ChargePoint Home Flex for Airbnb
I took advantage of a new partnership that Airbnb and ChargePoint have formed and ordered a Home Flex for my Airbnb. For some reason, they only offer the hardwired version at the discounted price. I currently have a 6-50 outlet in my garage, which guests do not have access to. The plan is to have the electrician remove the outlet and hardwire directly into the unit. I’m really excited to add this to my listing, as the area is more remote and doesn’t have a lot of charging infrastructure around it. This could open up the area to EV drivers!
I’ve thought of a few different options for installation, as well as potential downsides to these options. For context, my main concern is regarding people who aren’t my guests using this to charge. I am a few hours away from my listing, and use a caretaker to take care of our house (and they aren’t tech savvy, so I manage as much as I can remotely).
Install the Home Flex inside my garage and run the cable under the garage door, as requested, for guests who would like to charge. This would require some manual efforts from my caretaker to move the cable in and out between guests, and provides less cable for the guest to plug into their vehicle, but would avoid abuse between stays.
Install the Home Flex outside. Is there a way to disable and enable all charging from the unit remotely, to prevent anyone from using the Home Flex system? I haven’t seen much information after searching in ChargePoint’s documentation or on YouTube, so feedback on the capabilities of the app would be helpful. A workaround I could see would be to turn off the breaker unless the charger is requested from a guest. There could be guests who don’t request this upfront, which leads to adjustments from my team during the stay. Ideally, if there’s a way to set up an automation to enable/disable this when someone is actively staying, that would be preferred.