I just had a "live chat" with someone at the official Nissan LEAF website. I was concerned that, per other information given during the registration process, the expensive (around $2,000 and up) 220 volt charger might be a requirement to "qualify" for purchasing. Turns out this is not the case. See the transcript from the chat below:

Monday, April 26, 2010 11:26:48 AM (4/26/2010 4:26:48 PM - GMT)

Welcome to EV Customer Support, Roland will be right with you.

Roland:
Thank you for contacting Nissan Electric Vehicle Customer Support, my name is Roland. How may I help you today Greg?

Greg:
I've reserved my LEAF, but I'm wondering about charging.

Greg:
I will be driving only about 23 miles most days. Charging on 110-120 volts will be more than sufficient for me. Will I still be required to buy a 220 volt charger?

Roland:
I appreciate your interest in the Nissan LEAF. I will be happy to assist you with this information, Greg. While I gather this information for you, for demographic purposes, can I have your last name email address and zip code please.

Greg:
All entered when I started chat.

Roland:
Thank you for your information Greg

Roland:
We do recommend the home charger, however it is not required because it is a one stop shop. It takes up to 8 hours to fully charge. Which can be a over night sleep. While the 110V plug takes up to 18 hours to fully charge

Greg:
That's 18 hours for a fully depleted battery. I assume 23 miles of depletion would only require around 4 hours of recharge. Is that a safe assumption?

Roland:
That is a great question Greg one moment while I gather that information for you

Roland:
That is correct Greg around 4 hours

Roland:
Do you have any additional questions about what we discussed today?

Greg:
So, to summarize. It is suggested, but not required, that a LEAF owner purchase a 220 Volt charger. Also, for about 23 miles of usage, about 4 hours of charging will fully recharge the batteries. Right?

Roland:
That is correct.

Greg:
Thanks very much. That's all I need for now.

Roland:
You are welcome. Please feel free to visit our website often for updates about the Nissan LEAF, and encourage your friends to contact us with their questions. Thank you for contacting Nissan Electric Vehicle Customer Support. To help us improve our service, would you mind taking a brief survey? If you would like to do so, please click on the Exit Chat button below. Thank you again for contacting Nissan Electric Vehicle Customer Support.

Roland:
Have a great day!

Greg:
You too.

From my understanding, you would need a "waiver" from Nissan if you don't have an in home charger for the initial release. The home assesment is part of the purchase process but as you said it is not required. It might however drop you down the list of when you get a leaf

I would get the 220 V charger. 50% of the cost can be regained by a federal tax credit (up to $2000).

Does that mean you need a 220 volt plug in your garage somewhere too????????

I spoke with Nissan and Aerovironment and for the Level 2 EVSE ( fancy name for 220V extension chord with GFI ), you must use the AV EVSE and their approved installers must install it. In an email response Nissan said you could use other suppliers EVSEs but you must prove compatibility. Which of course is not possible since Nissan has not disclosed their SAE J1772 interface specifically nor what compatibility really means.

The SAE J1772 EVSE coupler/connector has the 2 legs of 120V = 220V plus a ground/neutral plus a pilot signal for upstream communications. The SAE standard for communications is not yet complete so the only real function on the Nissan to AV interface is the LEDs and the safety hot leads disconnect. For safety, the 2 120V legs of the 220V are not connected until a relay inside the hand held connector engages when it sees a pilot signal from the auto side. If the connector somehow falls out onto the ground, the hot pins on the connector disconnect. Not rocket science but it does need to work. There is an integrated GFI also just in case it sees a leakage current to earth just like any wet location.

If you are going to park and charge your Leaf inside a garage then an electrician will run 220V 30A (3- #8AWG plus #10AWG ground) to wherever is convenient for the rear of the car. Its not really an outlet like a dryer 220V but the wiring is the same but goes directly to the EVSE. You will need to have a secondary panel in the garage with a spare double position 40A breaker for the wiring. This wiring is part of the supposed $2200 average price. The breakdown of the actual EVSE price and electrician labor is a closely guarded secret. Both Nissan and AV told me I could not buy just the AV EVSE nor could I use another EVSE without warranty problems. For the 110V option, you still need to have a dedicated 20A circuit and breaker installed. You can't just a nearby outlet because the Level 1 EVSE must be the only thing using the 20A circuit - that means wiring that is not much easier than the 220V wiring. It can be regular 12AWG Romex but the electrician labor is still similar.

The whole EVSE thing is still a mess and just because one gets a Federal credit for 50% ( up to $2000), its not fair to charge taxpayers for something that will cost less than $500 when competition arrives and you buy it at Costco.

I do have to agree that they're kind of sticking it to you on the wiring portion of it. I also agree that from a wiring standpoint, you're probably going to have to add AT LEAST one breaker to your box to charge with. With that being the case, most of the time, you can re-arrange some wiring, or use some 1/2 width single leg breakers to open up enough space to go the 220V route and it won't really cost you much more. The current consumption of the charger is comparable to that of a hot tub/spa, which I have A LOT of experience wiring up.

But to Nissan's defense, I speculate they are probably going to make little to no money on these first units, and until EV's become more popular and electricians become more comfortable with installation of the chargers, they are going to have to pay them more to get them trained and to do the work.