Does anyone charge from a regular outlet?

[ejkcy25]

Hi there!
Still getting used to the technical terms so bare with me!

My husband has a Tesla as well and got the 14-50 installed since he commutes for work on weekdays. I work from home & barely drive my car so I just plug mine into a regular outlet to keep it plugged in (also keep it charged to 50% throughout the week).

I know charging is slow, and I’m okay with it since I don’t go anywhere, but I just wanted to see if this is okay on my outlet? I usually unplug it from the outlet when I am out all day with the car but most of the time, it’s plugged in to the outlet and into the car.

Am I overworking it?

Thanks for your help/ input in advance!

 

[ReddyLeaf]

Lots of threads on this for more info, but basically it should work fine for you. I’m 6 years using 120V. I get about 50-70 mi/day charging, so three days to fill if returning near empty, but it’s just fine for my low daily needs. Make sure the outlet is high quality (I replaced mine with CGFI) and no other continuous high draw items are on the same circuit (LED lights ok, fridge NOT ok). Remember, EV charging is continuous draw and will really warm the wires, outlets, and any poor connections. Warm to touch is ok, hot is not and should be fixed.

Transient use of higher power draws like vacuum cleaners, power tools, blowers, etc. is ok as long as the car is not charging. Be smart here. Leave the cord plugged in continuously and support the cord weight so that the connection is kept tight in the outlet. I leave mine plugged in all the time, except when leaving town on vacation and know my destination will require the cord.

 

[Mike_TV]

You are fine with 120V charging. If you were in a pinch and needed to go somewhere but didn't have a full charge you could go to one of the nine Superchargers in your area too.

 

[whisperingshad]

I plug in with a normal 120V every night. I use Supercharger or lvl2 as needed.

 

[jcanoe]

I would leave the Tesla Mobile Connector plugged into the outlet even when not in use. The power draw when not charging is insignificant. The standard 120V receptacle is designed for regular plugging and unplugging but eventually it would not make a tight connection with the plug.

Watch out for bad weather, unplug the charging connector from the Tesla vehicle during electrical storms or anytime there is ground strike lightning detected with ~8 miles of your location. An app such as WeatherBug can alert you when lightning has been detected in your area. (Usually nothing would happen but there is a chance of a voltage spike from lightning seriously damaging the Tesla's electrical systems.)

 

[jcanoe]

When using the Tesla Mobile Connector for daily charging at home it is important to support the Mobile Connector chassis (the electronics unit), not let the Mobile Connector hang down supported by the wall receptacle and power plug. This is true whether the receptacle is the standard NEMA 5-15R (120V) or the NEMA 14-50R (240V) receptacle and plug adapter. The wall receptacle and power plug are not designed to continuously support the weight of the Mobile Connector chassis and charging cord. Over time added strain of supporting this additional weight can cause the power plug connection to fail.

Tesla sells a Cable Organizer that includes a mounting bracket for the Mobile Connector chassis (see second photo): Cable Organizer You can also find similar cable organizer kits on Amazon.

 

[whisperingshad]

When using the Tesla Mobile Connector for daily charging at home it is important to support the Mobile Connector chassis (the electronics unit), not let the Mobile Connector hang down supported by the wall receptacle and power plug. This is true whether the receptacle is the standard NEMA 5-15R (120V) or the NEMA 14-50R (240V) receptacle and plug adapter. The wall receptacle and power plug are not designed to continuously support the weight of the Mobile Connector chassis and charging cord. Over time added strain of supporting this additional weight can cause the power plug connection to fail.

Tesla sells a Cable Organizer that includes a mounting bracket for the Mobile Connector chassis (see second photo): Cable Organizer You can also find similar cable organizer kits on Amazon.

I have mine on a table next to it so its a straight path no dip.

 

[sgalla04]

Others have covered if the outlet itself is ok but I wanted to share a bit on using a 120v vs. 14-50 240v when both are available.

All electrical connections lose a bit of efficiency due to resistance. However, you may waste more electric due to heat loss with a 5-15 (normal 120v outlet) compared to an outlet installed on 240v. I’ve seen the amount could be negligible (2.4%) to maybe enough to think about it (10%). Just some food for thought.

Charging 120v vs 240v efficiency​

Therefore, if you have an option to plug in via 14-50 and even lower the amperage you won’t be “wasting” as much. IMHO I would only plug into the 5-15 outlet only when the 14-50 is being used for the commuter vehicle. But for ease of use I guess the regular outlet makes it easy.

I just wanted to pass on this information in case is proves insightful or helpful.

 

[BagheeraNY]

We have a wall connector right now which works great for our single EV. The new model Y will be the second. It seems like there is a sentiment for battery health is that a plugged in Tesla is a happy Tesla. Do you think it would be better just to switch off nights charging the two vehicles with the wall connector or would it be better to have them both plugged in each night - one to the wall connector 240V and the other to the mobile connector 120V?

 

[jcanoe]

We have a wall connector right now which works great for our single EV. The new model Y will be the second. It seems like there is a sentiment for battery health is that a plugged in Tesla is a happy Tesla. Do you think it would be better just to switch off nights charging the two vehicles with the wall connector or would it be better to have them both plugged in each night - one to the wall connector 240V and the other to the mobile connector 120V?

It is totally up to you, your driving needs. If you can coordinate charging both Tesla vehicles using the Wall Connector this would be more efficient (240V charging is more efficient than 120V charging). If you have the added complication of a time of use (TOU) rate plan and an off peak charging window of say 11PM to 6AM it may make sense to leave the vehicle that is driven the most plugged into the Wall Connector.

Another consideration is setting Scheduled Departure and Preconditioning. In winter you will want to either set Scheduled Departure or use the Tesla app to initiate preconditioning before you drive. In Syracuse, in winter, this could mean starting to warm up the Tesla at least 30 minutes before you plan to leave. If one Tesla is normally home all day then you can decide to Precondition the vehicle at any time using the Tesla app.

The most efficient way to charge and precondition the Tesla is to set Scheduled Charging and Scheduled Departure (assumes you have a weekday or 7-day morning commute.) When you set Scheduled Charging the Tesla vehicle can be set to complete charging just prior to your planned departure time. Scheduled Departure can overlap with Scheduled Charging but it can be set to start preconditioning at a later time, automatically starting to warm up the Tesla vehicle (battery pack if required and passenger cabin) about 20 or 30 minutes before your normal departure time.

The Tesla vehicle does not have to be plugged in to use the Scheduled Departure feature or for Preconditioning via the Tesla app but it will conserve the battery charge if you warm up the Tesla vehicle while plugged into the Wall Connector (The 120V charging option does not provide enough power (1.4kW maximum) to meet the power needs of preconditioning the vehicle.) It may not make a difference in limiting your driving but Preconditioning in winter when not plugged in can use 2% to 4% of the battery charge for a prolonged preconditioning session of more than 40 minutes. Normally 30 to 40 minutes of Preconditioning should be adequate. If you are running late or forget to stop the Preconditioning from your phone the Tesla vehicle will continue to run the Preconditioning routine for a maximum of 4 hours. Scheduled Departure will stop preconditioning after 1 hour if the vehicle has not been driven.

 

[ratsbew]

SOOOOO many people waste big money having a NEMA 14-50 or HPWC installed when they could get by just fine on 120V. My wife's Model Y is very happy on 120V. If we know we have a long trip I can just swap it to my parking spot where I have a self-installed NEMA 6-20 that cost me $15 in parts.

 

[jcanoe]

SOOOOO many people waste big money having a NEMA 14-50 or HPWC installed when they could get by just fine on 120V. My wife's Model Y is very happy on 120V. If we know we have a long trip I can just swap it to my parking spot where I have a self-installed NEMA 6-20 that cost me $15 in parts.

Difference circumstances require multiple charging options. If you value preconditioning the Tesla vehicle in winter using the Scheduled Departure feature or the Tesla app to warm up the vehicle 120V/12A charging is not going to cut it. Preconditioning can draw every bit of 7.2kW; when taken together with the power needed to run the Tesla ~8kW is required. A home charging setup capable of at least 240V/32A is required to precondition the Tesla vehicle in winter and not deplete the battery charge while preconditioning. Depending on the outside air temperature preconditioning may need to be run for longer than 30 minutes.

 

[Rocky_H]

Difference circumstances require multiple charging options. If you value preconditioning the Tesla vehicle in winter using the Scheduled Departure feature or the Tesla app to warm up the vehicle 120V/12A charging is not going to cut it. Preconditioning can draw every bit of 7.2kW; when taken together with the power needed to run the Tesla ~8kW is required. A home charging setup capable of at least 240V/32A is required to precondition the Tesla vehicle in winter and not deplete the battery charge while preconditioning. Depending on the outside air temperature preconditioning may need to be run for longer than 30 minutes.

These kinds of paragraphs I think give people the wrong impression, as if preconditioning can't function at all if someone only has a 120V low power outlet. That's not true. Preconditioning can still run--it's just obviously going to pull more energy than it can get from the wall, so it will use up some extra battery too. So what? No big deal. This "30 minutes" stuff is useless overkill anyway. The car can be warmed up in 10 or 15 minutes. The battery doesn't have to be hot in order to drive. It can still drive with a cold battery. The warming is mainly just cabin, so the driver is comfortable, and that definitely doesn't need 30 minutes.

 

[jcanoe]

These kinds of paragraphs I think give people the wrong impression, as if preconditioning can't function at all if someone only has a 120V low power outlet. That's not true. Preconditioning can still run--it's just obviously going to pull more energy than it can get from the wall, so it will use up some extra battery too. So what? No big deal. This "30 minutes" stuff is useless overkill anyway. The car can be warmed up in 10 or 15 minutes. The battery doesn't have to be hot in order to drive. It can still drive with a cold battery. The warming is mainly just cabin, so the driver is comfortable, and that definitely doesn't need 30 minutes.

In my experience it does take ~30 minutes of preconditioning in the A.M., in winter, if you want to have at least a usable level of regenerative braking. You can precondition the Tesla vehicle when not plugged in but it will cost you a few % of your battery SOC every time you do this.

 

[angus[Y]oung]

In my experience it does take ~30 minutes of preconditioning in the A.M., in winter, if you want to have at least a usable level of regenerative braking. You can precondition the Tesla vehicle when not plugged in but it will cost you a few % of your battery SOC every time you do this.

@jcanoe I wonder if that is improved at all with the recent software updates that seem to claim better regen in colder weather. I guess we may need to wait until winter to find out?

 

[1plavs]

SOOOOO many people waste big money having a NEMA 14-50 or HPWC installed when they could get by just fine on 120V. My wife's Model Y is very happy on 120V. If we know we have a long trip I can just swap it to my parking spot where I have a self-installed NEMA 6-20 that cost me $15 in parts.

I agree and in fact I’m BAFFLED on why most people have a 14-50 or a Tesla wall connector. I say this because I’ll be using a 6-20 outlet in my garage and 120+ miles of charging overnight is PLENTY. Who drives over 100 miles a day?

I had to research this on my own. Many so called “long time members” on here who claim to know it all NEVER brought up a 6-20. Weird.

 

[jcanoe]

I agree and in fact I’m BAFFLED on why most people have a 14-50 or a Tesla wall connector.

I planned ahead and had a 14-50 receptacle installed in my garage even before I was able to fully utilize the 50A circuit to charge a plug-in vehicle. I did this because of the time and expense of having the charging circuit installed including hiring an electrician, obtaining the permit and getting an inspection. I wanted to do this one time and be done. The incremental cost of installing a 50A circuit and 14-50 receptacle versus installing a 240V circuit with a lower amperage rating was perhaps 10% additional for the heavier gauge wire, etc.

I initially charged my 2017 Chevy Volt at 240V/16A and now I charge my Tesla Model Y at 240V/32A using the same 14-50 receptacle. The only change needed was to swap out the 240V/16A EVSE I used with the Volt for one capable of enabling charging at 240V/32A.

If I had to do this again I would probably have asked the electrician to install a 100A/125A sub panel so I could later add capability for charging a second EV or relocating the charging circuit to facilitate installing wireless EV charging (something I expect to see become widely available in the next 5 years.)

 

[MYP Fan]

A regular outlet can work fine for many situations. I think the key is being able to charge overnight and portions of the day. Back to back days of longer trips of say 100 miles will be challenging, and would likely necessitate some level 2 or supercharger support. Also, you just have to plan a bit more in advance. Using an extension cord and plugging into your 220v dryer outlet is another cheap option to consider, giving you and 8ncrease in charging.

 

[1plavs]

I planned ahead and had a 14-50 receptacle installed in my garage even before I was able to fully utilize the 50A circuit to charge a plug-in vehicle. I did this because of the time and expense of having the charging circuit installed including hiring an electrician, obtaining the permit and getting an inspection. I wanted to do this one time and be done. The incremental cost of installing a 50A circuit and 14-50 receptacle versus installing a 240V circuit with a lower amperage rating was perhaps 10% additional for the heavier gauge wire, etc.

I initially charged my 2017 Chevy Volt at 240V/16A and now I charge my Tesla Model Y at 240V/32A using the same 14-50 receptacle. The only change needed was to swap out the 240V/16A EVSE I used with the Volt for one capable of enabling charging at 240V/32A.

If I had to do this again I would probably have asked the electrician to install a 100A/125A sub panel so I could later add capability for charging a second EV or relocating the charging circuit to facilitate installing wireless EV charging (something I expect to see become widely available in the next 5 years.)

I’ll be in FL in 5 years so I can redo things as needed then.

 

[socal_my]

Lots of threads on this for more info, but basically it should work fine for you. I’m 6 years using 120V. I get about 50-70 mi/day charging, so three days to fill if returning near empty, but it’s just fine for my low daily needs. Make sure the outlet is high quality (I replaced mine with CGFI) and no other continuous high draw items are on the same circuit (LED lights ok, fridge NOT ok). Remember, EV charging is continuous draw and will really warm the wires, outlets, and any poor connections. Warm to touch is ok, hot is not and should be fixed.

Transient use of higher power draws like vacuum cleaners, power tools, blowers, etc. is ok as long as the car is not charging. Be smart here. Leave the cord plugged in continuously and support the cord weight so that the connection is kept tight in the outlet. I leave mine plugged in all the time, except when leaving town on vacation and know my destination will require the cord.

How important it is to convert a normal outlet to GFCI? My current condo situation limits me to use only the 120V outlet in the garage. So, just wondering if I need to replace it with GFCI.