What an epic video! Truly one of the most fascinating tours I’ve had in a long time. ChargePoint is doing so much more than I expected or even realized - from their fully integrated software stack enabling their hardware platform, to their reliability test labs, and even their upgraded AC products - they’re upping the power and making it easier for site hosts to offer EV charging. It’s not all perfect, units and packages are comparatively expensive, cables on the DC lower power side could use a higher current rating, and they still have to rely on site hosts being good partners to ensure network uptime. However I think you’ll agree with me that the turn-key solution that CP offers from hardware to software is premium and easy to understand both for driver and host. Ultimately, it’s not the cheapest or always the most powerful, but it might just be the best.
We all know that 100 kw "fast" chargers are inadequate joke for modern EVs and especially larger vehicles and the ChargePoint network of junk 50kw stations are beyond useless. They are in-town urban chargers (a dubious category) masquerading as fast chargers, but they are useless for longer-range travel. Much bigger problem: the Chargepoint App prevents you from filtering by charge speed. You can select "DCFC" but it is gives you loads of 50 kw junk stations rather than allowing you to select for a reasonable minimum charging speed of 150 kw+ for example. Unless CP will allow you to filter by speed, the app and its network are unusable. (Fisker made a huge mistake partnering with these guys given how weak and underpowered this network is and how the software is geared to steer you to inadequate legacy CP stations.)
@@solarexec we have the need for charging at all power levels. It needs to match the expected dwell time of the vehicle. Unfortunately many site hosts don’t choose the right chargers for the application, something we’ll be covering more!
@@KyleConner IMO it is exceptionally difficult to justify dumping public money into these slower chargers. To me, the bigger issue for Chargepoint is the weakness of the CP roaming network. It does not include the networks that actually matter (EA and soon Tesla). Also, the inability of the app to filter out the junk chargers makes it unusable for me. You can see on the Mercedes demo all the useless clutter that comes up. CP needs to give users the option to filter out stuff below 150 kw (starting with the phone app). The reality is if you put that filter onto the phone, the CP network looks like the emperor with no clothes. Even with the roaming partners, it has a tiny network of real fast charging stations (150kw+). If it is going to make a play to be standard software, it absolutely must include EA (and Tesla as magic dock gets rolled out). Without those networks it is dead as a software solution.
These are the "gas stations" of the from here on out. They should concentrate on just building and managing their own high speed charging stations/network so they are not blamed for poor working stations or too slow of speed. Yes, at malls and the such slow is fine and needed. However, speed is where the money is. This will be a trillion dollar worldwide business when all is said and done.
Say anything you like about Charge Point's station quality, but this level of transparency is phenomenal. The confidence it takes to throw open the doors and make their teams available...super impressive. Good for them.
Well, as great as this is, it still doesn’t change the fact that out in the world, their stations aren’t reliable. As demonstrated many times by none other than Out of Spec. I didn’t watch this video, but would appreciate from anyone that has watched it, to know whether he broached that subject with them at anytime in this video, and of course, if he did, what was their response. With what he’s said many times in the past about their network, I’m puzzled by this, on the surface at least, gushing, and glowing report on them. Makes me feel like maybe he may not be as trustworthy as I thought he was. Again, I have not viewed this video.
@@anthonyscott5134 I totally understand where you're coming from. The last chapter of the video follows one of their reliability test engineers around if you are interested in watching that part. As for gushing review, I think you'll want to watch it before you describe it that way because you might have a different opinion when it's done. He's excited about some new tech coming down the line, he provides some critique about UI and some common problems, and he shares the whole tour with us. He's not gushing, but he's not a rude guest either. The value of transparency is hard to deny and he gets some fantastic access here. I think you'll enjoy the video if you get the time.
My two year old Flex home charger broke last week. I called for help, ChargePoint actually answered the phone and sent me a new one under warranty in 3 days. What a great company!
Awesome. Kudos to Chargepoint for allowing you to tour their engineering site. Not sure the other manufactures have the balls to something so in-depth. Great Video.
I'm a licensed electrical contractor in New Jersey and I prefer installing the ChargePoint EVSE over all of the others, and I've installed plenty in the past few years.
Me at 0:00:00: "nice try Kyle, there's no way I'm going to watch a two+ hour video about ChargePoint, a company/product I've never used before as a Tesla owner." Me at 2:13:37: "you son of a b**** Kyle, how did you do that?!?!?"
I found chargepoint to be by far the most reliable DC and AC charge dispensers by far. They may not be the fastest but I drive a Bolt. So fast enough for me.
Agreed. Living in GA, they’re not as numerous as in other areas of the country but rarely are they down. It’s EVGo or electrify America that I struggle to get to work. Simplicity with reliability are key.
Same! If it helps, I tend to go to 2x speed on these super deep dives so that I can enjoy the whole video without using up all my free time. You'll still understand everything at 2x but you won't lose your whole afternoon either.
ChargePoint has elevated my respect for them both in terms of how they design and test their products, and how they conduct their business. Two thumbs up, ChargePoint! 👍🏻👍🏻
This was an amazing video and it's great to see that the people at Chargepoint actually care about all of this. Sure, they are a company that needs to make money but the people seem so genuinely dedicated to EVs and charging.
@@ChargePointnet While you are here, have you considered upgrading the plastic latch on your level 2 connector? It’s the main failure point on the units my company has at the office
@@FlyNorthrop Yes, we've proactively been working to fix the broken latch issue across our network with an improved solution. Send us station location details and we can get that fixed, thank you!
Went to a concert recently and they had level 2 charging in the parking structure, and honestly for the time I was at the concert my car was charging and by the time the concert was over I had regained more charge than I used it really opened my eyes to how nice it would be if more places had level 2 chargers more readily available.
I had the same experience with a hockey game recently. 10 chargers in the lot. Plugged in the car and game back to a fully charged car after the game. Level 2 chargers are great for the right use case. They're just pretty meh when you need a fast charge on a trip.
I keep wishing that more places would have level 2 or lower kw fast chargers. The high power ones sound sexy, but more often than not are only useful for road trips
47:07 I'm glad to see ChargePoint finally getting into the 80 A L2 AC game. Even modestly sized EVs are now coming with the option for 11.5 kW and 19.2 kW onboard charging, so these units will enable some cars to charge from empty to full in only 4 to 6 hours, which is huge for a number of site use cases.
The ChargePoint units at the OnCue at 36th/May are quite finicky, the touch screens do not work no matter how hard you push on them, but they do put out power, albeit only 50 kw. And as you note, the only other alternative in town, the Francis charging units, at total trash at every location
@@glenngore6609 I’ve had the same experience. I refuse to use Francis anymore after so many horrible experiences. As long as I use the app, ChargePoint hasn’t given me any issues but I’ve noticed those on 36th/May screens are damaged. The one in I-35 and 15th in Edmond has been the most reliable for me.
Yeah, to stop charging at that 36/May location I have to go into the car’s settings and lower the charging limit to less than what the current level is. It’s a pain, I don’t know why they can’t replace those screens on the machines. @@searcey
I just finished a road trip from Toronto to North and South Carolina and I found ChargePoint to be the easiest and most reliable of all the charge networks I used. Your video just confirmed what I already felt. They are one of, if not the best solutions out there.
Kyle you're crazy. I said to myself that there is no way I'm going to sit through a 2 hr video on charging nerd stuff. Turns out I watched the whole thing. Really awesome. Thanks for sharing, learning so much as I wait two years for my R1S. Keep up the good work.
WHAT A FANTASTIC VIDEO! Thanks for bringing this content Kyle and team and thanks to ChargePoint for allowing a behind the scenes look at all that they go through to ensure product quality. As a systems engineer myself I was completely fascinated with the tour and will probably be watching this one again! 😊
This was a great video. I own the Home Flex unit and have used it daily for 1 year now. It was a bit more expensive but my state gave me a 40% rebate for buying it. Now I'm so glad this is the unit I ended up with. Amazing group of engineers. Kudos to them for opening up their doors to Kyle and Out of Spec viewers..
I'm driving an EV now. this video is very informative in a very informative way. I use Chargepoint sometimes here in Hawaii. this video is so EPIC. Thanks for your time and effort. very good content. Love it!
What a huge ad for ChargePoint. Im sure this has circulated through many manufacturers and also potential commercial customers and it was definitely impressive.
Can't believe I watched the whole thing, but it was very engaging and super informative. I have a whole new appreciation for the humble ChargePoint chargers at my work place now.
The Major failing of EVSE the torque specification is critical with such high current loads and glad to see Wago connectors are used and this explains the reason it is a price premium unit, Way To Go Charge Point!
Congratulations to the complete team. Outstanding work to the EV movement. I am pleased to see a lot of the employees also drive EV'S so they know first hand what is needed.
Really great video. Thanks Kyle and Chargepoint team. I now have a new level of appreciation for what Chargepoint does. Loved the attention to detail and complete vertical integration.
1:11:28 Just FYI, most of the time you see reduced charging speeds on Electrify America stations, it's not because the cooling system failed. The first generation Huber + Suhner cables were built with a batch of faulty thermistors, and in the case that a thermistor goes out (and stops providing data to the charger), it defaults to a 100 A limit. So it behaves the same as if the coolant system went down, even if the coolant system in the dispenser is still working properly.
Love my ChargePoint Home Flex. Zero issues other than one time I needed to power cycle it for wifi. This video really explains a lot of ChargePoint's design philosophy and position in the market as a more premium and reliable offering, perhaps at the cost of charging power, compared to competitors.
My utility (Green Mountain Power) uses the Chargepoint software to avoid a need for a separate meter for charging EVs at a lower rate during off-peak periods. I've seen other utilities often require a separate meter, at additional cost, often negating the savings of the lower charging rate.
One more thing, this video is what pre-teens and high schoolers need to see, along with a matching college degree, to give them the exposure and excitement they need to lead them into the future. The video covers at least 40 different education and professional fields.
Nice tour and impressive responses from the staff...However having spent way too much time at a 62.5 K Charge Point station in Farmington, ME and I'm really dispointed in how they are out on the road. It took over 25 pushed to both stop and start the charge.. Their App never worked but I was able to use my credit card. Here it took many many pushes on the display screen to have anything happen. I had the same result on two chargers in Kennebunk, ME, wouldn't activate, wouldn't work with App. On the second charger I had to use my CC here too. The touch screens are crap, totally blind in sunlight and 0 push sensitivity requiring multiple pushes on any screen. Instead of giving tours they may want go back to the basics and make functional chargers. On the other hand thanks so much for all you do to keep us up to date on this technology hopefully things will continue to improve.
This was awesome. I bought a CPH50 (thanks Tom) and love it. I've been using Chargepoint AC chargers in downtown Ann Arbor for years and years. They always work. Now I know why.
@ChargePointnet the HomeFlex I have is great but 2 things would make the home side even better. Allow for adding multiple home flex EVSE's to a home account because I might want/need 2 EVSE's at my house. If I do have 2 HomeFlex EVSE's allow for them to load share. For these very 2 reasons is why I am going to a different solution for my house. Love that I can keep track of my charging over time and know what I am spending. I feel like the commercial side is getting more attention then the home side. Again, great home product but needs to evolve.
I've been looking at getting one of their home chargers for a while. Probably replacing the only gas car we have left with an EV next year, so then it makes sense. Great stuff!
Thank you so much for doing this tour Kyle and Out of Spec Team, it truly is unique the level of access ChargePoint offered you. Their efforts really show that they do care. I'd really love to see more deep-dive videos and tours like this one!
It just goes to show how much that Kyle and ''out of spec' is respected within the EV world. To be given such open access to their products and test labs is quite amazing and coupled with your obvious knowledge of the subject made this one of your best videos. well done from the UK.
1:28:10 I've always wondered why ChargePoint did that ribbed aluminium design. Now I know. It's less attractive to taggers because their markings don't show up well. That's an incredible insight to hear from a C-suite executive, it really helps bring you into ChargePoint's thought process. Thank you so much Kyle and Out of Spec for bringing us this tour, it really is such a unique opportunity. 1:36:00 You can really tell ChargePoint cares about their development and testing when they have a whole wall showing their development process and flow. A key to a successful product is good methodical development, iteration, and testing. Not something you can say other networks prioritize enough (ahem, EA).
I see your Point Kyle, this tour highlights how miticuluse Charge-Point is in insuring a quality product, quality consumer experience, just what every EV charger manufacturer should rise up to this level so industry wide we can expect the same "refuelling" experience that we have come to expect in re-energizing our ICE vehicles!
commenting for the algorithm! Really appreciate seeing all of this. Planning to decide between the VW Buzz, Canoo, and Jeep Recon once all are available (or the Alpha Rex if the company ever moves out of vaporware stage)
Fabulous video. Really informative. Kudos to ChargePoint (& OoS team) for giving us such a thorough behind the scenes look. I bet Tom Moloughney would be in awe to see the vigorous testing these guys put their chargers through. Puts his testing to shame. 😆 After seeing this video, I don't mind paying a little extra for a ChargePoint HomeFlex charger. It's clearly worth it.
very informative video, love seeing all the work and thought that goes into all these decisions made by companies. great seeing them open up and talk about it, can really see that they take pride and love what they do. Can't wait to see more of what is to come with charging, and possible induction options as well.
Long video so it took me two days to carve out the time to watch it, but was VERY worthwhile. I already owned the stock and use the 50kw chargers in a handful of locations, but I did NOT know that they’ve created such a scalable and deeply thought-out ‘platform’ for charging. As a guy who ran strategic alliances at a software company in my day, I can really see how they are well positioned to become the main supplier partner to networks of retailers, oil companies transitioning to electric, and fleet operators that need reliable, robust and upgradable infrastructure for charging. NOTE: I own (and love) my Chargepoint Home Flex unit too. Hope that, at some point, I’ll be able to transition my solar/battery array to be able to DC charge my EV.
Thanks for the behind the scenes access, Kyle! Unfortunately, I've only ever visited CPT HQ on weekends, and the Express Plus station isn't open to the public.
ChargePoint, thank you for what you do. I really appreciate your product and vision. Please make the attachment clip out of metal so that people can’t break them.
I have a ChargePoint Home Flex and it has been outstanding. Most of the dealerships in my area use Chargepoint (50 kWh units) and those have been reliable as well. Yes, speed matters at times, but I'm not sure I would choose speed over reliability when you're talking speeds of 100 kW or higher. Based on my experience ChargePoint is certainly a brand I trust.
Here in Durango we have 2 chargepoint DCFC dispensers and 3 or 4 level2 destination dispensers. The DCFC units are always up from my experience but as I live here, I've only used them 3 or 4 times to checkout my CCS1-to-NACS adapter or to charge a little after a long road trip. My only beef is the cable size and the cable head. The cable is maybe one inch in diameter and the head is a spring loaded thing at the top of the dispenser. You have to pull that head around to get close to the Tesla charge port and then hold it there to relieve the strain on the connector. You can park in one stall and use the other stall's cable to avoid the hassle but you are blocking both and have to disconnect if someone comes along wanting to use a dispenser. I've also used the DCFC in Ouray Colorado and in the back lot at Purgatory Ski village. The dispensers always seem to work fine either using the app or a credit card to pay. If chargepoint were to contract with Tesla to allow them to install a "magic dock" on their dispensers, chargepoint would then become a very reliable CCS1/NACS station. Cheers and thanks for the detailed tour.
Great video Kyle. Thank you for taking us behind the Chargepoint curtain. I had to watch it twice because by brain went down a crazy Cheers rabbit hole at 26:31.
I've recently been contracted to install a CT4000 and an Express 250. Really appreciate your work to create this content. I'll feel like I'll know the team behind the scenes when working with ChargePoint.
Looking forward to watching this. I recently hired on with a company that maintains, repairs and replaces EVSEs and just went through ChargePoint manufacturer training last week. I think there is some stuff that isn’t covered in this video because it isn’t public knowledge, but the training doesn’t cover as much of the engineering aspect. After watching the video, I’m happy to see the level of reliability testing and the various iterations that the products and even the software goes through before getting released. This seems to be something that is severely lacking in the EV world right now with many half-baked products getting rushed to market. The ChargePoint units are famously reliable, and now we see why. One thing about the CPH50 as it relates to the wire connections is that the NEMA plug wiring as well as the charge cable wiring (so the cables that come with the EVSE) have ferrules installed on the ends that attach to the EVSE. So not only do they have the “idiot proof” wago connectors, the wire ends are also crimped with ferrules so the installer doesn’t have to worry about stray wire strands or bad connections in that regard. One additional complaint I’ve had with ChargePoint units though is that there seem to be some management issues, especially with older units. I can think of 3 different charging sites that have been offline for between months to years, and ChargePoint always seems to point the finger at the site host. There is a really critical one in Eastern Oregon on the route between Boise, ID and Bend, OR where there is only 1 ChargePoint CPE250. It’s been operating on 1 power module (31 kw max output) for about a year now, and within the past month or so it was completely turned off. Nobody seems to know what is going on with it or if it will ever be fixed. One thing that wasn’t articulated well is that upgrading the power output of the charger is not as simple as just sliding in additional power modules _unless_ the initial install planned for that possibility _from the start_ . Adding additional power modules to the power blocks increase the capability of the power block, but it’s ability to increase the output is dependent on the breaker capacity, the AC wiring/conduit to the power block _and_ the the DC wiring from the power block to the power link (in the case of the express plus units), as well as the DC link wiring between the CPE+ power links. If the initial install only allowed for a single cable 120kw CPE+ and the site design didn’t account for future upgrades, just installing more power modules won’t allow them to then install a 2nd cable on the power link and add the 2 additional power modules for 200kw output. The breakers, the AC wiring to the power block and the DC wiring to the power link has to be rated for the 200kw output too. Hopefully that makes sense. I think that one of the people you spoke to sort of alluded to this point when they said that they tried to encourage the site hosts to run conduit for the future, but it wasn’t well articulated overall imo.
All good points. I agree that ChargePoint's single biggest shortcoming is relying so much on site hosts. Some of them just don't care or realize what a big deal one power module being offline is. A lot also need to be educated that it's better to link two CPE-250s together.
That’s a whole super useful documentary!!! Thanks! Now I know that there are company that takes EV charging extremely seriously with innovations. No wonder I never had bad experiences with Charge Point!!
I am a very satisfied customer of the ChargePoint Home Flex. I love that the same app that controls my home charger works with any public ChargePoint charger. I do wish that there could be some change in how site owner maintained devices were maintained. I have unfortunately encountered pubic ChargePoint chargers in various states of decay which unfairly reflects poorly on the ChargePoint brand.
This really boosts my confidence in Chargepoint. A great company. Quality products and great forward thinking. They are certainly well positioned to meet the demands of the EV revolution.
I have great respect for ChargePoint. I’ve used the level three chargers at the office a few times and used them on the road many times. I find the CPE-250s quite reliable, all be it a bit slow for fast, charging vehicles like a Taycan. I also used their level two chargers in the public, my one comment on the 4000 model is the plastic front that holds the charger handles is quite flimsy and I noticed one broken only weeks after being installed in Atascadero.
2:02:25 I chuckled at this.. "this is actually running , you can't open it.. so you know", and he is like "okay... sure" & goes ahead and opens it.. LEGEND 😂😂
DCFC on the main corridors with travel plaza's and gas stations are important and it would be good to know what are the plans to expand, how many, where to expect them to show up? The ability to get L2 charging at work, shopping centers, movie theaters, restaurants, sporting events, concerts, airports etc has far more impact on a daily basis for regular commute and activities on a daily basis. Tesla mentioned the L2 destination charging as being a focus going forward. Always be charging.... Charging everywhere.
Also all these ppl here are jusy naturally great speakers really added to the video again , I'm on charge point right now a level 2 , honestly the best charger co
Over the years, I've owned a Chevy Volt, a MINI SE and now a Polestar 2. I've been using a ChargePoint Level 2 charger at home for about 5 years; the last 30 months or so with the Home Flex. I self-installed them easily and so far they have been 100% reliable for home charging with useful app/metrics.
We have had the home ChargePoint home charger for a year now and love it. We do feel like it is a very quality product. The design aspects she mentioned are also something I really appreciate such as the swivel and the length of the cord etc. We do like the app but one thing I wish it could do is take into account the fact that we have solar so we actually almost always charge during the day. I do want to say thank you to CP for making the app available on the Apple Watch-it’s not an extra step that all apps/companies do so, I would like to say that is something I very much appreciate!! We are enjoying this type of content, thanks for spending time and thanks to ChargePoint for allowing us all to see what they are doing!
What an epic video! Truly one of the most fascinating tours I’ve had in a long time. ChargePoint is doing so much more than I expected or even realized - from their fully integrated software stack enabling their hardware platform, to their reliability test labs, and even their upgraded AC products - they’re upping the power and making it easier for site hosts to offer EV charging.
It’s not all perfect, units and packages are comparatively expensive, cables on the DC lower power side could use a higher current rating, and they still have to rely on site hosts being good partners to ensure network uptime. However I think you’ll agree with me that the turn-key solution that CP offers from hardware to software is premium and easy to understand both for driver and host. Ultimately, it’s not the cheapest or always the most powerful, but it might just be the best.
We all know that 100 kw "fast" chargers are inadequate joke for modern EVs and especially larger vehicles and the ChargePoint network of junk 50kw stations are beyond useless. They are in-town urban chargers (a dubious category) masquerading as fast chargers, but they are useless for longer-range travel.
Much bigger problem: the Chargepoint App prevents you from filtering by charge speed. You can select "DCFC" but it is gives you loads of 50 kw junk stations rather than allowing you to select for a reasonable minimum charging speed of 150 kw+ for example. Unless CP will allow you to filter by speed, the app and its network are unusable. (Fisker made a huge mistake partnering with these guys given how weak and underpowered this network is and how the software is geared to steer you to inadequate legacy CP stations.)
They can even at one point replace all the ChaDeMo cables with CCS ones.
@@solarexec we have the need for charging at all power levels. It needs to match the expected dwell time of the vehicle. Unfortunately many site hosts don’t choose the right chargers for the application, something we’ll be covering more!
@@KyleConner IMO it is exceptionally difficult to justify dumping public money into these slower chargers. To me, the bigger issue for Chargepoint is the weakness of the CP roaming network. It does not include the networks that actually matter (EA and soon Tesla). Also, the inability of the app to filter out the junk chargers makes it unusable for me. You can see on the Mercedes demo all the useless clutter that comes up. CP needs to give users the option to filter out stuff below 150 kw (starting with the phone app). The reality is if you put that filter onto the phone, the CP network looks like the emperor with no clothes. Even with the roaming partners, it has a tiny network of real fast charging stations (150kw+). If it is going to make a play to be standard software, it absolutely must include EA (and Tesla as magic dock gets rolled out). Without those networks it is dead as a software solution.
These are the "gas stations" of the from here on out. They should concentrate on just building and managing their own high speed charging stations/network so they are not blamed for poor working stations or too slow of speed. Yes, at malls and the such slow is fine and needed. However, speed is where the money is. This will be a trillion dollar worldwide business when all is said and done.
Say anything you like about Charge Point's station quality, but this level of transparency is phenomenal. The confidence it takes to throw open the doors and make their teams available...super impressive. Good for them.
ChargePoint is awesome
They are the only charger we use for our Model 3 than home charging or for road trips superchargers. I love ChargePoint.
Well, as great as this is, it still doesn’t change the fact that out in the world, their stations aren’t reliable. As demonstrated many times by none other than Out of Spec. I didn’t watch this video, but would appreciate from anyone that has watched it, to know whether he broached that subject with them at anytime in this video, and of course, if he did, what was their response. With what he’s said many times in the past about their network, I’m puzzled by this, on the surface at least, gushing, and glowing report on them. Makes me feel like maybe he may not be as trustworthy as I thought he was. Again, I have not viewed this video.
@@anthonyscott5134 Thats why I have a Tesla. :)
@@anthonyscott5134 I totally understand where you're coming from. The last chapter of the video follows one of their reliability test engineers around if you are interested in watching that part.
As for gushing review, I think you'll want to watch it before you describe it that way because you might have a different opinion when it's done. He's excited about some new tech coming down the line, he provides some critique about UI and some common problems, and he shares the whole tour with us. He's not gushing, but he's not a rude guest either. The value of transparency is hard to deny and he gets some fantastic access here. I think you'll enjoy the video if you get the time.
My two year old Flex home charger broke last week. I called for help, ChargePoint actually answered the phone and sent me a new one under warranty in 3 days. What a great company!
Awesome. Kudos to Chargepoint for allowing you to tour their engineering site. Not sure the other manufactures have the balls to something so in-depth. Great Video.
Would love to see more about the host software side
I'm a licensed electrical contractor in New Jersey and I prefer installing the ChargePoint EVSE over all of the others, and I've installed plenty in the past few years.
Me at 0:00:00: "nice try Kyle, there's no way I'm going to watch a two+ hour video about ChargePoint, a company/product I've never used before as a Tesla owner."
Me at 2:13:37: "you son of a b**** Kyle, how did you do that?!?!?"
I found chargepoint to be by far the most reliable DC and AC charge dispensers by far. They may not be the fastest but I drive a Bolt. So fast enough for me.
Agreed. Living in GA, they’re not as numerous as in other areas of the country but rarely are they down. It’s EVGo or electrify America that I struggle to get to work. Simplicity with reliability are key.
Impressive content. I initially thought I would not spend 2 hours watching but couldn’t quit watching once I started!
Same! If it helps, I tend to go to 2x speed on these super deep dives so that I can enjoy the whole video without using up all my free time. You'll still understand everything at 2x but you won't lose your whole afternoon either.
Agreed; I totally nerded-out on this video. Very cool for them to give such a tour.
Thanks for the warning, stopping it now. Where's that guy that does the WWDC in 10 minutes videos?
OOS is epic. Truly an influencer on both sides of the business - for end consumers and service providers!
ChargePoint has elevated my respect for them both in terms of how they design and test their products, and how they conduct their business. Two thumbs up, ChargePoint! 👍🏻👍🏻
This was an amazing video and it's great to see that the people at Chargepoint actually care about all of this. Sure, they are a company that needs to make money but the people seem so genuinely dedicated to EVs and charging.
EV charging is all we do and we do it all!
@@ChargePointnet While you are here, have you considered upgrading the plastic latch on your level 2 connector? It’s the main failure point on the units my company has at the office
@@FlyNorthrop Yes, we've proactively been working to fix the broken latch issue across our network with an improved solution. Send us station location details and we can get that fixed, thank you!
A tour worthy of a head of state. They know who came to visit. Great job.
I think President Biden would have fallen asleep but glad that Kyle was wide awake and interactive.
Went to a concert recently and they had level 2 charging in the parking structure, and honestly for the time I was at the concert my car was charging and by the time the concert was over I had regained more charge than I used it really opened my eyes to how nice it would be if more places had level 2 chargers more readily available.
Charging happens while you do other things! 🤘⚡
I had the same experience with a hockey game recently. 10 chargers in the lot. Plugged in the car and game back to a fully charged car after the game. Level 2 chargers are great for the right use case. They're just pretty meh when you need a fast charge on a trip.
I keep wishing that more places would have level 2 or lower kw fast chargers. The high power ones sound sexy, but more often than not are only useful for road trips
L2 charging is perfect for parking lots and garages when you have other things to do AAAAAND..... you have anti-ICing measures in effect
Hell yeah
I’m 28 minutes in and I love that your not just a fanboy at there office. Your really asking tough questions.
47:07 I'm glad to see ChargePoint finally getting into the 80 A L2 AC game. Even modestly sized EVs are now coming with the option for 11.5 kW and 19.2 kW onboard charging, so these units will enable some cars to charge from empty to full in only 4 to 6 hours, which is huge for a number of site use cases.
Aside from Tesla Supercharger, they are the only reliable charging I have in the Oklahoma City metro.
yes the only one I have rarely had problems with OUT OF all the ev companys luv charge point!!!!!!!
The ChargePoint units at the OnCue at 36th/May are quite finicky, the touch screens do not work no matter how hard you push on them, but they do put out power, albeit only 50 kw. And as you note, the only other alternative in town, the Francis charging units, at total trash at every location
@@glenngore6609 I’ve had the same experience. I refuse to use Francis anymore after so many horrible experiences. As long as I use the app, ChargePoint hasn’t given me any issues but I’ve noticed those on 36th/May screens are damaged. The one in I-35 and 15th in Edmond has been the most reliable for me.
@@glenngore6609 oh well that is one problem I have run into as well lololol you have to use the app when that happens😭😭
Yeah, to stop charging at that 36/May location I have to go into the car’s settings and lower the charging limit to less than what the current level is. It’s a pain, I don’t know why they can’t replace those screens on the machines. @@searcey
I just finished a road trip from Toronto to North and South Carolina and I found ChargePoint to be the easiest and most reliable of all the charge networks I used. Your video just confirmed what I already felt. They are one of, if not the best solutions out there.
Kyle you're crazy. I said to myself that there is no way I'm going to sit through a 2 hr video on charging nerd stuff. Turns out I watched the whole thing. Really awesome. Thanks for sharing, learning so much as I wait two years for my R1S. Keep up the good work.
WHAT A FANTASTIC VIDEO! Thanks for bringing this content Kyle and team and thanks to ChargePoint for allowing a behind the scenes look at all that they go through to ensure product quality. As a systems engineer myself I was completely fascinated with the tour and will probably be watching this one again! 😊
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This was so informative. Every single person you talked with was impressive, and their passion really shows through. I love ChargePoint!
This was a great video. I own the Home Flex unit and have used it daily for 1 year now. It was a bit more expensive but my state gave me a 40% rebate for buying it. Now I'm so glad this is the unit I ended up with. Amazing group of engineers. Kudos to them for opening up their doors to Kyle and Out of Spec viewers..
Best charging infrastructure video I have seen. I wish all manufacturers were this transparent. Thank You so much for this
I'm driving an EV now. this video is very informative in a very informative way. I use Chargepoint sometimes here in Hawaii. this video is so EPIC. Thanks for your time and effort. very good content. Love it!
Watched this video while plugged into a ChargePoint level 2. Holy smokes... felt like I needed to leave a tip!
This is insane. Bravo OOS and ChargePoint!
What a huge ad for ChargePoint. Im sure this has circulated through many manufacturers and also potential commercial customers and it was definitely impressive.
Can't believe I watched the whole thing, but it was very engaging and super informative. I have a whole new appreciation for the humble ChargePoint chargers at my work place now.
haha so fun to see so many people i know in an Out of Spec video. CP is the best
The Major failing of EVSE the torque specification is critical with such high current loads and glad to see Wago connectors are used and this explains the reason it is a price premium unit, Way To Go Charge Point!
Congratulations to the complete team. Outstanding work to the EV movement. I am pleased to see a lot of the employees also drive EV'S so they know first hand what is needed.
I'm clearing my schedule and going full-on Charge Nerd 9000.
Really great video. Thanks Kyle and Chargepoint team. I now have a new level of appreciation for what Chargepoint does. Loved the attention to detail and complete vertical integration.
1:11:28 Just FYI, most of the time you see reduced charging speeds on Electrify America stations, it's not because the cooling system failed. The first generation Huber + Suhner cables were built with a batch of faulty thermistors, and in the case that a thermistor goes out (and stops providing data to the charger), it defaults to a 100 A limit. So it behaves the same as if the coolant system went down, even if the coolant system in the dispenser is still working properly.
Nice comment eric
That Hossein guy is quite impressive
Love my ChargePoint Home Flex. Zero issues other than one time I needed to power cycle it for wifi. This video really explains a lot of ChargePoint's design philosophy and position in the market as a more premium and reliable offering, perhaps at the cost of charging power, compared to competitors.
Chargepoint is definitely one of the more reliable public charging networks today
Absolutely fascinating. Very well done on this great video.
Thank you!
My utility (Green Mountain Power) uses the Chargepoint software to avoid a need for a separate meter for charging EVs at a lower rate during off-peak periods. I've seen other utilities often require a separate meter, at additional cost, often negating the savings of the lower charging rate.
Wow! What a video. Thabks for taking that much time to make this happen.
Amazing video production “Out of Spec Review” this education on current and future EV charging technology is what people need. Thank you ChargePoint.
One more thing, this video is what pre-teens and high schoolers need to see, along with a matching college degree, to give them the exposure and excitement they need to lead them into the future. The video covers at least 40 different education and professional fields.
Nice tour and impressive responses from the staff...However having spent way too much time at a 62.5 K Charge Point station in Farmington, ME and I'm really dispointed in how they are out on the road. It took over 25 pushed to both stop and start the charge.. Their App never worked but I was able to use my credit card. Here it took many many pushes on the display screen to have anything happen. I had the same result on two chargers in Kennebunk, ME, wouldn't activate, wouldn't work with App. On the second charger I had to use my CC here too. The touch screens are crap, totally blind in sunlight and 0 push sensitivity requiring multiple pushes on any screen.
Instead of giving tours they may want go back to the basics and make functional chargers.
On the other hand thanks so much for all you do to keep us up to date on this technology hopefully things will continue to improve.
This was awesome. I bought a CPH50 (thanks Tom) and love it. I've been using Chargepoint AC chargers in downtown Ann Arbor for years and years. They always work. Now I know why.
Total geekfest! Loved it.
I would be very interested in a deep dive of the software / connectivity side.
@ChargePointnet the HomeFlex I have is great but 2 things would make the home side even better. Allow for adding multiple home flex EVSE's to a home account because I might want/need 2 EVSE's at my house. If I do have 2 HomeFlex EVSE's allow for them to load share. For these very 2 reasons is why I am going to a different solution for my house. Love that I can keep track of my charging over time and know what I am spending. I feel like the commercial side is getting more attention then the home side. Again, great home product but needs to evolve.
I've been looking at getting one of their home chargers for a while. Probably replacing the only gas car we have left with an EV next year, so then it makes sense. Great stuff!
I love Charge point! And also your admission that level 2 charging needs a lot more attention and fast charging much less! Thanks!
I am liking this Kyle thanks for the tour and always waiting for some more charger manufacture design lab tours!
Buying more charepoint stock now!
Thank you so much for doing this tour Kyle and Out of Spec Team, it truly is unique the level of access ChargePoint offered you. Their efforts really show that they do care. I'd really love to see more deep-dive videos and tours like this one!
Loved it! Thank you for putting this out.
Great content! Love watching. Thx OoSR Team!
It just goes to show how much that Kyle and ''out of spec' is respected within the EV world. To be given such open access to their products and test labs is quite amazing and coupled with your obvious knowledge of the subject made this one of your best videos. well done from the UK.
Incredible vid! I’m ready for volume 2.
1:28:10 I've always wondered why ChargePoint did that ribbed aluminium design. Now I know. It's less attractive to taggers because their markings don't show up well. That's an incredible insight to hear from a C-suite executive, it really helps bring you into ChargePoint's thought process. Thank you so much Kyle and Out of Spec for bringing us this tour, it really is such a unique opportunity.
1:36:00 You can really tell ChargePoint cares about their development and testing when they have a whole wall showing their development process and flow. A key to a successful product is good methodical development, iteration, and testing. Not something you can say other networks prioritize enough (ahem, EA).
I see your Point Kyle, this tour highlights how miticuluse Charge-Point is in insuring a quality product, quality consumer experience, just what every EV charger manufacturer should rise up to this level so industry wide we can expect the same "refuelling" experience that we have come to expect in re-energizing our ICE vehicles!
commenting for the algorithm! Really appreciate seeing all of this. Planning to decide between the VW Buzz, Canoo, and Jeep Recon once all are available (or the Alpha Rex if the company ever moves out of vaporware stage)
Fabulous video. Really informative. Kudos to ChargePoint (& OoS team) for giving us such a thorough behind the scenes look.
I bet Tom Moloughney would be in awe to see the vigorous testing these guys put their chargers through. Puts his testing to shame. 😆
After seeing this video, I don't mind paying a little extra for a ChargePoint HomeFlex charger. It's clearly worth it.
I love the Flex Home Charger and the reports available to learn how much of my electric bill is from EV charging.
An excellent deep dive. Please do come back for more. Chargepoibt:a folks are awesome
I love the shot from the thermal chamber. I used to perform thermal testing on avionics
I gotta say, I do really love the ergonomics of Chargepoint's J-plug AC connector handles. The latch/button is so great!
Definitely an epic video. More like a documentary. Lol great work.
very informative video, love seeing all the work and thought that goes into all these decisions made by companies.
great seeing them open up and talk about it, can really see that they take pride and love what they do.
Can't wait to see more of what is to come with charging, and possible induction options as well.
Great job! Nice to see all the attention to detail going into these. Keep it up! 👍
Long video so it took me two days to carve out the time to watch it, but was VERY worthwhile. I already owned the stock and use the 50kw chargers in a handful of locations, but I did NOT know that they’ve created such a scalable and deeply thought-out ‘platform’ for charging. As a guy who ran strategic alliances at a software company in my day, I can really see how they are well positioned to become the main supplier partner to networks of retailers, oil companies transitioning to electric, and fleet operators that need reliable, robust and upgradable infrastructure for charging. NOTE: I own (and love) my Chargepoint Home Flex unit too. Hope that, at some point, I’ll be able to transition my solar/battery array to be able to DC charge my EV.
Thanks for the behind the scenes access, Kyle! Unfortunately, I've only ever visited CPT HQ on weekends, and the Express Plus station isn't open to the public.
I have a ChargePoint charger in my garage. Very happy with it.
I have this exact unit. We got it in 2021 and received a large rebate from our utility company when we bought our Model 3. Works GREAT
Great job keeping great composition while filming while having an in depth conversation. Lot of knowledge!
ChargePoint, thank you for what you do. I really appreciate your product and vision. Please make the attachment clip out of metal so that people can’t break them.
I have a ChargePoint Home Flex and it has been outstanding. Most of the dealerships in my area use Chargepoint (50 kWh units) and those have been reliable as well. Yes, speed matters at times, but I'm not sure I would choose speed over reliability when you're talking speeds of 100 kW or higher. Based on my experience ChargePoint is certainly a brand I trust.
Here in Durango we have 2 chargepoint DCFC dispensers and 3 or 4 level2 destination dispensers. The DCFC units are always up from my experience but as I live here, I've only used them 3 or 4 times to checkout my CCS1-to-NACS adapter or to charge a little after a long road trip. My only beef is the cable size and the cable head. The cable is maybe one inch in diameter and the head is a spring loaded thing at the top of the dispenser. You have to pull that head around to get close to the Tesla charge port and then hold it there to relieve the strain on the connector. You can park in one stall and use the other stall's cable to avoid the hassle but you are blocking both and have to disconnect if someone comes along wanting to use a dispenser. I've also used the DCFC in Ouray Colorado and in the back lot at Purgatory Ski village. The dispensers always seem to work fine either using the app or a credit card to pay. If chargepoint were to contract with Tesla to allow them to install a "magic dock" on their dispensers, chargepoint would then become a very reliable CCS1/NACS station. Cheers and thanks for the detailed tour.
Another great video, Thanks Kyle!
Their mission is so visible throughout the video. Incredible
Very Cool Video! It's like going on a Field Trip! :) "Behind the Curtain"
Great video Kyle. Thank you for taking us behind the Chargepoint curtain. I had to watch it twice because by brain went down a crazy Cheers rabbit hole at 26:31.
I've recently been contracted to install a CT4000 and an Express 250.
Really appreciate your work to create this content. I'll feel like I'll know the team behind the scenes when working with ChargePoint.
Great episode! Nice exchange of questions/answers on both side! Not just what they wanted you to see/hear. Thanks for the EPIC content😵.
Super impressed with Chargepoint. As a shareholder, I am very happy to see that 'my' company is doing many things with the long term in mind.
Love our Charge Point home charger.
Excellent video. I kind of wish I had a Chargepoint EVSE now, but I still love my old school Grizzl-E.
Looking forward to watching this. I recently hired on with a company that maintains, repairs and replaces EVSEs and just went through ChargePoint manufacturer training last week. I think there is some stuff that isn’t covered in this video because it isn’t public knowledge, but the training doesn’t cover as much of the engineering aspect.
After watching the video, I’m happy to see the level of reliability testing and the various iterations that the products and even the software goes through before getting released. This seems to be something that is severely lacking in the EV world right now with many half-baked products getting rushed to market. The ChargePoint units are famously reliable, and now we see why.
One thing about the CPH50 as it relates to the wire connections is that the NEMA plug wiring as well as the charge cable wiring (so the cables that come with the EVSE) have ferrules installed on the ends that attach to the EVSE. So not only do they have the “idiot proof” wago connectors, the wire ends are also crimped with ferrules so the installer doesn’t have to worry about stray wire strands or bad connections in that regard.
One additional complaint I’ve had with ChargePoint units though is that there seem to be some management issues, especially with older units. I can think of 3 different charging sites that have been offline for between months to years, and ChargePoint always seems to point the finger at the site host. There is a really critical one in Eastern Oregon on the route between Boise, ID and Bend, OR where there is only 1 ChargePoint CPE250. It’s been operating on 1 power module (31 kw max output) for about a year now, and within the past month or so it was completely turned off. Nobody seems to know what is going on with it or if it will ever be fixed.
One thing that wasn’t articulated well is that upgrading the power output of the charger is not as simple as just sliding in additional power modules _unless_ the initial install planned for that possibility _from the start_ . Adding additional power modules to the power blocks increase the capability of the power block, but it’s ability to increase the output is dependent on the breaker capacity, the AC wiring/conduit to the power block _and_ the the DC wiring from the power block to the power link (in the case of the express plus units), as well as the DC link wiring between the CPE+ power links. If the initial install only allowed for a single cable 120kw CPE+ and the site design didn’t account for future upgrades, just installing more power modules won’t allow them to then install a 2nd cable on the power link and add the 2 additional power modules for 200kw output. The breakers, the AC wiring to the power block and the DC wiring to the power link has to be rated for the 200kw output too. Hopefully that makes sense. I think that one of the people you spoke to sort of alluded to this point when they said that they tried to encourage the site hosts to run conduit for the future, but it wasn’t well articulated overall imo.
What breaker size and AC/DC wiring and conduit is required for two 200kW EXPP paired together?
All good points. I agree that ChargePoint's single biggest shortcoming is relying so much on site hosts. Some of them just don't care or realize what a big deal one power module being offline is. A lot also need to be educated that it's better to link two CPE-250s together.
Please keep doing this you are on the leading edge right now. This is the future
Best company in the space.
That’s a whole super useful documentary!!! Thanks! Now I know that there are company that takes EV charging extremely seriously with innovations. No wonder I never had bad experiences with Charge Point!!
I am a very satisfied customer of the ChargePoint Home Flex. I love that the same app that controls my home charger works with any public ChargePoint charger. I do wish that there could be some change in how site owner maintained devices were maintained. I have unfortunately encountered pubic ChargePoint chargers in various states of decay which unfairly reflects poorly on the ChargePoint brand.
Very impressive! I have only ever come across one CPE250 in the wild that said online and didn't work, so their reliability seems good
This really boosts my confidence in Chargepoint. A great company. Quality products and great forward thinking. They are certainly well positioned to meet the demands of the EV revolution.
Phenomenal contribution!
I just found this channel which is like the American version of Fully Charged. I’m enjoying it
I have great respect for ChargePoint. I’ve used the level three chargers at the office a few times and used them on the road many times. I find the CPE-250s quite reliable, all be it a bit slow for fast, charging vehicles like a Taycan.
I also used their level two chargers in the public, my one comment on the 4000 model is the plastic front that holds the charger handles is quite flimsy and I noticed one broken only weeks after being installed in Atascadero.
2:02:25 I chuckled at this.. "this is actually running , you can't open it.. so you know", and he is like "okay... sure" & goes ahead and opens it.. LEGEND 😂😂
I watched the hole thing and thanks for doing it and thanks for charge point to give you access to all the cool stuff.
Love my ChargePoint home charger!! Worth the money!! My wife loves the cable management.
DCFC on the main corridors with travel plaza's and gas stations are important and it would be good to know what are the plans to expand, how many, where to expect them to show up?
The ability to get L2 charging at work, shopping centers, movie theaters, restaurants, sporting events, concerts, airports etc has far more impact on a daily basis for regular commute and activities on a daily basis. Tesla mentioned the L2 destination charging as being a focus going forward. Always be charging.... Charging everywhere.
Also all these ppl here are jusy naturally great speakers really added to the video again , I'm on charge point right now a level 2 , honestly the best charger co
The team says thank you!
@@ChargePointnet so welcome!!! 🙏🏻🙏🏻
Over the years, I've owned a Chevy Volt, a MINI SE and now a Polestar 2. I've been using a ChargePoint Level 2 charger at home for about 5 years; the last 30 months or so with the Home Flex. I self-installed them easily and so far they have been 100% reliable for home charging with useful app/metrics.
We have had the home ChargePoint home charger for a year now and love it. We do feel like it is a very quality product. The design aspects she mentioned are also something I really appreciate such as the swivel and the length of the cord etc. We do like the app but one thing I wish it could do is take into account the fact that we have solar so we actually almost always charge during the day. I do want to say thank you to CP for making the app available on the Apple Watch-it’s not an extra step that all apps/companies do so, I would like to say that is something I very much appreciate!!
We are enjoying this type of content, thanks for spending time and thanks to ChargePoint for allowing us all to see what they are doing!
Very well done. Really enjoyed the guy doing his best Brent Spiner in Independence Day.
Their head engineer Hossein was great at explaining so much details. Great tour.