EV-only household

[gglockner]

I'm thinking about trading the second car (2007 Camry Hybrid) for a used Leaf. Our 2nd car gets very little use: we are both telecommuters, and the only time we need a 2nd car is for short errands on the weekends. I'm looking for opinions about owning a Leaf as a 2nd car, alongside a Model S.

 

[RockinWithKids]

We are in the reverse scenario. I am looking to ditch my Prius/Leaf combo for Tesla/Leaf combo. FWIW... for the price point I love my Leaf. It is our in town "work horse". 34k miles in 28 months. We are averaging 4 miles/kWh. It's no Model S, but for your scenario I would imagine it'll be just fine. My only recommendation would be that you pick one up with the quick charge (QC) port. It's the only thing I regret not having - especially since my wife is routinely making a 130 mile RT commute. If we had the QC port she'd putting the miles on the Leaf instead of the Prius. Another thing to be aware of... Nissan included a 2G connection for their CarWings software/data telemetry and AT&T is killing it the 2G connection. Thus, you'll not be able to pre-warm the car or check on the data it provided via the CarWings software.

 

[GasDoc]

My wife drives a Volt; I have a Model S. No other cars. Totally different situation from a Leaf given that she has the gas motor to fall back on.

 

[SmartElectric]

My wife drives our Tesla Model S and I commute to work in a Smart ED. No gas! Works great. Will never go back to gas.

 

[befcomet]

We currently have two Model S's. Before that, we had a Leaf and a Model S. We love having an EV-only (and now Tesla-only) household!

 

[jerry33]

Tesla/Leaf here.

 

[BrianMA]

We have a Model S and a Smart ED. My main issue is that the Smart just doesn't have enough range for my daily commute (70 miles), but it is terrific for around town short commutes like shopping, movies, dinner, etc. Even so, I would still prefer a second car with longer range to share the daily commute load. Looking forward to seeing what is possible in a couple of years. Maybe a Bolt, Model 3, or a used Model S.

 

[jaguar36]

I would never be an EV only household. There are too many times when I need to get somewhere as fast as possible, and supercharging is still way slower than gas.

In addition there are also way to many places that aren't covered by superchargers. That may change in the future, but the first will always keep us with an ICE.

 

[gglockner]

My wife drives a Volt; I have a Model S. No other cars. Totally different situation from a Leaf given that she has the gas motor to fall back on.

A used Volt would be an interesting option except that both my wife and son find it completely uncomfortable.

- - - Updated - - -

My only recommendation would be that you pick one up with the quick charge (QC) port. It's the only thing I regret not having - especially since my wife is routinely making a 130 mile RT commute.

Is it that important for just driving around town? I believe we seldom drive the 2nd car longer than 40 miles roundtrip on the weekends.

 

[miimura]

We have a RAV4 EV that will soon have a CHAdeMO port and an e-Golf. I feel the e-Golf is worthy of a close look compared to a Leaf. However, if you are looking used, there are not many used e-Golfs yet. Our e-Golf lease should be up around the time Model 3 production is hitting its stride.

 

[David99]

I think the Model S covers pretty much everything these days using Superchargers. For those rare days where even the Model S doesn't cut it (lack of Superchargers on the route) you can always rent am ICE or swap cars with a friend or fly. Especially the situation you described it seems you guys are totally fine with EVs only.

Only if you need to haul a lot of stuff or do many road trips I think an ICE would still be a better choice.

 

[igotzzoom]

My question is if people have two EVSEs or just one in a two-EV household. How beefy of a panel do you need to support that?

 

[beegee]

My question is if people have two EVSEs or just one in a two-EV household. How beefy of a panel do you need to support that?

We have 2 Teslas and a motorcycle - 1 charges on the standard Nema 14-50, and the other is on a 100 amp HPWC. The house has 200 amp service, so we just need to be cognizant of running all of our appliances while charging (usually not an issue though).

 

[idoco]

Two cars, both EV. Model S and DIY EV. (Technically we have an ICE pickup truck we don't use, but it will be converted to a BEV in the near future.) Combination of the two above EV's meet 100% of our needs including long distance trips.

Charging wise we have a 14-50 for the Tesla and a 120V/20 amp circuit for the BEV. We have 400 amp service (2 x 200 amp panels). Each BEV is on a separate panel.

 

[gg_got_a_tesla]

Model S and e-Golf household here. Not having a foul-smelling, noisy and hot ICE pull in and out of the garage is the most liberating thing that I've experienced ever.

As mentioned above, the e-Golf has been really great and comes with the CCS Combo DC charging port, not that you seem to be interested in it. The e-Golf is definitely worth a closer look although it may cost a little more than a Leaf.

 

[ecarfan]

My question is if people have two EVSEs or just one in a two-EV household. How beefy of a panel do you need to support that?

My household has an S with an 80A HPWC and a Roadster with a 70A HPC for charging. I had a 200A main panel and before I got the first Tesla had a 100A sub-panel added. My electrician rearranged some circuits with the result that the HPWC comes off the main panel and the HPC off the sub (also have a 40A NEMA 14-50 plug as an emergency backup for charging but have never used it). I've had no problems.
I charge both cars between 0000 and 0700 when my electricity is least expensive. I stagger the charge start times so they are not charging simultaneously from relatively low SOCs when they would pull max amps.
NOTE: I do not have AC or a pool or any other major current draws in my house, just the usual fridge, dryer, stove, etc. so a 200A main panel works fine for me.

 

[Merrill]

This is my dream and a goal I'm working toward. I hope to have a Model X along with my Model S and have no other vehicles. I do not commute and will charge on my 14-50 Nema 240 volt plug. I can alternate charging times if needed or charge on alternate days, the reality is having two EV's will mean we will drive both car half as much and we drive the Model S now. So our total mileage driven each year will be split between two cars so the electricity usage will be the same as it is today.

 

[roblab]

We only have our one Model S. Nobody liked having to drive the Prius, so we sold it.

There have been a few times when it gets complicated, but it's not hard.

If we had two, I can wire another 14-50. Both cars can plug in at the same time. The timers could start one car at 10 PM, the other at 2 AM, and both could recharge, with no problem with appliances.

We live fairly close to three superchargers less than 50 miles away, different directions, but we always have a nearly full tank every morning, and that's a lot of miles. With no planning, we can head out and drive 200 miles and never even think of charging. Arriving at home, if I needed to, I could make it to a supercharger and go on in any direction. It's something you get used to. You don't even think about going out of your way to a gas station.

The idea of not being able to wait for a supercharge interests me, since I watch people who are so very much in a hurry, dawdle around before leaving, or when they arrive they stand around talking for a half hour. I see people drive like maniacs, literally, passing on curves, on hills, going 20 mph over the limit, to get to their girlfriend's house so they can sit and watch TV all evening. You know what I mean.

I am not saying that is everyone. Some have to move out quickly, but even in my hospital, I see people screaming into the parking lot, and then taking a half hour to get into scrubs. Most of us profit by having to slow down at a supercharger for 20 minutes.

It's an easy mindset to get into. But if it's not for you, and you can't do it, then you gotta use gas, while you can.

 

[wraithnot]

We've been an all EV household with a model S and a BMW i3 BEV for nearly a year and so far things have worked out pretty well. The model S is my daily driver and also the main car for road trips, hauling large items, or any time my wife, myself, and our infant son are going anywhere together. The i3 BEV is my wife's commuter/errand car. The range of the i3 is definitely a limitation, but on days where my wife needs to go farther than the i3 will take her on a single charge we swap cars. I can charge my car at work so a standard wall outlet in the garage has been enough, but I only have a 26 mile round trip commute and my wife usually only goes to the office two or three times a week. We also added a 3.5 kW solar array so we offset most of the electricity the cars use. It's great never having to visit a gas station and I find both cars fun to drive. But the plan is to hand the i3 back to the dealer after the three year lease and replace it with a model 3.

As long as the battery on the used LEAF isn't too degraded and you don't mind swapping cars when your significant other needs to drive farther than normal, a Model S and a LEAF should also work pretty well.

 

[zax123]

We put a deposit on a fully loaded inventory 2016 Kia SoulEV and should be getting it in the next week or so.

We will then be a Model S/SoulEV household.

I have 400 amps coming in to the house and I ran a 100A wire to each EVSE (so I can eventually have two Tesla HPWCs). One EVSE is the Tesla HPWC, the other will be a 40A EVSE (haven't decided which one yet).

The only thing I'm worried about is towing a small trailer that I share with a friend just for moving things around locally. We were towing it with the Kia Sportage (which is being replaced by the SoulEV). I called the local Tesla SC and they told me that installing a towing hitch on the S is not officially supported by TM, so I'm hesitant to do that. Might just have to borrow my friend's car when I need to tow the trailer...