Do I need to upgrade my garage to NEMA 14-50?

[Rocky_H]

This is page 4, so perhaps it's time to remind this thread about this line from the original post:
"I drive about 40 miles one way to/from work, and have a free, dedicated EV charging station available to me at work where I intend to principally (exclusively?) charge my car during work days."

So he doesn't really need to do ANY charging at home really.

 

[TexasEV]

This is page 4, so perhaps it's time to remind this thread about this line from the original post:
"I drive about 40 miles one way to/from work, and have a free, dedicated EV charging station available to me at work where I intend to principally (exclusively?) charge my car during work days."

So he doesn't really need to do ANY charging at home really.

Does he work 7 days/week and not take vacation time? Workplace charging may be nice but isn't the same as home charging at 240V. For almost everyone in a single family home the installation of a 14-50 costs less than 1% of the cost of the car, usually less than 0.5% of the cost of the car.

 

[Edinct]

I do understand it. Some people who have saved and been careful with their money to have enough to buy a nice car like this know the value of a dollar, and they got where they are by not blowing money on things they don’t need. That is obviously not everyone.

Exactly.

 

[cantdecide]

I have a similar situation to OP... Round trip commute 30-50 miles and free charging there. I almost never bother charging at home and typically get back to work on Monday with 50 miles left. Occasionally I will top up 50 miles at home. Works fine for me.

 

[ohmman]

If it were me, I'd install the 14-50. I mean, I put in a HPWC, which really is overkill. But reading what the OP wrote, you have different needs from me. So I wouldn't advise the same course of action. Instead, my advice is to wait and see how it works for you. You have the right idea. What's the biggest downside if you choose not to install it? You may run into a few situations where you need it, decide to call an electrician, and have a week or two of waiting while it's being installed. Big deal - as you say, there's a Supercharger nearby and you can work around it.

My bet is that within a year, you have a 14-50 in your garage, but why rush it? Go ahead and gauge your usage for free first.

 

[Edinct]

I live on 110, but I have a lot less car.

When I do upgrade my garage, I plan to future-proof it. You might want to also. There may be a day when you have 3 EV's instead of 1, so why not spend a little more and get 3 outlets if your panel can handle it - and avoid calling the electrician back. (in my case there's going to be a trench to dig).

If you do end up using this car for road trips I think you'll like having 29 mph charging over 5 mph charging. One of the wonderful things about these cars is NOT having to stop for fuel - so avoiding that first Supercharger will be nice.

It'll be interesting to hear how long you live without upgrading. Hope you'll report back.

Thought I would report back. Turns out the "charge at work" option might not be as reliable or as fast as I expected. So, given the recommendations here, I got 3 different quotes from electricians, two of which were affordable so I decided to have the 14-50 installed. It was a bit more complicated than I thought - there was no room on a sub panel near the garage so we needed to run a new line from the main panel about 50 feet away (and through a couple of walls) but in the end I'm happy to have the peace of mind that I can do a full charge at home when I need to. Thanks for all the advice.

 

[Merrill]

Thought I would report back. Turns out the "charge at work" option might not be as reliable or as fast as I expected. So, given the recommendations here, I got 3 different quotes from electricians, two of which were affordable so I decided to have the 14-50 installed. It was a bit more complicated than I thought - there was no room on a sub panel near the garage so we needed to run a new line from the main panel about 50 feet away (and through a couple of walls) but in the end I'm happy to have the peace of mind that I can do a full charge at home when I need to. Thanks for all the advice.

You made the correct choice, it will give you peace of mind to have the 14-50 plug.

 

[jbcarioca]

...I'm happy to have the peace of mind that I can do a full charge at home when I need to. Thanks for all the advice.

I agree that peace of mind is the most important issue. After a year I know I have never needed anything more than a fairly slow charge, so I often charge at 5 amps to make sure the phantom does not visit. Doing that easily takes care fo my daily needs and I always can dial it up if needed for a trip.

In the beginning I wanted an HPWC but I was thinking ICE, and at home there is always overnight so accessibility trumps amps. For sure YMMV!