Charging station in detached garage

[Sophias_dad]

Not sure exactly what the amperage in is. I assume it's 50.

I think we've established that you'll have no problem whatsoever just using 110V for charging, and that's not even using the free charger at your destination.

If you are interested in finding the amperage being supplied to that subpanel, check your main panel for a 240V breaker, hopefully labeled 'subpanel' or 'garage'.

 

[jcanoe]

It's round trip. I'm only 5 miles from the train. I've also factored in the occasional errand to/from.

As long as you have 10 hours available each evening to charge any commute/driving up to 30 miles per day can be handled using Level 1 (120V) and 8A charging (~960W.) 120V and 12A charging (1.4kW) is good for driving 40 miles per day.

 

[Sophias_dad]

110V for charging

I can't believe I played along with that. Its 120V charging!

 

[OliverM3]

I'm a potential future MY owner and doing some of the research of owning an EV. My house has detached garage which has 110V for lights and garage door opener. There is no breaker box in the garage and conduit/wire has been run from the house. Investigating what's involved in getting an EV charging station in the garage. The garage is about 100 feet from the side of the house closest to the breaker box so this means running conduit/wire through the ground (mostly grass and gravel but there is some cement sidewalk). Using the existing conduit doesn't look possible as it is on the other side of the house. Interested in hearing similar experience and costs involved.

How did i miss this. Just did the same thing I had a 100amp sub panel ran to my garage that was 100' from my house.
It was $3500 which I thought wasn't bad at all. Another $500 for two EV chargers on either side of the garage hooked up.

my home is over 100 years old so the 2 wire cloth covered fuse panel was not good enough for an EV.
I think it was worth the cost they did a great job.

Also the code was just a buried wire which allows for more cooling no conduit. Think it was 2awg aluminum wire that they used.

 

[HellsKitchen]

How did i miss this. Just did the same thing I had a 100amp sub panel ran to my garage that was 100' from my house.
It was $3500 which I thought wasn't bad at all. Another $500 for two EV chargers on either side of the garage hooked up.

my home is over 100 years old so the 2 wire cloth covered fuse panel was not good enough for an EV.
I think it was worth the cost they did a great job.

Also the code was just a buried wire which allows for more cooling no conduit. Think it was 2awg aluminum wire that they used.

View attachment 793012

Good deal. My main issue is that I'll need to upgrade to 200 amp Service to do that. Or I could just bring another 100 into my garage.

 

[ChrisMPK]

I would upgrade your main to 200 and then figure out what the realistic max you could bring to your garage is. Thinking about a daily commute is the short view. If you only think about getting to work on Monday then 120v 15a is probably fine. If, however, you think about what kind of vehicles you will buy / lease in the next 10 years, and where your commutes and trips might take you then it might inform a decision like investing a few thousand dollars in updating your house's electrical infrastructure. Whatever upgrades you make are probably going to be there for 10+ years, so your planning should also be along that timeframe. You might have a 30 mile commute in a couple years, and you might not want to / be able to / remember to charge your commuter vehicle every night.

Instead of thinking about driving 5 miles tomorrow, think of the time you have to drive out of your way 20 extra miles each way and you forgot to charge last night, and you are leaving on a trip early in the morning and need a full charge. Yeah, I know, you could go out of your way or make an extra stop at the supercharger, but is that how you want to start your road trip? No, you live in America, and you probably want maximum convenience. My point is, consider the outlier cases and the future variables when making an investment in your home that will be effective for many years.

 

[HellsKitchen]

I would upgrade your main to 200 and then figure out what the realistic max you could bring to your garage is. Thinking about a daily commute is the short view. If you only think about getting to work on Monday then 120v 15a is probably fine. If, however, you think about what kind of vehicles you will buy / lease in the next 10 years, and where your commutes and trips might take you then it might inform a decision like investing a few thousand dollars in updating your house's electrical infrastructure. Whatever upgrades you make are probably going to be there for 10+ years, so your planning should also be along that timeframe. You might have a 30 mile commute in a couple years, and you might not want to / be able to / remember to charge your commuter vehicle every night.

Instead of thinking about driving 5 miles tomorrow, think of the time you have to drive out of your way 20 extra miles each way and you forgot to charge last night, and you are leaving on a trip early in the morning and need a full charge. Yeah, I know, you could go out of your way or make an extra stop at the supercharger, but is that how you want to start your road trip? No, you live in America, and you probably want maximum convenience. My point is, consider the outlier cases and the future variables when making an investment in your home that will be effective for many years.

If I choose to upgrade the garage to 100 amps separately, that should be good for my future EVs.

 

[ChrisMPK]

@HellsKitchen That is a great solution for your garage, but I would also consider the electrical usage of your house as long as you are investing in an upgrade. What are the electrical needs of your house going to be for the next 10 years? It sounds like upgrading the main panel, and adding a larger sub panel in the garage gives you more long term flexibility.

 

[howardnj]

How did i miss this. Just did the same thing I had a 100amp sub panel ran to my garage that was 100' from my house.
It was $3500 which I thought wasn't bad at all. Another $500 for two EV chargers on either side of the garage hooked up.

my home is over 100 years old so the 2 wire cloth covered fuse panel was not good enough for an EV.
I think it was worth the cost they did a great job.

Also the code was just a buried wire which allows for more cooling no conduit. Think it was 2awg aluminum wire that they used.

View attachment 793012

I decided to use a local Tesla electrician for a roughly 150 ft run from my newly upgraded 200 amp basement panel. They did excellent work and the local inspector was impressed when he placed the approval sticker on my garage sub panel. The original 1978 Federal Pacific 200 amp panel had to go. The electrican ran #2 aluminum four conductor wire to my garage to the 100 amp sub panel and then used copper to the gen 3 HPWC. My total outlay for the upgraded 200 amp electrical basement panel, the 100 amp garage sub panel, and the Tesla HPWC was a little over $5500.00
That price just gets added to the $64k price of my M Y.
That cost is only reflected in my first EV
I was just approved by NJ PSE&G for my $1500 rebate so the $5500 will be reduced to $4000.00
Then there is no NJ sales tax on EV's and toll discounts
I'm happy and waiting for my VIN

 

[jcanoe]

That price just gets added to the $64k price of my M Y.

Save all of your receipts. The cost of the service panel replacement and the sub panel, etc. can be added to your cost basis for when you eventually sell your home.

 

[howardnj]

Save all of your receipts. The cost of the service panel replacement and the sub panel, etc. can be added to your cost basis for when you eventually sell your home.

True and for a married couple the first $500,000 capitol gain is excluded. I have all my receipts for improvements made since we purchased in 1978

 

[harrypa]

I have a similar set-up. Unfortunately the wire that runs from the house to the garage is not thick enough for 240v, so the plan is to run new wire through the existing conduit (it is large enough for the thicker wire) and put a sub-panel in the garage which will provide 240v for the car and 110v for the lights and garage door opener. I have a quote for about $2300 for all that. Fortunately we do not have to dig a new trench for a new conduit as that would add another $1000 to the cost. I am in northern NJ (expensive part of the world), so your costs may be less.

I am going to try to charge with 110v and see how that goes (getting the car in July). We will use the car less than 15 miles/day unless we are going on a trip. I should be able to keep it charged for daily driving and there are several supercharging stations nearby if needed. I have read that charging on 110 is fine as long as you don't have a long daily commute.

Here is my previous discussion on this topic: Cost to run dedicated 240v 60amp line to garage

wow, cannot believe this. I am in New Jersey and same issue. about 90 feet wire needed from basement panel to the detached garage. got a quote for an absurd amount - over $5000. tried to use a level 1 charger and it keeps tripping. I am relying on the supercharger for now.

 

[Mrbrock]

wow, cannot believe this. I am in New Jersey and same issue. about 90 feet wire needed from basement panel to the detached garage. got a quote for an absurd amount - over $5000. tried to use a level 1 charger and it keeps tripping. I am relying on the supercharger for now.

What is tripping? The breaker or the outlet? If something is tripping it either means it is not a dedicated circuit (something else is drawing power) or something is wrong with the outlet. The TMC drawing 12A will not trip a normal 15A circuit.

 

[howardnj]

wow, cannot believe this. I am in New Jersey and same issue. about 90 feet wire needed from basement panel to the detached garage. got a quote for an absurd amount - over $5000. tried to use a level 1 charger and it keeps tripping. I am relying on the supercharger for now.

I'm in NJ too and I used a Tesla recommended NJ licensed electrician that used #2 aluminum 4 conductor cable for a 150 ft run from my 200 amp basement panel to the 100 amp sub panel in my garage. They did an excellent job and I charge to 90% beginning at every midnight at 48 amps. You just add the cost for your first EV just like if you were adding an option to a ICE vehicle.