40 mi commute, office charger debate

[ChrisMPK]

A couple missing pieces of information that would be helpful:
- Is the parking location secured or open to the public
- Is the charger location protected from weather or completely open to rain?
- Are you sure that $.09 / kWH is your total cost of energy and do you have a TOU rate plan that may affect that?
- Is the company going to make you pay for installation, or just the HPWC?
- Do you plan on staying at this company more than 6 months?

If you can install an HPWC in a secure spot free from vandalism, only pay for the HPWC itself and your charge for free, it is a no-brainer. For all the people who say "you can charge fast enough at home", would you buy your own gas if your company offered to pay for your gas if you filled up at work? It's just dumb not to take free energy.

 

[SageBrush]

7 kW / hour

7 kW

 

[Mingw]

For all the people who say "you can charge fast enough at home", would you buy your own gas if your company offered to pay for your gas if you filled up at work? It's just dumb not to take free energy.

except you need to pay for a pump first.

he drives 80 miles a day to work. @3.5 miles/kWh and $0.09/kWh, this is 80/3.5 * 0.09 = $2.06 a day. if you go to work 220 days a year, that's about $450.

if he pays for charger only, then it's a year to break even. if he also pays for installation, it's likely 2-3 years, he can't change work, or change to a different car that can't fully utilize the charger.

 

[roblab]

Only real option is the Wall Connector, none of the others is subitable for outside.

If you go to an RV park you will find that every space has either a 30 amp or a 50-amp outlet, and they all sit out in the rain. Some have a lid that drops down over them, but an outlet will NOT short out in the rain. Imagine owning an RV and it starts to rain. Are you supposed to go unplug it? People actually just keep doing whatever and don't worry about it. How many people have an outlet, like I do, that sits on the side of the house so I can plug in my AC or other equipment as needed? There are many applications where one might need power, and it's silly to think they HAVE to buy a $600 "connector" for them.

 

[ATPMSD]

If you go to an RV park you will find that every space has either a 30 amp or a 50-amp outlet, and they all sit out in the rain. Some have a lid that drops down over them, but an outlet will NOT short out in the rain. Imagine owning an RV and it starts to rain. Are you supposed to go unplug it? People actually just keep doing whatever and don't worry about it. How many people have an outlet, like I do, that sits on the side of the house so I can plug in my AC or other equipment as needed? There are many applications where one might need power, and it's silly to think they HAVE to buy a $600 "connector" for them.

Not debating the outlet, or an RV cord, or anything like it, those are fine. This is from the manual for the mobile connector:

“Warning: Do not use the Mobile Connector when either you, the vehicle or the Mobile Connector is exposed to severe rain, snow, electrical storm or other inclement weather.”

Of course everyone is free to do as they wish.

 

[SageBrush]

Right or wrong in the EV world the term kW is generally accepted to be the amount of energy delivered over the course of one-hour

NO NO NO

 

[SageBrush]

I advocate for accelerated adoption of EVs and clean energy so I would not think only about myself here, but would try to pick a solution that might also benefit others. With that in mind,I would choose either a 14-50 outlet or a J1772 hard-wired EVSE. The issue with hard-wiring an EVSE is that all too often the electrician installation cost can be a bit outrageous -- in the $500 - $1,000 range even when the electrical panel is close by.

My advice is to get some installation quotes before you decide.

 

[SageBrush]

If one pours out the water over fifteen seconds, then the rate that water is being removed is 0.25 Gallons/minute.

Nice explanation, but you have some 'rithmetic to fix here.

 

[ATPMSD]

NO NO NO

Alright already, you can stop the flogging,I get it!

 

[father_of_6]

My take on this is...

• You definitely don't *need* work charging to make the commute.
• However, it'll allow you to keep your max charge lower because you'll only ever need enough charge for half of your commute. It might also be useful on other occasions where you happen to just be in the area.
• Keeping the state of charge lower is healthy for my battery, however that's not true with LFP batteries, which is probably what you'll have - you need to research this.
• If you do buy an EVSE, you might want to consider *not* getting Tesla's wall connector for the sake of non-Tesla EVs. It's possible you may end up with a different manufacturer's EV at some point. Tesla has been pushing software regressions and making user hostile changes a LOT lately, I probably wouldn't buy another Tesla.
• If you change employers, you're leaving the EVSE there, right? More points for going J1772.
• If the cost of the EVSE is negligible to you, this is a no-brainer. The only question then should be Tesla wall connector vs J1772. I have the wall connector and like it.

 

[Tronguy]

Nice explanation, but you have some 'rithmetic to fix here.

Argh! Sorry, 4 gal/minute . That'll teach me to post when suffering from a booster shot..

 

[Proppilot]

I had three double Leviton Level II ChargePoint chargers installed at our new building. We can program them for employees (or anyone etc) to have free or other access (our entire HQ is net energy positive via solar) so full control and will charge Tesla or others at about 37 km/hr at 30 amps / 208 volts.

 

[Cyberspeed]

I am making a 40 mi commute to work and 40 mi's back each day. I'm set to accept delivery of a MYP in about 2-weeks. I already have a Tesla Wall connector installed in my garage and plan to plug in every night. My office is willing to put in a plug outside for me to charge while at work (~8-9 hr). What type of charger would you install, if any?

I have the same commute. I have a home charger and free L2 charging at work.

I virtually only charge at work since its free. No issues going 2-3 days without charging going 70-80 miles round trip per day if needed. I just charge each day at work and skip home charging.

Would go with Tesla Wall Connector if they are offering. Simple, easy, and integrated.

 

[ChrisMPK]

except you need to pay for a pump first.

he drives 80 miles a day to work. @3.5 miles/kWh and $0.09/kWh, this is 80/3.5 * 0.09 = $2.06 a day. if you go to work 220 days a year, that's about $450.

if he pays for charger only, then it's a year to break even. if he also pays for installation, it's likely 2-3 years, he can't change work, or change to a different car that can't fully utilize the charger.

The daily commute is irrelevant. If this is your primary charging location and it's free, you are going to charge 100% of your annual miles at this location. You roll in Monday with an empty tank, and fill up to 80%. It doesn't really matter how much of that was work related. So instead of your daily commute, look at your annual mileage and multiply by your effective rate (making sure to include delivery charges). This is the math that will tell you whether or not it's worth the investment. This and the other questions in my prior post should make this decision easy.

As for "paying for the pump first", I'm pretty sure it has worked out for every gas station everywhere to pay for the pump to sell energy. So as long as you are going to be fueling for a while, buying your own pump is a pretty safe investment.

 

[cwerdna]

I also vote for getting an J1772 EVSE installed instead so none of the provided choices.

In that case, just get the cheapest J1772 charger you can find. Longer cable is usually better depending on the mounting location. I installed one at work and that is where I do 99% of my charging.

I wouldn't get the cheapest one esp. random crap on Amazon. Get name brand (NOT a no-name) decent UL-listed or equivalent one.

I've posted many reasons why not to before but I mentioned some names at Charge Port Meltdown which was a reply to MUSTART CHARGERS DAMAGING CARS.

 

[Mingw]

So as long as you are going to be fueling for a while, buying your own pump is a pretty safe investment.

I trust math, not just "pretty safe".
As I already showed, depending on OP's driving and how much he pays for the charger, it needs 1-3 years to break even. Now he can make a better informed decision.

 

[dogmodes]

Ok now that we all have the kW, kWh, and joules thing down, should we start talking about the type of wire? 8/3 NM-B?

 

[SageBrush]

we start talking about the type of wire? 8/3 NM-B?

Are you planning to tear down the walls first ?

 

[e645824]

My commute is 45 miles each way (90 miles total). I do have to go through a pass in the mountains also. I set my MYLR at 80% charge: starts at 270 miles, ends at 130 miles. So I literally have to charge every day at home. Note that driving slower would indeed increase my range. I have it set to start charging at 9pm and told the Wall Charger to only charge my VIN. If I forget to charge, then there is a convenient supercharger a couple miles down the street. At-home is definitely cheaper than a supercharger. Regardless, I am in the habit of always coming home and plugging in so haven't forgotten once in 7 months.

Here is my wall-mounted wall connector (same photo as in this thread):

​

https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/wall-connector-location-seeking-feedback.263756/page-3​

​

The conduit is surface mounted because there are horizontal studs inside this exterior wall. It is under the front stoop so that it doesn't get rained on (this one has the 24-foot cable). My wife's planters normally have flowers in them -- this one is doing double-duty as a cable-holder.

Scott

--

MYLR | Red ext | White int | 19" | 5 seats | tow | no FSD | made/delivered Oct 2021

 

[LibertyEV]

Many times when you look at the utility bill you see a cost per kWh, i.e. $0.09 and assume you are done when that charge is only for power generation. In most cases there are additional charges, taxes and fees on each bill. The most common charge is the delivery charge (covers the cost of delivering power to your home, power line maintenance and other infrastructure costs.) The delivery charge is often within 1 cent of the power generation charge (per kWh.) One way to assess your total cost per kWh is to divide the total current amount due by the total kWh consumed. You will probably find that your total cost per kWh is in the range of $0.14 per kWh.

Example: $100 (total amount due per the utility bill) / 700 kWh (amount consumed for the current billing period) = $0.14 per kWh.

True. This makes my cost at home $0.15