![\"Charging](\"https:\/\/mattclare.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Charging-at-Brock-University-Burlington-Campus-993x600.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nIt\u2019s a lot of power!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Moving a vehicle takes a lot of energy. The big positive for petroleum fuel is that it\u2019s extremely energy dense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When you charge an EV with a level 2 home charger, when it powers on its drawing into your charger\/vehicle as much power as your whole house was drawing as much power as your house plus both your neighbours combined!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n We have a household electrical use meter. A few lights, WiFi, home security, etc. is a load of 0.5 kWh. The clothes dryer, air conditioner and stove all add about 2 kWh each. The highest we\u2019d seen the meter was 11.5 kW demand one Sunday with all of those appliances going, plus the microwave (there\u2019s a10kWh alarm – I turned off!). One hot Friday night in August we got home from the movies and plugged in the EV6 and drew 15.47 kW demand!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yes, the battery can degrade! And it\u2019s the most valuable part of the vehicle!<\/p>\n\n\n\n That said, a battery of that size doesn\u2019t degrade in the same way a smartphone\u2019s can because of the affordances of the non-pocket-sized design, thanks to active cooling\/heating and smart charging. Kia warrantees the battery out to 100,000Km. After that, I\u2019m on my own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The other thing to understand is charging speed. All modern batteries have a Battery Management System (BMS) that slows down their charging around 75% because of what I call the crayon box problem \u2013 that is, it\u2019s easy to jam the crayons into the crayon box right up until the last few, when it\u2019s much harder to find a spot for the remaining crayons. With battery charging this affects the speed. The lesser issue with a full battery is the sophisticated battery management logic might also be avoiding cells that have questionable health, but when the battery is charged to 100% it\u2019s forced to use cells it might otherwise be sparing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is why I have the EV6 set to charge to a maximum 80%. This is also why you often hear of the EV6, EV9 and the Ioniq 5 & 6 charging described as \u201c10% to 80% in 18 minutes on a 350 kW fast charger<\/em><\/a>\u201d.<\/em> 18 minutes is fast! But that\u2019s also the battery\u2019s speed sweet spot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\u2019s a summary of North American EV charging levels<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n All batteries are direct current (DC) but power is distributed as alternating current (AC) because it\u2019s easier to transmit. A big development in EV\u2019s ~20 years ago was the concept that the vehicle carries the AC:DC converter, the onboard charger, to simplify the charger and interoperability. With the onboard charger important care for the vehicle is rolling around with the vehicle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then came DC fast charging. The voltage is much higher and the AC:DC conversion required is now heavy-duty, and because of this is the conversion is part of the charging infrastructure, not inside the car. The car needs to trust the charger more and coordinate more. It\u2019s also more expensive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A Level 1 charger can be lifted and installed with one hand, a Level 2 needs two hands, and a Level 3 needs one small crane.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oh, and the Tesla charge connectors versus J1772 and CCS1 connector. North America is moving to Tesla\u2019s North American Charging Standard (NACS). NACS is better. The best example being J1772 supports Level 1 and 2, but the \u201ccombo\u201d J1772\/ CCS1 connector is needed for Level 3 \u2013 where NACS is the same connector for all 3.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tesla deserves credit for getting their network in all the best spots first \u2013 like the Trans-Canada highway. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This is why I have an A2Z NACS to CCS adapter<\/a>. Glad the dueling standards is over. It\u2019s regrettable that it happened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It has a deserved bad reputation. But it\u2019s only getting better, and in the greater Toronto area, it\u2019s been pretty good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For good or for bad, it\u2019s tied up with the \u201capp economy\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n All the charger networks operate by having the driver download an app, enter credit card information, and somehow associate you with the charger you\u2019re standing in front of and how to bill you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Most charging networks insist on you carrying a balance (reducing their credit card merchant fees, and, maybe you\u2019ll abandon your balance) and there\u2019s a promise of cross-network access from most networks \u2013 but I\u2019ve only tried it once and was not surprised it didn\u2019t work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I mostly use Charge Point<\/a>, as it\u2019s the network deployed at Brock University and City of Burlington locations. Charge Point offers a tap card if you don\u2019t want to use a smartphone\/app (or want a backup).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Charging at Brock University works well for me, as there is a set of Level 3 chargers<\/a>. If I ever forget to charge overnight, I\u2019ll stop at the DC fast charger for 10 minutes, maximum. At Brock, that\u2019d be about $6.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Free charging was pretty cool when it was a thing, but it probably needs to go. Where I live in Burlington, EV charging is free! But, [https:\/\/www.burlingtontoday.com\/local-news\/burlington-to-monitor-ev-charger-use-before-setting-new-fees-10952810 ](Burlington city council is considering setting a price for EV charging). It\u2019s hard to justify property taxes subsidizing EV charging at this point. One EV\u2019s charging session could be a regular household\u2019s full day of use! It\u2019s also a deterrent for EV chargers being installed in more locations, because they can\u2019t compete with free.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I do try to grab a free charge whenever I\u2019m near a free city charger, while I can.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s pretty simple to plug the EV in at night and have the vehicle ready to drive its full distance the next day. My EV6 even lets you schedule the climate control to start while it\u2019s plugged in (Yes, lots of vehicles have key-fob or app-based remote start, but it\u2019s nice that EV\u2019s momentary status as a \u201chousehold appliance\u201d lets you simple schedule it, without extra services and I simply don\u2019t like empty vehicles idling, because at best 10% of the engine\u2019s energy is going to climate control, here, it\u2019s 100%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n My commute to work and back is 150km, round-trip. It takes about 40% of the battery capacity (it used to take 30% of my Mazda3\u2019s fuel tank).<\/p>\n\n\n\n I bought a United Chargers Grizzl-E Ultimate 48A charger<\/a>. Firstly, it\u2019s quality Canadian product (along with [the Classic<\/a>) and secondarily, it can give my EV6 its maximum 11.5kWh. It\u2019s faster than all the public Level 2 chargers I\u2019ve used.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I chose the Ultimate because of, well, a coupon, and the \u201csmart\u201d features allows me to set a schedule and monitor things on my phone. Those are thing most EVs can do with their onboard software too, but happy to have the Grizzl-E do it (and Hyndai\/Kia, anything app-based requires a monthly service fee).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once I bought the Grizzl-E Ultimate charger, I discovered that there\u2019s a sophisticated web interface too. However, the Grizzl-E Ultimate charger\u2019s web interface does not require a password to access it by default. Even if the owner sets a password etc. for their account with the smartphone app, the charger is fully controllable by anyone on the same network until a password is set! I contacted United Chargers and they promised to at least update their documentation (no action yet<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n I also created an integration into Home Assistant<\/a>. My Home Assistant custom component for Grizzl-E chargers<\/a>, which notes the security issue!<\/p>\n\n\n\n As for the installation, I hired an electrician to run the 30\u2019 *4-6* AWG (some thick copper!). It was a short run from the breaker to my garage. As the family\u2019s bikes occupy my winter garage spot in the spring and summer, I made a modification to our 18-year-old of garage door to allow the cable to pass under it without wear and keep the critters out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Since I made my little notch and pivoting brush, I’ll “shame” some local high-voltage charger cables being abused by the garage door.<\/p>\n\n\n\n First, it should be noted that Ontario\u2019s electricity prices are artificially low for all Ontarians<\/a>. Ontario electricity prices are not just low for low-income households or light users, like in other jurisdictions. In Ontario, tax dollars subsidize all home electricity bills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"efergy](\"https:\/\/mattclare.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/efergy-15.4-913x600.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nSome Battery Principles<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Charging Terminology<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Level 1 (120V AC)<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Level 2 (240V AC)<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Level 3 \/ DC Fast Charging (DCFC)<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Public Charging<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"Brock](\"https:\/\/mattclare.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Brock-University-Level-3-chargers-1174x600.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nHome Charging<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"Home](\"https:\/\/mattclare.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/2025-10-02_21-01-17-650x600.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"My](\"https:\/\/mattclare.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Grizzl-e-charger-in-action-878x600.jpg\")
![\"Local](\"https:\/\/mattclare.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/local-charger-shame-600x465.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nHome Charging: Cost<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"See](\"https:\/\/mattclare.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/2025-09-21_14-53-53-1280x448.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n