FCSP vs Chargepoint Flex for 2 EVs?

[PNWskier]

Hoping a few others have experience with this, or have at least thought it through enough to have insight...

We have 1 EV currently (Chevy Bolt used for a local daily in the city) that we charge in a 2-bay garage, and are close to placing an order for Lariat ER (some local daily during the week, but more weekend trips, etc). The garage is a tight fit, but I think we could likely get away with just using 1 charger for both vehicles based on how we use them - it seems unlikely that we'd need to charge both at the same time often, or at all with any real planning. I'm nervous that 2 chargers would push us to needing 400A panel service (200A now), so having 1 charger would also keep our electrical setup simpler.

From other threads, it's clear that our current charger (Chargepoint Flex plugged into a NEMA 14-50) would work for both our Bolt and the truck. I understand that preconditioning is a truck function, and should work for the Lightning if we kept our Chargepoint in place.

But since the FCSP comes with the Lariat ER, I'm curious if anyone's found downsides or hassles to using it to charge other vehicles in addition to your Lightning? This might be a stupid question on a car I already own, but would we need to do anything different with the FCSP for using it with the Bolt? Or does the Bolt automatically throttle the charge rate at 30A for a faster charger?

Thanks in advance.

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[mr.Magoo]

The car/charger will handle the output so that'll all be fine.
I would personally just sell the FCSP unless you plan on getting the backup system in the future.

In order to benefit from the additional speed of the FCSP you'd have to:
A) hard wire it
B) run new wiring to the garage (to support the higher load)
C) potentially get a upgraded panel anyway

The Chargepoints are kind of nice that they do load balancing if you decide to get another one, they can then share the same supply from the house. (Edit, without exceeding the breaker/cable rating)

I have a FCSP that I haven't installed yet and I'm on the fence about installing it or just getting a Chargepoint charger. The FCSP is too much of everything for my needs right now plus the Chargepoint have better (existing) integration with home automation systems.

 

[COrocket]

The FCSP can charge the ER Lightning at up to 80 amps, so that is an advantage if you are willing to have the circuit wired for a 100 amp breaker if it’s not already. If that was the case, the bolt will charge on the FCSP fine and automatically only accept the power level that it can handle. So the only advantage to the FCSP is faster Lightning charging. You’d have to weigh if the extra install cost is worth it to charge the Lightning at a full 30 mph. If not, the ChargePoint Flex will charge the Lightning just fine around 15 mph, which is still enough to give you 150+ miles of range on an overnight charge. Depending on how much you drive will determine whether that’s sufficient.

 

[PNWskier]

Thanks for the inputs. We'd have to hardwire the FCSP, but at least the panel's already in the garage right next to the current Chargepoint, so that wiring/update shouldn't be too complex.

The added charging speed could be helpful for back-to-back day trips in winter, but it sounds like other than that the existing Chargepoint would fit the bill.

 

[SilverBrewer]

I went hardwiring the flex in a 60 amp line. I won’t be doing the backup and frankly I hate using the dc pins. I know it’s minor but the extra step of folding that cover down was like nah.

 

[Pioneer74]

I have both an Emporia and the FCSP installed for my Lightning and the wife's Mach-E. I feel, now that I've had both for a few months, that I could survive with only the Emporia hardwired.

I have the Emporia limited to 32 amps and the FCSP limited to 48. She only needs to charge once a week and we could stay in our TOU plan by having hers charge in the weekends and nights I won't have to charge because I don't work the next day.

But the labor and materials were cheap, so I installed both.

 

[LightningStrike]

I’ve got a Bolt EUV and a Lightning Platinum and have a ChargePoint Homeflex in the garage. I have no issues keeping both charged as needed. Occasionally use a DCFC near the house to run the Lightning back to 80% if it’s way down, but keeping both at 70-100% isn’t an issue with the ChargePoint.

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