Thats what I couldnt remember.. I have the SR+ which has tha limit of 32 amps.. thanks for the detail
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Having second thoughts
- Thread starter Fifthmonkee
- Start date
I had to both replace my old 70amp panel with a 200 amp then move it from one side of the house to the other for a total of $3500. there must be another reason why op’s upgrade is closer to 10k. When I first got the car I used the wall outlet for charging. Absolutely not a good option if your panel is already strained. Fire hazard waiting to happen. Do it right or don’t do it.
A larger service can have an extremely wide range in cost. If it’s in community setup like a Condo or underground with undersized conduits etc. I highly doubt he needs a new service. You just need to think outside the box a little. Larger dedicated circuits are the most convenient. 120V is the least convenient, better than nothing but almost always doable. You just need to find a balance that doesn’t require a new service to make it the most convenient for the buck. 20A, 30A shared with another appliance or something. Lots of ways to skin the cat.
Most homes use a fraction of their service capacity. Sometimes it’s just physical limits vs load limits. If it’s load limits you just need to put in interlocks not to exceed load limits. Like a dryer buddy or an A/B switch. If it’s physical limits just add a sub panel and keep the new circuit size under the load limits.
If you tell the electrician. I must have 60A dedicated circuit. You just limited a ton of options that would be 95% as convenient. Adding 60A is a pretty big jump. But rarely needed to make EV convenient. Especially on the less watt hungry Model 3.
Often you can have an electrician put in a sub panel and then run your 240V circuit from there. That is what I did and put in a 50 amp for the car.
The reasons the electrical estimates were so high were a. the breaker panel is in the basement on the opposite side of the house where the car would be, so just running a line to the garage was quoted at $2k. The electrician said the panel was "over full" already, although the service is 200, so he could add a sub-panel for $3,500. We didn't discuss the possibility of substituting the hot tub electrical. He seemed kind of high end and by the book. If he changed out the panel completely, he said local ordinances would require installing hard-wired smoke and carbon monoxide detectors all over the house, which would cost a total of $8k. So, even with just the addition of the sub panel suggested above, the cost would be around $5,500.
DocHolliday
Member
Unless you're forced by the landlord to use that electrician, definitely get some other opinions. Some have suggested an A/B switch and a new 240 outlet shared with the hot tub circuit. That sure sounds like a reasonable option (and would add to the home's value, which the landlord should like).
Cybermoose
Member
If you aren't too focused on the Tesla features, no home charging takes away probably the biggest perk of having an EV.
I would also consider with a Model 3 is that they are truly built to last if you don't mind changing the MCU when it gets slow, and the battery/motors down the line when they die. keeping up with those could keep a beautiful car running for a long long time.
Another thing to consider would be are you ever going to be switching to an EV? North America seems to be very interested to invest more and more towards switching new vehicles to electric. If the cost saving is just for now, it might be worth it to look at a line of credit and seeing if that makes it easier to make the switch now.
I have a really inexpensive job to set up my wall connector before i take delivery of my M3, but even if it was more, I personally would still get it just to have it done early.
I would also consider with a Model 3 is that they are truly built to last if you don't mind changing the MCU when it gets slow, and the battery/motors down the line when they die. keeping up with those could keep a beautiful car running for a long long time.
Another thing to consider would be are you ever going to be switching to an EV? North America seems to be very interested to invest more and more towards switching new vehicles to electric. If the cost saving is just for now, it might be worth it to look at a line of credit and seeing if that makes it easier to make the switch now.
I have a really inexpensive job to set up my wall connector before i take delivery of my M3, but even if it was more, I personally would still get it just to have it done early.
Just plug the car into 120v any time you're parked at home, you get 5-6 miles per hour charging this way. Then just top up the car once a week on your longer drives for like 15 minutes at a supercharger.
No issues charging this way if you drive like 400 miles a week on average and the car can be stationary and charging on 120v at home for 80 hours a week.
Don't tell the electrician it is for a Tesla. Ask for something like a NEMA 14-50 to be put in. If you use the mobile connector the car comes with, it will be limited to 32amps regardless of newer Tesla it is plugged into.
I think the electrician is trying to take you on a better ride than a new Tesla would. Always get at least 2 or 3 quotes. When I said I needed a circuit put in for a Tesla, the estimates were almost double for what I was quoted for the same NEMA 14-50 for my son's motorhome. The Tesla tax is real but you can work to avoid it.
I think the electrician is trying to take you on a better ride than a new Tesla would. Always get at least 2 or 3 quotes. When I said I needed a circuit put in for a Tesla, the estimates were almost double for what I was quoted for the same NEMA 14-50 for my son's motorhome. The Tesla tax is real but you can work to avoid it.
danarcha
Member
The problem is, he is renting and doesn't own the property. He shouldn't be investing all this money in someone else's property. His landlord should be offering to split the cost or something since he is the one who will be benefiting in the long run.
SageBrush
REJECT Fascism
Sure, but not relevant to OP. Your earlier post was spot on -- ask the electrician for 240v/20A or 240v/30A solutions.
If only I had a penny each time I read a story about a person with load problems who has a hot tub. I think (but this has to be verified) that the connection to the hot tub can be put on a switch so that either it or car charging is enabled, presuming that the physical location works for the car.
OP: find all our 240v circuits, their Amps, and where they go. Put one of them on a switch and call it a day.
Below is a calc for you to use that relates breaker Amps ( on a 240V circuit) to EPA miles of range added per hour in a Tesla Model 3 LR:
Miles added per hour = 0.72 * Amps
Example: A 30 Amp/240V circuit would add 21.6 EPA miles of range per hour
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SageBrush
REJECT Fascism
The electrician is blowing smoke up your arse. $3500 for a sub-panel makes my sides hurt from laughing.
Charging at home is one of the benefits of owning a Tesla. Higher output charging system is better than a lower output charging system.
You probably had to order your Model 3 a few months ago. Why wait till the day before delivery to realize you will have a charging issue at home? Once I ordered my car, I had my home charging system setup within a month after ordering.
If you or anyone is going to buy a Tesla, probably best to make sure you can afford it and charge it at home before ordering.
My thought is that maybe you should stick with the Subaru till you have everything in place to get the Tesla.
Hey look it only money and any problem you can solve with it is a good problem.
There are lots of folks here that have added more than 2k to their car.
Tires and rims and so on. Get some more quotes. It does not matter if you
rent or own your house the money is gone anyway and would not add any value.
My guess is that it could be done for 2-3k. We have no idea how far you need to
run the wires, digging and so on. Just get the car, and get the power sorted.
As everyone said there are lots of workarounds to use in the meantime.
I put 10k in a car I gave away, you do always make money on this stuff.
There are lots of folks here that have added more than 2k to their car.
Tires and rims and so on. Get some more quotes. It does not matter if you
rent or own your house the money is gone anyway and would not add any value.
My guess is that it could be done for 2-3k. We have no idea how far you need to
run the wires, digging and so on. Just get the car, and get the power sorted.
As everyone said there are lots of workarounds to use in the meantime.
I put 10k in a car I gave away, you do always make money on this stuff.
The electrician said your panel was "overfull"?? Sorry, but I call bullshit on that. If your panel was overfull you'd be blowing circuits every day. Besides which, what does "overfull" even mean? What, you have breakers waiting in line to get a slot, just hanging out of the panel waiting until one of the other breakers leaves, like an "overfull" restaurant?
Before you decide whether or not to get a Tesla, find yourself another electrician, because this guy saw you coming. In 2015 we bought a Nissan Leaf in California and I hired an electrician to install a charging unit. When she (yes, she) opened our electric panel it turned out it was an old GE Zinsco panel which, by law in CA, could not be altered in any way because of a history of failures causing fires. The only way she could install the charger was to replace the entire panel, which I had her do. Total cost for new panel AND running the line clear to the other end of the house where the garage was located: $1500.
On top of which --- and I sincerely apologize if this offends any electricians out there in Tesla land --- one of the scams a less than ethical electrician will run on an unsuspecting customer is the "your panel is full, you can't add anything, we need to put in a new panel." 9 times out of 10, this is pure bullshit. How do I know this? We have a house this entirely electric, no gas service of any kind, everything is electric. Since we moved in I've had an entire solar panel system installed, replaced a water heater, added a charger for our electric vehicles, and am now looking at installing a mini-split system. I've had 1 electrician tell me none of this could be done without replacing and/or adding a sub panel. The real electrician I ended up hiring just smiled and shook his head... then he doubled up most of 10 and 20 amp breakers, and installed everything. House is still standing.
If you have a 200 amp panel remember this: Even if you turned on every appliance and every light in the house, everything that draws electrical power, you still wouldn't be pulling 200 amps, because of the aforementioned elsewhere in this thread, the 125% rule. Do you have every appliance and every light turned on at the same time, ever? Of course not. I'd even wager half your major appliances (heat, water heater, dryer, stove?) are gas, not electric.
Get another electrician, one who understands how to calculate the power load your panel can handle against the power draw your house pulls at full capacity. Then pay him what will be a reasonable charge to install your charger, and buy your Tesla.
Before you decide whether or not to get a Tesla, find yourself another electrician, because this guy saw you coming. In 2015 we bought a Nissan Leaf in California and I hired an electrician to install a charging unit. When she (yes, she) opened our electric panel it turned out it was an old GE Zinsco panel which, by law in CA, could not be altered in any way because of a history of failures causing fires. The only way she could install the charger was to replace the entire panel, which I had her do. Total cost for new panel AND running the line clear to the other end of the house where the garage was located: $1500.
On top of which --- and I sincerely apologize if this offends any electricians out there in Tesla land --- one of the scams a less than ethical electrician will run on an unsuspecting customer is the "your panel is full, you can't add anything, we need to put in a new panel." 9 times out of 10, this is pure bullshit. How do I know this? We have a house this entirely electric, no gas service of any kind, everything is electric. Since we moved in I've had an entire solar panel system installed, replaced a water heater, added a charger for our electric vehicles, and am now looking at installing a mini-split system. I've had 1 electrician tell me none of this could be done without replacing and/or adding a sub panel. The real electrician I ended up hiring just smiled and shook his head... then he doubled up most of 10 and 20 amp breakers, and installed everything. House is still standing.
If you have a 200 amp panel remember this: Even if you turned on every appliance and every light in the house, everything that draws electrical power, you still wouldn't be pulling 200 amps, because of the aforementioned elsewhere in this thread, the 125% rule. Do you have every appliance and every light turned on at the same time, ever? Of course not. I'd even wager half your major appliances (heat, water heater, dryer, stove?) are gas, not electric.
Get another electrician, one who understands how to calculate the power load your panel can handle against the power draw your house pulls at full capacity. Then pay him what will be a reasonable charge to install your charger, and buy your Tesla.
Can you post a picture of your existing electrical panel, clearly showing all of the circuit breakers?
I suggest re-looking at the 120V box available to you. As someone mentioned, figure out if this is a 15 amp or 20 amp circuit.
If 20 amp, identify all the outlets on that circuit and decide if you can live without them or connect them to a different, logical house circuit. The best case scenario is having that circuit be dedicated.
Ideally, use the first box in the 120 V circuit in the garage (?), disconnect the downstream boxes from that box, and convert that circuit from 120V to 240V. Use a ground fault 240V breaker in your panel, make space for the larger 240V breaker using skinny breakers.
The placement and number of boxes on the available 120V circuit may make trying something like this more complicated or not practical but worth checking out. In this video, there was a single 120 supply that was converted to 240V. Very very detailed! I thought he did a great job.
Link
I charge using a 20 amp, 240 V GFCI circuit and in a couple hours, add appr. 30 miles. I was fortunate that an unused 240V baseboard heat circuit was available so not too messy. Perhaps $200 total for supplies.
If 20 amp, identify all the outlets on that circuit and decide if you can live without them or connect them to a different, logical house circuit. The best case scenario is having that circuit be dedicated.
Ideally, use the first box in the 120 V circuit in the garage (?), disconnect the downstream boxes from that box, and convert that circuit from 120V to 240V. Use a ground fault 240V breaker in your panel, make space for the larger 240V breaker using skinny breakers.
The placement and number of boxes on the available 120V circuit may make trying something like this more complicated or not practical but worth checking out. In this video, there was a single 120 supply that was converted to 240V. Very very detailed! I thought he did a great job.
Link
I charge using a 20 amp, 240 V GFCI circuit and in a couple hours, add appr. 30 miles. I was fortunate that an unused 240V baseboard heat circuit was available so not too messy. Perhaps $200 total for supplies.
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