Energy and power management company Generac, best known for its gas-powered home backup generators, has released its first electric vehicle charger. The new charger joins the company's range of home battery solutions that are moving towards clean energy. Generac also owns the smart thermostat company Ecobee.

Available for $649 for the 40-amp version and $699 for the 48-amp version, the Generac Level 2 charger is compatible with all electric vehicles on the market today, including Tesla vehicles with an adapter. It has Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity for managing scheduled charging with the Generac EV charging app.

A Power Sharing feature lets you connect multiple chargers to one circuit (up to 25), and the system will manage the charging so as not to overload it. The power boost feature allows you to monitor the subpanel or power switch to avoid tripping.

The charger is made by Wallbox, a leading manufacturer of electric car chargers, but will run on Generac software, said Greg Wiszstadt, Generac's vice president of connectivity. Generac invested in Wallbox late last year.

With the launch of its electric car charger, Generac continues its push toward electricity, a pace that has accelerated since 2020 with the launch of its PWRcell home battery, a rival to Tesla's Powerwall. In early 2022, the company also hired Tesla's director of engineering, Brian Dow, as vice president of clean energy. It has continuously expanded battery capabilities for solar energy storage and home backup solutions, including integration with home backup generators. While it has Wi-Fi connectivity, the new EV charger doesn't have any smart home integration, and the company has yet to join the new Matter smart home interoperability standard, which simply adds support for EV chargers.

Generac's backup generator integrates with the Ecobee smart thermostat to display status and help with energy management in the event of a power outage, and its propane tank can also display fuel levels on the thermostat's screen. However, Wischstadt said there are currently no plans to integrate the new EV charger with the Ecobee.

However, you can see the parts of the integrated energy management system that can be controlled from inside the home using the Ecobee touchscreen interface.