Am I crazy? No Home/Work Charger

[kwazi7]

I (finally) ordered my M3 AWD LR (woot!)

But.. I live in a condo (rental), so virtually no chance of getting any kind of charger installed (even 120V). And my work doesn't have a charger.

I'm most worried about winter, since that vampire drain sounds a bit dangerous in my situation anyways...

On the upside, it looks like they're installing a supercharger within walking distance of my house "this year"

Am I crazy...?

 

[SSedan]

How bad are winters where you are?
How long a commute?
You OK with the "fuel bill"?

I would look further into the "this year" claim, are permits pulled, has it been before the town council? Dates slide.
Is the condo a permanent thing?

 

[DriveMe]

How badly do you want a Tesla?
Would you be willing to relocate?
Would you pay for a charger installation at your work place or at your condo?

Not having a home or work charger may or may not be a dealbreaker depending on your commute (and your patience), but it’s definitely a huge inconvenience.

 

[Derek Kessler]

I would inquire with your condo board and employer about installing a charger, or at least an outlet — of there's pushback, offer to do so at your own cost. Having to spend an hour at a Supercharger every time you want to charge up will get old really fast. Also, Supercharging degrades the battery over time, and the more you do it the faster it'll degrade on range and charging speed.

 

[kwazi7]

How bad are winters where you are?
How long a commute?
You OK with the "fuel bill"?

I would look further into the "this year" claim, are permits pulled, has it been before the town council? Dates slide.
Is the condo a permanent thing?

Commute is short - 5 km
Fuel bill - yea, that's expected. Still way less than gas. Plus, I'm more excited about the tech and the car (I spent 3 days driving one a few months ago)

As for the supercharger, it seems we have a harder time figuring that out here in canada; there's some threads on it here.

condo - it's permanent for now given I just bought the M3 ;-)

How badly do you want a Tesla?
Would you be willing to relocate?
Would you pay for a charger installation at your work place or at your condo?

Not having a home or work charger may or may not be a dealbreaker depending on your commute (and your patience), but it’s definitely a huge inconvenience.

relocate - thought about it; but that would still limit me to a house/townhouse which would be farther out and really hurt the wife's commute time (and mine, but who cares, I'll have an M3 ;-))
Charger Installation - I've seen condo owners here having to pay $5k for it.. which might be doable if I owned, but as a renter.. (and my landlord isn't interested)

 

[kwazi7]

I would inquire with your condo board and employer about installing a charger, or at least an outlet — of there's pushback, offer to do so at your own cost. Having to spend an hour at a Supercharger every time you want to charge up will get old really fast. Also, Supercharging degrades the battery over time, and the more you do it the faster it'll degrade on range and charging speed.

really? that's the first I've heard of that..

I thought thats why they have limiters so it doesn't degrade your battery..

 

[Derek Kessler]

really? that's the first I've heard of that..

I thought thats why they have limiters so it doesn't degrade your battery..

Too much fast DC charging will result in reduced charging speeds forever.

I highly recommend pursuing a charging option at home or work. It will be more convenient and better long-term for your car.

 

[eprosenx]

Any chance you could get your work to install one? There are often incentive programs for buildings to install them (LEED certification, etc...)

Since your commute is so limited and you will have a nearby supercharger, perhaps even a 120v 20a or even 15a outlet might work out OK.

What kind of Condo are you in? Are we talking parking garage or what?

Figuring out a way to get a 120v 20a outlet (or 208/240v 20a outlet) might not be too much $$$ even if you are renting.

Parking garages are typically not built with a lot of power in them, but if you are the only one then I am guessing you could find a spare 2kw for a 120v outlet.

I was just talking with a friend who designed a system for his condo tower. He was on the HOA board and they had like 25 people (in Seattle) that wanted chargers so they went all out and put in a 480v panel system. Each person that wanted an EV charger had to buy their own transformer to step down whatever amount of power they wanted to 240v. Was a spendy install, but will last forever and is properly sized.

 

[Akikiki]

Download the app called Plugshare. Then find some folks near you and contact them. Talk to them about partnering with them to use their plug and pay for the electricity you use. Do more than one, so you have some backup places. Remember smile and carry your hat in your hand - take muffins or cookies when you visit.

 

[nwdiver]

Talk about a false dichotomy; Is it impossible to get charging at work or home? Even 12A would be enough if it's 208v or 240v... that should be possible anywhere... You can get by without home/work charging but we need to work toward real solutions and not lean on stop gaps.

 

[TaoJones]

The non-garaged are absolutely welcome to use SCs 100% of the time unless and until they are able to secure charging at home or at the office.

As one of those who’s driven over 100K miles with charging at SCs 98% of the time, I can tell you that I’ve seen no throttling nor any abnormal degradation in pack capacity. Degradation at 60K+ miles was less than 4% with the last S, and less than that so far with the current S.

When I bought the first S in late 2014, we were told to expect as much as 10% degradation at 100K miles. Of the growing number of owners I know that have exceeded 100K miles with a single car, exactly none of them have suffered 10% degradation. ~5%, sure.

Not that 10% would be awful. With the new packs, that turns 330 miles into 300 miles. Boo hoo.

Hopefully you’ll be able to get charging at home. Nothing like waking up with a full charge.

If you only have one SC option nearby, do consider a used ChaDeMo adapter and the other adapters that don’t come standard with a Tesla. Plenty of reading material about those,

Lastly, there’s nothing wrong with 110V charging and a 50’ extension cord. See 5-20A adapter for bonus points. I hail from a very small town with 110V outlets at the base of every streetlight (for holiday lighting). Any port in a storm, as it were.

 

[Shock-On-T]

You will be totally fine. Don’t let the naysayers persuade you.
Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good. There’s always compromise in life, just go with your heart.

 

[NeverFollow]

I (finally) ordered my M3 AWD LR (woot!)
But.. I live in a condo (rental), so virtually no chance of getting any kind of charger installed (even 120V).
And my work doesn't have a charger.
I'm most worried about winter, since that vampire drain sounds a bit dangerous in my situation anyways...
On the upside, it looks like they're installing a supercharger within walking distance of my house "this year"
Am I crazy...?

I was under the assumption that in Canada, ICE had a Block heater installed
and that overnight parking were providing a plug?

 

[kwazi7]

Thanks guys. Interesting about this misconception about superchargers and hurting the battery. I am trying to figure out a 120V solution but I think it's very very unlikely so really just wanted opinions on without it. Votes are split though :S

I was under the assumption that in Canada, ICE had a Block heater installed
and that overnight parking were providing a plug?

Nah, common misconception. Way up North, sure. But my ICE cars never had a block heater. And even in some crazy -30C weather, it's fine.. rough starts, but that's all. We don't get that kind of weather where I live now though.

 

[ai4px]

I’ve heard the parking lots in Finland have power for block heaters that’s only on when below freezing. That might mitigate the cold vampire drain issue.

 

[halfricanguy]

There aren’t any third party parking garages or lots near your work with Level 2 charging you can use?

Do note that the Model 3 is incompatible with any Level 3 charging that aren’t Tesla Superchargers at the moment. ChaDeMo adapters will NOT work. I found out the hard way.

You can live off the Superchargers but I wouldn’t confirm your order until you know for sure that one is being built.

 

[Shock-On-T]

There aren’t any third party parking garages or lots near your work with Level 2 charging you can use?

Do note that the Model 3 is incompatible with any Level 3 charging that aren’t Tesla Superchargers at the moment. ChaDeMo adapters will NOT work. I found out the hard way.

You can live off the Superchargers but I wouldn’t confirm your order until you know for sure that one is being built.

Can’t you use a Chademo adapter with the Model 3? You can with the S and X.

 

[Derek Kessler]

Can’t you use a Chademo adapter with the Model 3? You can with the S and X.

The current CHAdeMO adapter and Model 3 are not currently compatible. Whether that's a hardware thing or software, I can't say.

 

[juliusa]

As one of those who’s driven over 100K miles with charging at SCs 98% of the time, I can tell you that I’ve seen no throttling nor any abnormal degradation in pack capacity.

Ditto for me.

 

[halfricanguy]

Can’t you use a Chademo adapter with the Model 3? You can with the S and X.

From what I understand, it’s supposed to be released in a future firmware update but I’ve only confirmed that through word of mouth.

Here’s a discussion about it here (more recent postings towards the end):
Anyone tested CHAdeMO Adapter on Model 3