Ideal or Cost Effective Home Charging

[joells101]

I've ordered my model 3 SR+ and now I'm trying to grasp the best/ideal/cost effective (I know this all might be different answers) way to setup charging at home.

I'd say 50km a day would be normal. though I'd probably want to future proof and my house is pretty limited circuit wise (pretty sure there are 4, lights, AC, upstairs and downstairs) noted that my house is flipped with the kitchen and living areas upstairs and the bedrooms and garage downstairs.

Also what are peoples experiences with electricians and costs

 

[paulp]

Most cost effective method if your car can be at home at least 1 day a week is get some solar on your roof. You can then drive around with the knowledge that your power is free…other than in winter. If your car is home most days during sunlight you wont need a huge array as 50km isn’t a lot

 

[blurrybird]

My house has a single-phase 63A feed-in (check the size of the main RCD to work it out).

I'll be doing a new 16A single phase circuit to the Tesla-branded permanent wall charger. More than enough output - 25km/h recharged.

Wall Connector | Tesla Support Australia

Wall Connector is the most convenient charging solution for homes, hospitality properties and workplaces. View the charging speed based on your model and find out how to install a Wall Connector.

www.tesla.com

 

[atj777]

If your car comes with the HPWC (High Power Wall Connector - I don't know if they still do), get it hooked up with 32A single phase (if possible). This will give you the most flexibility for charging. You can charge as quickly as 45km/h or as slowly as 7km/h.

If it doesn't come with the HPWC, it will at least come with a UMC (Universal Mobile Charger) which comes supplied with 2 tails: 10A and 15A. With the 10A tail you can use a regular power socket and can charge at between 7 and 14km/h. Assuming you have a power point in your garage, you will be able to charge your 50km daily drive in 3-4 hours each night.

You can also buy a 32A tail for the UWC and get a dedicated 32A circuit installed in the garage which will let you charge 7-45km/h.

The most cost effective way to charge is via solar but the car has to be home during the day. The next most cost effective way is to charge with an off-peak tariff. You can set the car to charge from a certain time of day when that tariff kicks in but you need to be on ToU for your power.

 

[joells101]

I do have a 5kw solar system and my area doesnt have on or off peak power. I guess cost wasnt my most pressing issue though now its been mentioned I should probably consider it. My garage has a power outlet (assuming I understand things correct) that is shared with the rest of the 1st floor so drawing 10a from this to charge with other load like a washing machine and dryer might run myself into issues? So assuming I need a new point installed in the garage, I should be looking at a circuit to handle a 15a outlet or ? I think new model 3s dont come with the wall connector, is it worth investing in that or are their better options similar/same price?

 

[aegidius]

my area doesnt have on or off peak power

You should be able to get Tariff 31 night rate power anywhere in Brisbane, afaik. (I think they call it Controlled Load 1 these days)
If your meter box is not wired up for it there will probably be an install charge. But most of them are, since there were a lot of hot water heaters.

In any event the HPWC or whatever will need a dedicated circuit back to the meter box.

 

[atj777]

The way power circuits are typically wired is the breaker on the circuit is more than the individual outlets. I think these days most power circuits are 32A. This means that even if you were drawing 10A from the garage and 10A from the laundry, it wouldn't be a problem. Go over that, and the breaker will trip. No biggie.

It might be best to just go with the UMC for starters and see how you go. If you charge when the dryer/washer aren't running you shouldn't have any problems. After you have charged this way for some time, you can decide which way you want to go.

If you were going to get a dedicated circuit for the garage, I'd recommend a 32A outlet and then get a 32A tail for the UMC. This will give you much more flexibility and will basically charge at the same rate as HPWC.

 

[atj777]

I do have a 5kw solar system and my area doesnt have on or off peak power.

I wasn't meaning controlled load (which is what they call Off-peak these days) but a Time of Use Tariff where there are different rates for different times of day for your regular feed in.

 

[Nobody Famous]

No HPWC included now. HPWC doesn't resume charging if power is disrupted AFAIK.

Best advice is to wait until you get the car and see if 10A is enough. Learn your usage needs before spending the $$. Don't run the dryer at same time or plug into another power circuit and you'll be OK to start with.

If you are going to wire a new circuit, I'd put in a 32A 5 pin 3 phase outlet wired with a single phase only. Then get a UMC adapter with a 5 pin plug. The adapter is also useful if you need to charge from a 3 phase outlet in case you get stuck for chargers.

Buy this with 32A chip and get plug fitted may be cheapest option.

Connector for Tesla Model S/X/3/Y Gen 2 (tail without plug) – EVSE Adapters

www.evseadapters.com

 

[Hairyman]

Zappi smart chargers are a good choice given the car doesn’t come with the HPWC any longer. It will give you a lot of flexibility to exploit your solar array

 

[doggy1]

I have a dedicated 32A single phase outlet and use an OpenEVSE for two cars and charge from excess solar that would otherwise get exported to the grid. "On the road" I take the OpenEVSE with my Zoe and use it on 3ph 22kw outlets at places such as Showgrounds (Zoe has no DC charging). For the Tesla, I use the OpenEVSE at home and on the road use the portable Tesla charger with 8 and 12A tails so I can poach excess solar from my children and otherwise use DC charging.
I have now put over 3MWHrs through the OpenEVSE and had just one fault wherein I had to replace the DC converter module at a cost of about $35. OpenEVSE is a device with a huge range of features but most suited to people who like doing their own thing.
I have a total of 5.3kw of solar and run most of the house and two cars, but only 2 people at home (plus visitors) and an energy optimised house.

 

[cafz]

Zappi smart chargers are a good choice given the car doesn’t come with the HPWC any longer. It will give you a lot of flexibility to exploit your solar array

They're a lot more expensive than the HPWC, though.

 

[cafz]

So assuming I need a new point installed in the garage, I should be looking at a circuit to handle a 15a outlet or ?

If you're installing a new outlet, you'll probably want a new circuit, too - in which case, you might as well get a 32A one run, because the electrician's time is costing you more than the wire.

On the end of that 32A wire you can either put: a 15A socket and use the UMC & tail that comes with the car; or a 32A industrial-type socket and use the UMC with a third-party matching tail (eg. Tesla Gen 2 UMC Adapter | 32 Amp | 7 kW | 3-Pin plug ); or a wall connector like the Tesla HPWC.

The 15A socket would easily handle your 50km/day - the 32A options (socket or wall connector) would let you fill overnight no matter how low you got.

 

[paulp]

It might be best to just go with the UMC for starters and see how you go. If you charge when the dryer/washer aren't running you shouldn't have any problems. After you have charged this way for some time, you can decide which way you want to go.

Completely agree with this. Anxiety seems to drag a lot of people (I was also guilty of that) into doing solutions that are overdone for their needs.

 

[paulp]

Zappi smart chargers are a good choice given the car doesn’t come with the HPWC any longer. It will give you a lot of flexibility to exploit your solar array

Having now had a zappi and a tesla hpwc (one on each car) I’ve found the zappi to be a dissapointment. It is far too conservative on the solar side, and when it is charging it seems to decrease the power to the car just to ensure that it wont use grid power, but with a safety factor near 100%. I’ve now selected the non smart option within the programming and have gon back to manual charging. The tesla option is far better, and hasnt required a monthly reset after locking up.

 

[joells101]

thanks for the information everyone

 

[Hairyman]

Having now had a zappi and a tesla hpwc (one on each car) I’ve found the zappi to be a dissapointment. It is far too conservative on the solar side, and when it is charging it seems to decrease the power to the car just to ensure that it wont use grid power, but with a safety factor near 100%. I’ve now selected the non smart option within the programming and have gon back to manual charging. The tesla option is far better, and hasnt required a monthly reset after locking up.

Thanks, that’s a great insight

 

[aegidius]

Sparky would not give me a 32A (single phase) circuit for my HPWC, opting instead for only a 20A one. He thought the risk was too great that I would be running the oven and A/C after 11pm when the off-peak kicks in but with that setup I get 160-170km of mostly reliable range each night, which is plenty. If you have a model 3 it would be more like 190-200km.

 

[Vostok]

For our LEAF we never installed a dedicated wall connector, and just use the supplied EVSE permanently plugged into a 15A GPO. But that’s also because we (almost) never take it on a road trip, so (almost) never charge it away from home. It’s our city car and my wife uses it for her commute.

My Model 3 came with HPWC included and I had it installed for 2 reasons - so I can keep the UMC in the car, and have the option to charge the car fast if I need to.

We have used the UMC a few times to charge overnight at holiday houses - so it’s convenient to not have to unplug the UMC and remember to take it with us. And on one emergency occasion, being able to charge at home at 11 kW (I have 3-phase) was not quite a life-saver but absolutely a stress-reliever.

We could survive charging Model 3 at home with the UMC all the time, but the convenience and optionality of the HPWC is nice to have.

 

[Nickdp]

On the end of that 32A wire you can either put: a 15A socket and use the UMC & tail that comes with the car; or a 32A industrial-type socket and use the UMC with a third-party matching tail (eg. Tesla Gen 2 UMC Adapter | 32 Amp | 7 kW | 3-Pin plug ); or a wall connector like the Tesla HPWC.

If you have single phase go with cafz's second suggestion: the 32A 3phase industrial-type socket and wire it for single phase.
Get the Gen2 Adaptor 32A 5pin here, (evse are out of stock), or go with the 32A 3phase AU bundle, socket and adaptor in one package.
Bonus: take the adaptor and UMC with you on country trips to connect to 32A 3phase.