After 2 months with my Y (and two years previously of another EV), I finally finished my project to install a charger in my underground condo garage. This has been quite a project, from initially proposing the charger to the HOA to getting it installed.
Summary:
- ~800' total of wire, some ~200' conduit if I recall correctly
- Drilled through 3 floors of concrete to reach my space from the electrical room (lucky me, my space is on the bottom floor of the garage)
- Billed directly to my meter using a DCC-9 (50 amp) energy management system
- NEMA 14-50 outlet
FAQs for anyone considering similar solutions:
Since I know everyone is going to ask, how much did it cost? >$8k total, including all equipment, the electrician, concrete boring, permits, legal stuff for my HOA, etc.
Who paid for it? For this installation, me, 100%. The HOA paid for an electrician to evaluate common infrastructure way back when to see whether it was feasible to use common infra, but it wasn't. It may have been a free eval but the HOA has to pay the building management company for the escort for the electrician so they can get into the electrical room.
Why would you possibly pay that much? Because I consider it an investment in the property, it's a one-of-a-kind installation, and I enjoy the convenience. This project shows it's possible to retrofit older buildings (this one was built in ~2000) to allow for EV infrastructure, even without additional load calculations, transformers, etc. If I were building a new building would I use this method to install chargers? Absolutely not. But this building is 20 years old and this was my only option.
What does the DCC-9 do? It sits between my electrical meter and condo and is installed in the electrical room. When the total usage of my unit goes >80% of capacity, then the DCC-9 shuts off power to the charger. This means there doesn't have to be additional service or load calculations done, which is great for older buildings.
Why a DCC-9 instead of hooking up to common electrical in the garage? Our garage has zero outlets period, and the house panels were completely full. There is maybe one other EV owner, so paying to add a new transformer (or convincing the HOA to pay for it) was not going to happen.
Why a NEMA 14-50 instead of a 6-50? Yes, I know I don't need a neutral, but the 14-50 is a more common plug and considering the cost of the project, the incremental cost of the additional wire was not really an issue.
Why a DCC-9 50 amp? My service to my unit is 100 amp, so the 50 amp is the max I can have. DCC-9 has a 60 amp version if you have 125a service.
Why a NEMA 14-50 instead of hard wiring? I'm not going to live here forever, and either myself or future owners may not have Teslas. It's easier to unplug this considering 50a is the max I can have to the parking space anyways.
What if someone unplugs the charger and uses it for them self? The box above the outlet is a locking breaker box, so I can shut it off when I am on vacation and lock it. I don't have a lock yet, it's coming.
What if someone tries to steal your cord? This was just installed so I am planning on locking the cable to the pole, there's some metal reinforcement out of shot that I can tie something like a bike lock to. It's a secured garage so it's not that big of a deal.
Summary:
- ~800' total of wire, some ~200' conduit if I recall correctly
- Drilled through 3 floors of concrete to reach my space from the electrical room (lucky me, my space is on the bottom floor of the garage)
- Billed directly to my meter using a DCC-9 (50 amp) energy management system
- NEMA 14-50 outlet
FAQs for anyone considering similar solutions:
Since I know everyone is going to ask, how much did it cost? >$8k total, including all equipment, the electrician, concrete boring, permits, legal stuff for my HOA, etc.
Who paid for it? For this installation, me, 100%. The HOA paid for an electrician to evaluate common infrastructure way back when to see whether it was feasible to use common infra, but it wasn't. It may have been a free eval but the HOA has to pay the building management company for the escort for the electrician so they can get into the electrical room.
Why would you possibly pay that much? Because I consider it an investment in the property, it's a one-of-a-kind installation, and I enjoy the convenience. This project shows it's possible to retrofit older buildings (this one was built in ~2000) to allow for EV infrastructure, even without additional load calculations, transformers, etc. If I were building a new building would I use this method to install chargers? Absolutely not. But this building is 20 years old and this was my only option.
What does the DCC-9 do? It sits between my electrical meter and condo and is installed in the electrical room. When the total usage of my unit goes >80% of capacity, then the DCC-9 shuts off power to the charger. This means there doesn't have to be additional service or load calculations done, which is great for older buildings.
Why a DCC-9 instead of hooking up to common electrical in the garage? Our garage has zero outlets period, and the house panels were completely full. There is maybe one other EV owner, so paying to add a new transformer (or convincing the HOA to pay for it) was not going to happen.
Why a NEMA 14-50 instead of a 6-50? Yes, I know I don't need a neutral, but the 14-50 is a more common plug and considering the cost of the project, the incremental cost of the additional wire was not really an issue.
Why a DCC-9 50 amp? My service to my unit is 100 amp, so the 50 amp is the max I can have. DCC-9 has a 60 amp version if you have 125a service.
Why a NEMA 14-50 instead of hard wiring? I'm not going to live here forever, and either myself or future owners may not have Teslas. It's easier to unplug this considering 50a is the max I can have to the parking space anyways.
What if someone unplugs the charger and uses it for them self? The box above the outlet is a locking breaker box, so I can shut it off when I am on vacation and lock it. I don't have a lock yet, it's coming.
What if someone tries to steal your cord? This was just installed so I am planning on locking the cable to the pole, there's some metal reinforcement out of shot that I can tie something like a bike lock to. It's a secured garage so it's not that big of a deal.