FPL Evolution and PowerShare

[CTSoFL]

If you pay more then $30/mo “for Pennie’s on the dollar” then you are getting screwed.

I believe the cost differential is really minimal overall.

Its about flexibility and not being locked in to the long-term device use requirement.

Also, FPL's Powershare allows only one vehicle mated to it (rare instance I get it).

So there are tradeoffs between going with, and not going with, the program.

FPL isn't putting the program out there because it's a great deal for the consumer, it's a great deal for them from profit center and demand control perspective.

Your mileage may vary.

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[Obie_fl]

I've looked into in several times but always walk away. I have three EVs and already have two Tesla chargers installed. Do you have to use their charger or is it a "circuit" that is separately metered? If it is a separate circuit how do they meter it? How do they know which vehicle is connected? The one vehicle restriction, outside hours cost, and long term commitment turn me off.

 

[Tony2times]

I've looked into in several times but always walk away. I have three EVs and already have two Tesla chargers installed. Do you have to use their charger or is it a "circuit" that is separately metered? If it is a separate circuit how do they meter it? How do they know which vehicle is connected? The one vehicle restriction, outside hours cost, and long term commitment turn me off.

What do you mean “one vehicle restriction”? I have two Teslas and have no issues with Evolution. As for the metering, simple, it’s smart metered off peak (9pm - noon weekdays, and weekends all day/night). The commitment is barely a commitment unless you jump houses often. For $30/mo flat rate off peak there is nothing that can beat that.

 

[Obie_fl]

What do you mean “one vehicle restriction”? I have two Teslas and have no issues with Evolution. As for the metering, simple, it’s smart metered off peak (9pm - noon weekdays, and weekends all day/night). The commitment is barely a commitment unless you jump houses often. For $30/mo flat rate off peak there is nothing that can beat that.

Maybe I'm missing something... So you are charging both of your Tesla's off the Evolution charger they installed? Everything I've read says you can only charge one vehicle at the reduced rate.

Am I correct in that I'd have to replace one of my chargers with their Evolution charger? The charger is J1772 and not NACS? How would powershare work with this?

 

[Tony2times]

Maybe I'm missing something... So you are charging both of your Tesla's off the Evolution charger they installed? Everything I've read says you can only charge one vehicle at the reduced rate.

Am I correct in that I'd have to replace one of my chargers with their Evolution charger? The charger is J1772 and not NACS? How would powershare work with this?

One vehicle at a time. PS does not work with evolution. J1772 adaptor.

 

[Obie_fl]

One vehicle at a time. PS does not work with evolution. J1772 adaptor.

I realize it is one vehicle at a time but you are saying you can charge both at the reduced rates? Their FAQ seems to indicate otherwise.

ETA: Now that I think about this a bit AFAIK J1772 has no way of identifying the vehicle. So are you basically on the honor system to charge only one vehicle?

 

[Tony2times]

I realize it is one vehicle at a time but you are saying you can charge both at the reduced rates? Their FAQ seems to indicate otherwise.

ETA: Now that I think about this a bit AFAIK J1772 has no way of identifying the vehicle. So are you basically on the honor system to charge only one vehicle?

I have never heard a single word about 1 vehicle. Why on earth would FPL care if you were charging 100 vehicles provided it was inside of off peak hours?

 

[Obie_fl]

I have never heard a single word about 1 vehicle. Why on earth would FPL care if you were charging 100 vehicles provided it was inside of off peak hours?

From the FAQ maybe I'm reading it wrong.

At this time, we are limiting usage of the charger to a single EV. As a future option, the company is exploring a provision for customers with multiple EVs.

Maybe that just means one at a time but that is peculiar wording. Nice to have confirmation that this is not the case. As to why FPL would care last I checked they aren't fond of giving away electric for free, even after hours.

One other question I don't see answered on their FAQ. Does the charger plug into a standard NEMA 14-50 outlet or is it hardwired? The pictures seem to look hard wired.

 

[Tony2times]

From the FAQ maybe I'm reading it wrong.

Maybe that just means one at a time but that is peculiar wording. Nice to have confirmation that this is not the case. As to why FPL would care last I checked they aren't fond of giving away electric for free, even after hours.

One other question I don't see answered on their FAQ. Does the charger plug into a standard NEMA 14-50 outlet or is it hardwired? The pictures seem to look hard wired.

The charger is hard wired I to your electrical panel. This wording is confusing but what they mean is 2 cars at the same time. Believe it or not, off peak power is not a major issue for FPL (I’m not going to mention how I know this….)

 

[Obie_fl]

I'm already scheming here... So I charge my truck over night unplug it from the Evolution charger and into my UWC/Gateway and run my house off the truck during the day. ?

 

[GardensCT]

I chose to forego the FPL charger for those reasons - states only 1 car can be charged per charger and also they would have to pull out my existing one and give me a slower charger. Along with the 10yr agreement just didn’t make sense for me. I’m not on a time of use plan so it’s not more expensive for me to charge during the day which is more convenient.

 

[Tony2times]

I chose to forego the FPL charger for those reasons - states only 1 car can be charged per charger and also they would have to pull out my existing one and give me a slower charger. Along with the 10yr agreement just didn’t make sense for me. I’m not on a time of use plan so it’s not more expensive for me to charge during the day which is more convenient.

1. Complete BS. You can charge 1000 different cars.
2. poppycock. FPL or the contractor isn’t removing shit. If you want to keep your Tesla charger you can add a circuit.
3. What do you have mounted on your wall that’s faster than the evolution level 2?
4. If you are on the FPL service territory then you pay more during the day at peak. There is no getting around that. If you pay more then $30/mo to charge all of your household EV’s then Evolution is a better deal.
The only point above that equates is the 10 year contract which isn’t an issue unless you are planning to move.

 

[GardensCT]

1. Complete BS. You can charge 1000 different cars.
2. poppycock. FPL or the contractor isn’t removing shit. If you want to keep your Tesla charger you can add a circuit.
3. What do you have mounted on your wall that’s faster than the evolution level 2?
4. If you are on the FPL service territory then you pay more during the day at peak. There is no getting around that. If you pay more then $30/mo to charge all of your household EV’s then Evolution is a better deal.
The only point above that equates is the 10 year contract which isn’t an issue unless you are planning to move.

??Hey man I’m just going by the terms stated on the website. I have a 48A charger that I would not want to give up for their 40A one. Are you saying I can keep mine when they are saying I cannot?

 

[Tony2times]

??Hey man I’m just going by the terms stated on the website. I have a 48A charger that I would not want to give up for their 40A one. Are you saying I can keep mine when they are saying I cannot?

Holy hell. Let me explain:
1. They are talking about charging multiple vehicles at the same time. At some point this will be possible with Evolution. There is not a chance in hell that FPL or the Evolution system could tell what type of vehicle you are charging. It’s off peak power, why would they care?
2. They are not sending the goon squad to tear down your existing system. You need to run a new 50a circuit from your panel to the charger destination (maybe $300-$400 for a decent job). If you read carefully, FPL will not enroll multiple chargers at the same house in the evolution program which is essentially flat rate off peak $30. Important to note, you can easily slide “off” the off peak mode on the evolution system and charge on peak if you feel like you need to. I find this unnecessary with a CT and model X, I’ve never had to charge peak. Like I said, if you pay more then $30/mo then you are getting ripped off and not taking advantage of a generous program. Anyone who tells you otherwise is either misinformed or stupid because the math is simple.

 

[GardensCT]

Holy hell. Let me explain:
1. They are talking about charging multiple vehicles at the same time. At some point this will be possible with Evolution. There is not a chance in hell that FPL or the Evolution system could tell what type of vehicle you are charging. It’s off peak power, why would they care?

They're obviously not talking about simultaneous vehicle charging. They state "we are limiting usage to a single EV" not "the equipment can only charge a single EV at a time" but sounds like they have no way to monitor multiple vehicles so it's an honor system that you're taking advantage of. Nothing wrong with that but it's pretty clear.

Why would they care? The program is to provide a small monthly benefit to customers while locking them in a 10yr contract and protecting it with a early cancellation fee. They're not in the business of giving away as much off peak power as possible for the lowest fixed rate. Again, I'm not knocking you for taking advantage of the program, in fact I will probably do the same. I'm not too familiar with vehicle charging technology so I assumed there was some sort of VIN communication or similar between the charger and vehicle that would allow it to be identified as part of the program.

2. They are not sending the goon squad to tear down your existing system. You need to run a new 50a circuit from your panel to the charger destination (maybe $300-$400 for a decent job). If you read carefully, FPL will not enroll multiple chargers at the same house in the evolution program which is essentially flat rate off peak $30

I'm not sure how you interpret "if you have an existing EV charger, it will be replaced by an FPL EVolution level 2 charger" as being able to keep your existing system. Do you know otherwise? When I called them just now, they confirmed I couldn't keep my current charger and it sounds like you're using their charger so you wouldn't know from experience but let me know if I'm interpreting that wrong.

If you are on the FPL service territory then you pay more during the day at peak. There is no getting around that.

This is not true. In fact, I just asked FPL to do an analysis on whether or not it makes sense to switch to a Time of Use plan. I currently pay the same for electricity during the day and off peak.

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