Advice on charging setup for a family member

[Zaxxon]

So I'm going to be delivering a Model 3 to a family member several states away in the near future, and she's not tech-savvy. I'll only be with her for a day and a half before I have to head back, so I'm trying to determine the likely best charging setup remotely.

She's in an area with no nearby Superchargers convenient for 'normal' daily use, and will be charging primarily overnight in her garage. Typical daily use will be 50 miles or less. She could probably get by with just the base 5-15 speed, but I'd really prefer to improve that for her if I can do it safely and cheaply.

She has 5-15 outlets. Her electrical panel is in the garage. The home is a townhome/duplex built in the last 15 years. Here are pics of the panel and a garage outlet:

My amateur thoughts are that there's room in the panel to run some level of 240V line, but I don't know the service level coming into the home, and therefore whether she can handle a 14-50 or some lower-amperage 240V outlet. Really any 240V would do, but I'm curious what any experts here think is likely to be doable based on this limited information.

I'm also curious whether I could at least swap out the 5-15 receptacle for a 5-20 while I'm there, given that the breaker for the garage is already 20A and the home is relatively recently constructed. If this is a safe swap, is there anything I need to do other than cut the breaker, pull the receptacle, verify the wiring is 12 gauge, and replace it with a 5-20?

This is happening this coming weekend, so in the event we can't get an electrician out by then, I'd like to have the 5-20 option in my pocket if it's doable.

Thanks for any assistance you can collectively give!

 

[bandwagon]

5-20 would be worth checking - especially if it’s a small garage with just a few outlets - sounds like you already know what to look for (probably would try to swap a non-gfci outlet if there is another one, but I’m not an electrician).

A new circuit would depend on the size of the panel, location, accessibility, etc...

 

[Zaxxon]

Thanks. It's a typical 2-car garage, and she has nothing else plugged in other than the garage door opener. My research shows those using no more than 5A and most fewer than that, so I think swapping to 5-20 should be fine.

 

[gfunkdave]

YOu'd have to do a load calc to be sure but even a 6-20 outlet would be a nice improvement.

Still, if the garage outlets are already on a 20A breaker there's no reason you couldn't swap one of them to a 5-20.

 

[Zaxxon]

YOu'd have to do a load calc to be sure but even a 6-20 outlet would be a nice improvement.

Still, if the garage outlets are already on a 20A breaker there's no reason you couldn't swap one of them to a 5-20.

Thanks. My tentative plan is to do the 5-20 swap at minimum, and I'm going to see if I can line up an electrician to do whatever 240V outlet her panel as it stands today can support--14-50, 14-30, or 6-20. It seems to me that with physical space in the panel and the panel being in the garage, *one of* those should likely be doable given that it's relatively recent construction. And given that it's in the garage and we're not looking to do something that'd require a panel or service upgrade, the cost should be fairly minimial. Maybe that's a bad layman's assumption, but...

Even a 6-20, as you say, would be triple the charge rate of the 5-20, and about quadruple the 5-15.

 

[user212_nr]

Realistically, you will either be able to live fine off the 5-15, or you will need the larger outlet. 5-20 is not a big improvement at all, but it is also very minimal effort required.

You don't mention this person's age, but if they are young and/or working the best thing to do is to install a 30-50A outlet. A use for the outlet will be found and divided by the number of years in the home and compared with the purchase price of the car, it is not expensive. Only if they are elderly or renting (or otherwise forced economically) would it make sense to stay on the 120v.

 

[Zaxxon]

The new owner is semi-retired. I do agree that some form of 240V is the best course. Just trying to prepare in case I can't line up an electrician while I'm there, at least I can boost the power by 33% by swapping to the 5-20. That's better than nothing for now.

 

[The_Observer]

If 240V isn't possible or not cost effective, I suppose they can they charge using a 5-15 or 5-20, and use the supercharger to "fill up" the car every week or so.

 

[Zaxxon]

No superchargers nearby, hence the dilmemma.

 

[The_Observer]

No superchargers nearby, hence the dilmemma.

How far is the closest supercharger? You stated it's not convenient for "normal" use, but you didn't say it's too far to the point that it's not usable at all.

 

[Zaxxon]

How far is the closest supercharger? You stated it's not convenient for "normal" use, but you didn't say it's too far to the point that it's not usable at all.

It's about a 100-mile round-trip.

 

[Gasaraki]

Your picture is missing the main breaker up top. It should say what that is just like the 15A or 30A breakers. Based on the picture I would say it's a 200A circuit coming in to the home on a fairly new panel?

It costs the same to run a 120V vs a 240V. Sure you need heavier gauge wire and the female end might cost different. The house already natively gets 240V coming in. I recommend a 14-50 plug or 6-50.

 

[Dmagyar]

YOu'd have to do a load calc to be sure but even a 6-20 outlet would be a nice improvement.

Still, if the garage outlets are already on a 20A breaker there's no reason you couldn't swap one of them to a 5-20.

Not sure there's a need for a load calc, as no one uses every load in their home at once. But do agree with the 6-20 outlet would be an inexpensive and effective way forward...(240 v. @ 16 amps (derated to 80% for continuous load= 3.84 kw/per hour

 

[Zaxxon]

Your picture is missing the main breaker up top. It should say what that is just like the 15A or 30A breakers. Based on the picture I would say it's a 200A circuit coming in to the home on a fairly new panel?

I know, but I'm not the one taking the pics. Can be difficult to get exactly what I'm asking for. It is a fairly new home, so I would think it can handle at least a 30A 240V breaker, but we shall see.

It costs the same to run a 120V vs a 240V. Sure you need heavier gauge wire and the female end might cost different. The house already natively gets 240V coming in. I recommend a 14-50 plug or 6-50.

Definitely not running any 120V. If she ends up on 120V it'll be through the (upgraded) outlet she already has.

Not sure there's a need for a load calc, as no one uses every load in their home at once. But do agree with the 6-20 outlet would be an inexpensive and effective way forward...(240 v. @ 16 amps (derated to 80% for continuous load= 3.84 kw/per hour

Also agree with this. For her use case, even if all we can get is a 6-20 I think that'd be sufficient (15 mph).

 

[The_Observer]

Given that it's only a 15 year old house, the electrical service from the power company should be well over 100 amps. Check the main breaker for the house to see how much amps it's going towards the house, or check the electricity bill if they have that information.

 

[andy92782]

Where's the clothes dryer? If it's in the garage then there's your answer. Get something like a Dryer Buddy.

 

[Zaxxon]

Where's the clothes dryer? If it's in the garage then there's your answer. Get something like a Dryer Buddy.

Unfortunately it's not. Could be a backup if the 240V outlet isn't economical, though, for emergency top-ups, as it's not far inside the house.

 

[Zaxxon]

Thanks for the advice, all. I was able to upgrade the outlet to a 5-20 with no problems. Wiring was 12 ga as expected given the 20A breaker. Charges fine at 16A now which actually makes a significant improvement in charging speed.

She'll still probably have a proper 240V outlet installed at some point, but this works fine for now.

 

[dhrivnak]

I would go for the NEMA 14-50. That is what I have done for each bay in my garage. With the Tesla mobile charger it will only pull 32 amps and likely not an issue. But if it is it is EASY to dial back to say 24 amps as I typically do. The car remembers the location and charge rate.

 

[Zaxxon]

That's the plan.