ChargePoint Home Wi-Fi Enabled 32A
- Connection: Hardwired, or 6-50 plug
- Power Level: 240V
- Amperage: 32A
- Cable Length: 25′
- Safety Certification: UL Listed
- Warranty: 3 years
- Made in: Mexico
- MSRP: See Today’s Price on Amazon
Our Review of the ChargePoint Home Wi-Fi Enabled 32A
Pros:
- Compact, lightweight
- UL Listed (Safety certified)
- Energy Star certified
Cons:
- Requires a credit card number on file to use the app
- Some user reports that the app is buggy (fails if Wi-Fi fails)
- NEMA 6-50 outlet not very common
- Security concerns
I originally intended to purchase the ChargePoint Home 32A through the ChargePoint website, but once I clicked through a few links to make the purchase it brought us to Amazon; does not appear that ChargePoint sells directly. The charging station arrived packaged well. The installation instructions seem simple, but I did hire an electrician since it’s hardwired and he had to work on it for a while which cost more than we expected.
ChargePoint Home 32A does have a NEMA 6-50 plug-in option so if you have that kind of receptacle you could save hundreds of dollars on installation cost. Just be aware that ChargePoint states their plug-in stations are for indoor installation only.
The unit does not jut out from the wall too much (especially when the connector is plugged in to the car) and does not appear bulky. Being able to wrap the cable around the unit is nice. I’m glad I opted for the 25 foot cable option (especially when we have electric vehicle driving visitors); 18 feet would not have worked without costing me significantly more to install.
The 32A ChargePoint Home charges my Chevy Bolt quickly, gaining about 24 miles per hour of charging.
The ChargePoint Home is UL Listed which puts our minds at ease. Honestly, I wouldn’t buy or recommend any electric vehicle charging station that wasn’t UL Listed because the stakes are entirely too high for these devices not to be thoroughly (and independently) tested.
The black plastic cover was pretty scratched up within 4 weeks of installation. It looks nice at first, but really shows the scratches in time.
Overall we’ve been happy with the ChargePoint Home unit with one exception, which is the Wi-Fi connection. Initially, I thought having the charging station connected to Wi-Fi would be a convenient way to keep track of charging and setting the charge time for late in the evening when power rates are drastically lower. However, if the Wi-Fi goes down, the unit stops charging and the ChargePoint app doesn’t retain the scheduling settings when the Wi-Fi goes back on. Obviously, this is a huge issue if you rely on your schedule to activate charging after you’re asleep.
I contacted ChargePoint to see if there was anything we could do to turn off the Wi-Fi setting if that ever happens again but they didn’t have a solution yet. Hopefully they will work on this!
Another potential concern with the Wi-Fi stations is potential hacking. I know that seems like a strange thing to worry about, but the ChargePoint Home was actually a target of a cyer-security company trying to expose this danger and they did not do well. I ran across several articles when I was doing some research on the station. Seems they’ve made some patches now, but it’s a constant battle to outwit hackers, which is why I’m going to use a ‘dumb’ station from now on. You can read more about charging station security issues here:
Report: Home electric-car chargers vulnerable to hackers
Electric Vehicle Charging Stations Open to IoT Attacks
ChargePoint Home security research
Remotely controlled EV home chargers – the threats and vulnerabilities
User Reviews of the ChargePoint Home Wi-Fi Enabled 32A
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I’ve had this up and running since April. So far, I’ve had only four problems:
1. This will only charge when connected to WiFi. There is no backup, no redundancy, no emergency charging. If your WiFi goes down in the night, your car doesn’t get charged. Period. That is a real design flaw.
2. One time this thing crashed. There’s no reset switch when that happens. You have to go flip your breaker to reset it. (You can normally reset it from your phone, but not when it’s crashed and won’t connect to your phone via Bluetooth.)
3. Rats love the taste of the power cord. Mine just got chewed through, so now I’ve had to order a second one ($279+tax a pop).
4. Installation was an expensive nightmare. My house was not wired for this (which I knew in advance). The first installer (hired through Amazon) never showed up. Two weeks later I had a new installer come out. He charged me a fortune. I still haven’t seen the permit.
Otherwise, this thing works as expected.
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I purchased the CharePoint Home after going through two different Bosch EL-51253’s. The differences between the ChargePoint and Bosch chargers are night and day. The ChargePoint has remote scheduling, data analysis tools, charging advice based on your utility plan, etc. Bosch’s warranty is for 1 year vs. 3 years for the ChargePoint. Assuming that the ChargePoint continues to function without issue, it is well worth the extra money
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I really wanted to like this. Compared to other products, it looks more like it belongs in a home instead of in a commercial setting. I installed it in a conspicuous spot in my little garage so it was important to me to have something small that looked good. Unfortunately, I had some problems. On the positive side, they got most things right. Most of the packaging was excellent and it protected the nice plastic case and covers. The Installation Guide is essentially perfect. There are a few tasks you need to do to fasten the hardware to the wall and attach the charging cable. Instructions are super clear and easy. They also show how to connect to your local WiFi and that was simple and worked right away. When I opened the cord box, I found the cable clip was broken into two pieces. This cheap little piece of plastic is like a clip that holds a bread bag closed. But it’s important here because it holds the weight of the heavy charging cable. It’s possible to fashion your own workaround that’s even better, but it’s really a defect in the design for such an important part. The second problem was their response to the problem. When I called the support number, they told me it was impossible for them to send me a replacement clip, despite it costing almost nothing to make. I was told to send back the entire cable to Amazon and they would replace everything. I sent emails to ChargePoint asking the same thing and did not get a response. I’m concerned and wondering if I find another problem after the 1st month, that Amazon will not accept a return and ChargePoint will not consider a warranty claim. I’m just not sure.
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Update – After I posted this review, ChargePoint sent me a replacement clip, despite telling me that was impossible. I appreciated that, but had already returned the entire cable to Amazon for replacement as instructed. Amazon gets 5 stars and ChargePoint gets 4 stars. The charger is working great so far, but their customer service could be better.
Industry Reviews of the ChargePoint Home
A couple weeks ago, ChargePoint became a publicly traded EV charging network company, after merging with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). On March 1st, the CEO of ChargePoint, Pasquale Romano, virtually rung the opening bell for the New York Stock Exchange. The new company was listed that day as CHPT.
Read full review at cleantechnica.com >
User Photos of the ChargePoint Home Wi-Fi Enabled 32A
User Videos of the ChargePoint Home Wi-Fi Enabled 32A
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