Charging Questions....Outdoor Charging, Power Surges, Brownouts....

[endizguyz]

I'm still waiting on my Y (boooo!); but I'm using this time to get my house in order. I don't have a garage to park in (thanks to Covid,,,it's now my home office). Our Y will be the only electric car. What do you use/suggest for an outdoor charging set up? Also is there any concern for power surges/brownouts while charging?

 

[user212_nr]

For outdoor charging what you will want is to get the Tesla "wall connector" with the 18' cable and install it somewhere outdoors within 18 feet of your driveway. That could be on the side of your house, on a shed, or on a home-made post (like a mailbox but a bit sturdier).

Nothing you can do about brownouts, but I've not heard of them being an issue. You can have your electrician install a surge protector for your home if you think that is needed. The car will handle a small surge just fine, not sure about a large one, but I think those are rare.

 

[JMonde]

Living in Florida during the Summer months can be crazy with lightning storms and lightning strikes . While I wait for my delivery, I had some questions about these surges we have.

1. I have a surge protector on my house
2. I have a 240 14-50 circuit already installed

Can a surge fry the batteries in the Model 3?

Does having a Tesla Wall Connection prevent the car from being fried?

What prevention should I take to prevent this from happening?

Thanks for the answers in advance.

 

[jcanoe]

A whole house surge protector is a good idea if you live in an area with frequent electrical storm activity. The truth is that no surge protector can fully protect your home or any of the electrical equipment in the home from a close by lightning strike. Ground strike lightning can jump from a utility pole or a tree into the wiring of your home, even through the ground to the ground connection of your home's plumbing and electrical wiring.

I pass along the advice of a friend, now long gone, who was a radio engineer for many years and who oversaw the installation of radio transmitting towers all over the globe. Very simply, unplug it. Whenever a storm would approach John would disconnect his ham radio set and disconnect the radio antenna wire and toss the wire out the window of his home.

I asked John if I should be concerned that there was a decent sized television antenna mounted on the chimney of my home and he said no because the trees near the house are all much taller than the television antenna; also the antenna was not polarized as it would be if the antenna was grounded. Trusting what John told me I always unplug my expensive television, laptop and any other equipment that could be damaged by a voltage spike or even a power surge if the power goes out and then later is restored. As far as the Tesla charging setup I leave the EVSE plugged in and powered on but I unplug the charging cord from the Tesla even if it means interrupting charging.

The damage resulting from lightning can wreck havoc with the EV's wiring and systems. The cost of replacing all of the damaged wiring and components could even be considered a total loss by your insurance.

In terms of risk management the risk of an electrical storm damaging your Tesla when plugged in, even if charging, is low. The impact of this type of damage on your continued ability to charge or drive the vehicle is very high. The simplest, best solution is to unplug the charging cord anytime there is a storm forecast or when ground strike lightning is within about 8 miles of your location. Phone apps such as WeatherBug make it easy to track ground strike lightning and take appropriate action.

If you want further evidence, search You Tube for lightning damaged my EV.

For an outdoor installation the Wall Connector is the best option. The Wall Connector when hard wired into the circuit as designed is rated for use in all weather conditions. I have a NEMA 14-50 receptacle for my EV charging needs. The 14-50 is installed inside my home garage, never exposed to the weather.

 

[JMonde]

A whole house surge protector is a good idea if you live in an area with frequent electrical storm activity. The truth is that no surge protector can fully protect your home or any of the electrical equipment in the home from a close by lightning strike. Ground strike lightning can jump from a utility pole or a tree into the wiring of your home, even through the ground to the ground connection of your home's plumbing and electrical wiring.

I pass along the advice of a friend, now long gone, who was a radio engineer for many years and who oversaw the installation of radio transmitting towers all over the globe. Very simply, unplug it. Whenever a storm would approach John would disconnect his ham radio set and disconnect the radio antenna wire and toss the wire out the window of his home.

I asked John if I should be concerned that there was a decent sized television antenna mounted on the chimney of my home and he said no because the trees near the house are all much taller than the television antenna; also the antenna was not polarized as it would be if the antenna was grounded. Trusting what John told me I always unplug my expensive television, laptop and any other equipment that could be damaged by a voltage spike or even a power surge if the power goes out and then later is restored. As far as the Tesla charging setup I leave the EVSE plugged in and powered on but I unplug the charging cord from the Tesla even if it means interrupting charging.

The damage resulting from lightning can wreck havoc with the EV's wiring and systems. The cost of replacing all of the damaged wiring and components could even be considered a total loss by your insurance.

In terms of risk management the risk of an electrical storm damaging your Tesla when plugged in, even if charging, is low. The impact of this type of damage on your continued ability to charge or drive the vehicle is very high. The simplest, best solution is to unplug the charging cord anytime there is a storm forecast or when ground strike lightning is within about 8 miles of your location. Phone apps such as WeatherBug make it easy to track ground strike lightning and take appropriate action.

If you want further evidence, search You Tube for lightning damaged my EV.

Thank you so much, very good article. I will take your advice and unplug!