Advice on short term home charging

[SD_Engnr]

If you're going to spend money on an adapter, I'd recommend installing a 6-20 outlet and changing the circuit to be 240V circuit. Then, all you'll need is the 6-20 adapter from Tesla, and you'll be charging at 15mph. Of course, it might take a while for the adapter to ship from Tesla, but at least it's faster than the 120V charging.

Note: I currently have a 6-20 charging setup that I installed for our plug-in XC90, as it is the max it can charge at. I use the charging cable from the XC90 plus the J1772 adapter for the 3. It's been fine, but I'm looking to add an additional 6-20 outlet so I don't have to swap back and forth each night, and it will allow both cars to charge at once (garage is limited to 40A).

 

[BeccaM3]

Yeah, I would probably install a 14-50 at home for sure. The parts are actually probably under $100 if you can put it right at the panel. I hate being limited by the car.

Can you post pictures of any factory stickers on the panels so we can tell what the specs are (specifically which breaker positions in the main panel are valid for installing “tandem” breakers)?

Also I want to see what the main breaker amperage is as well as I can’t see the handle label on the breaker to the subpanel. How many amps is that?

I am guessing you only have a 200a service and you have a LOT of stuff on it, so I would not be surprised if load calculations wise you would be pushing it to add a 14-50. Though I suspect from a practical standpoint you would be fine.

How much power do you use monthly on your utility bill? Does your utility provide detailed graphs that show peak usage?

The UMC Gen 2 only draws 32 amps max, so that is not bad.

I'll take pics tonight when I get home.

For Nov (33 days) billing, we used 2525 kwh of power @ 8.16 cents per kwh. There is no peak usage rate. Just a flat 8.16 cents per kwh.

 

[BeccaM3]

Yeah, I would probably install a 14-50 at home for sure. The parts are actually probably under $100 if you can put it right at the panel. I hate being limited by the car.

Can you post pictures of any factory stickers on the panels so we can tell what the specs are (specifically which breaker positions in the main panel are valid for installing “tandem” breakers)?

Also I want to see what the main breaker amperage is as well as I can’t see the handle label on the breaker to the subpanel. How many amps is that?

I am guessing you only have a 200a service and you have a LOT of stuff on it, so I would not be surprised if load calculations wise you would be pushing it to add a 14-50. Though I suspect from a practical standpoint you would be fine.

How much power do you use monthly on your utility bill? Does your utility provide detailed graphs that show peak usage?

The UMC Gen 2 only draws 32 amps max, so that is not bad.

It is a 200a panel. I sent pics to my BIL. He also said it would be pushing it.

 

[BeccaM3]

Yeah, I would probably install a 14-50 at home for sure. The parts are actually probably under $100 if you can put it right at the panel. I hate being limited by the car.

Can you post pictures of any factory stickers on the panels so we can tell what the specs are (specifically which breaker positions in the main panel are valid for installing “tandem” breakers)?

Also I want to see what the main breaker amperage is as well as I can’t see the handle label on the breaker to the subpanel. How many amps is that?

I am guessing you only have a 200a service and you have a LOT of stuff on it, so I would not be surprised if load calculations wise you would be pushing it to add a 14-50. Though I suspect from a practical standpoint you would be fine.

How much power do you use monthly on your utility bill? Does your utility provide detailed graphs that show peak usage?

The UMC Gen 2 only draws 32 amps max, so that is not bad.

It is a 200a panel. I sent pics to my BIL. He also said it would be pushing it.

 

[gavine]

I have 200A service at my house and two EVs with 50A circuits. I haven’t had any problems. I charge at 30A just to be safe, especially when charging both cars simultaneously. In a pinch, I’ll charge one car at the full 40A but it’s rarely necessary. I have a pool and two air conditioners so I figure it’s best to scale back the amps.

 

[eprosenx]

I'll take pics tonight when I get home.

For Nov (33 days) billing, we used 2525 kwh of power @ 8.16 cents per kwh. There is no peak usage rate. Just a flat 8.16 cents per kwh.

So if you take that as best possible case of load spread over all hours of the month that is 3.188 kW continuous load. The reality is that it could come in huge spikes with very little load in between. The NEC allows you to throw out the "calculations" method of capacity planning if you have evidence of your past consumption with sufficient resolution (like 15 minute intervals?). A 200a service is in theory good for 38.4 kW continuous.

It is a 200a panel. I sent pics to my BIL. He also said it would be pushing it.

Yeah, so if you were going to own this house for longer I would recommend installing a Sense Home Energy Monitor to see what your actual usage looks like. (you could install one and then take it with you when you move - Sense even suggests that)

I would check your PGE account login online to see if they have 15 minute interval data for the last couple years. I have solar (am also a PGE customer) so sadly I don't get access to those usage graphs since the solar backfeed messes with the billing system so the graphs don't work. :-(

Worst case, as others have pointed out, you could trivially add a 20a 240v circuit and I am sure that would be ok load wise (though you still need to run the load calcs). A 30a 240v circuit (14-30 dryer plug) is also another option if the full 32a was too much.

P.S. I realized after I asked you for photos that from my laptop I was able to zoom in and see your subpanel is 100a. I still would like to see stickers from the 200a panel. I am guessing you could tandem up a couple of the bottom left circuits and put in a 50a breaker (or 40a) to feed a 14-50 receptcale for the UMC.

 

[10splayer]

Tesla provides free Wall Connectors to business owner for their employees to charge at workplace. But you won't be able to charge the Volt though or other non-Tesla EVs. Can Volt even do Level 2 charging? I think you could also partnered with Chargepoint to install their chargers at your business.

Here's my update: I've put in a workplace charging program request with TESLA and I'll wait to hear back from them before I buy a charging wall unit. I will definitely install something at my building. I'm in manufacturing and we run heavy equipment. I have an open 220v plug available on it's own 100 amp breaker. So for short term until I hear from TESLA, I can have charging for the cost of wire and 2 connectors and I'll just run it under the bay doors. My husband said that's a pretty simple and quick job.

I'll install the 5-20 at home until I can get my husband to fit in a home project and install a 14-50 outlet.

Thanks for the help!

Where do you get the info from Tesla and what is the info? I own the building at my office. The Chargepoint solution was very expensive

Thanks

 

[BeccaM3]

Where do you get the info from Tesla and what is the info? I own the building at my office. The Chargepoint solution was very expensive

Thanks

I filled out my building/workplace info after following the link "At Work: Suggest a Location." Charging Partners | Tesla

 

[BeccaM3]

So if you take that as best possible case of load spread over all hours of the month that is 3.188 kW continuous load. The reality is that it could come in huge spikes with very little load in between. The NEC allows you to throw out the "calculations" method of capacity planning if you have evidence of your past consumption with sufficient resolution (like 15 minute intervals?). A 200a service is in theory good for 38.4 kW continuous.



Yeah, so if you were going to own this house for longer I would recommend installing a Sense Home Energy Monitor to see what your actual usage looks like. (you could install one and then take it with you when you move - Sense even suggests that)

I would check your PGE account login online to see if they have 15 minute interval data for the last couple years. I have solar (am also a PGE customer) so sadly I don't get access to those usage graphs since the solar backfeed messes with the billing system so the graphs don't work. :-(

Worst case, as others have pointed out, you could trivially add a 20a 240v circuit and I am sure that would be ok load wise (though you still need to run the load calcs). A 30a 240v circuit (14-30 dryer plug) is also another option if the full 32a was too much.

P.S. I realized after I asked you for photos that from my laptop I was able to zoom in and see your subpanel is 100a. I still would like to see stickers from the 200a panel. I am guessing you could tandem up a couple of the bottom left circuits and put in a 50a breaker (or 40a) to feed a 14-50 receptcale for the UMC.

OK. I see what you meant regarding the peak usage data now. Sorry, I misunderstood. We're with Clark Public Utilities. I'll call them today and see if I can get that information. It's not available when I logon to my web account.

 

[10splayer]

I filled out my building/workplace info after following the link "At Work: Suggest a Location." Charging Partners | Tesla

Thanks

Any idea if there is a cost involved?



And have you heard back from them?

 

[Need]

Thanks

Any idea if there is a cost involved?



And have you heard back from them?

I remember reading about earlier this year on this forum. There are certain requirements they have that they will tell you after you contact them. I think you need to have a certain number of employees or something and you will let them charge for free. Tesla will provide the connectors but I think you have to pay for the installation. It is very similar to destination chargers at hotels and restaurants except they won't list the location on their site.. it is only for your workplace and your employees not for general public.

 

[Big Earl]

I filled out my building/workplace info after following the link "At Work: Suggest a Location." Charging Partners | Tesla

This is great. Can you reach out to your employees to gauge interest in how many of them would take advantage of workplace charging if you were to have charging stations installed? You can share up to 4 wall connectors on a 100 amp circuit.

 

[Big Earl]

I remember reading about earlier this year on this forum. There are certain requirements they have that they will tell you after you contact them. I think you need to have a certain number of employees or something and you will let them charge for free. Tesla will provide the connectors but I think you have to pay for the installation. It is very similar to destination chargers at hotels and restaurants except they won't list the location on their site.. it is only for your workplace and your employees not for general public.

That's a good point about it not being listed on the navigation for the general public. If this business is in a location convenient to food and shops, it could be worth joining the destination charging partner network. This provides advertising and community good will at the small cost of electricity.

 

[SSonnentag]

For only 5 months, I'd just trickle charge at 12A on a 120V outlet. A 240 outlet installation is too much hassle to mess with for such a short time, and likely involves a permit to do it "legally." You'll get up to 4 mph of range, and then an occasional supercharger top-up if you can't quite keep up with your daily power needs via trickle charging, assuming you're fairly close to a supercharger.