I bought this for my 2017 Chevy Volt... great car, but the 13-hour charging time on a 120V outlet (at 12 amps draw) was counterproductive to my usage. I can't wait more than half a day, to restore the battery to its capacity (~53mi). I had my eye on the JuiceBox Pro 40A for quite a while, and finally had my electrician wire in an "RV"-type (14-50A) 240V outlet on an exterior wall of my porch. All I had to do, was to attach the JuiceBox's mounting bracket to the same wall, hang the unit on the bracket, and plug it in. As portable equipment, I didn't have to visit my town's building department for a permit or other validation.
The JuiceBox's web interface (and app) were easy to get set up, by following the directions... don't pretend you're smarter than the JuiceBox engineers/designers. It is a great way to monitor electricity consumption, amount of charge delivered to the battery pack, and charging history. If your car does not report charge status (or you don't want to pay for OnStar or other telemetry services), then JuiceBox's web services are the next best thing.
My 2017 Chevy Volt charges to 54-56 miles of range (slightly more than the manufacturer's advertised range), in about 4.5 hours. The car's onboard charger is 3.6kW, but JuiceBox reports the load on my home's 240V electrical supply as 3.8kW. I presume that not all of the electricity that goes into the JuiceBox goes into the car battery, but the JuiceBox is far more efficient than using the car's included 120V charger. I can prove it.
By the numbers: The car's 120V charger can be set to draw up to 12 amps from the outlet, which represents 1.44kW, and fully charges the battery in about 13 hours... so a full charge is 1.44kW * 13h = 18.72kWh of electricity used. Repeating the same exercise for the JuiceBox, 3.8kW * 4.5h = 17.1kWh. So if the car's battery pack has a capacity of 18.4kWh, then why does the JuiceBox deliver less than that? Because by design, the car does not permit it's battery pack to go flat-dead. At some threshold, the car decides the battery should not be drained further, and automatically switches on the gas engine instead. So, bottom line: the JuiceBox saves me about 1.6kWh over the manufacturer's 120V charger, each time I charge the car from "empty". Over the course of a month, that adds up to savings on your electric bill.
The JuiceBox may not be much to look at (I mounted mine low, where I could hide it behind a plant), but it is quite effective. My Volt may only support a maximum charge rate of 3.6kW, but newer and future cars will support higher charge rates. Plugged into a 240V outlet, the Juicebox draws 3.8kW, or 15.8A. Since the JuiceBox supports up to 40A, I can easily use this same charger with my next car, that I expect will have a larger battery pack and higher-ampacity charger. That's the direction things are headed, and the JuiceBox is a great way to future-proof toward that.
Sorry for all the nerdy math, but I wanted to share the value of the JuiceBox, beyond just saying "it works faster".
| Manufacturer | Enel X |
|---|---|
| Brand | JuiceBox |
| Item Weight | 20 pounds |
| Product Dimensions | 10 x 6 x 3 inches |
| Item model number | INPR_BU_40A20FT_WIFI |
| Is Discontinued By Manufacturer | No |
| Manufacturer Part Number | INPR_BU_40A20FT_WIFI |
| Special Features | Travel |
| Safety Rating | UL Listed |
| Voltage | 240 Volts |
| Wattage | 10 KW |
