Level 2 at home or just Supercharge?

[meywong]

I'll be getting my Y at the end of the month and I've been calling electricians about installing a 240V outlet in my garage. The prices have been pretty high: $500-$600.

My question is: I live 4 miles from a Supercharger. It's at a Wawa I go to frequently. I only drive about 15 miles a day in town. Am I better off just sticking with the Level 1 charger and Supercharging only when I need it instead of getting a Level 2 outlet?

Thanks!

 

[North75]

That price actually seems pretty cheap to me. I paid $500 for my Tesla wall charger + $1200 to install it. (The $1200 install cost was by Tesla, it was actually way cheaper than any of the quotes I got from local electricians. It's the same guys who do solar work here. They did a great job)

In my mind it was money well spent. The convenience of charging at home is great. I basically never have to think about how or when I will charge. Just get in in the morning with a full battery. At 45 miles per hour charging it can easily fully charge the battery overnight, although I rarely need that. Most days it charges for about an hour or so.

I'd like to think that having a charger in the garage will be a selling point for potential future buyers... but who knows on that one.

 

[Lukez]

Tesla sales can tell you till their blue in the face that you can supercharge as much as you want but history tells us that the engineers disagree. The amount you supercharge is being tracked and when you hit a certain amount Supercharging gets slower and even worse battery capped on the s85.
So you can make arguments that's its different tech etc etc but I would and will supercharge on road trips only.

 

[patrick40363]

Get the outlet installed. You will be glad you did.

 

[sparcs]

I'll be getting my Y at the end of the month and I've been calling electricians about installing a 240V outlet in my garage. The prices have been pretty high: $500-$600.

My question is: I live 4 miles from a Supercharger. It's at a Wawa I go to frequently. I only drive about 15 miles a day in town. Am I better off just sticking with the Level 1 charger and Supercharging only when I need it instead of getting a Level 2 outlet?

Thanks!

that sounds pretty reasonable. You're paying for convenience and never having to think about charging.

Would only be expensive if the breaker box and nema 14-50 (or 6-50) outlet are next to each other in the garage and it is only 20 minutes of work.

 

[Bigriver]

When I saw the title I thought it was obvious that you should get the level 2 charger. But the choice isn’t just between level 2 and supercharging, level 1 is fully viable to support 15 miles per day. There is no downside to trying that for awhile to see how it goes. I regularly use level 1 when I go to visit out of state relatives. While only 3 mph charge rate, it adds up when left plugged in.

 

[jmaddr]

Not sure the specifics of your install, but $500 could be priced well, or outrageous. To set some perspective...if your panel is in your garage and pretty close to where you would plug in your UMC and you have room for a 50A breaker, the parts are minimal...less than $100. The install would take less than two hours so at $100/hr that's maybe $250 total. However, if the location is further away, your panel is inside your house, etc...it could be much more.

As other have said, you really want home charging as the convenience alone is worth it. Yes, supercharging theoretically can lead to greater battery degradation and supercharging is typically more expensive than home charging. Check your electricity pricing and compare against the local supercharger pricing. If you do a lot of driving, that might make a small difference, but big enough to justify the local installation spend. for example, my local electrical pricing is $.014 whereas the closest supercharger is $0.27 or about half. Now, half of $18 is only $9, but it could add up.

Oh, and one more thing....if you got quotes asking for a Tesla EV outlet, you might want to callback and ask for a welder or dryer outlet instead. Electricians have been known to inflate EV outlet charging.

 

[MorrisonHiker]

$500 - $600 sounds pretty reasonable to me.

FYI, you can get a 30% tax credit on installation and hardware. Search for Alternative Fuel Vehicle Refueling Property Credit or IRS form 8911.

 

[spsheridan]

What @patrick40363 said.

 

[Aarons12]

i only drive a mile and a half to work. i would be fine with either level 1 or our dryer outlet. but i want the full tesla experience so my wall charger is being installed this weekend.

 

[user212_nr]

I'll be getting my Y at the end of the month and I've been calling electricians about installing a 240V outlet in my garage. The prices have been pretty high: $500-$600.

If you want to save a few $ then you can do the install yourself. The prices are a bit high, although many of us have paid significantly more than that. There is a slight "Tesla Tax" which is very difficult to get around.

You definitely can live with L1 charging if you only drive 15 miles per day. You can definitely wait it out and see if it is really a need.

 

[frankvb]

Alternatively you could run a 240V extension cable from a dryer outlet. Of course depends on how far away that outlet is from the car. Dryer circuits are usually 30A so allow for 5.7kW charging.

I paid around $200 for a 14-50 outlet, but it was literally less than one feet away from the main panel.

 

[BluestarE3]

I'll be getting my Y at the end of the month and I've been calling electricians about installing a 240V outlet in my garage. The prices have been pretty high: $500-$600.

Keep in mind that that's a one-time cost. Amortized over, say, 5 years, that's only 27 - 33 cents a day. You may even qualify for an income tax credit for the installation of an EV charging infrastructure in your home. While it's possible to charge at 120V, it's excruciatingly slow compared to 240V. Its also nice being able to come home, plug in and have a "full tank" the next morning without having to go somewhere else to refuel.

 

[LAFA]

A price of $500-600 [plus Tesla hardware] sounds bargain basement compared to the only estimate I could get without paying $100 for a house call:

We charge $1,995.00 for a full installation of a wall mount Tesla EV charger.
This includes:

• Tesla Wall Connector (8’ or 24’ cord)
• 2 pole 60A breaker
• 50’ Conduit
• 50’ wire
• Sales tax

**Note: Over 50’ is an extra cost, subpanel install is an extra cost**

Any reco's of electricians in Northern/New Castle County DELAWARE appreciated. Thanks.

Smiles,
/Leslie Ann

 

[Chuq]

If you can charge at home, there is no reason that you would not do it. It's pretty much one of the main benefits of an EV.

 

[Xebec]

There's also a 30% tax refund in the US on chargers/installation - Form 8911; this was renewed for 2019 and 2020 tax years recently.

*Please check with a tax expert/accountant before taking this to the bank*

https://electrek.co/2019/12/18/us-e...s-motorcycles-fuel-cells-again-retroactively/

Good for 2019 and 2020 Tax seasons..

 

[Nima]

I did some research and apparently, mobile connector and wall connector charge the car at home at the same speed? Do I still need to change the wiring for mobile connector (other than socket)? Do I need to install a wire that runs to switchboard?

 

[Chuq]

mobile connector and wall connector charge the car at home at the same speed?

Not sure where this came from - charge rates vary a bit:

• Mobile connector plugged into a 10A socket - 2.4 kW
• Mobile connector plugged into a 15A socket - 3.6 kW
• Wall connector on single phase - 7.2 kW
• Wall connector on three phase - 11 kW

Having said that, you can configure it in a variety of ways. e.g. it is possible to install the wall connector on a lower capacity circuit if necessary for any reason.

You can also manually reduce the speed via the car for individual sessions. e.g. I have a unit (another brand, not a Tesla wall connector, but indistinguishable in this example) on a 7.2 kW circuit. I sometimes reduce the charge rate to 3-5 kW so that it charges at a rate slightly lower than what my solar generates.

If you install the wall connector that will need an electrician and will be on a dedicated circuit.

If you use the mobile connector, technically you don't need to change any wiring but it is good practice to get it checked especially if your house is older.

 

[carlos31820]

Here to also recommend you install level 2 charger. Not just for the convenience. Where I live (Georgia), Supercharging prices are between 3 and 4 times as expensive as what I pay at home.

 

[Bigriver]

I did some research and apparently, mobile connector and wall connector charge the car at home at the same speed? Do I still need to change the wiring for mobile connector (other than socket)? Do I need to install a wire that runs to switchboard?

Mobile connectors can be used with a variety of pigtails for either 120 or 240 V and of varying amps. So the charging speed for the mobile connector is dependent on plug type. Best bang for your buck is usually to install a 240 V plug for a mobile connector. I think the wall connector is a sleeker setup.