Complete review of the Emporia smart home EV charger

If you’ve bought an electric vehicle (EV) recently or are considering one, you’re not alone! U.S. EV sales grew 76 percent year over year in Q1 2022 to make up 5.2 percent of automotive sales, according to Kelley Blue Book. Having an EV charger at your home allows you to more efficiently and quickly charge your EV at home while managing and monitoring your charging and energy usage. (Bonus: if you have solar, you can power your car with the sun!)

Emporia is known for their tech-focused approach to energy management, and they offer a smart EV charger that you can install at home: the Emporia EV Charging Station. Emporia is an American-based company founded in 2018 in Littleton, Colorado. They make various products to help you better manage and monitor energy in your home, including smart plugs, thermostats, energy monitors, and home batteries!

Before diving into the Emporia EV Charging Station specifically, it’s important to know the different levels of charging you can complete at home and how they vary. EV chargers are also known as EVSEs, which stands for electric vehicle supply equipment.

A Level 1 charger uses a standard outlet at your home: you just use a standard 120-volt (V) wall outlet with a J1772 connector. However, this is very slow, only adding approximately 2-5 miles per hour to your range. The Emporia EV Charging Station is a Level 2 charger, the standard for home EV charging. It allows you to charge much more quickly than a Level 1 charger, providing up to 10-20 miles of range per hour, depending on which EV you own. Level 2 charging is completed with a 240V circuit, similar to what you use to power an electric oven or dryer.

Let’s explore the details on the Emporia EV Charging Station:

Key features of the Emporia EV Charging Station

Wiring and EV compatibility

The Emporia EV Charging Station is compatible with all EV models as long as they can charge with a J1772 charge plug, which most EVs today have other than Teslas. However, Teslas come with a J1772 adapter, so you can still charge your Tesla with this common Level 2 charge plug.

Convenience

The Emporia EV Charging Station works with most homes’ electrical systems. It also has customizable power levels on various circuit breakers and is versatile enough to install indoors or outdoors in most homes, apartments, and condo complexes. (Keep in mind that if you live in a multi-unit complex, you’ll need to confirm with your HOA or complex that you can install an EV charger at your parking spot.) The Emporia EV Charging Station cable is lightweight and 24 feet long, providing flexibility in where you install it – whether in your garage, carport, or parking garage.

Connectivity

The Emporia EV Charging Station can connect to your home’s WiFi network to work with the usage data tracking capability.

Warranty

The Emporia EV Charging Station comes with a three-year equipment warranty. They guarantee the charger will be free from defects in materials and workmanship, but the warranty doesn’t cover labor or shipping costs associated with returning the defective product.

The Emporia Energy app

The Emporia EV Charging Station uses the same Emporia app that other Emporia energy management products use. It’s available on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store for managing and monitoring your EV charging.

Image source: Emporia

There’s also a web-based app for monitoring and managing your charging and energy usage on your desktop or laptop.

Additional Emporia EV Charging Station features

The Emporia EV Charging Station is one piece of a larger home energy management system from Emporia, integrating with Emporia home energy monitors, smart plugs, and sensors. It offers a lot of innovative features not available on standalone EV chargers, such as automated charging and solar-only charging.

You can monitor the EV charger's energy consumption, enter your utility rate schedule, and schedule charging with no additional components. You’ll need to add the Energy Monitor to monitor your whole home and individual circuit energy consumption and manage energy demand.

The Emporia EV Charging Station costs $499. You can also purchase bundles that include a 16-sensor energy monitor and four smart plugs along with the EV charger. In total, it costs $614 for the bundle without plugs and $644 with the plugs included.

Keep in mind that you’ll also have EV charger installation costs, and you’ll want to use a trusted, licensed, and experienced electrician to ensure your charger is correctly installed. According to Qmerit, most standard EV home charger installations cost between $799 and $1,999 (excluding equipment). Additionally, depending on your home’s electrical panel, floor plan, and wiring, you may need additional wiring, so your costs may increase.

To help offset these costs, the Emporia EV Charger may qualify for rebates, incentives, and tax credits, such as a credit for installing a home EV charger, called the alternative fuel tax credit. This 30 percent tax credit applies to the cost of the charger and its installation, up to $1,000 (you’ll want to consult your tax professional for more information). You may also have state or local incentives in your area.

Overall, the Emporia EV Charging Station is a very well-priced smart EV charging station. However, you’ll need to purchase or already have some of the other Emporia energy management products to fully benefit from some of the additional energy management features.

One of the nice things about driving an EV compared to gas-powered vehicles (outside of avoiding the rising gas prices!) is that you can plug your car in overnight to charge and usually wake up to a full – or nearly full – charge. That said, the speed of your EV charger is helpful to know and consider. The Emporia EV Charging Station can provide 10-20 miles of charge per hour, with up to 11.5 kW / 48A output, depending on your specific EV’s make and model.

Your Emporia EV Charging Station can charge at different speeds depending on a few factors, including:

• Which charging output your electrical setup supports, and the settings you select (6A to 48A)

• Your home’s circuit breaker or service panel capacity: higher output capabilities generally mean quicker charging (usually 40A or 48A)

• Energy use: power may be limited at certain times because of other energy use in your home – limited usage equals slower charging

• The specific make, model, and options of your EV: bigger batteries will take longer to charge, efficiency varies by EV, and different EVs have different onboard charging capabilities, which will impact the charging speed

• The age of your EV’s battery: over time, your battery will degrade slightly, and its discharge rate (battery capacity / number of hours it takes to charge) will decrease

As with any EV charger, you’ll want to get a licensed electrician to install your Emporia EV Charging Station and ensure any additional supporting electrical work is covered, such as additional wiring or upgrades to your electrical panel. While these can add to your cost, covering both the safety aspects and enabling long-term savings (compared to filling up a gas tank) will usually make driving and charging your EV at home financially beneficial.

If you’re looking for an affordable option for smart charging, the Emporia EV Charging Station may be a fit for you. It’s priced well and offers the opportunity to connect your EV charging to an energy management system and a solar system.

There’s sometimes a misconception that home EV charging is expensive. However, it’s substantially less expensive in most areas than gasoline – especially if you’re using solar to power your charging. Your exact comparison depends on the cost of electricity in your area and the make and model of EV you own (since various models have different ranges).

Going solar is one of the best long-term solutions to lower your home EV charging costs. You can use the EnergySage Marketplace to compare several quotes from pre-screened installers, helping you find a system that fits your needs at the right price. If you’re planning to charge an EV at home, add a note to your profile so installers can right size your solar system to sufficiently power your EV.