The US’s biggest gas generator company just debuted EV home chargers

Fossil gas- and propane-powered home backup generator giant Generac today announced that it’s launching EV home chargers.

Generac, which was founded in 1959, asserts on its website that it “was the first to engineer affordable home standby generators, along with the first engine developed specifically for the rigors of generator use, and is now the #1 manufacturer of home backup generators.”

It sells power generation equipment, electrical storage systems, and other power products. According to Insider Monkey, Generac is the eighth-largest generator company in the world.

Generac’s EV charger

Wisconsin-based Generac’s 48A /11.5kW Level 2 EV charger, which comes with a J1772 connector, can charge an EV in four to six hours. A NEMA-4 enclosure makes the unit rated for both indoor and outdoor residential installation.

Generac’s EV charger will be carried at home improvement retailers, wholesalers, and hardware stores. Generac’s dealers will also offer in-home consultations and installations to customers, who can visit Generac’s website and fill out a contact form.

 Generac says its EV charger will be available for purchase in the second half of 2023.

In May 2022, Generac debuted Geotab telematics for utilities and EV owners that provides utilities with monitoring data sent directly from a Geotab GO device installed in an EV’s diagnostic port.

Generac and solar

Generac also offers complete household battery storage and solar systems under the names PWRcell and PWRview. In November 2021, Generac acquired smart thermostat company Ecobee.

But a Generac investor filed a class action lawsuit earlier in January. It asserts, Bloomberg Law reported last week, that Generac “concealed important business metrics from investors, including the health of its legacy generator offerings and a component defect in a solar energy system”:

The investor, the California Ironworkers Field Pension Trust, says Generac moved into the solar power and storage business to offset rivals’ bites out of its generator sales. But that move depended on a partner that eventually faced bankruptcy.

The pension fund filed its suit Jan. 20 in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin.

Read more: Here’s how many EV chargers the US has – and how many it needs

Photo: Generac

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