Home Charging - What do I need to do/buy?

[JBare]

It appears the Model 3 will come with the same things currently offered with Model S and X:

Standard Equipment
Model S and Model X include the following charging accessories as standard equipment:

• Mobile Connector (20 feet)
• Adapter for standard 120 volt household outlets (NEMA 5-15)
• Adapter for higher power 240 volt outlet (NEMA 14-50)
• Adapter for public charging stations (SAE J1772)

So to use the tools provided above I need to install a dedicated circuit from my box to my garage (already planning on 6 or 8 gauge on a 50 amp fuse) and then also install a 240V NEMA14-50 outlet (or something similar). Is that it?

 

[kort677]

It appears the Model 3 will come with the same things currently offered with Model S and X:

Standard Equipment
Model S and Model X include the following charging accessories as standard equipment:

• Mobile Connector (20 feet)
• Adapter for standard 120 volt household outlets (NEMA 5-15)
• Adapter for higher power 240 volt outlet (NEMA 14-50)
• Adapter for public charging stations (SAE J1772)

So to use the tools provided above I need to install a dedicated circuit from by box to my garage (already planning on 6 or 8 gauge on a 50 amp fuse) and then also install a 240V NEMA14-50 outlet (or something similar). Is that it?

not to sound trite, if you aren't sure about things maybe bringing in a licensed professional to do the installation would be wise.

 

[DrivingRockies]

on a 50 amp fuse

I would upgrade to breakers.

 

[JBare]

I will definitely hire a professional, just wanted to get an estimate of raw materials so I know where the starting point should be.

 

[BOOMER7]

A licensed technician will charge anywhere from $500 to 1500 depending on the difficulty of install.

 

[DrivingRockies]

I will definitely hire a professional, just wanted to get an estimate of raw materials so I know where the starting point should be.

Breaker (if there is room, otherwise a sub-panel), conductors, j-box, receptacle, cover. That's if you're using the supplied charger.

 

[DrivingRockies]

A licensed technician will charge anywhere from $500 to 1500 depending on the difficulty of install.

It can be double that depending on the difficulty. Especially for some houses where the panel is not in the garage and is already full.

 

[Waiting4M3]

I'm debating between staying with the 120V outlet, installing a 14-50, or a Tesla wall charger. I have short commute so 120V is probably fine. The 14-50 would be the most versatile but both 5-15 an 14-50 options mean I have to leave the UMC out in the garage for everyday use, or I would have to pack it up everyday if I also want it in my car, or buy an extra UMC.

The wall charger would alleviate that but I can't use it with any other EV in the future. But then again what other EV are there in the future besides Tesla?

BTW I would consider at least 60A circuit breaker, giving the option to install the Tesla wall charger later and get 48A (80% rated capacity of the circuit). M3 doesn't need it at this moment, the long range charges at 40A, so the 14-50 would just be enough for it, so this would be for future proof. Someone has even suggested putting in a 100A circuit breaker, so you have room for 2 EVs in the future.

It can be double that depending on the difficulty. Especially for some houses where the panel is not in the garage and is already full.

If you have to run new cabling, or add circuit breakers, I would definitely go as high on amperage as possible for the same amount of work.

 

[kort677]

IMHO relying on a 110 outlet that is only capable of adding 2-4 miles an hour to the range of the car isn't an acceptable choice.

 

[ilg]

Depending on the length of the run, I think you may need a heavier gauge than 6 AWG. A pro will probably be able to tell you right off the top of his/her head.

 

[Stevebb]

I got my 50 amp NEMA installed on the farthest side of my garage from the breaker box plus four quad 120 volt wall boxes for my work bench all for $1200 by a licensed electrician. This is a semi-rural area so major metropolitan areas would be more expensive.
Keep in mind the possibility of including extra 120 volt boxes in the install (it's cheaper than adding them later).

 

[css28]

I'm debating between staying with the 120V outlet, installing a 14-50, or a Tesla wall charger. I have short commute so 120V is probably fine. The 14-50 would be the most versatile but both 5-15 an 14-50 options mean I have to leave the UMC out in the garage for everyday use, or I would have to pack it up everyday if I also want it in my car, or buy an extra UMC.

The wall charger would alleviate that but I can't use it with any other EV in the future. But then again what other EV are there in the future besides Tesla?

So install a conventional EVSE with SAE J1772 plug.
Just about any other EV or plug-in hybrid can use that.

 

[Stevebb]

Also if you have access to an electric dryer 220 outlet, that is a cheaper compromise since you get the adapter with your travel charger. At least that will be closer to a level 2 charger rather than a 120 volt wall outlet.
Standard wall outlets can overheat over time. I saw this with my Volt charging.

 

[Waiting4M3]

So install a conventional EVSE with SAE J1772 plug.
Just about any other EV or plug-in hybrid can use that.

Thanks, that's another good option, with 2 potential considerations: 1) unplugging the J1772 adapter may require some fiddling some controls on the car's screen, and 2) have to be careful picking an EVSE with enough current capacity.

 

[JBare]

I'm having a new home built and it's just about finished. The Builder wanted too much for the plug install so I will have it done after the fact (and when I'm sure I'm ordering an electric car). My Box is in an unfinished area of my basement and I have a clear path along a beam to the garage (~20'), and an opening I marked during the build to show where to drill through. The breaker box isn't full and the Construction Manager said I should have close to 100 open.

 

[Waiting4M3]

Also if you have access to an electric dryer 220 outlet, that is a cheaper compromise since you get the adapter with your travel charger. At least that will be closer to a level 2 charger rather than a 120 volt wall outlet.
Standard wall outlets can overheat over time. I saw this with my Volt charging.

Forgot I also have that option, I have a dryer on a 240V NEMA 10-30 outlet in the garage. My initial setup maybe just to use the 5-15 120V for daily drives, and use the 10-30 if I need a larger charge occasionally. But I understand that Tesla is not offering 10-30 adapter anymore, and I have to buy 3rd part, is that right?

 

[kort677]

Thanks, that's another good option, with 2 potential considerations: 1) unplugging the J1772 adapter may require some fiddling some controls on the car's screen, and 2) have to be careful picking an EVSE with enough current capacity.

both comments are not well informed. the car should will automatically change the amps for the lower j1772 connection and there is no need to fiddle with any controls and I don't have a clue as what 2 is supposed to say? all evse will deliver l2 level power, some will be at a higher amperage but all will have 'enough' capacity

 

[MarioOrtegon]

I'm debating between staying with the 120V outlet, installing a 14-50, or a Tesla wall charger. I have short commute so 120V is probably fine. The 14-50 would be the most versatile but both 5-15 an 14-50 options mean I have to leave the UMC out in the garage for everyday use, or I would have to pack it up everyday if I also want it in my car, or buy an extra UMC.

The wall charger would alleviate that but I can't use it with any other EV in the future. But then again what other EV are there in the future besides Tesla?

BTW I would consider at least 60A circuit breaker, giving the option to install the Tesla wall charger later and get 48A (80% rated capacity of the circuit). M3 doesn't need it at this moment, the long range charges at 40A, so the 14-50 would just be enough for it, so this would be for future proof. Someone has even suggested putting in a 100A circuit breaker, so you have room for 2 EVs in the future.

From the 3 options 120V, 14-50 and wall charger the most sensible choice would be the 14-50 connector because if you get say 5mi/hour and you park your car for 12 hours (both optimistic guesses) you would get 60 mi per day which is fine, but It does not account for traffic, AC, unplanned stops,etc.
And as you said the wall charger will only work on Teslas and it's of course more expensive.
The benefit of the 14-50 connector is that you can connect a clothe dryer/ soldering machine/any EV charger/etc which should give some versatility and is a bonus if selling the house (same applies to wall charger).

I wouldn't get the 60 amp breaker for charging at 48A since the outlet and UMC (The charger that you plan to use) can only handle 40A constantly, just get the 50amp breaker and you should be fine.

And you won't need to bring the UMC with you an a daily basis since you'll have ~168 miles of range for your daily commute (assuming the base model and 80% of daily charge), so you'll only have to carry the UMC on the car on road trips or special occasions.

 

[Waiting4M3]

both comments are not well informed. the car should will automatically change the amps for the lower j1772 connection and there is no need to fiddle with any controls and I don't have a clue as what 2 is supposed to say? all evse will deliver l2 level power, some will be at a higher amperage but all will have 'enough' capacity

Sorry I'm such a newbie

1) regarding unplugging from J1772 I was referring to what I saw in this video
2) regarding EVSE amp limit, I was referring to EVSE charges one can buy from HomeDepot, which is limited to 30A

 

[MarioOrtegon]

Forgot I also have that option, I have a dryer on a 240V NEMA 10-30 outlet in the garage. My initial setup maybe just to use the 5-15 120V for daily drives, and use the 10-30 if I need a larger charge occasionally. But I understand that Tesla is not offering 10-30 adapter anymore, and I have to buy 3rd part, is that right?

By a third part you could use a "Dryer buddy" search it on bsaelectronics, It's basically an outlet splitter that switches between your dryer and EV charger and you can choose the connections specific to your need.