Not charging every day...

[gmorgan88]

Hello everyone!

New to the forum and thinking of picking up a Tesla Model S in the coming weeks and just doing my research. I've read a lot about ideally charging the Tesla each night but I'm not sure if my current living arrangement will support this. I share an EV charger with the rest of the complex and while I don't see many using it at this time it certainly doesn't seem feasible to leave it charging each night. What kind of impact will this have?

Also, the charger is a 30A 208/240V Eaton charger. Can someone tell me the approximate charge amount per hour? Lastly, I'm trying to understand exactly how these chargers actually make you pay. For example, if I get a 85 kwh does that mean going to full charge would be the cost per kwh * 85? Just using that as an example.

Thank you all in advance for your help.

 

[Akikiki]

That 30Aamp circuit will net you about 24amps at your car. You should be able to charge at about 19-20 per hour at that rate. Someone will jump in and refine my estimate. Your charge amount is going to vary depending on what your power rate is in Dallas and whether your Apt complex is charging you an overhead on top of the charging. As a general rule of thumb, you can use your current gas bill to get a basic idea. Most people (at least here in Hawaii, where both power and gas are alot higher) say that while their gas bill zero-ed out, their electric bill went up about 25%. That's just a rough guess. Again, others are going to correct my estimates.

Not knowing how much you drive daily I can't guess if you will need to charge nightly or less often. Fortunately your notifications to your smartphone from the Tesla app will help you recognize when you need to move your car and free the charger for someone else to use it.

Good luck. We all love our Teslas. Great choice.

 

[ReturnZero]

How is the charger in your complex going to bill you? How will they know you're the one charging to forward the bill to you, or do you have to put in your credit card each time? Is there a possibility of charging at work or something?

 

[eye.surgeon]

I charge twice a week. And I park in my garage with a 50A charger, just no need to charge more frequently than that for me.

 

[arcus]

Welcome to the forum. Assuming you get the full 240 V and 30 A out of the circuit, your car will draw 80% (24 A). That will give you 17 miles of range per hour of charge. You can monitor the state of the charge using the phone app if you are concerned about "hogging" the shared plug (very nice of you by the way!).

There's no issue if you cannot charge every day. As long as you keep your battery between 20 to 80 percent you will be fine. Of course, happy Tesla is plugged in Tesla, but not everyone has an ideal conditions.

 

[Tam]

...charging each night...

Owner's manual says:

"There is no advantage to waiting until the Battery’s level is low before charging. In fact, the Battery performs best when charged regularly."

I think Tesla wants you to plug in as much as possible because there was a very bad press coverage of a every expensive Roadster battery that died for not plugging in.

Tesla has made design changes to make sure that won't happen again but still, plugging in is a good practice.

...if I get a 85 kwh does that mean going to full charge would be the cost per kwh * 85...

That is correct.

It depends on the company that provides the charge. Some would do as you said like $0.20 x 85 kWh = $17.00.

Some are not allowed to use "kWh" in the fee because that's competing against a utility company so they use "time" instead.

$1.13/hour x 15 hours of charging=$16.95

 

[brkaus]

ew to the forum and thinking of picking up a Tesla Model S in the coming weeks and just doing my research. I've read a lot about ideally charging the Tesla each night but I'm not sure if my current living arrangement will support this. I share an EV charger with the rest of the complex and while I don't see many using it at this time it certainly doesn't seem feasible to leave it charging each night. What kind of impact will this have?

No problem at all. As long as you are able to avoid the extreme ends of battery state. I only plug in my car 2x per week, and I have an HPWC in the garage. I only drive 20 miles per day most days. Stay above 10% and stay below 90% - unless you need the full range for a specific trip - then use it!!!

For example, if I get a 85 kwh does that mean going to full charge would be the cost per kwh * 85? Just using that as an example.

There is also an inefficiency in charging. Roughly 10% to keep the math simple. And an 85 has a lower usable range, I believe it is around 79kWh (from memory). But yes, you would generally see a cost of cost per kWh * capacity used * 1.1.

Here is a charge session for me yesterday. I kicked the charge up from 30A to 40A near the end of the charge, so I could easily top off from 90 to 95% in the morning for a road trip.

4:11 PM - 9:25 PM
5 Hours 14 Minutes
Start - 53 %
End - 90 %
Used - 39.6 kWh

Added - 36.34 kWh 91.9 %
Avg Voltage - 243.71V
Max Voltage - 246V
Avg Amps - 31.12A
Max Amps - 40A
$ 4.55
Miles added 124.44

 

[futurem3owner]

I live in a large apartment complex too. Luckily, I'm the only one who owns an EV so I charge the car daily just so that no one parks in my spot where the charger is located. It's by chargepro giving 30A and lets me charge at 22 miles/hour for free. I have plenty of charge left over on my 90D after using up 60 miles during my daily commute but still charge it daily as routine so I never forget it.

 

[gmorgan88]

Awesome information and I really appreciate it. The charger I have access to at the complex has a credit card reader so I’m assuming it’s a pay as you go. What’s strange is that I have no idea what it’s goig to bill me because there is no info about it. I think there was a number on there so maybe I’ll give them a ring.

My building’s garage doesn’t have an EV charger that I know of but checking into it today. I’m sure there has to be one in Downtown Dallas somewhere.

On that breakdown of charges, it shows you used 39.6 kWh to get to 90% and that makes sense but then 36.34kWh to go from 90% to 91.9%. That doesn’t seem right or is it because you upend the amps? Does some of the power get “lost” because the car couldn’t absorb it? I told you I’m new to the this!

 

[DrivingRockies]

no need to charge more frequently than that for me.

Sinner

 

[JHuberman]

Another option you can check out is if there is a regular outlet in your garage (120v 15amp). Using the cord that comes with the Tesla you will get about 4mph of charge, so plugging in each night could meet your needs without having to use the EV charger except when you needed a faster charge.

 

[Magomboman]

No problem at all. As long as you are able to avoid the extreme ends of battery state. I only plug in my car 2x per week, and I have an HPWC in the garage. I only drive 20 miles per day most days. Stay above 10% and stay below 90% - unless you need the full range for a specific trip - then use it!!!



There is also an inefficiency in charging. Roughly 10% to keep the math simple. And an 85 has a lower usable range, I believe it is around 79kWh (from memory). But yes, you would generally see a cost of cost per kWh * capacity used * 1.1.

Here is a charge session for me yesterday. I kicked the charge up from 30A to 40A near the end of the charge, so I could easily top off from 90 to 95% in the morning for a road trip.

4:11 PM - 9:25 PM
5 Hours 14 Minutes
Start - 53 %
End - 90 %
Used - 39.6 kWh

Added - 36.34 kWh 91.9 %
Avg Voltage - 243.71V
Max Voltage - 246V
Avg Amps - 31.12A
Max Amps - 40A
$ 4.55
Miles added 124.44

I charge about 2 a week and ensure I don’t go below 10% and do full charge only when I do road trip which is about once every other month. For my understanding; why is did my mileage decline about 3:5% in the last two months? Thanks

 

[brkaus]

On that breakdown of charges, it shows you used 39.6 kWh to get to 90% and that makes sense but then 36.34kWh to go from 90% to 91.9%. That doesn’t seem right or is it because you upend the amps? Does some of the power get “lost” because the car couldn’t absorb it? I told you I’m new to the this!

It lost the formatting when I pasted into the post, made it a bit unclear.

The 39.6 kWh is from the wall. The 36.34 kWh is what went into the battery. 91.9% of the energy went into the battery.

 

[brkaus]

Here is my charging session last night (road trip yesterday). Not planning any trips, so only charged to 61%. This is a S100D.

 

[cmarshack]

Here is my charging session last night (road trip yesterday). Not planning any trips, so only charged to 61%. This is a S100D.

View attachment 255626

Is that an app?

 

[brkaus]

It is teslafi.com. Referral code - brkaus. I think they have 1 month free trial.

I like watching the data in the system.

It does require giving them a token, so they know where you car is and could easily steal it... So some trust is required. I did consider hosting my own stuff, but that also has security risks and I'm lazy.

 

[masamitsu]

Is that an app?

Ditto.

 

[brkaus]

Ditto.

Post #16. Replied around same time.

 

[masamitsu]

Post #16. Replied around same time.

Thanks! Will def check it out. What are your general thoughts on it if you don't mind me asking?

 

[brkaus]

Thanks! Will def check it out. What are your general thoughts on it if you don't mind me asking?

I'm kind of a data geek, so I like it.

It can tell me things like what days did I get new firmware? What range did I get every time I charged to 90%? How much electricity did I use last month?

I used the data to select an electric plan.

I noticed that 17.26.76 dropped my 90% charge from 309 (new) to 302 miles. Now it hovers around 300.

It also allows the car to sleep, which is good. Some API monitoring does not allow the car to sleep.