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Emporia is a Colorado-based manufacturer of electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE, a.k.a. chargers), along with a complete home ecosystem of solar and energy management products. If you follow Torque News, you may be aware that we have been testing an Emporia charger now for the better part of a year. We love the Emporia Level 2 home charger and reached out to Shawn McLaughlin, Emporia’s CEO, to find out more about what the company has in store now that the United States is shifting to the NACS standard (Tesla-style charger handle).
Related Story: Review: Emporia 48 Amp EV Charger - Features, Value, Quality
Emporia’s NACS Charger Timeline
Mr. McLaughlin was very open about the company’s timeline. He told us that he himself has been charging a Tesla Model Y at home using Emporia’s beta NACS charger, and it works flawlessly. He even charges his Rivian with the NACS charger using a J-plug adapter. So, the design is set.
The key suppliers have been located and vetted, and partnerships have been formed to supply Empora with the needed base components. A large number of cables and handles are already in production and will arrive at Emporia in October. By November, the Emporia NACS Level 2 chargers will be in production, and Emporia will be supplying consumers with NACS chargers by year-end. The price point is slated to be under $400.
Emporia’s Big Surprise
If you own a Tesla, you know that one of the coolest features is the ability of the NACS handle to communicate with the vehicle and command it to open its charging bay door. Emporia’s NACS charger will offer this feature! Tesla owners charging with an Emporia NACS charger will enjoy that same convenience. If other manufacturers opt to adopt the technology, they too will work automagically with the Emporia charger. Nobody will miss the hassle of opening charging doors and messing with rubber caps!
Emporia’s Specs Match Tesla’s Wall Charger, But Its Charger Costs Less
Another interesting tidbit we gleaned from Mr. McLaughlin is that the product that Emporia will offer will match all of the important specifications of Tesla’s wall charger. Charging rates and the like will all be the same. Emporia already offers a great app and much more that we find to be marketplace advantages. One additional reason Tesla owners may want to check out the Emporia NACS charger is that it will cost approximately 20% less than Tesla’s.
Yes, It is UL Listed
If you look closely at the charging products on the market today, you may find that one or two you are considering are not UL-listed. Sure, the cable may be, but not the entire unit. Like this current charger, the NACS charger from Emporia will be UL-listed. Mr. McLaughlin made a point of this, saying that the company feels that not only is a UL listing important from a safety standpoint, but it is also a competitive advantage since many charger products sold today (by other companies) don’t offer it.
Two More Updates
Torque News will cover the topics separately, but we wanted to let our readers know that there are two more announcements pending from Emporia. The topics include Load Management and Bi-Directional Charging. Check back with Torque News for more Emporia updates soon.
Image courtesy of Emporia.
John Goreham is an experienced New England Motor Press Association member and expert vehicle tester. John completed an engineering program with a focus on electric vehicles, followed by two decades of work in high-tech, biopharma, and the automotive supply chain before becoming a news contributor. In addition to his eleven years of work at Torque News, John has published thousands of articles and reviews at American news outlets. He is known for offering unfiltered opinions on vehicle topics. You can follow John on Twitter, and connect with him at Linkedin.
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