So currently I live in an upscale condo. If you can believe it, no charging stations, so maybe not so upscale. Also no electrical outlets far and wide. There are, however, a few nearby options. The Tesla dealer is about 20 minutes away. There is a "Royal Farm" (like a 7-11) that has a charging station. There is a "Moms" grocery store at which I often shop that has a few stations, and usually there are not all occupied. It is also more or less on the way to work. And then there are two stations where I work, but they are almost always full. I could maybe use one of them 10% of the time. I have not asked if I could pay to have, say, a 220 outlet installed. Assuming that is not an option, does it sound like I have enough charging options to manage, or am I dreaming? Also, I know there is a lot of variation, but how often do people find they have to wait at charging stations? Many thanks in advance.
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Condo Living
- Thread starter diver110
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jebinc
Well-Known Member
I tend to agree, “That’s a long putt...”. Have you approached the HOA about adding some charging stations to the association? My son lives in a regular condo and his HOA is installing several charging stations.
jebinc
Well-Known Member
Just ask. They could already have it in works for other owners, as I'm sure others have approached the Board. My son was excited to here charging stations are coming as he wants to get a Tesla as well. Another alternative, since you are renting, is to move to a condo association/complex that has charging stations (or rent a house).
Haxster
Member
Three other thoughts:
1. Have you thought about getting to work early enough to snag one of the stations?
2. Set up a remote motion triggered camera to alert you when a car pulls out of a charging station at work.
3. Petition for more stations to be added where you work. I'm sure that the other e-car owners would support this effort.
1. Have you thought about getting to work early enough to snag one of the stations?
2. Set up a remote motion triggered camera to alert you when a car pulls out of a charging station at work.
3. Petition for more stations to be added where you work. I'm sure that the other e-car owners would support this effort.
Three other thoughts:
1. Have you thought about getting to work early enough to snag one of the stations? Boy are you dreaming.I am a professor who teaches at night, so showing up early is not an option.
2. Set up a remote motion triggered camera to alert you when a car pulls out of a charging station at work. Clever. I wondered about that too. Don't know if I have the technical skills or if the university will allow it.
3. Petition for more stations to be added where you work. I'm sure that the other e-car owners would support this effort. True. Alas, the University if hurting financially, so that is a long shot. Perhaps I could make a charitable contribution for a "Tesla" space.
Seems like the unsurprising bottom line is that unless I can reliably charge at home or at work, hold off. The one thing I wonder about is Moms (sort of a miniature Whole Foods). Usually, a charging station is open. It is on the way to work, and I could shop/work while it is charging, so perhaps manageable. But obviously not nearly as good as being able to charge at home.
jebinc
Well-Known Member
I think it depends what level these charging locations offer and how many MPH they can charge. Do you know?
It would be helpful to have some more information about your driving habits. How many miles do you drive in a week? Are you close to the Baltimore Supercharger for a fast charge when necessary?
It varies. But I probably drive close to 200 miles per week. Some weeks I might hit 250 miles, but not typically. My condo is very close to shopping and a lot of activities I enjoy (why I rented it).
I did. That is how I found the charging station at the Royal Farm (quite close to where I live). Alas, it was the only one that showed up. Oddly, the stations at Moms did not. One thing I have going for me as a law professor is that a lot of the work I do could be done in the car while it was charging, especially if I have my laptop with me.
StealthP3D
Well-Known Member
The Model 3 LR RWD would be your best option since it adds the most miles of range per minute charging.
Here are some interesting Model 3 owner demographics:
Tesla Model 3 Demographics: Who Buys Model 3s by Age, Income:
"Only 56% of current Tesla Model 3 owners own their own home. That’s significantly lower than owners of Model S or X.
The percentage of Americans who own their own home has ranged between about 64% to 67% in recent years. Tesla Model 3 owners are less likely to own their home than the general population."
Having acknowledged that, just because they don't own their home does not necessarily mean they don't have a charge solution at home. It really doesn't cost that much in most instances to add another circuit to your system which is the preferable solution from the perspective that it's even more convenient than fueling a gas car.
My folks live in an "upscale" building and I'm surprised how slow they have been to get on board with electric. There are a handful of folks who have electric cars and have put in 220s at their cost, but as I understand it once they get more than that they have to upgrade the entire system which means basically everyone would have to pay for it. I'd ask HOA about getting a 220 it should't be too big of a deal especially if you would be the first electric car there.
Talk to the condo manager and see what you can work out. Here are some examples of what others have done.
Condo Charging - Minimal cost installation and some questions
Condo Install Experience & Pictures
Successful completion of Condo charging installation – Now I can charge at home!
Small correction, 240 Volts. There really has not been 220V since the days of 110V (Edison's day). Now it is 120V and 240V, some people get confused if you use the the old numbers. And confusion is the last thing you want with an HOA and/or electricians.
This makes tons of difference. Just referring to "a charging station" doesn't tell you whether it's a half hour stop or a four hour stop.
So I drove by the areas near my condo that have charging stations. At the Moms (like a miniature Whole Foods), only one is now working, though there are two stations. Royal Farms (like a 7-11) has two. See pix. Any issues with charging a Tesla at these? (I inadvertently uploaded one image twice and cannot seem to get it deleted). I talked to the building manager. There is some discussion of putting some charging stations in a common area, but apparently they are not open to putting one in someone's own parking space.
The first one that is the small station is called J1772, and yes, no problem charging with that. I think the cars still come with the adapter for that. It's going to be a bit slow, like maybe 20 miles per hour.
The second big station, I can't quite see what kind of handles those are. There are two types for those DC fast charging stations. One is CCS, and Tesla doesn't have any kind of adapter. But the other is CHAdeMO, and Tesla does sell an adapter for $450 that can use that.
CHAdeMO Adapter
A lot of those stations with the two cords like that are one of each handle type, so that looks like you could use the CHAdeMO side if you want to go for that adapter.
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