Do I need a dedicated line when installing a 120V plug or are dedicated lines only for 240V?

[LoL Rick]

The maximum that you can use on a 5-15 is 12A, but the screen will allow you to step it down in increments of 1A to as low as 5 IIRC. Of course you realize that is painfully slow, but as you said the options are limited right now.

 

[gavine]

And remember that charge speed is determined by watts, not amps. Watts = (amps X volts) so 20 amps on a 120v outlet is half the power of 20 amps on a 240v.

A NEMA 14-50 typically delivers 9600 watts (9.6kW) or 40a X 240v.

A 5-20 only delivers 1920 watts....... 16a X 120v.

Therefore, if a 9.6kW NEMA 14-50 provides 29MPH of charge speed, then 1.92kW provides 5.8MPH.

As a side note, a 40a HPWC connected to a 208v commercial circuit only provides 8kW so it's actually slower then the 40a an a residential 240v circuit.

 

[TexasEV]

Actually you can't just use ratios like that to determine charging speed, because some of the energy goes to power car systems and maintain the battery and once that is taken care of then the remainder goes to charging. That is why charging from 5-20 outlet gives 42% more range than charging from 5-15 outlet, even though it's only 25% more amps.

 

[Hayzen]

For a commercial property like a condo, I would expect that a circuit connected to any outdoor outlets is probably a 20A circuit. A 5-20 outlet like that is compatible to take either a 5-20 or 5-15 plug. (The 5-15 plug comes with the Tesla.) So, if you plug in with the 5-15 adapter, it will be pulling maximum of 12A on a 20A circuit. I think that leaves pretty reasonable overhead for one or two light loads on the circuit without tripping the breaker.

I looked around my indoor heated parking garage and it seems that they are mainly 5-15 outlets.

If they were to install a new line for me by connecting to an existing 5-15 outlet power line, would my outlet also be a 5-15 outlet? Or could mine be upgraded to 5-20 outlet so I may get up to 16amps instead of 12amps? I guess it depends on the wire's gauge?

 

[TexasEV]

I looked around my indoor heated parking garage and it seems that they are mainly 5-15 outlets.

If they were to install a new line for me by connecting to an existing 5-15 outlet power line, would my outlet also be a 5-15 outlet? Or could mine be upgraded to 5-20 outlet so I may get up to 16amps instead of 12amps? I guess it depends on the wire's gauge?

I assume they would install whatever you are willing to pay for. There is no reason it couldn't be a 240V outlet rather than 120V. Don't install a 120V 15A outlet as long as you're paying to install something. A 240V circuit will be about the same cost.

 

[Jeff4155]

I find it very interesting how the US works on 120V, We here in South Africa have the 240V outlets so that is one less thing to worry about, then again we could start seeing power cuts again and the 240V won't make any difference

 

[mknox]

I see. So, if I go visit friends/relatives and charge my car at their houses, the outside receptacles are dedicated 20 amp circuits? And if people plug their cars in a 120v receptacle at the office parking garage, it may cause potential power problems?

Well, there are two things going on here. As far as I know, there is nothing stopping anyone from plugging into any 120 volt outlet they may come across. But according to the Ontario Electrical Safety Code, if a new outlet is being installed for the express purpose of EV charging, it has to be on a dedicated 20 amp circuit with a single NEMA 5-20 socket and marked for EV charging.

Most 120 volt outlets are installed on a 15 (or sometimes 20) amp branch circuit that will have a number of outlets and lights on it. A continuous 12 amp load will pretty much use up the entire branch circuit's capacity, and if almost anything else is plugged in or turned on, the breaker/fuse will trip.