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New to Tesla, Need Home Charger
- Thread starter Robert A
- Start date
The car comes with a mobile charger that many people find sufficient. This mobile charger works with a variety of plug adapters, purchased separately from Tesla. The adapter for a standard wall outlet comes with the mobile charger but charging from a standard wall outlet is way too slow for most uses. The adapter most commonly used is a NEMA 14-50, which is what most kitchens have for a cooktop range/oven. Simply buying a 14-50 adapter from Tesla and having an electrician install a 14-50 outlet in their garage is what most people do.
That said, many people buy the dedicated Tesla wall connector (also called a wall charger, even though the charger is technically inside the car). The wall connector is more robust, looks nice, and having one means that you can leave your mobile charger in the car, which many people like.
One slight advantage to the dedicated wall connector is, depending upon your specific Tesla and your electrical panel’s room for delivering more amps, you may be able to get slightly faster charging speeds with a wall connector than from the 14-50 outlet. This slightly faster charging speed doesn’t matter much, though, since nearly everyone just plugs in when they arrive home and let the car charge overnight.
That said, many people buy the dedicated Tesla wall connector (also called a wall charger, even though the charger is technically inside the car). The wall connector is more robust, looks nice, and having one means that you can leave your mobile charger in the car, which many people like.
One slight advantage to the dedicated wall connector is, depending upon your specific Tesla and your electrical panel’s room for delivering more amps, you may be able to get slightly faster charging speeds with a wall connector than from the 14-50 outlet. This slightly faster charging speed doesn’t matter much, though, since nearly everyone just plugs in when they arrive home and let the car charge overnight.
I should have clarified that we have 240v in the garage. At the moment it's just a junction box, not an outlet. My wife will likely get an EV next year, though probably not a Tesla. Is there a reason to wire her side of the garage at the same time as mine?
We have two Teslas and have two wall chargers that share a 100 amp circuit. (Our Model S is capable of charging at 80 amps.) Being able to charge both cars at once is nice.
It may make sense to have both sides wired at once if you believe you’re going to get a second BEV while you’re still in this house. If you know that the next EV is going to be a Tesla, you could have two wall units sharing a single circuit. Or you could just have two 14-50 outlets installed.
There are third party chargers that are well regarded (Clipper Creek is often praised on this forum), but I have no experience with any of them, having gone all Tesla on my setup.
Here is a picture of the installation that I did myself. The “High Voltage” panel is a junction box that contains the multi-tap connector that splits the 100 amp line going to the two connectors. In the lower right is the 14-50 outlet that I used initially, until I got around to installing the wall connectors. It serves as a backup in case I want to take the wall connectors offline for any reason.
It may make sense to have both sides wired at once if you believe you’re going to get a second BEV while you’re still in this house. If you know that the next EV is going to be a Tesla, you could have two wall units sharing a single circuit. Or you could just have two 14-50 outlets installed.
There are third party chargers that are well regarded (Clipper Creek is often praised on this forum), but I have no experience with any of them, having gone all Tesla on my setup.
Here is a picture of the installation that I did myself. The “High Voltage” panel is a junction box that contains the multi-tap connector that splits the 100 amp line going to the two connectors. In the lower right is the 14-50 outlet that I used initially, until I got around to installing the wall connectors. It serves as a backup in case I want to take the wall connectors offline for any reason.
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Regardless of which option you choose, if you get it installed before 12/31 don't forget federal tax credit
- About Form 8911, Alternative Fuel Vehicle Refueling Property Credit | Internal Revenue Service
I believe it can be applied to plug install, Tesla wall charger or other wall charger (parts and labor)
- About Form 8911, Alternative Fuel Vehicle Refueling Property Credit | Internal Revenue Service
I believe it can be applied to plug install, Tesla wall charger or other wall charger (parts and labor)
One approach might be to install a charging station that can charge either EV (if you don't anticipate charging both at the same time). Most Level 2 (240V) charging stations have a J1772 plug, and your Model 3 will come with an adapter for that. I think there are also some charging stations with two heads. Just a thought.
You might want to have an electrician look at your 240V circuit to see what amperage is available on that circuit (if you don't know), not all 240V circuits are created equal. (Specifically, the amperage of the circuit breaker, wiring, etc. will determine how much power can be delivered to your car. That would determine the correct outlet to install, or what size / configuration of charging station to install.)
In our garage, we put in a NEMA 14-50 outlet for my Tesla, which I use with my Tesla Mobile Connector. Then the following year when my wife bought a BMW 330e (plug-in hybrid) we put in another NEMA 14-50 outlet on her side of the garage and hung a Clipper Creek HCS-30P charging station on the wall for her car. If I need to, I can pull my Model S into her side of the garage, grab the J1772 adapter from my trunk, and use it.
Bruce.
terrywhite
Member
I get this question a lot, so I made a video on my charger setup and experiences:
No not really. Some of the other wall connectors have apps that allow you to schedule starting and stopping charge, but on the tesla that is done in the car, not on the wall connector side.
The main concern would be, since you dont think your next plugin after this one will be a tesla, its much easier to plug a tesla vehicle into a non tesla wall connector (using the included J1772 adapter that comes with the car) than it would be to plug a non tesla vehicle into a tesla wall connector.
Since the plan is to end up with 2 electric vehicles at some point and the second one is likely to not be a tesla, you might want to either buy a different brand wall connector, OR consider just using the existing 240v connection you have right now with the included tesla mobile connector (ie buy nothing extra now).
jimtelsa
Member
i have used the mobile unit that comes with my Model S since 2014
Installed a 15-40 wall plug thingy to a 50 amp circuit. Local Electrician
Bought the wall mount for the mobile unit from Tesla. Many others are available..Amazon ETSY EBAY etc
Use the the other plug that comes with the kit for my Smart ED
Mounted close to the garage door so I can charge outside
Can take off wall and go with me on trips. Or when we were evacuated during the last Fires.
Simple easy and Reliable
Make sure you have it taken care of before your drive home
This is the first thing you take care of before driving home your new EV
Installed a 15-40 wall plug thingy to a 50 amp circuit. Local Electrician
Bought the wall mount for the mobile unit from Tesla. Many others are available..Amazon ETSY EBAY etc
Use the the other plug that comes with the kit for my Smart ED
Mounted close to the garage door so I can charge outside
Can take off wall and go with me on trips. Or when we were evacuated during the last Fires.
Simple easy and Reliable
Make sure you have it taken care of before your drive home
This is the first thing you take care of before driving home your new EV
First get the electrician in to see what capacity you have left.
If you have lots of power to spare his and hers 14-50 outlets is the easy pick.
If you don't have that much capacity to share then I would consider wall connectors of some sort with load sharing capabilities. I don't know what the third parties offer but the Tesla wall connectors can do this though the gen 3 aren't enabled yet but should be by the time you get another car.
There are adapter to allow non-Tesla vehicles to use Tesla wall connectors.
I advocate having backup charging solution. Maybe the neighbors have a EV and will share the connection in a bind or thefe is a public option close. Personally I jave a Tesla wall connector and the UMC is my backup. A spare UMC can be bought as backup too. UMC for your car and a third party connector for her car offers backup too the adapter comes with the 3.
I am not accusing the OP of stepping over dollars to save a dime but a LOT of folks here do. If spending $60k+ on a pair of EVs is it really a budget problem to spend an extra couple hundred on a "nicer" charging option. With load sharing you don't have to worry about charging time overlap, UMC stays in the car as a spare. Wall connector can offer faster charging which is handy occasionally.
I like the idea lf apair of Tesla wall connectors load sharing and there are adapters to let other EVs use the Tesla connector but I would ask if the load sharing works with that. I would like to presume it would be fine as connections report to the car available current but asking is easier than finding out you made a bad presumption later.
If you have lots of power to spare his and hers 14-50 outlets is the easy pick.
If you don't have that much capacity to share then I would consider wall connectors of some sort with load sharing capabilities. I don't know what the third parties offer but the Tesla wall connectors can do this though the gen 3 aren't enabled yet but should be by the time you get another car.
There are adapter to allow non-Tesla vehicles to use Tesla wall connectors.
I advocate having backup charging solution. Maybe the neighbors have a EV and will share the connection in a bind or thefe is a public option close. Personally I jave a Tesla wall connector and the UMC is my backup. A spare UMC can be bought as backup too. UMC for your car and a third party connector for her car offers backup too the adapter comes with the 3.
I am not accusing the OP of stepping over dollars to save a dime but a LOT of folks here do. If spending $60k+ on a pair of EVs is it really a budget problem to spend an extra couple hundred on a "nicer" charging option. With load sharing you don't have to worry about charging time overlap, UMC stays in the car as a spare. Wall connector can offer faster charging which is handy occasionally.
I like the idea lf apair of Tesla wall connectors load sharing and there are adapters to let other EVs use the Tesla connector but I would ask if the load sharing works with that. I would like to presume it would be fine as connections report to the car available current but asking is easier than finding out you made a bad presumption later.
My chargepoint charger came with a $500 rebate from my electric company. Then they gave me a $50 check for registering it with them so they could bill me based on use. Then they give me half off electric if I use it between 11pm and 6am. The Tesla charger does not do this.
If I didn't get this deal I would just use the mobile connector and a nema 14-50 outlet.
If I didn't get this deal I would just use the mobile connector and a nema 14-50 outlet.
Robert,
It's more of a pain to use a non-Tesla charger (like Clipper Creek or Chargepoint). The reason is because A) you have to use the J1772 adapter (which means you'll probably want to buy a 2nd one to leave attached to your home charger so you can keep the other in the car), and B) the J1772 chargers don't have the release button in the handle like Tesla chargers do. This means you'll have to use your App to release the cable from the charge port (or go inside the car and press the release button on the touchscreen). This will be annoying if you have to do this every time you leave the house.
Also, if/when you add a 2nd EV, it's unlikely you'll need two chargers. Will you each be driving 200+ miles per day? If not, sharing a single charger will be fine. Most of them come with ~20 foot cables anyway so it'll reach across the garage regardless of where you install it. If you do get into the odd mileage crunch then I'm sure there's a Supercharger nearby where you can get a quick hit of juice.
BTW, you can buy an adapter that lets you charge a non-Tesla from a Tesla charger. You could get a Tesla Wall Connector now and then one of these later on:
https://www.amazon.com/Lectron-Tesl...rds=J1772+tesla+adapter&qid=1607382458&sr=8-6
Andrew (former bimmerfester)
You use the same handle over there? Quite a few of us former 'festers here.. although I still check in there from time to time as my wife still has her X3.
garth_angst
Member
You sound like you're from around my parts, but not completely. PSEGLI gave me $500 plus the $50, however I only get 5 cents off per kWh for overnight charging.
I already has a Tesla wall connector, but I like the fact I can actually see the cost that charging through the ChargePoint gives me. I got the ChargePoint because of the almost free charger based on above, plus the wife will probably get an EV, and most likely not Tesla. She like being high off the road in a crossover and the Model Y wasn't to her liking.
garth_angst
Member
I have the ChargePoint HomeFlex and I do not have to do this. Mind you, I do have to open the driver door, but then pressing the button on the HomeFlex handle releases it from the Tesla charge port no problem. I grab the adapter, press the button and then pull both out together. Maybe it's an improvement ChargePoint made?
I have a chargepoint I don't have to open a door. I just push the button on the handle and it releases.
I am on Long Island. Our electric bills are a scam. It's around half off of the electric cost but we pay a bunch of fees. Our electric company likes to claim we have lower electric rates than others but after all our fees we pay significantly more.
I don't like the Y either it's not an suv it's a model 3 hatchback. They raised the roof and put the seats on stands. Literally they are on risers.
There are some companies coming out with SUV's soon. GM looks promising.
Energy Charge: (per kWh)
First 250 kWh: Standard $0.0827 $0.0827
Excess 250 kWh $0.1045 $0.0827
"cheap" electricity in california is between 16 cents and 22 cents a kWh, while expensive electricity is between 39 to 50+ cents a kWh (no thats not a typo, yes I mean up to 50 cents a kWh during peak).
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