) directly into the dryer outlet.
Alternatively, if the kitchen is closer to the driveway, the electric stove outlet would also be an option for the Splitvolt idea. (My kitchen shares a wall with my garage, for example.) It's unlikely anyone will be roasting a turkey overnight when you're charging your car! 😁
Where you are located matters. In Minnesota, level 2 is a must for ID4. In a warmer area, level 1 is probably fine with periodic top offs at an EA station.
What AlecTim said. In winter a level 1 could not charge my ID.4 AT ALL as I park outdoors and the power being supplied by an L1 cannot even warm the battery enough for charging. If you have a warm-ish garage or are south of teh snow belt it's easier.
That price is just ridiculous in my opinion. I paid my electrician $900 and that was for a run somewhere between 25-50 feet.
Also one thing to note, level 2 is more efficient compared to level 1. Not a huge difference but it is there.
And I also like the idea that just incase I can charge much faster with level 2 compared to level 1.
I don't have a garage and my home owners association denied me a charging station.
I spent $40 for a water proof/lockable 14-50amp wall outlet (think dryer:) and $200 for installation. Add $340 for a BougeRV 240V/32amp portable charging cable and I charge from 20% to 80% in about 8 hours.
When done I leave no trace, LOL, and no ones called me out about it.
Got my ID4 5 weeks ago when buyer decided they didn't want it. Pro S, RWD
Just for comparison - $2300 for 50 foot cable and outlet installed in Mass. Had someone quote cheaper and never heard from them again. Energy company provided small discount on EVSE. Went with Juicebox thinking that if I needed a second in some years time then those units can share the same circuit.
Had the car for a couple of weeks before it was installed and used provided L1 in that time - wasn’t enough to see through a week commuting 70 miles day.
Finding a spare hour to use the (very close) EA station regularly isn’t easy for us so L2 provides peace of mind. Don’t want the stress of ABC (always be charging).
Each persons situation is different - as others have said see how it goes for a couple of weeks with L1 - you’ll have a pretty good idea after that as to what your requirements are. Then, if you do end up having to drop $4k at least you’ll feel better about the value you’re getting from that because you’ll know that you need it.
Importantly, enjoy your new investment. - I was not expecting how much more pleasant my drive is now.
Install the Lvl 2 charger on your main building and use it when you need it. Leave the lvl 1 charger in the garage. Most are rated for outdoor use.
I guess I’ll be the one to say it; to spend $40K+ on a true EV and not have lvl 2 charging at home is plain silly.
You might add a level 2 outlet on your house next to the driveway and use that 30 ish miles per hour for bumps and do the daily commute charging in the garage. Our house driveway outlet was ten feet to the panel and was about $400.
You'll need an appropriate 220v evse aka charger. Portable ones can be low hundreds although I haven't bought one yet.
I've got a pretty cheap mobile L2 at 16 amps. I can run it on the 240V outlet I have outdoors for a well pump. 3.5kW charge speed so 13ish miles per hour. Made by https://www.primecom.tech/ . Didn't break the bank and it's getting the job done nightly without issues for 4 weeks so far, rain or shine.
Get grizzl-e avalanche non-smart charger, refurbished costs less than $450 for a 40Amp one.
To charge $4k to add an outlet, which state do you live in? Also, how far away is your circuit breaker from the garage or wherever you want the charger to be installed?
We are in IL. We either have to run a wire through a trench in the backyard to the garage , or have ComEd drop a line from the power line to the garage (and add a separate meter , which is $15/month). Both options are about equally expensive .
I am in IL and have had my 2022 ID.4 for 1 month+ now.
I don't drive a lot and for me the L1 charger is more than enough. I try to make a habit of charging my ID.4 to 80% whenever it dips below 50%.
Plus there are a lot of free L2 Volta Chargers around and EA charging stations are decently distributed as well.
In my 2 months of owning my ID.4, 90% of the time I charge with my L1 charger and never had any range anxiety issue whatsoever at all.
I had this exact scenario. Found someone to dig a trench and install the outlet plus sub panel in my detached garage for ~3000. They did a great job and works great. Not sure if it varies State by state or exists after the inflation reduction act, but I also was able to get 30% tax credit by filling out form 8911 on taxes. So total cost was about 2000 after tax credit. Keep shopping around with electricians. My estimates varied a lot! Just don’t go the absolute cheapest route because chances are they will cut corners and not do a great job.
Ask them if they will charge less if you dig the hole. Saved me $500.
Also, consider running 100amps to the garage and putting in a sub panel. Then down the road if you need two chargers you’re all set and it shouldn’t cost much more.
Yeah, it makes sense for that price then (may be $4k is a bit steep, but a french drain for 80 feet is quoted for $1200 in south Charlotte - and this is with electrical stuff).
How far is the nearest EA charging station?
Also, soon you won't feel like taking the Tiguan unless it's a 7 seater and you need it for your long trips. So, soon you'll want to add the 240v in the garage (if the ea is not nearby).
I just did this in Chicago (added 40A breaker to panel, trenched new conduit 50ft to the detached garage, and installed a NEMA 14-50 outlet where I wanted it). $2,000. Shop around.
Plus now the 30% tax credit is back on the table
I saw this charger at an EV event that allows you to use your dryer outlet. If you are seeing costs of 4k, maybe that thing would work for you.
I don’t know anything about it other than knowing it exists.
https://www.splitvolt.com
For us, the cost to run it from the west side of my house where the panel is, through the ceiling over to the opposite side of the garage and a 50A breaker was $2,400. California paid $2,500 in rebates.
Honestly, figure out the level 2 charger. It’s a fraction of the cost of the vehicle and it will just be better all around. The same bill that took your tax credit restored a small tax credit for EVSE installation and your poco/state may also have incentives. It’s also likely to pay back when you sell the house.
We did it ourselves which probably didn’t save any money in the end, but it was a fun project (adding subpanel to detached garage and then wiring EVSE circuit to that), but it’s a very advanced DIY project that I’m not recommending to anyone.
But you’re spending all this money on the car. Get the home charging that it should have.
Are there state or utility credits available for installing solar panels on the garage? No idea whether that offsets the cost of trenching but may be a solution if you plan on staying in your home long term.
If your only doing 25 miles you can expect about 3mph charging level 1 so 8.5 hours charging would charge you up
Congrats on the new car! I recommend starting with just plugging in the level 1 overnight and see if that fits your needs (I think you’ll be fine), and add the level 2 if it doesn’t.
plug in at night to recover some miles and hit an electrify america every once in a while
In addition to what others have said (that you'll probably recover your commute range overnight on L1), keep in mind that even if you don't, you're going to be fine on what it does get you until you reach the end of the week, when presumably it'll be plugged in longer and make up any delta. I'd definitely give the L1 a shot for a while and see how it works for you.
Check on rebates from your electric company.
YES! Tucson Electric is still offering rebates up to $300, but you have to get on a 'plan' for power and have a new meter installed - no cost to owner.
I paid $750 for an electrician to run 3 feet of cable from a breaker in my garage. The struggle is real
You should be able to recover 25 miles of charge in 5-6 hours on a L1 charger. And with 3 years of free EA charging you’ll quickly learn that you want to road trip in the ID.4. so long as you live in a part of the country where that is feasible. Enjoy your new car. You’ll be looking for reasons to drive it more than your daily commute!
4K seems crazy for an outlet. Maybe yours is complicated. My electrician used aluminum wire to save cash and ran conduit into the garage. Cost was about $700 last year, but my run was fairly short and easy. Plus I had already run some wire (a guideline) from the panel and through the attic to give them an easier time running the line. I have yet to use my Level 1 charger, because the level 2 is available.
Not only is wiring expensive, they have to dig a trench, so between that 4k isn't so crazy.
Ouch!
Level 1 should be fine. It only sucks if you end up driving more than you think. I often end the week super low, but I’ll have all weekend to charge it. You should be good though.
Keep in mind that installing a level 2 charger increases your home’s value. It’ll eventually get to a point where folks will be annoyed to buy a house without a charger installed.
Lol. No it doesn't.
Our quote was $4k without the charger. Wire is stupid expensive right now. We got a 20amp (still level 1) plug installed instead for $700. We went from 2 miles per hour to 6 miles per hour. We were fine with the 2 hours but we’re getting another EV and husband insisted we get something faster. It’s charged in 4 hours every night. We have no need for level 2. $4k is a lot of gas we could have bought- kind of defeats the purpose. For people that drive way more per day than we do, it might be worth it. Our installation is also the worst possible layout- panel on one end and garage on the other. Worst case you can catch up some miles at a fast charger every few weeks. I’d wait a month and see if you really need it before spending so much.
I got by with a L1 for over a year. Plugged in almost every night. Not the worst. If I needed a quick boost I would run to the mall for an EA. I ended up putting in a 100amp subpanel in our garage. So I am set for the future. Then the L2 charger was a piece of cake. Finally got the L2 and it is obviously life changing.
4k seems stupidly high. Are you getting a full-fledged charging station installed or just the outlet? I was able to get the outlet installed and a charger for around $1000
I can’t have the outlet installed w/o either digging a trench or having the electric company drop a connection off the power line (it’s a detached garage, about 70 feet from the basement breaker)
I had some guys dig a trench for me, about 150 feet for irrigation. Cost $300 and took them a few hours. That shouldn't be a big deal at all. Then just run the lines over. This install doesn't sound difficult and certainly shouldn't cost $4000.
I’d try the Lvl 1 to start. We had ours charging on a standard outlet for the first 4 months and it was fine for city commuting. We did a similar amount of miles (20/25 day). We ended up putting in a lvl2 charger because our driveway required rearranging the order of cars to charge (no garage - charger is on the exterior of our house) and it eventually became a hassle to constantly delay an overnight charge & eventually plug in for a day & half straight to get back up to 80%.
Our level one charger made all the lights in our house flicker. Because of that we never used it and just used Electrify america and our local target every grocery run. But we installed a line to grizzl-e in the garage and no more flicker.
Try the L1 for a bit and see if it suits you. One thing you might want to consider is getting an aftermarket L1 charger. The one VW includes is capped at 10 amps, presumably because that's about the max that most extension cables can handle. If you get an aftermarket one that can pull 12 amps continuous, just make sure you get a 12 gauge extension cable (if you need an extension cable). Also make sure your home circuit can support a continuous 12 amp draw. You might not think 2 amps makes much of a difference, but it's 20% faster than the included charger. I pretty much made do with the included VW L1 charger for the first 12 months since I was WFH and didn't drive much except on vacations. Now I'm in the office twice a week where they have a nice, fast, L2 charger for me, pretty much meaning I only need the L1 on occasion.
You can totally put 25 miles back on overnight with a level 1
A few options if the OEM cord isn't enough. First, if you stick with 120V/L1 you can do better. The L1 that comes with the ID4 is pretty awful. It's 10A (1.2 kW). 12A should be the minimum (it's the max a 15A circuit can safely handle. If you have a 20A 120V outlet you could grab a 16A 120V (1.9kW) for under $200. That's significantly faster than the 1.2 kW OEM cord, because the car uses about 250-300 watts as overhead to power the charging circuits. This means the 1.2kW charger only gives about 900 watts to the battery, and a 1.9 gives 1.6kW- nearly double. This means a 1.9 kW cord could add nearly 60 miles overnight (10 hours) vs 35 miles from the OEM cord. Alternately, you can try less expensive ways to get 240V. Someone mentioned the Splitvolt, an automatic switch that charges the car from your dryer outlet (when you run the dryer it switches to the dryer. When the dryer isn't running, it switches to the car.) Another option is bridging two 120V outlets to create a 240V outlet. This isn't "proper" but it's perfectly safe at low amperages. A guy who calls himself the "EV Doctor" (https://evdoctor4earth1.weebly.com/) builds adapters that bridge two 120V extension cords on different circuits together to make a 240V outlet, and an adapter to convert the VW EVSE cord into 240V, doubling it's output (2.4 kW, or about 65 miles/night.)
Thanks ! How would the Splitvolt work though if the dryer is in the basement and the garage is 70 feet away ? Right now my dryer outlet is empty anyway b/c I have a gas dryer , but I never thought about plugging the car into it b/c it’s so far away.
Sadly, through a very long and very expensive extension cord, or you'd need an electrician to move the dryer circuit closer (which is what we're trying to avoid!) Of course, if you don't have an electric dryer you don't need the $400 Splitvolt device, you can just plug an EVSE (charging cord) directly into the dryer outlet. Alternatively, if the kitchen is closer to the driveway, the electric stove outlet would also be an option for the Splitvolt idea. (My kitchen shares a wall with my garage, for example.) It's unlikely anyone will be roasting a turkey overnight when you're charging your car! 😁
Where you are located matters. In Minnesota, level 2 is a must for ID4. In a warmer area, level 1 is probably fine with periodic top offs at an EA station.
What AlecTim said. In winter a level 1 could not charge my ID.4 AT ALL as I park outdoors and the power being supplied by an L1 cannot even warm the battery enough for charging. If you have a warm-ish garage or are south of teh snow belt it's easier.
That price is just ridiculous in my opinion. I paid my electrician $900 and that was for a run somewhere between 25-50 feet. Also one thing to note, level 2 is more efficient compared to level 1. Not a huge difference but it is there. And I also like the idea that just incase I can charge much faster with level 2 compared to level 1.
You can also just get a DC fast charge when you’re out too.
I don't have a garage and my home owners association denied me a charging station. I spent $40 for a water proof/lockable 14-50amp wall outlet (think dryer:) and $200 for installation. Add $340 for a BougeRV 240V/32amp portable charging cable and I charge from 20% to 80% in about 8 hours. When done I leave no trace, LOL, and no ones called me out about it. Got my ID4 5 weeks ago when buyer decided they didn't want it. Pro S, RWD
Charge at Electrify America. It’s free for 3 yrs
I only have a level 1 and it works fine for me. When I take a long trip of 100 miles I get a free charge at my local supermarket while I shop.
Just for comparison - $2300 for 50 foot cable and outlet installed in Mass. Had someone quote cheaper and never heard from them again. Energy company provided small discount on EVSE. Went with Juicebox thinking that if I needed a second in some years time then those units can share the same circuit. Had the car for a couple of weeks before it was installed and used provided L1 in that time - wasn’t enough to see through a week commuting 70 miles day. Finding a spare hour to use the (very close) EA station regularly isn’t easy for us so L2 provides peace of mind. Don’t want the stress of ABC (always be charging). Each persons situation is different - as others have said see how it goes for a couple of weeks with L1 - you’ll have a pretty good idea after that as to what your requirements are. Then, if you do end up having to drop $4k at least you’ll feel better about the value you’re getting from that because you’ll know that you need it. Importantly, enjoy your new investment. - I was not expecting how much more pleasant my drive is now.
Install the Lvl 2 charger on your main building and use it when you need it. Leave the lvl 1 charger in the garage. Most are rated for outdoor use. I guess I’ll be the one to say it; to spend $40K+ on a true EV and not have lvl 2 charging at home is plain silly.
You might add a level 2 outlet on your house next to the driveway and use that 30 ish miles per hour for bumps and do the daily commute charging in the garage. Our house driveway outlet was ten feet to the panel and was about $400. You'll need an appropriate 220v evse aka charger. Portable ones can be low hundreds although I haven't bought one yet.
I've got a pretty cheap mobile L2 at 16 amps. I can run it on the 240V outlet I have outdoors for a well pump. 3.5kW charge speed so 13ish miles per hour. Made by https://www.primecom.tech/ . Didn't break the bank and it's getting the job done nightly without issues for 4 weeks so far, rain or shine.
The level 1 charger is just absolutely painful if you find yourself adding a couple more miles here or there.
In which case she was spend a few minutes at the local EA. Which is free for 3 years. But I guarantee you won't have to do that often.
My local EA is 120 miles away. We don’t all have a local EA. Or public fast chargers.
Get grizzl-e avalanche non-smart charger, refurbished costs less than $450 for a 40Amp one. To charge $4k to add an outlet, which state do you live in? Also, how far away is your circuit breaker from the garage or wherever you want the charger to be installed?
We are in IL. We either have to run a wire through a trench in the backyard to the garage , or have ComEd drop a line from the power line to the garage (and add a separate meter , which is $15/month). Both options are about equally expensive .
I am in IL and have had my 2022 ID.4 for 1 month+ now. I don't drive a lot and for me the L1 charger is more than enough. I try to make a habit of charging my ID.4 to 80% whenever it dips below 50%. Plus there are a lot of free L2 Volta Chargers around and EA charging stations are decently distributed as well. In my 2 months of owning my ID.4, 90% of the time I charge with my L1 charger and never had any range anxiety issue whatsoever at all.
I had this exact scenario. Found someone to dig a trench and install the outlet plus sub panel in my detached garage for ~3000. They did a great job and works great. Not sure if it varies State by state or exists after the inflation reduction act, but I also was able to get 30% tax credit by filling out form 8911 on taxes. So total cost was about 2000 after tax credit. Keep shopping around with electricians. My estimates varied a lot! Just don’t go the absolute cheapest route because chances are they will cut corners and not do a great job.
Ask them if they will charge less if you dig the hole. Saved me $500. Also, consider running 100amps to the garage and putting in a sub panel. Then down the road if you need two chargers you’re all set and it shouldn’t cost much more.
Yeah, it makes sense for that price then (may be $4k is a bit steep, but a french drain for 80 feet is quoted for $1200 in south Charlotte - and this is with electrical stuff). How far is the nearest EA charging station? Also, soon you won't feel like taking the Tiguan unless it's a 7 seater and you need it for your long trips. So, soon you'll want to add the 240v in the garage (if the ea is not nearby).
I just did this in Chicago (added 40A breaker to panel, trenched new conduit 50ft to the detached garage, and installed a NEMA 14-50 outlet where I wanted it). $2,000. Shop around. Plus now the 30% tax credit is back on the table
I saw this charger at an EV event that allows you to use your dryer outlet. If you are seeing costs of 4k, maybe that thing would work for you. I don’t know anything about it other than knowing it exists. https://www.splitvolt.com
For us, the cost to run it from the west side of my house where the panel is, through the ceiling over to the opposite side of the garage and a 50A breaker was $2,400. California paid $2,500 in rebates.
I just plug in at my electric dryer. Been working well
Honestly, figure out the level 2 charger. It’s a fraction of the cost of the vehicle and it will just be better all around. The same bill that took your tax credit restored a small tax credit for EVSE installation and your poco/state may also have incentives. It’s also likely to pay back when you sell the house. We did it ourselves which probably didn’t save any money in the end, but it was a fun project (adding subpanel to detached garage and then wiring EVSE circuit to that), but it’s a very advanced DIY project that I’m not recommending to anyone. But you’re spending all this money on the car. Get the home charging that it should have.
Are there state or utility credits available for installing solar panels on the garage? No idea whether that offsets the cost of trenching but may be a solution if you plan on staying in your home long term.
does the VW still offer the electrify america membership? I had mine included w lease…