[dtaylor89]

When I went into the dealership earlier this month to test drive, they gave me a copy of the dealer bulletin dated October 2020, long story short ChargePoint is the preferred unit and they are recommending Qmerit for installation if you want. I remember looking through one of the forums, that someone had mentioned that Dealerships may have had a discount on the home charger. I pushed and they do not offer any additional discounts or special links. So up to you where you want to order the unit from, but remember save your receipts as you can get up to 30% back on installation costs when you file your 2021 taxes next year. You will need to file Form 8911 next year, and this covers both the unit and any labor to install.

We just ordered our ChargePoint Home Flex in preparation of taking deliver. While we ordered it with the 14-50 plug (you can also order with the 6-50 plug, but 14-50 is the newer style and used within RV industry) but plan to hardwire the unit at home. The Volvo XC40 Recharge states it can accept up to a 11 kW charge, which doing electrical math means it will take about 45.5 A to hit this level on 240V. The ChargePoint installation instructs states you will need a 60 A breaker to get 48 A usable to charge with (they require a 125% buffer on the breaker for safety). If you stick with the 50A plug (on a 50A breaker) you get 40 A usable netting a 9.6 kW charge.

You can order direct through ChargePoint - Home Depot - Amazon, but it seems stock is limited as Amazon pricing sky rocketed for the 14-50 plug. We went with Home Depot here and hope to have it next week. Will post photos once we get it installed and configured.

 

[Seattleman]

When I went into the dealership earlier this month to test drive, they gave me a copy of the dealer bulletin dated October 2020, long story short ChargePoint is the preferred unit and they are recommending Qmerit for installation if you want. I remember looking through one of the forums, that someone had mentioned that Dealerships may have had a discount on the home charger. I pushed and they do not offer any additional discounts or special links. So up to you where you want to order the unit from, but remember save your receipts as you can get up to 30% back on installation costs when you file your 2021 taxes next year. You will need to file Form 8911 next year, and this covers both the unit and any labor to install.

We just ordered our ChargePoint Home Flex in preparation of taking deliver. While we ordered it with the 14-50 plug (you can also order with the 6-50 plug, but 14-50 is the newer style and used within RV industry) but plan to hardwire the unit at home. The Volvo XC40 Recharge states it can accept up to a 11 kW charge, which doing electrical math means it will take about 45.5 A to hit this level on 240V. The ChargePoint installation instructs states you will need a 60 A breaker to get 48 A usable to charge with (they require a 125% buffer on the breaker for safety). If you stick with the 50A plug (on a 50A breaker) you get 40 A usable netting a 9.6 kW charge.

You can order direct through ChargePoint - Home Depot - Amazon, but it seems stock is limited as Amazon pricing sky rocketed for the 14-50 plug. We went with Home Depot here and hope to have it next week. Will post photos once we get it installed and configured.

In the US, also check with your city or local authority about programs and discounts for installing Level 2 chargers at home. I signed up for the City of Seattle program in 2019 and the city installed a level 2 charger in my garage. After I finish the study, I get to keep the charger. There is a small monthly fee.

 

[dtaylor89]

In the US, also check with your city or local authority about programs and discounts for installing Level 2 chargers at home. I signed up for the City of Seattle program in 2019 and the city installed a level 2 charger in my garage. After I finish the study, I get to keep the charger. There is a small monthly fee.

Sadly there is nothing similar for me with my New Jersey electric provider or through the state. But glad the federal got extended, I tried to push Volvo Concierge at the end of last year for info on the recommended chargers and it was like no one wanted to advocate for the customer and get information beyond reading their approved scripts.

 

[3569]

When I went into the dealership earlier this month to test drive, they gave me a copy of the dealer bulletin dated October 2020, long story short ChargePoint is the preferred unit and they are recommending Qmerit for installation if you want. I remember looking through one of the forums, that someone had mentioned that Dealerships may have had a discount on the home charger. I pushed and they do not offer any additional discounts or special links. So up to you where you want to order the unit from, but remember save your receipts as you can get up to 30% back on installation costs when you file your 2021 taxes next year. You will need to file Form 8911 next year, and this covers both the unit and any labor to install.

We just ordered our ChargePoint Home Flex in preparation of taking deliver. While we ordered it with the 14-50 plug (you can also order with the 6-50 plug, but 14-50 is the newer style and used within RV industry) but plan to hardwire the unit at home. The Volvo XC40 Recharge states it can accept up to a 11 kW charge, which doing electrical math means it will take about 45.5 A to hit this level on 240V. The ChargePoint installation instructs states you will need a 60 A breaker to get 48 A usable to charge with (they require a 125% buffer on the breaker for safety). If you stick with the 50A plug (on a 50A breaker) you get 40 A usable netting a 9.6 kW charge.

You can order direct through ChargePoint - Home Depot - Amazon, but it seems stock is limited as Amazon pricing sky rocketed for the 14-50 plug. We went with Home Depot here and hope to have it next week. Will post photos once we get it installed and configured.

We ended up getting the ChargePoint Home Flex direct from ChargePoint (NEVA 14-50 for $699), which got to us quickly. Going to do a 60A circuit to the detached garage to get a 48A continuous flow on a hardwired charger. With winter and COVID, electricians are backed up, so installation is later in April. But at least there are a good number of local public chargers, and my employer has one within walking distance. On the advice of a friend, I also picked up a TeslaTap to maximize charging options when out and about.

The table is set! Now I just need that steak....

 

[dtaylor89]

We ended up getting the ChargePoint Home Flex direct from ChargePoint (NEVA 14-50 for $699), which got to us quickly. Going to do a 60A circuit to the detached garage to get a 48A continuous flow on a hardwired charger. With winter and COVID, electricians are backed up, so installation is later in April. But at least there are a good number of local public chargers, and my employer has one within walking distance. On the advice of a friend, I also picked up a TeslaTap to maximize charging options when out and about.

The table is set! Now I just need that steak....

Do you have a link to the best Tesla convertor for the J1772 plug? Sadly Tesla charger is closer to my work currently and still more prevalent around us.

 

[3569]

Do you have a link to the best Tesla convertor for the J1772 plug? Sadly Tesla charger is closer to my work currently and still more prevalent around us.

This is the one I went with (50A version): TeslaTap 50 AMP - HIGH POWER
There is also a 40A version which is a little cheaper, and probably more than enough, but overdoing stuff is kind of my thing.

 

[blitzswede]

This is the one I went with (50A version): TeslaTap 50 AMP - HIGH POWER
There is also a 40A version which is a little cheaper, and probably more than enough, but overdoing stuff is kind of my thing.

I ordered the 40 A adapter over two weeks ago - still no sign of delivery. TeslaTap sent it via USPS - no other quicker form of shipment was offered. I intend to continue using my existing Tesla wall charger with the adapter initially and see how it works out. The P8 has the same onboard charger rating as my Model 3 (11kW) so if the adapter path should be fine. Otherwise, I'll have to use the P14-50 cable included with the P8.

 

[3569]

I ordered the 40 A adapter over two weeks ago - still no sign of delivery. TeslaTap sent it via USPS - no other quicker form of shipment was offered. I intend to continue using my existing Tesla wall charger with the adapter initially and see how it works out. The P8 has the same onboard charger rating as my Model 3 (11kW) so if the adapter path should be fine. Otherwise, I'll have to use the P14-50 cable included with the P8.

They should have a USPS tracking link on the confirmation. I watched it closely because they say they aren't liable for any shipping issues. Good luck!

 

[blitzswede]

They should have a USPS tracking link on the confirmation. I watched it closely because they say they aren't liable for any shipping issues. Good luck!

Yup, I've been keeping an eye out at my link ever since the unit was shipped. It arrived in Canada and cleared customs a week ago but the problem seems to be Canada Post, who have dropped the ball completely and are sitting on the shipment ever since, with no progress report. At this rate, I think the car might get here first !

 

[dtaylor89]

Yup, I've been keeping an eye out at my link ever since the unit was shipped. It arrived in Canada and cleared customs a week ago but the problem seems to be Canada Post, who have dropped the ball completely and are sitting on the shipment ever since, with no progress report. At this rate, I think the car might get here first !

Something worse than USPS?!?! never ha

...coming from someone who has mailed close to 600+ packages last year for work with USPS domestically mainly and globally. Well versed in the issues.

 

[Seattleman]

This is the one I went with (50A version): TeslaTap 50 AMP - HIGH POWER
There is also a 40A version which is a little cheaper, and probably more than enough, but overdoing stuff is kind of my thing.

Here is what I heard back from my Volvo contact when I asked them about the Tesla Tap charger and what AMP charger to buy for the XC40 P8:

"Volvo doesn’t recommend charging this way. If you do decide to use these items please use at your own risk. The onboard charger will charge at the level set by the onboard computer. The max amps for the P8 is 40amps."

I plan on getting the 40 AMP one and use it only as an emergency option when stuck someplace away from home - where I intend to charge most of the time.

 

[dtaylor89]

Here is what I heard back from my Volvo contact when I asked them about the Tesla Tap charger and what AMP charger to buy for the XC40 P8:

"Volvo doesn’t recommend charging this way. If you do decide to use these items please use at your own risk. The onboard charger will charge at the level set by the onboard computer. The max amps for the P8 is 40amps."

I plan on getting the 40 AMP one and use it only as an emergency option when stuck someplace away from home - where I intend to charge most of the time.

Interesting on the 40A limit - when they say it can take a 11kW L2 charge. Which is greater than 40A.

 

[3569]

Yeah I get why they don’t recommend using an adapter like these, but I'm also confused by the 40A statement. I also have seen a striking amount of misinformation and confusion in every direction related to how new all of this is. Until I know better, though, I'll set the charging to 40A when connecting to a Tesla charger! Better slow than sorry!

 

[dtaylor89]

Yeah I get why they don’t recommend using an adapter like these, but I'm also confused by the 40A statement. I also have seen a striking amount of misinformation and confusion in every direction related to how new all of this is. Until I know better, though, I'll set the charging to 40A when connecting to a Tesla charger! Better slow than sorry!

Yup - Even their page is quoting a "With 11kW AC fast charging/wallbox" for all Electric Version

 

[Jersey]

Question? I literally just got my xc40 recharge an hour ago. Very excited but I'm ready for a learning curve. The dealer gave me no info on home charging. My neighbor has a tesla and he didn't install a charging station. He had an electrician put in a NEMA 1450 outlet and just plugs in. He thought there was very little difference in charging time between using this 220 outlet and a charging station. Thoughts?

 

[blitzswede]

This is a direct cut from the Owners Manual of the P8 Recharge at Volvo Canada site.
As you can see, 48A setting (which is enough for charging at 11kW power), is supported at the center display settings:

 

[3569]

Question? I literally just got my xc40 recharge an hour ago. Very excited but I'm ready for a learning curve. The dealer gave me no info on home charging. My neighbor has a tesla and he didn't install a charging station. He had an electrician put in a NEMA 1450 outlet and just plugs in. He thought there was very little difference in charging time between using this 220 outlet and a charging station. Thoughts?

That's a fine approach if you don't need the absolute fastest speeds available from hardwiring a charging station, and if you don't care about some of the "smart" scheduling features and metrics available from the charging stations themselves. Volvo On Call will soon have some of those features directly, anyway -- like scheduling charging times. In my situation most of the cost is going to be in getting the electrical circuit run out to the garage -- so the convenience of having a standalone, hardwired charging station and leaving the other cables in the car is what I've chosen. But it is definitely not the cheapest nor simplest approach.

 

[blitzswede]

Question? I literally just got my xc40 recharge an hour ago. Very excited but I'm ready for a learning curve. The dealer gave me no info on home charging. My neighbor has a tesla and he didn't install a charging station. He had an electrician put in a NEMA 1450 outlet and just plugs in. He thought there was very little difference in charging time between using this 220 outlet and a charging station. Thoughts?

That should work just fine using the P8's included cable that has temperature monitoring, and within Volvo's specs. You don't need any smarts in the wall unit as all the settings are built into the car.

 

[dtaylor89]

Question? I literally just got my xc40 recharge an hour ago. Very excited but I'm ready for a learning curve. The dealer gave me no info on home charging. My neighbor has a tesla and he didn't install a charging station. He had an electrician put in a NEMA 1450 outlet and just plugs in. He thought there was very little difference in charging time between using this 220 outlet and a charging station. Thoughts?

Within the car it should have come with a 'lightweight' charger and is good enough to top off if you are out of town for a night and such. But a true L2 charger will get you the best charging speed. See the link in my post above for the Volvo recommendations.

 

[blitzswede]

Within the car it should have come with a 'lightweight' charger and is good enough to top off if you are out of town for a night and such. But a true L2 charger will get you the best charging speed. See the link in my post above for the Volvo recommendations.

The only true charger is the one built into the car. All other "chargers" on the wall are nothing more than EVSE (Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment) devices, which are not chargers at all no matter what they cost and how many "smarts" they might have. As such, an EVSE will never be able to supply any more power that is either (1) available at the line's circuit breaker less 20% safety buffer, or (2) the car's onboard charger can accept. So as an example, a 40A breaker on a 240V line will supply 32A worth of current to the onboard charger of the car, provided the car's central display setting is set accordingly for that.
This is the configuration, in conjunction with my existing hardwired Tesla wall charger (which is set at 32A output on a 40A breaker at the panel) that I will be using with the TeslaTap 40A adapter that I ordered, and of course setting the P8's center display settings to match. Since the Tesla wall charger has built-in temperature and surge protection safeguards, I don't expect any problems running afoul of Volvo's specifications. But I might just abandon the adapter idea if I feel the adapter connection is not as seamless as thought.