Charging installation inside or outside of the garage?

[ponzu]

I don't know how typical my layout is. I have a two car garage and a two car (side-by-side) driveway. For years I had my garage cluttered with stuff and parked two cars in the driveway. In honor of a $55K Model 3 acquisition, I cleared out half of the garage and plan on putting the Tesla inside. I am considering installing a NEMA 14-50 outlet. The next decision is: should I install it inside or outside the garage? Where is yours installed and are you happy with your decision? If you installed a HPWC, that counts, too. What is the extent of the flexibility of either solution? Can the cord of the UMC (let us say) run under the garage door when lowered? (I suppose I will have to play with the height/sensitivity of the door).

And as usual, a poll.

 

[HeloCaptain]

Depending on where you are in SoCal, if you get cold weather in the winter, that will have a significant negative impact on your home charging, especially when outside. The protection offered by a garage, even if unheated, is quite significant.

 

[Need]

If you put the outlet outside, you will have to put away the UMC everytime after you finish charging. Once you unlock it from the car, anyone could just come up and unplug it from the outlet and take it away unless you lock it with some of the locking outlet.

We have ours inside since the car is parked inside. The UMC never left the outlet. It hangs in a loop next to it when not used.

 

[rhaekar]

I don't understand. If you park inside, why would you ever consider installing it outside?

 

[wwu123]

If the car is on the left side of the garage, and your wiring is also fortuitously able to be on the left side near the garage door, a HPWC with 24' cord could charge both inside and just reach outside on the driveway ( say if your other car was in the garage).

I find it somewhat ingenious of Tesla to make the UMC just a few feet too short to be able to do this. I'm hoping that someone comes up with third-party pigtails for the 2nd gen UMC that will just add about 5 feet of extension....

 

[seattlite2004]

If the car is on the left side of the garage, and your wiring is also fortuitously able to be on the left side near the garage door, a HPWC with 24' cord could charge both inside and just reach outside on the driveway ( say if your other car was in the garage).

I find it somewhat ingenious of Tesla to make the UMC just a few feet too short to be able to do this. I'm hoping that someone comes up with third-party pigtails for the 2nd gen UMC that will just add about 5 feet of extension....

Not a pigtail...but a service to get longer cables: Tesla UMC extension

 

[Mazari4life]

Not sure if this is the right place to ask this question but I will ask anyways. My delivery date is May 14th and I live in a townhouse with no garage. I have done no preparation.

I am planning to charge my M3 from a regular plugin in the front door. That should be fine?

My assumption is that the charging will be slowe? Also, has anyone called their power company which in VA offers special rate if you charge during non-peak hours?

 

[TexasEV]

How do you order an expensive EV and have no idea if your plan for plugging it in will work? What do you mean by plug in the front door? Is it on the inside or outside of the townhouse? How far is it from the car’s charging port where you will be parked? How far will you drive each day? Is 3 or 4 mile per hour rate enough? (It’s not for most people). Is there level 2 charging where you work or somewhere nearby? Is there a supercharger nearby?

Have you read all the pages of the Tesla charging website?
Charging | Tesla

 

[Mazari4life]

How do you order an expensive EV and have no idea if your plan for plugging it in will work? What do you mean by plug in the front door? Is it on the inside or outside of the townhouse? How far is it from the car’s charging port where you will be parked? How far will you drive each day? Is 3 or 4 mile per hour rate enough? (It’s not for most people). Is there level 2 charging where you work or somewhere nearby? Is there a supercharger nearby?

Have you read all the pages of the Tesla charging website?
Charging | Tesla

In VA even a townhouse costs over 400k. Outside plug by the front door. It’s about 10 feet away from my parking spot. My drive is 10 Miles one way and super charger is 10 minutes from work. There’s no level 2 charger where I work.

 

[TexasEV]

I suggest you charge to 90% at the supercharger soon after you get the car, and plug in at home each night. Make sure you aren’t using anything else on the circuit the car is charging on, such as outdoor lights. It needs to be the only load on a circuit. You’ll probably have to stop at the supercharger once in a while as I assume you drive elsewhere not just to/from work. You should be okay, just not as convenient as having a 240V oullet at home, of course.

 

[Mazari4life]

I suggest you charge to 90% at the supercharger soon after you get the car, and plug in at home each night. Make sure you aren’t using anything else on the circuit the car is charging on, such as outdoor lights. It needs to be the only load on a circuit. You’ll probably have to stop at the supercharger once in a while as I assume you drive elsewhere not just to/from work. You should be okay, just not as convenient as having a 240V oullet at home, of course.

Thanks for the feedbacks. If the front door light is using the same circuit ... I am assuming it’s only going to charge slowly?

 

[Mazari4life]

I just spoke with someone else who charges outside of this townhouse and suggested to buy a RV 250 and have someone install it.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

EVSEs have a long cord, up to 25ft.
Tesla Mobile connector has a 20 foot cable.

We have a Volt charged using a hardwired LCS-25 EVSE inside the garage.
But the cord can reach outside the garage and we sometimes (e.g. cool but sunny day) park and charge outside the garage. But we're in an area where we can leave the garage door open.

If you need to keep the doors closed, you could make a notch in a frame large enough for a cable.

 

[TexasEV]

Thanks for the feedbacks. If the front door light is using the same circuit ... I am assuming it’s only going to charge slowly?

It’s possible the charging will shut off if you turn on the light. Voltage drops cause charging to stop for safety. Or you have to turn down the amps on the car screen ahead of time, which will cause the car to charge even slower. Best just not to charge when you need the front light on.

 

[TexasEV]

I just spoke with someone else who charges outside of this townhouse and suggested to buy a RV 250 and have someone install it.

No such thing. Do you mean a NEMA 14-50 outlet, which is a 50A outlet used by RVs? That’s the standard 240V outlet recommended for charging a Tesla. Your car comes with a UMC adapter for this. If you have the capacity in your panel, and are allowed by the rules of your townhouse (condo?), absolutely this is the best choice.
https://www.tesla.com/sites/default.../NEMA_14-50_installation_guide_NA_US_2017.pdf

If your panel doesn’t have enough capacity for a 50A circuit, any 240V circuit will be a big step up from 120V charging. You might be able to have a 30A or even just 20A circuit installed and there is a UMC adapter for it. You need to have an electrician look at your situation and give a quote for what’s possible.

 

[Mazari4life]

No such thing. Do you mean a NEMA 14-50 outlet, which is a 50A outlet used by RVs? That’s the standard 240V outlet recommended for charging a Tesla. Your car comes with a UMC adapter for this. If you have the capacity in your panel, and are allowed by the rules of your townhouse (condo?), absolutely this is the best choice.
https://www.tesla.com/sites/default.../NEMA_14-50_installation_guide_NA_US_2017.pdf

If your panel doesn’t have enough capacity for a 50A circuit, any 240V circuit will be a big step up from 120V charging. You might be able to have a 30A or even just 20A circuit installed and there is a UMC adapter for it. You need to have an electrician look at your situation and give a quote for what’s possible.

Thank you. I will look into it this week. I notice Tesla can recommend local services.