Licensed Honolulu Electrician for Installation of Charging Outlet

[gfab333]

For anyone looking for an electrician to install a charging outlet for your Tesla, i’d like to share contact info on Lance iIbara, 808 358-2310.

He did a great job in installing a 240 volt outlet in my home’s garage and making the necessary modifications to my main circuit box to include an additional 50 amp breaker (required for charging at 40 amps), all at a very reasonable cost.

In my case, he had to run the power cable through two walls in order to get the power from the breaker box to the outlet, and he was very diligent in doing it in the most cost effective manner in an effort to keep costs down.

 

[gfab333]

Forgot to mention, that actual installation costs could vary widely, depending on the work and time required for each situation.

Also, sorry for the typo, his name is Lance Ibara, not ilbara.

 

[KalopaDad]

Forgot to mention, that actual installation costs could vary widely, depending on the work and time required for each situation.

Also, sorry for the typo, his name is Lance Ibara, not ilbara.

Has Lance had experience installing the HPWC?

 

[gfab333]

Has Lance had experience installing the HPWC?

Sorry KalopaDad, I don’t know. Give him a call and ask. You’ll have to leave a message for him, then wait for a call back.

Lance just installed a 240Volt plug and additional breakers in my garage. Great job!!!

 

[spleen]

Dunno if this helps at all but putting in the HPWC doesn’t appear to be particularly difficult or complicated from watching our contractor’s electrician put in ours. I would think that any reasonably experienced electrician should be able to do it. The tricky part is making sure that the DIP switches inside are set appropriately for the amperage of the circuit - I had to manually adjust mine since when I first plugged in, the car thought it was a 100 amp circuit (it was a 50 amp circuit) - electrician didn’t realize that the DIPs had to be adjusted. There are pretty clear instructions in the HPWC installation manual that shows how to do this.

 

[gfab333]

Spleen,

I’m not familiar with the hpwc as I use the charger that comes with the car and plugs into a 240v clothes dryer style plug.

Does the hpwc also connect using a 240v plug?

 

[gmtom1]

Spleen,

I’m not familiar with the hpwc as I use the charger that comes with the car and plugs into a 240v clothes dryer style plug.

Does the hpwc also connect using a 240v plug?

No, you need to have an electrician install a junction box and wire it into an additional circuit.

 

[spleen]

Yeah the advantage of the HPWC is that it’s hardwired instead of using a plug (so no worries about the plug coming off or potential resistance because of poor contacts). But it’s the same 240V breaker in your panel. The HPWC also has a thicker cord (sturdier) than the mobile unit and the cord can also be longer.

 

[dsmith2189]

Yeah the advantage of the HPWC is that it’s hardwired instead of using a plug (so no worries about the plug coming off or potential resistance because of poor contacts). But it’s the same 240V breaker in your panel. The HPWC also has a thicker cord (sturdier) than the mobile unit and the cord can also be longer.

It can also be configured to charge up to 100 amps, the mobile connector is only rated for a 50 Amp circuit.

 

[fseir]

I had a 50 amp NEMA 14-50 installed by E I Electrical, which had good reviews on Yelp. The owner, David, is super responsive,and his company has done work at the Tesla store at Ala Moana and their service center. Installation was a little complicated due to the location of my breaker box, but his senior electrician did a great job routing it through walls and ceiling, with all wiring hidden. Left some small drywall cutouts, which I still need to get patched and painted, but was very careful to minimize drywall intrusion. Ended up costing around $580, which I thought was very reasonable, especially since most quotes (including David's initial estimate) were over $800.

 

[mycoljay]

I had a 50 amp NEMA 14-50 installed by E I Electrical, which had good reviews on Yelp. The owner, David, is super responsive,and his company has done work at the Tesla store at Ala Moana and their service center. Installation was a little complicated due to the location of my breaker box, but his senior electrician did a great job routing it through walls and ceiling, with all wiring hidden. Left some small drywall cutouts, which I still need to get patched and painted, but was very careful to minimize drywall intrusion. Ended up costing around $580, which I thought was very reasonable, especially since most quotes (including David's initial estimate) were over $800.

Wish you had posted sooner. Just got mine installed on Wednesday. Went with a company recommended by Tesla's website, which charged me a lot more than you paid for yours.

 

[fseir]

Wish you had posted sooner. Just got mine installed on Wednesday. Went with a company recommended by Tesla's website, which charged me a lot more than you paid for yours.

Well, I think it’s hard to say whether this company would’ve been cheaper for your installation or not. Seems like it really depends on how much copper wire they have to lay down, and how complicated the routing is from your breaker panel to where you want your outlet. I chose to put the outlet at the front of the garage (wall closest to front end of the car), as it was closer to my breaker, and I didn’t want any exposed conduit. But as a consequence, I’ll have to pull the charging cable to the back of the garage to reach the charge port, every time. Had I opted to put the outlet on the rear side wall, I’m sure it would have been more expensive.

 

[mycoljay]

Well, I think it’s hard to say whether this company would’ve been cheaper for your installation or not. Seems like it really depends on how much copper wire they have to lay down, and how complicated the routing is from your breaker panel to where you want your outlet. I chose to put the outlet at the front of the garage (wall closest to front end of the car), as it was closer to my breaker, and I didn’t want any exposed conduit. But as a consequence, I’ll have to pull the charging cable to the back of the garage to reach the charge port, every time. Had I opted to put the outlet on the rear side wall, I’m sure it would have been more expensive.

Probably, though I wanted my outlet right next to the CB panel, which doesn’t require much materials...and I paid over $1k.

 

[KevinY]

Probably, though I wanted my outlet right next to the CB panel, which doesn’t require much materials...and I paid over $1k.

OMG! That's price gouging, I'm sorry to hear that.

 

[Akikiki]

I saw another TMC thread that had a post that linked to this device. Very interesting for the circuit/outlet challenged situations. I wanted to find a good place to put this so other Hawaii folks would at least know it existed. Might be a solution for a problem. I don't know, I didn't need it. DCC-10 Avoids Major Home Electrical Upgrades for an EV Charging Installation

 

[dsmith2189]

I saw another TMC thread that had a post that linked to this device. Very interesting for the circuit/outlet challenged situations. I wanted to find a good place to put this so other Hawaii folks would at least know it existed. Might be a solution for a problem. I don't know, I didn't need it. DCC-10 Avoids Major Home Electrical Upgrades for an EV Charging Installation

now all you need to do is connect it to a powerwall.

 

[Hawnboy]

I'm fortunate to have a licensed electrician in my family. My son helped me add two new circuits into my garage. One 120v/15a circuit and the other is a 240v/20a circuit that's enough for my charging needs.

 

[Hawnboy]

Here's what he added!

 

[Akikiki]

I'm fortunate to have a licensed electrician in my family. My son helped me add two new circuits into my garage. One 120v/15a circuit and the other is a 240v/20a circuit that's enough for my charging needs.

240/20? That's very odd. What rate will you be able to charge at? 16 amps? What's that - something like 6 miles per hour of charge rate?

 

[Hawnboy]

240/20? That's very odd. What rate will you be able to charge at? 16 amps? What's that - something like 6 miles per hour of charge rate?

Not sure what amperage I'll be able to charge at until we connect our new P3D+ on Sunday evening. It's the 6-20 adaptor that Tesla sells. I had spare 20 amp breaker circuit to wire into. According to the website it should change at about 18 miles per hour which is more than enough for our driving habits. It's also the same plug configuration as my air compressor plug and circuit. No need for a 14-50, plus the standard 120V is really too slow!