Chevrolet Volt high-speed home charging unit price announced

The companies say $490 (or around AU$498) will get you the charging unit alone, but to have it installed into your home it will cost three times that. So although the idea of owning your own electric vehicle sounds good, and with the thought of being able to recharge it in a respectable time frame in the comfort of your own home sounding even better, of course there's going to be a catch.

Called the Voltec, the unit can be ordered from SPX now. It unit offers 'level 2' charging, which means it is capable of 240 volt AC recharging compared to the standard 'level 1' 120-volt conventional US home socket. Basically, it means the Chevrolet Volt can be fully recharged from 'empty' in four hours instead of 10 hours.

What happened to the days when batteries were included? iPod cables, USB connections and accessory add-ons are electric goods' biggest downfall, now it seems the same problems exist for electric vehicles. Americans will have to dish out an additional $1500 on top of the Volt asking price of $41,000 if they want reasonable convenience.

General Motors and SPX say they will be releasing other 240 volt home charging units later in the year, although no prices have been attached at this stage.