Unpopular opinion: Level 1 charging is fine if you drive less than 30 miles a day

I was dead set against even trying it when I got my Leaf last month in Portland, but after 3 weeks of just plugging into a regular outlet overnight I've never once needed a public charger, so has anyone else found the L1 hate to be overblown?

3 comments

3 Comments

john4301mo ago

Level 1 charging works great if your daily driving is under 30 miles and you can plug in every night. People act like you absolutely need a 240V setup but most folks just don't need that kind of speed. The bigger issue is how many apartments and older homes don't even have a convenient outlet near where they park.

xena_miller311mo ago

Agree completely with your point about apartments and older homes. I've seen friends struggle with that exact problem - they want to go electric but their landlord won't install anything, and they're stuck parking on the street. It's frustrating because the car companies push these expensive fast chargers when most people just need a basic outlet to make it work. The whole system feels like it was designed for new houses with garages, not the reality of how many folks actually live.

rayc381mo ago

Bought one of those heavy duty outdoor extension cords and a timer to charge my Volt in the driveway at my old place. Neighbors thought I was running a space heater or something but it worked fine for years. The timer was key so I wouldnt forget to unplug it before leaving.