As a plugin Prius owner since 2013, I have been primarily charging with Level 2 at home and Level 1 on the road. Over the last 3 years we have logged over 35,000 miles with about 25% all electric. My Prius Plug-In has averaged about 60 miles per gallon. As you may know the Prius Plug In has an electric vehicle range on average of 11 miles. I noticed over the summer the range increasing to 14.6 miles. It made a big difference in daily commutes. The higher ambient temperature contributed to longer range. From past winter experience I have seen the range drop to about 9.2 miles.

As for charging I have been using the Leviton Evr-Green® 320. It delivers 7.7KW of power at 32 Amps current. The charging station hangs on my wall in the back of the garage. The Evr-Green® 320 was designed to be indoor or outdoor rated. I use the 18’ cord connected version mounted directly on the wall in my garage. I plan on adding the pre-wire installation kit Leviton offers to give me more mounting flexibility later this month.

In light of some remodeling in my home and added appliances in my basement kitchen, I reevaluated my electrical panel usage. My home electrical panel has 200 Amps of available power. From the picture of the panel you can see I am near limit, so I decided to I hire an electrician to help me out. The electrician added a sub panel inside of my garage that had 40 Amp breakers, which has been extremely beneficial and convenient. I can shut off the power from the sub panel just like a disconnect switch if I need to move the EVSE (Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment) or if I just want the power off when the vehicle isn’t home charging.

As mentioned in previous blogs, I purchased the car in Huntington, New York back in February 2013. I bought it there for a few reasons:

1. Not available in Michigan, where I live
2. Nearly $10,000 in rebates from Toyota in New York
3. The Leviton Headquarters is nearby in Long Island - my first charge was actually at Leviton Headquarters in the employee parking garage!

Overall the experience with the car has been great. Like all new Toyota’s the service was included during the first 2 years. My out of pocket expenses have been minimum, with under $50 for oil changes and touch-up paint and I plan on keeping the car for at least a few more years. I have been reading about several new cars coming next year with longer electric vehicle range that I’m excited to test drive as soon as I can!

To learn more about Electric Vehicle Charging solutions from Leviton, visit Leviton.com/EvrGreen