Electrify America taps into connected home chargingElectrify America taps into connected home charging

Electrify America is expanding its focus from public charging to the place most EV drivers charge the most—at home.
On sale now, the HomeStation Level 2 AC charging station is Electrify America’s most serious effort yet to gain a foothold in home charging, where EV owners typically charge 80% or more of the time.
The HomeStation is part of Electrify America’s home-charging business, dubbed Electrify Home, announced in 2020. The station itself was announced earlier this year, but is only now going on sale through Electrify Home’s website or Amazon, priced at $649, Electrify America announced Tuesday in a press release.
Electrify America HomeStation
With 9.6 kilowatts of power at 40 amps, Electrify America claims the HomeStation can add 33 miles of range per hour. It can be plugged into a NEMA 14-50 outlet or hardwired, according to the company.
A WiFi connection allows the HomeStation to sync with the Electrify America smartphone app, allowing users to remotely start and stop charging. Amazon Alexa integration will soon be added as well, Electrify America said.
That sort of connected home charging might fit in with Electrify America’s efforts to shift its fast-charge billing to by-the-kilowatt-hour, as both should appeal to those aiming to analyze energy use.
The unit itself was styled by Italdesign, the Italian styling house that’s also shaped many memorable cars, including the DeLorean DMC-12 and the original Volkswagen Golf. Both Italdesign and Electrify America are subsidiaries of the VW Group, the latter created as part of VW’s diesel-emissions cheating settlement.
Electrify America HomeStation
If you’re looking for a home-charging station, there are plenty of options now available. There’s also a handy online tool to sort through those options, from none other than Electrify America. Like the Electrify America charging network itself, you can thank the VW diesel scandal for that.
Home charging is a significant shift for Electrify America. Although it includes some metro-area charging options, the primary focus has been on establishing a road-trip DC fast-charging network for EVs.
However, Electrify America appears in the process of establishing itself as a standalone brand. Earlier this year we noted that the Volkswagen ID.4 doesn’t provide an interface that makes Electrify America’s stations easy to find—despite the same parent company. The ID.4 does come with three years of free fast charging on the Electrify America network, though.

View original article at:  “https://www.greencarreports.com//news/1132523_electrify-america-taps-into-connected-home-charging”