cost/ benefit of installing a nema plug vs tesla wall connector

[ajs847]

I've been getting quotes from tesla certified electricians for botha Nema 14-50 or tesla wall connector in my garage.

All of the quotes are within +/- $250 each other but the tesla wall charger quotes are almost $1k more than the cost of the Nema. For example one electrican quoted me $1850 for the Nema and $2950 for the tesla wall connector (including the $500 connector).

Unfortunately I'm going to require about 160 feet of conduit and wiring from my breaker to the garage so I accept that it's going to be expensive.

If my typical daily charging need is only going to be 50-60 miles of "fill up" nightly, does it make sense to the extra for the tesla solution? Anyone hated the nema and upgraded to the tesla wall connector?

 

[jcanoe]

I would get additional quotes from other electricians.

The Wall Connector price ($500) is more than 50% offset by the items you don't need, would need or want to have if you install the NEMA 14-50 receptacle.

Required for NEMA 14-50 Receptacle:
1) 50A GFCI circuit breaker ($100) - Required
2) Junction box and high quality NEMA 14-50 receptacle (i.e. Hubbell, Bryant or Cooper; not Leviton) ($100) - Required
3) Cable Organizer ($35) - Would want to have.
4) 3 wire (plus ground wire) for a total of 4 wires, in conduit. For a long wire run this could easily add $100 to the cost of the materials. (Labor to install the wire would be the same for the Wall Connector.) - Required

Required for Wall Connector:
1) Tesla Wall Connector ($500)
2) standard circuit breaker ($10)
3) 2 wire (plus ground wire) for a total of 3 wires, in conduit.

The Wall Connector can be installed on any circuit from 15A up to 60A. Since the distance from your service panel to the garage is 160 ft it may make sense to install a sub panel in the garage, use aluminum wire versus copper wire as the cost of aluminum wire is currently ~25% of the cost of copper wire. (Large gauge aluminum wire is used all of the time for bringing power into the home from the meter to the service panel.) You could install a 100A sub panel, be able to add an additional charging circuit in the future.

When installed on a 50A circuit the Wall Connector can charge at 40A. The Tesla Mobile Connector when used with the NEMA 14-50 plug adapter is limited to 32A. As you stated your current driving is limited to ~60 miles per day. Any 240V charging setup from 20A up to 60A would meet your current charging needs.

The Wall Connector supports automatic load balancing; up to 4 Wall Connectors can share a single charging circuit. (This may not be something you would need.)

The Wall Connector is designed to be installed inside a garage or outdoors. (This does not matter as you plan to install the charging circuit inside your garage.)

 

[Rocky_H]

Yeah, you might reevaluate that. For 160 feet, an extra unused neutral wire to do a 14-50 outlet is going to be some significant expense that will not be present with the wall connector. You could do a 6-50, though, which would be the same wiring as the wall connector, without that extra unused neutral. And that damn requirement for using GFCI breakers that cost about $100 is a real annoyance with doing outlets now, instead of hard wired devices.

 

[qdeathstar]

i know people here are trying to nitpick an electricians price but no one is going to instal the wall charger for the same price is a 14-15. Especially if you have them buy the charger, they will charge you. Markup. Mine for example is 1.6 times whatever the thing costs....

As far as which one is better I think the wall charger is “cooler” and has a higher charge rate depending on the install, but to take advantage of that higher charge rate expect to pay $$$$, and looks a bit neater.

The 14-50 give you flexibility in the future, and trust me, an electrician isn’t going to give you a big discount because he didn’t have to use 40ft of #6 for a neutral. Maybe 25 dollars. Maybe, so what’s the point? You get almost the same charge rate as the wall charger but have to deal with dongle madness.

I would be surprised if your electrician is installing a gfci because I doubt it is required by your local inspectors yet. You should ask him, as well as what size wire he plans to use.

 

[ChrisMPK]

Don't ask what wire size, research what you need and specify it. Electricians love having a specification because they don't have to take responsibility for it being wrong. If you can fit a 50a or 60a circuit go with the HPWC. If your panel can't handle it, then what's the point, use the mobile connector. I would definitely just order the HPWC yourself. If I was the EC I would charge a percentage to order it. You could always disclaim that you would "configure" it, as forcing an electrician to get out a laptop or phone to do work is something they are going to resist or charge a lot for.

 

[Darblish]

I went with the receptacle and a mobile connector. That way, if the connector fails/gets damaged, or we get a second EV and want a dual EVSE, or we go somewhere that we’d want the slightly faster 40-amp charging, we can disconnect and make the change much more easily (and without an electrician).

I actually just mounted the connector today, in fact.

 

[qdeathstar]

Don't ask what wire size, research what you need and specify it. Electricians love having a specification because they don't have to take responsibility for it being wrong.

The electrical contractor should know what wire size to use, it is spelled out for him. I wouldn’t want to use an electrician who isn’t familiar with NEC code.

 

[jcanoe]

I forgot to include the cost of the Tesla NEMA 14-50 power plug adapter for the Gen2 Mobile Connector ($45), surprised no one caught that.

Here is the estimated cost of all of the components and accessories that would be required to install a NEMA 14-50 receptacle and charge using the Tesla Gen2 Mobile Connector:

1) 50A GFCI circuit breaker ($100)
2) Junction box and high quality NEMA 14-50 receptacle (i.e. Hubbell, Bryant or Cooper; not Leviton) ($100)
3) Tesla NEMA 14-50 power plug adapter ($45)
4) Tesla Cable Organizer ($35) - includes a hanger for the charging cable and a wall mount for the Mobile Connector chassis (the electronics unit.)

Total for NEMA 14-50 receptacle: ($280) *

(Note: This does not include the additional cost of running 3 wires + ground instead of 2 wires + ground that would be needed when installing a Tesla Wall Connector or with a NEMA 6-50 receptacle (does not use the neutral wire.)

The current price of the Tesla Wall Connector is $500 *, only $220 more than the cost of the NEMA 14-50 receptacle. (Does not include the cost of a standard 50A double pole (240V) circuit breaker for the Wall Connector as this type of circuit breaker only costs $10 to $15.)

* Does not include cost of any permits, wire, conduit or labor.

 

[dedicatedtek]

definitely get other quotes. Also, if you are going with the 14-50, you don't need to tell them this is for a Tesla.

I know pricing is all over the place with different parts of the world, etc....but I paid $350 total (taxes and everything) for an electrician to install my 14-50 in my garage. About 50 foot run from my house service panel to the inside of my garage.

I didn't look for "Tesla approved electricians" - I just asked local business owners that I know, which electrician(s) they would call if they needed work done.

 

[Redekw]

Another way to save some money would be to use aluminum wiring from your main panel to a sub-panel in your garage. For a run of 160 feet, there is a big cost difference between aluminum and copper.

 

[jcanoe]

definitely get other quotes. Also, if you are going with the 14-50, you don't need to tell them this is for a Tesla.

I know pricing is all over the place with different parts of the world, etc....but I paid $350 total (taxes and everything) for an electrician to install my 14-50 in my garage. About 50 foot run from my house service panel to the inside of my garage.

I didn't look for "Tesla approved electricians" - I just asked local business owners that I know, which electrician(s) they would call if they needed work done.

You can do that but things have gotten more complicated. If the latest version (2017) of the NEC is being followed in your state, local jurisdiction then any receptacle installed for charging an EV must be protected with a GFCI. The electrician has to be informed if the 50A circuit, 14-50 receptacle is for an EV. If you tell the electrician that the 50A circuit , 14-50 receptacle is for an RV motor home then currently no GFCI is required however the installation may not be code compliant for use when charging an EV.

My electrician wanted to see a photo of the equipment label on the EVSE I planned to use. (Every piece of electrical equipment has to have a manufacturer's electrical specification label.) I also provided the electrician with copies of the relevant pages of the EVSE installation manual.

 

[eagle_eye]

I've been getting quotes from tesla certified electricians for botha Nema 14-50 or tesla wall connector in my garage.

All of the quotes are within +/- $250 each other but the tesla wall charger quotes are almost $1k more than the cost of the Nema. For example one electrican quoted me $1850 for the Nema and $2950 for the tesla wall connector (including the $500 connector).

Unfortunately I'm going to require about 160 feet of conduit and wiring from my breaker to the garage so I accept that it's going to be expensive.

If my typical daily charging need is only going to be 50-60 miles of "fill up" nightly, does it make sense to the extra for the tesla solution? Anyone hated the nema and upgraded to the tesla wall connector?

One NYC Electrician quoted $1800 for 30!! Feet of wiring and conduit. Could do this myself if it wouldn't be such a big deal with code and all.

 

[thesmokingman]

One NYC Electrician quoted $1800 for 30!! Feet of wiring and conduit. Could do this myself if it wouldn't be such a big deal with code and all.

Holy Carp! That's some fleecing.

 

[Marcust99]

Holy Carp! That's some fleecing.

Tesla Tax

 

[Madsen203]

Tax credit makes getting the HPWC a no brainer. Now, paying someone to install it is another cost that I didn’t incur.

 

[RowdyMY]

Anyone hated the nema and upgraded to the tesla wall connector?

14-50 for two years. $180 install for about a 60' run (plus the UMC dongle).

No regrets and never had issues. 8kW is plenty for our ~12k/year daily driver.

 

[Fourdoor]

Can you upgrade one of your 15 amp 120V plugs into a dedicated 20 amp 120V plug? That would cover your 60 miles of driving in 10 hours of charging for a hell of a lot less cost than either of the options you asked about.

Keith

 

[TCOACH]

I would get additional quotes from other electricians.

The Wall Connector price ($500) is more than 50% offset by the items you don't need, would need or want to have if you install the NEMA 14-50 receptacle.

Required for NEMA 14-50 Receptacle:
1) 50A GFCI circuit breaker ($100) - Required
2) Junction box and high quality NEMA 14-50 receptacle (i.e. Hubbell, Bryant or Cooper; not Leviton) ($100) - Required
3) Cable Organizer ($35) - Would want to have.
4) 3 wire (plus ground wire) for a total of 4 wires, in conduit. For a long wire run this could easily add $100 to the cost of the materials. (Labor to install the wire would be the same for the Wall Connector.) - Required

Required for Wall Connector:
1) Tesla Wall Connector ($500)
2) standard circuit breaker ($10)
3) 2 wire (plus ground wire) for a total of 3 wires, in conduit.

The Wall Connector can be installed on any circuit from 15A up to 60A. Since the distance from your service panel to the garage is 160 ft it may make sense to install a sub panel in the garage, use aluminum wire versus copper wire as the cost of aluminum wire is currently ~25% of the cost of copper wire. (Large gauge aluminum wire is used all of the time for bringing power into the home from the meter to the service panel.) You could install a 100A sub panel, be able to add an additional charging circuit in the future.

When installed on a 50A circuit the Wall Connector can charge at 40A. The Tesla Mobile Connector when used with the NEMA 14-50 plug adapter is limited to 32A. As you stated your current driving is limited to ~60 miles per day. Any 240V charging setup from 20A up to 60A would meet your current charging needs.

The Wall Connector supports automatic load balancing; up to 4 Wall Connectors can share a single charging circuit. (This may not be something you would need.)

The Wall Connector is designed to be installed inside a garage or outdoors. (This does not matter as you plan to install the charging circuit inside your garage.)

Hi - I'm in Woodbridge VA and trying to get my Condo association to approve my EV charger installation. Can you recommend a good licensed installer who can help me (also with permitting)? Thanks!

 

[gfunkdave]

Can you upgrade one of your 15 amp 120V plugs into a dedicated 20 amp 120V plug? That would cover your 60 miles of driving in 10 hours of charging for a hell of a lot less cost than either of the options you asked about.

Keith

If you have a single-circuit plug that you'd upgrade to a 20A plug then you might as well buy a two-pole 20A breaker and convert it to a 6-20 which will give you 11-15 mph of charge.

 

[jcanoe]

If you have a single-circuit plug that you'd upgrade to a 20A plug then you might as well buy a two-pole 20A breaker and convert it to a 6-20 which will give you 11-15 mph of charge.

You would have to ensure that the existing wire, i.e. NM-B (Romex) was 12 gauge as 14 gauge would not be sufficient for a 20A circuit.