The ChargePoint Home Flex Wi-Fi enabled EV charger is one of the best Level 2 (also known as Type 1) home chargers available on the market. It is ChargePoint’s latest and most dynamic offering for EV home chargers.
Overall Rating: 4.6 out of 5.0
Comparisons of ChargePoint Home Flex and ChargePoint Home
The ChargePoint Home Flex is actually the second generation in the ChargePoint home line. The first one appeared in 2015 and it was simply called the ChargePoint Home. Now let’s look at the major differences between these two generations of EV chargers.
|
Comparisons of ChargePoint Home Flex and ChargePoint Home
|
|||||
| EV charger | Color | Power delivery | Cable length | Hardwired or plug-in | Available on the market |
| ChargePoint Home Flex | Dark gray | Flexible, 16-50 amps | 23 feet | Both | Available |
| ChargePoint Home | Shiny black | 16 & 32 amps | 12,18,25 feet | Both | Unavailable |
Color
The ChargePoint Home Flex looks identical to the ChargePoint Home, except the outer casing is dark gray, unlike the ChargePoint Home charger with the shiny black color.
Power Delivery
The original ChargePoint Home was offered in two options based on power delivery. It can deliver 16 amps or 32 amps to the electric car.
The ChargePoint streamlined these two options, eliminated them and created a flexible charger which is why it’s now called the ChargePoint Home Flex.
The ChargePoint Home Flex is capable of flexible power delivery from 16 amps to 50 amps. In other words, you can set the power output to match the circuit you have it on, from a 20-amp circuit that can deliver 16 amps to the vehicle, all the way up to the maximum power delivery of the ChargePoint Home Flex, which is 50 amps.
When you set up the app after installation, you’re asked the rating of the circuit it’s on. The ChargePoint Home Flex automatically sets the maximum amount of power that it will deliver to the EV.
That’s one of the biggest improvements the Flex has over the previous generation of ChargePoint home chargers.
Cable Length
The original ChargePoint Home came with cable length options of 12 feet, 18 feet and 25 feet. The ChargePoint Home Flex is only available in 23 feet now.
Hardwired or Plug-In
Unlike the original ChargePoint Home, which offers both hardwired and plug-in versions, the ChargePoint Home Flex only comes as a plug-in unit and customers can choose between a NEMA 6-50 and a NEMA 14-50 plug (Check NEMA 6 and NEMA 14 plugs) .
If you prefer to hardwire the unit, you can easily remove the plug and hardwire it directly. So practically, the Home Flex EV charger can also be changed to a hardwired unit. Installation is very simple on the ChargePoint Home Flex. You can check the plug-in installation video and hardwired installation video by the ChargePoint .
Available or Unavailable
The older ChargePoint Home has already been discontinued, but the latest model, the Home Flex EV charging station is available on the market.
Major Features of ChargePoint Home Flex
Now that we’ve covered the significant upgrades in the ChargePoint Home Flex from the previous generation of ChargePoint Home. Let’s take a look at some of its main features now.
Power and Weatherproof Rating
Power Output
The ChargePoint Home Flex is a powerful power-adjustable EV charger. It can deliver power of 3.8-12 kW.
The charging speed your electric car can charge at depends on several factors, such as the rating of the circuit you connect it to, the amperage rating you select, your EV’s battery capacity, and the acceptance rate of the on-board charger, and so on (See the factors influencing the charging rate).
| Plugs | Circuit rating (A) | Maximum power delivery to the EV (A) | Voltage （V） | Maximum power delivery to the EV (kW) |
| NEMA 6-50 & 14-50 | 30 | 24 | 240 | 5.7 |
| 40 | 32 | 240 | 7.6 | |
| 50 | 40 | 240 | 9.6 | |
| NEMA 14-60 | 60 | 48 | 240 | 11.5 |
If you have a 30-amp circuit available, the ChargePoint Home Flex can be set to deliver 24 amps to the vehicle and it won’t overload your circuit.
If you have a 50-amp circuit available, it can deliver 40 amps according to the rule of 80% draw (EVSE or electric vehicle service equipment can provide a maximum of 80% of the circuit’s rating).
So if you have a 40-amp circuit, the most power the charger can deliver to the vehicle is 32 amps.
The Flex takes this into consideration. When you set up the app after installation, you’re asked the rating of the circuit it’s on.
The ChargePoint Home Flex automatically sets the maximum amount of power that it will deliver to the EV. So you don’t have to worry about, and it does all the work for you as long as you know what your circuit is rated at.
Energy Star Certified
The ChargePoint Home Flex is one of the few chargers that is Energy Star Certified for energy efficiency.
Weatherproof Rating
The ChargePoint Home Flex is NEMA 3R weatherproof rated, so it’s fine for outdoor use.
However, some of the competing chargers, such as the JuiceBox EV charger, the Wallbox Pulsar Plus Level 2 EV charger, and the Grizzl-E home charger, have a NEMA 4 rating which is a little better.
NEMA 4 rated chargers can withstand even a direct blast from a garden hose without water inside.
If you need to mount your charger outside and you live in an area that frequently gets blowing rainstorms and snowstorms, for that matter, you might want to consider a NEMA 4 rated charger. It will give you an extra level of protection (Check NEMA Enclosure Ratings).
Construction and Durability
Weight and Dimension
The ChargePoint Home Flex is one of the smallest sleekest EV chargers available today. It weighs only 13.8 pounds and has a very small footprint of only 7.06 inches wide by 11.19 inches deep.
Connector
The J1772 connector that’s used by the ChargePoint Home Flex is a custom connector. The Home Flex comes with a high-quality connector, and the handle has a pronounced taper where your index finger resides.
Connector Holster
The ChargePoint Home Flex has an exaggerated tapered edge leading into the connector holster. The tapered edge helps to guide the connector into its locking position.
You don’t need to line the connector up perfectly. With this opening, the tapered edge guides it into the locking position very easily.
The backlit connector holster of the Home Flex charger also helps in a dark garage or a poorly lit outdoor installation.
Cable Length and Pliability
The cable length is 23 feet, longer than 20 feet. The cable on the ChargePoint Home Flex is average thickness and very flexible at room temperature.
After being deeply frozen for 14 hours, the ChargePoint Home Flex cable performed excellent. It regained its flexibility and was allowed to fold it in larger loops.
It was bending nice and easily, which means that the cable would perform very well below zero temperatures, especially if you have your car parked out overnight and you wake up in the morning and you want to come out, but you don’t want to pull the connector.
Plug-In and Hardwired
The ChargePoint Home Flex does come in a plug-in version with a NEMA 14-50 or NEMA 6-50 plug, but you can have your qualified licensed electrician hardwire it if you prefer to.
Indicator Light – Different colors that the ChargePoint Home Flex displays on the led indicate the different status of the charger is under.
Solid white: It’s lost its wifi connection.
Blinking white: It hasn’t been activated yet. When you first install your ChargePoint Home Flex before you’ve paired it with your wi-fi and set up your account, it will be blinking white.
Solid green: The charger is ready to charge.
Blinking green: There is a schedule set. When you set on a time of use electricity plan and want to save some money with overnight charging.
Solid blue: It’s plugged into a vehicle but not currently charging.
Blinking blue: The car is actively charging.
Red: There may be some kind of trouble. What you want to do then is contact the ChargePoint customer support to run a diagnostic and figure out what’s going on.
Overall, the ChargePoint Home Flex is a good, solid unit with robust construction.
Smart Charger
Charging Session Recording
The ChargePoint Home Flex is a Wi-Fi connected smart charger. Connecting to the ChargePoint app is very straightforward.
The ChargePoint app allows you to view pass charging sessions and see exactly how much energy your car took in and how much it cost you.
Time Scheduling
You can also schedule the time for the car to charge and save you with off-peak electricity rates.
You can also schedule a reminder to plug in, and the ChargePoint Home Flex will send you a notification, which can definitely be a useful feature, especially for new EV owners who haven’t yet formed that habit of plugging in regularly.
Plus, you can check the real-time charging status in your ChargePoint mobile app to see if anybody else is using the charger unauthorizedly.
Resume Charging
Your electric car is charging and then you lose power. When the power gets restored, will it immediately start charging the EV again?
The answer is definitely, YES. The EV charger restarted and began charging after a power outage. It can restart automatically.
Amazon Alexa Compatible
The ChargePoint Home Flex is also Amazon Alexa compatible and allows you to ask Alexa to start or stop a charging session for your car.
You can ask it if your car is plugged in or not or how many miles of range has been added in this last charging session. You can also ask Alexa how much you’ve spent on charging your EV this month which is definitely a good feature.
Eligible to Participate In Utility Demand Response Programs
You can also participate in Utility Demand Response Programs with the ChargePoint Home Flex charger, which can be very beneficial.
You give your utility the ability to shift the time your EV charges, and in doing so, you get a discounted electricity rate. Sometimes it’s a big discount.
Although there aren’t very many demand response programs available today, there’s going to be moving forward within the next few years.
So having a charger that can participate in these programs could save you money down the road.
Not capable of Power Sharing
Power sharing means that you can use more than one charger and share a single circuit.
The ChargePoint Home Flex cannot do that. You’d have to buy a second unit and then run a second circuit if you wanted to charge two electric cars.
Drawbacks
There is one potential issue we can see with the ChargePoint app.
It will only allow one ChargePoint Home Flex unit per account, so if you have two EVs and you buy two ChargePoint Home Flex units, you can’t have them both on the same account.
You’ll need to use a new email address to set up a new ChargePoint account
There is another issue. ChargePoint also requires you to enter your credit card information when you open an account.
That’s because the same account you use for your ChargePoint Home Flex will also be used for any public charging. That’s the only little bit of a negative.
Most apps don’t require you to put in a credit card, just to start an account. For ChargePoint Home Flex, it doesn’t charge anything on your account but it’s there in case you need to make a payment. It’s already set up in your account.
Support, Safety Certified and Warranty
24/7 Support
They provide 24/7 customer support.
Safety Certified
The ChargePoint Home Flex is safety certified for electrical safety. It’s UL listed.
Warranty
The ChargePoint Home Flex has a 3-year warranty. The electric vehicle charging station that has less than a one-year warranty.
If the manufacturer doesn’t have the confidence in their product to give at least a one-year warranty, it’s probably not well built.
TIPS
As the Home Flex is NEMA 3 rating with a price of more than $650 (as of 9/21/21), it might go beyond some EV owners’ budget.
Therefore, if you live in a mild climate area, are looking for a smart EV charger delivering high power, like 50 amps, and have the budget to cover the cost of the ChargePoint Home Flex, you should definitely mark the Home Flex charger on your list.
If you own both Tesla and non-Tesla electric cars, the ChargePoint Home Flex charger with an adapter will suit your charging needs perfectly.
Check here for Tesla home charger!
Related Posts
Tesla Wall Charger Review
JuiceBox Charger Review
Wallbox Pulsar Plus Review
Grizzl-E Charger Review
ClipperCreek Charger Review