Generac launches its first electric vehicle charger

Jul 17, 2024 02:08 AM - 4 months ago 88478

Generac — a powerfulness and power guidance institution known for its gas-powered home backup generators — has released its first electrical conveyance charger. The caller charger joins nan company’s home artillery solution successful its move toward cleanable energy. Generac besides owns Ecobee, a smart thermostat company.

The Generac level 2 charger costs $649 for nan 40 amp type aliases $699 for nan 48 amp and is compatible pinch each EVs connected nan marketplace today, including Teslas’ pinch an adaptor. It has Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity for managing scheduled charging pinch nan Generac EV charging app.

A Power Sharing characteristic lets you link aggregate chargers to 1 circuit (up to 25), and nan strategy will negociate nan charging truthful arsenic not to overload it. A Power Boost characteristic lets you show nan subpanel aliases breaker to debar tripping it.

According to Greg Wischstadt, Generac’s VP of Connectivity, nan charger is made by Wallbox, a starring shaper of EV chargers, but it will tally Generac’s software. Generac invested successful the Wallbox precocious past year.

With nan summation of nan EV charger, Generac is continuing its move into electrical powerfulness that has been accelerating since 2020 erstwhile it launched its PWRcell location artillery — a competitor to nan Tesla Power Wall.

In early 2022, nan institution besides hired Brian Dow, Tesla’s head of engineering, as its VP of Clean Energy. It’s been steadily expanding nan battery’s star retention and location backup solution capabilities, including integrating it pinch its home standby generators.

Generac integrates immoderate of its products pinch nan Ecobee smart thermostat.

Image: Ecobee

While it has Wi-Fi connectivity, nan caller EV charger doesn’t person immoderate smart location integrations, and nan institution isn’t yet portion of nan caller Matter smart location interoperability modular — which conscionable added support for EV chargers.

Generac’s standby generators do merge with Ecobee Smart thermostats to show position and thief pinch power guidance successful a powerfulness outage, and its propane tanks can besides show substance levels connected nan thermostat’s screen. However, Wischstadt says location are nary existent plans to merge nan caller EV charger pinch Ecobee.

Still, you tin spot nan pieces perchance falling into spot present for an integrated power guidance strategy that’s controllable from wrong nan location utilizing Ecobee’s touchscreen interface.