The power and energy management business Generac, well-known for its gas-powered home backup generators, has introduced its first charger for electric vehicles. As part of its transition to clean energy, the business has added the new charger to its home battery solution. The maker of smart thermostats Ecobee is also owned by Generac.
With an adapter, the Generac Level 2 charger may be used with any modern EV on the market, including Tesla cars. It costs $649 for the 40 amp variant and $699 for the 48 amp one. With the Generac EV charging app, it can be used to manage planned charging thanks to its Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity.
You can connect up to 25 chargers to a single circuit using the Power Sharing feature, and the system will handle the charging to prevent overloading. By using a Power Boost feature, you may keep an eye on the subpanel or breaker and prevent tripping it.
Greg Wischstadt, vice president of connection at Generac, claims that although Wallbox is a well-known producer of EV chargers, Generac’s software will be installed on the charger. Late last year, Generac made an investment in the Wallbox.
Since releasing its PWRcell home battery in 2020 as a rival to the Tesla Powerwall, Generac has been steadily increasing its presence in the electric power market. With the inclusion of the EV charger, this trend has continued.
Brian Dow, director of engineering at Tesla, was also appointed by the firm as vice president of sustainable energy in early 2022. Through integration with its home standby generators, it has been gradually increasing the battery’s capacity for solar storage and home backup solutions.
Even though it is Wi-Fi enabled, the new EV charger lacks smart home integrations, and the company is not yet a member of the Matter smart home interoperability standard, which recently included support for EV chargers at all.
Additionally, Generac’s propane tanks can show fuel levels on the thermostat’s screen, and its standby generators can communicate with Ecobee Smart thermostats to display status and assist with energy management during a power outage. The new EV charger and Ecobee are not currently intended to work together, according to Wischstadt.
Nonetheless, the components of a comprehensive energy management system that can be operated from within the house via the Ecobee touchscreen interface are beginning to come together.