Schneider Electric launched Schneider Charge on August 25, 2026: a $695 Level 2 home charger, sold in NACS or J1772 versions, that delivers up to 11.5 kW (48 amps) and bundles SmartAmp, a dynamic load-management system built around included current sensors that throttle charging automatically when other big household loads draw power. The bundling is the news, since buying the equivalent capability piecemeal, a Tesla Wall Connector plus its separate $210 Remote Meter, runs $745, and either path can help a home with a tight electrical panel avoid a $2,000 to $6,500 service or panel upgrade. The charger ships hardwired only for now, with a 25-foot cable and a plug-in version Schneider says is coming in early 2027, and a licensed electrician still has to wire the included current sensors into the panel.
Updated Sep 20267 min read
J.D. Power's 2026 U.S. Electric Vehicle Experience Public Charging Study, released August 12, found that IONNA (807 out of 1,000), Mercedes-Benz Charging Network (797), and Rivian Adventure Network (755) all scored higher than Tesla's Supercharger network (701) on customer satisfaction with DC fast charging, the first time Tesla has not led the ranking. Overall DC fast charging satisfaction rose 12 points to 666 and failed-charging visits fell to a record-low 12%, but public Level 2 satisfaction dropped 12 points to 595 on payment and ease-of-charging complaints. For home-charging owners, the finding that matters most is the Level 2 one: the public plug getting worse is one more reason the box in your garage stays the more reliable option, while the DC fast picture is now genuinely more competitive for road trips.
Updated Aug 20268 min read
The 2026 National Electrical Code is rolling out state by state, and it adds a new EV-specific rule: Section 625.4 requires permanently installed home chargers to be put in by a qualified person, a provision that did not exist in the 2023 code. Texas adopted the 2026 NEC on July 28, effective September 1, and Minnesota's adoption takes effect August 17. Washington has a rulemaking in progress. For most homeowners, who already hire a licensed electrician for a permitted 240-volt circuit, this changes little in practice, but it closes a narrower path some jurisdictions left open for a homeowner to hardwire the unit themselves. It does not affect the outlet and circuit that feed a plug-in charger.
Updated Aug 20267 min read
Cold batteries accept charge slowly, which is why a freezing car at a 150 kW fast charger can start well under 50 kW. At home the picture is very different: overnight Level 2 charging is slow enough that a cold battery barely holds it back, and the battery warms gradually while it charges. The habit that helps most is preconditioning while still plugged in, because it heats the cabin and battery on grid power instead of spending your range. Winter does raise your charging cost, but only modestly at home electricity rates.
Updated Aug 20267 min read
Ford extended its Power Promise program on July 7, 2026, and narrowed it at the same time. The window for a 2025 Mustang Mach-E closed July 31; buyers or lessees of a new 2026 Mach-E have until September 30 to claim a free Level 2 home charger with free standard installation, or $2,000 in bonus cash instead. The F-150 Lightning, Ford's other Power Promise vehicle, dropped off the offer after Ford ended its production in late 2025. The free install covers up to a 60-amp circuit and 80 feet of wire; panel upgrades and permit fees are not included.
Updated Aug 20266 min read
New Jersey's Charge Up New Jersey program relaunched for fiscal year 2027 on July 1, 2026, with new Terms and Conditions and freshly approved funding, including the $250 In-Home EV Charger Incentive for a qualifying Level 2 charger. It landed exactly one day after the federal 30C charger tax credit expired on June 30, 2026. The timing is coincidental (New Jersey's state fiscal year always starts July 1), but it is a useful, concrete reminder that state and utility money did not disappear along with the federal credit, and that many of those programs run on annual funding cycles worth rechecking now.
Updated Aug 20266 min read
Rivian began delivering the R2 compact SUV on June 9, 2026, making it the first production Rivian with a factory NACS port. The R2 carries an 87.9 kWh usable battery and an 11.5 kW onboard charger, filling from empty in about 8 hours on a 48-amp Level 2 circuit. Rivian says the R2 is designed to support V2H, but has not released a bidirectional home charger and has not given a timeline. The first delivered configuration is the R2 Performance with Launch Package, starting at $57,990, with lower-priced R2 variants scheduled later.
Updated Aug 20267 min read
EnergyHub and Rivian announced a partnership on February 24, 2026 intended to make Rivian vehicles eligible for passive and active managed-charging programs across North America. Managed charging shifts your charging to cheaper off-peak hours and lets the utility briefly pause it during grid stress. The savings come from off-peak rates plus any utility enrollment credits, so the payoff depends entirely on your utility's program. The release does not specify an in-app enrollment workflow or an eligible-model list, so confirm those details with your utility's program.
Updated Aug 20266 min read
The North American Charging Standard (NACS), originally Tesla's proprietary connector, is now the open SAE J3400 standard. As of Q2 2026, essentially every automaker selling EVs in North America has adopted it, and the major non-Tesla brands have shipped NACS adapters that open the Supercharger network to their owners. For home charging, this barely matters: Level 2 at home is unchanged, and adapters bridge the gap in both directions. Using a Supercharger as a non-Tesla driver still carries real friction: a per-kWh price premium, station-dependent speed caps, adapters that are no longer always free, and cable-length issues on trucks and SUVs.
Updated Aug 202610 min read
Bidirectional charging covers three distinct things: V2L (run appliances from the car), V2H (power your house through a backup panel), and V2G (sell energy back to the grid). As of Q2 2026, V2H is genuinely buyable from GM, Tesla, and a handful of others, but Ford has discontinued its Home Integration System. V2L is common and cheap. V2G remains rare and depends on your utility. Expect $3,500 to $15,000 installed for a real V2H setup.
Updated Aug 20267 min read
The 30C credit ended June 30, 2026 under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Residential: 30% up to $1,000. Commercial: 6% base or 30% with prevailing wage, up to $100,000 per port. Tax-exempt entities including churches and nonprofits claimed via elective pay. Two disqualifiers ruled out most claims: the eligible census tract requirement, and 'placed in service' meaning operational, not contracted. Property placed in service after the deadline cannot claim it.
Updated Aug 202612 min read
Electric trucks carry batteries in the 98-205 kWh range, roughly double a typical EV sedan. That makes Level 1 charging impractical as a primary method and pushes most truck households toward a 48-amp charger on a 60-amp circuit at minimum. A few trucks, led by the F-150 Lightning Extended Range, can accept 80 amps (19.2 kW) but need a 100-amp circuit to do it. The practical decision for most buyers is 48A plus load management, not the maximum hardware.
Updated Aug 20269 min read
Public DC fast charging reliability has improved measurably. Independent tracking put the national reliability index around 93.5 in Q1 2026, up from the low-90s a year earlier, with Tesla's Supercharger network leading. But headline uptime overstates the real experience: research finds first-time charge success rates well below claimed uptime, and the federal NEVI program's 97% uptime requirement is pushing operators to invest. The gap between best and worst networks is narrowing but real.
Updated Aug 20266 min read
Smart panels and load management devices let homes with limited electrical capacity add EV charging without a full panel upgrade by monitoring total household load in real time and throttling the charger when other big appliances run. The National Electrical Code recognizes these systems: the 2023 edition's Section 625.42 and new Section 220.70 let installers size circuits to the managed load instead of the charger's full nameplate rating, and the 2026 edition refines the rules further.
Updated Jun 20267 min read
Rural EV charging is expanding through NEVI highway-corridor funding, CFI community grants that prioritize rural areas, USDA rural loans and grants, and rural electric cooperatives. Coverage is improving but still trails metro areas substantially: as of early 2025, roughly 45% of rural counties had at least one DC fast-charging port versus about 77% of metro counties. Mid-corridor highway coverage is the bright spot; local off-highway charging remains thin and electrical-capacity costs are a persistent rural obstacle. For rural EV owners, reliable home charging matters more, not less.
Updated May 20266 min read
EV charger incentives are not evenly distributed across the country, and most home-charger help now comes through utilities rather than direct state tax credits. California, Colorado, New York, and the Northeast have the deepest layered programs; roughly twenty states have little or nothing at the state level, and the federal 30C credit that used to backstop them ended June 30, 2026. With 30C gone, the gap between high-incentive and low-incentive states has widened. The reliable way to find what applies to you is DSIRE and the federal AFDC database, not aggregator sites.
Updated May 20268 min read
US electric utilities increasingly offer rebates, bill credits, and managed-charging payments for home EV charging. Programs vary widely by utility but commonly add $100-$1,500 in value on top of state incentives, with extra amounts often available in disadvantaged communities. The driver is straightforward: utilities want EV load, but they want it overnight and off-peak, and paying for managed charging is cheaper than building peak capacity. This layer has grown in importance now that the federal 30C credit ended in June 2026.
Updated May 20267 min read