First of all, I'm the proud owner of a new blue midrange M3. I drive 61 miles each way to work and there's available a 120v receptacle for charging there. Btw, I received my car 2 days ago and haven't drove it to work yet, should I charge it at work which I think could give me a little over 40 miles and then plug it at home? I'm thinking of the savings of partially charging at work but don't want to degrade the battery any faster by doing that..I need the communities' feedback on this.
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ucmndd
Well-Known Member
Plug it in at work and enjoy the “free” energy. There is zero concern about battery harm in this scenario.
Derek Kessler
Active Member
Charging regularly like this will not degrade your battery. That said, dragging your UMC from home to work and back again will get very old, and buying a second one will get expensive. But... plugging in just at home on just 120V for ~12 hours will charge just half of your daily commute.
You should invest in a higher power outlet at home that will provide enough power to charge back up that 120 miles you use each day. If your clothes dryer is accessible, a NEMA 10-30 or 14-30 adapter is available that will charge at 22mrph — more than enough to get back to a full charge by each morning. If you can go for a NEMA 14-50 outlet (typically used for ovens, ranges, and RVs) then you can kick that up to 30+mrph.
I lived on 120V with my Model S for six months. It's doable, but it's also tedious — and my commute isn't nearly as long as yours.
Call some electricians and get some quotes. Or maybe see if your work is willing to install a higher-power charging option — Tesla will even give them a connector.
You should invest in a higher power outlet at home that will provide enough power to charge back up that 120 miles you use each day. If your clothes dryer is accessible, a NEMA 10-30 or 14-30 adapter is available that will charge at 22mrph — more than enough to get back to a full charge by each morning. If you can go for a NEMA 14-50 outlet (typically used for ovens, ranges, and RVs) then you can kick that up to 30+mrph.
I lived on 120V with my Model S for six months. It's doable, but it's also tedious — and my commute isn't nearly as long as yours.
Call some electricians and get some quotes. Or maybe see if your work is willing to install a higher-power charging option — Tesla will even give them a connector.
You get about 3 miles per hour charging off 120V, so I would be surprised if you got a full 40 miles off a single workday.
When accounting for losses, temperature, etc... that wall outlet puts about 1 kW into the car in 1 hour (1 kWh). If you live in a low cost energy state, you can assume that you pay about 12-15 cents per kWH. California could be 5x that number on a bad day. Assume it's 15 cents. Assume you're at work for 8 full hours plugged in. That's $0.15 * 8 = $1.20 of electricity you save per day by charging at work. Charge at work and thank them for the extra dollar.
Be prepared to be berated by your co workers that ask why you get "free gas" and they don't.
When accounting for losses, temperature, etc... that wall outlet puts about 1 kW into the car in 1 hour (1 kWh). If you live in a low cost energy state, you can assume that you pay about 12-15 cents per kWH. California could be 5x that number on a bad day. Assume it's 15 cents. Assume you're at work for 8 full hours plugged in. That's $0.15 * 8 = $1.20 of electricity you save per day by charging at work. Charge at work and thank them for the extra dollar.
Be prepared to be berated by your co workers that ask why you get "free gas" and they don't.
First and foremost, it's not going to impact your battery.
Second, stop worrying about it so much, just enjoy the car.
As other have mentioned, getting the cable out, plugging it in and out is a lot of work and presents unnecessary wear and tear on a lot of parts that aren't made for that many cycles.
The only reason why I might suggest plugging in is if the battery is low and the temperature is really cold. But with only 80 miles of commute, this probably want be an issue, unless you forget to plug in.
Second, stop worrying about it so much, just enjoy the car.
As other have mentioned, getting the cable out, plugging it in and out is a lot of work and presents unnecessary wear and tear on a lot of parts that aren't made for that many cycles.
The only reason why I might suggest plugging in is if the battery is low and the temperature is really cold. But with only 80 miles of commute, this probably want be an issue, unless you forget to plug in.
arcus
Active Member
You could also try and lobby at your workplace to work with Tesla towards having Destination Charger installed: Charging Partners | Tesla
Eno Deb
Active Member
My guess is that connecting the UMC every day will get old fast. 
Depending on your home electricity rate you'd maybe save a dollar or two per workday.
If you decide to go ahead with it, check if it's a 20A outlet (one of the slots is T-shaped), which is common in commercial installations. If that's the case, you could charge a bit faster (around 7 miles/hour) using Tesla's 5-20 adapter.
Depending on your home electricity rate you'd maybe save a dollar or two per workday.If you decide to go ahead with it, check if it's a 20A outlet (one of the slots is T-shaped), which is common in commercial installations. If that's the case, you could charge a bit faster (around 7 miles/hour) using Tesla's 5-20 adapter.
So you get your UMC out of your car all the time to get ~35 miles of range and save a dollar?
If OP made $10 per hour thats roughly .17c a minute. If it took OP longer than 6 minutes to get out, go in the trunk, unwind the mobile connector, plug in, and plug into the car it would mean OP was actually losing money if the savings is roughly $1.
Of course it probably would not take OP 6 minutes.. maybe 3-5 minutes... but conversely its HIGHLY unlikely that OP makes $10 an hour either so...
Its highly unlikely that OP will actually save any money if OPs time to connect the unit at work is actually figured in. If there was faster charging, perhaps.. but in this case it certainly does not seem like it would be worth it other than "because I can".
NeverFollow
Active Member
Most critical would be to be sure that the parking spot will be available and not used by someone else or by an ICE?
Always better to have you car ready and full in case you might need to make a detour on your way back,
or need to use your car to go to have lunch, go to the gym, or need to do some errands during the day.
eprosenx
Active Member
Agree with what others have said. If it is a 20a circuit with nothing else on it I absolutely would get the 5-20 adapter from Tesla - that extra 33% makes a huge difference since a lot of the base use is fixed losses during charging, so it makes a much larger impact.
It might get old plugging in every day and you might decide not to in the long run, but I would try it for a while.
One benefit not mentioned here is that it may keep your battery warm during the day so your regen is not limited when you leave and you have full power available.
I do like having as much charge available just in case of the unforeseen...
It is kind of also a neat way to show your co-workers what is possible.
P.S. Even in the event you don't do it often, I would test it out for a while to prove that you can successfully charge and not blow a breaker. Then if you are going to go on a trip after work or something you will know you can regenerate say 40 miles of range during the day at work assuming it is a 20a circuit. That could make or break your ability to get somewhere after work.
It might get old plugging in every day and you might decide not to in the long run, but I would try it for a while.
One benefit not mentioned here is that it may keep your battery warm during the day so your regen is not limited when you leave and you have full power available.
I do like having as much charge available just in case of the unforeseen...
It is kind of also a neat way to show your co-workers what is possible.
P.S. Even in the event you don't do it often, I would test it out for a while to prove that you can successfully charge and not blow a breaker. Then if you are going to go on a trip after work or something you will know you can regenerate say 40 miles of range during the day at work assuming it is a 20a circuit. That could make or break your ability to get somewhere after work.
literally takes 30 seconds to plug in ........ don't know how it possibly could take as long as 3-5 minutes. and yes, because I can ......
I get about 4 miles added per hour - sometimes as much 40-48 miles when I'm in the office.
Getting out of the car, Getting the adapter cable out of the trunk, plugging it into the plug, and the car, will take you longer than 30 seconds. The only way it could take 30 seconds is if you keep the cable in the passenger compartment not coiled up, and the plug is less than 10 feet from the parking space you park in.
Shrug.. time it next time and see. Its not 30 seconds. Its probably closer to 2-3 minutes total, starting from when you park.
Thanks everyone for the feedback. I'll be charging it everyday at work and I'll see how long that lasts. I usually get there 15 minutes before my start time but that's not really an issue. There are about 10 parking spaces in our garage for electric vehicles with a 120v plug. With my type of work I'm flexible to go out to the garage and plug it in if I was running late to punch in so that's not a big deal. Purchasing this car was a struggle for me because I had to crunch the numbers to find justification to pay over 50k for it. I normally would buy a Cpo vehicle, couple of years old around the 30k range. So far its an unbelievable piece of technology that I know I'm going to have a blast commuting to work with.
NeverFollow
Active Member
I hope that just putting an L1 EV plug should become more and more common in any new building at work or at home .
This will incite more and more people to get an EV.
Similar situation, this was a second car and a new compact car for half the price
would have been fine, but considering the additional saving by using electrons,
and charging at night, there was not so much of a gap price overall after few years.
I really agree, so nice and so simple to drive.
I got an Model 3 for my wife for her B-Day.
She didn't liked to drive and was not driving at all for the past few years.
Now it's the opposite... I can barely drive it.
She get used to use the Enhanced Autopilot when the traffic is heavy.
It's so relaxing to use this feature after a busy day.
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no .... I keep my backpack, etc in the trunk so am in there anyway to grab my bag. and since I use the cable so often it's not coiled up. The plug is literally right behind the car when parked - less than 1 foot away.
I will time it - it might be faster than 30 seconds of extra time. It helps to not make assumptions doesn't it?
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