Portland condo owner here: Do I even need a home charger?

[Portland Blue]

Thanks for all the responses to my earlier post on getting a charger for my condo.

I've called 5 electricians and only got 1 quote so for for $4500 (- $750 state rebate).

Okay, that seems like a super steep price to pay up front.

I actually don't drive very much. Probably about 500 miles per month. I plan on getting a Model S 60 which for city driving should last me (correct me if I'm wrong) about 280 miles (per Tesla website).

I can park up to 4 hours per day at work with a 120 V/ 20 amp site at $0.49/kWh
There are several chargers in town as well; 39-49 cents/kWh, some of which have an additional parking structure fee, though my grocery store does not (that is, I don't think I need to worry about parking structures).

If I drive long distances, I have the Superchargers on all highways going out of Portland.

It seems feasible not to have a home charger.

I see 2 issues.
1) Lack of convenience of charging nightly to full. That is, charging in the community seems like I'll have to wait long periods of time (unless at work).
2) Cost. Home charging is roughly 10 cents/kWh and in the community, it's 3-4x as much (essentially missing out on the cost savings of an electric car).

My question is has anyone "gotten away without" a home charger, and what has their experience been?

Thanks.

 

[Super_Popular]

I am a property manager in Portland. Which companies did you get bids from. I might be able to help you with that. You need a charger at home, having to go to the supercharge in Woodburn is a PIA.

 

[TaoJones]

Consider a ChaDeMo adapter and the excellent AeroVironment network in your area. $19.95 for 30 days of unlimited, full strength, fully functional ChaDeMo is about as close to free as it gets.

Further, for as long as you don't drive much, although that may change, you might consider the AV a la carte option at $7/charge.

The cost of the adapter itself amortizes over the first 100 uses to just under $5/charge. Mine was $491 delivered, fwiw.

There's nothing wrong with 110V charging during the day at the office. Or at home for that matter. It adds up.

Having said all of the above, waking up with a full charge is one of the best things about owning a Tesla - if you have a garage or dedicated parking space.

 

[MP3Mike]

Thanks for all the responses to my earlier post on getting a charger for my condo.

I've called 5 electricians and only got 1 quote so for for $4500 (- $750 state rebate).

Okay, that seems like a super steep price to pay up front.

You should be able to qualify for a 30%, up to $1,500, federal credit as long as you do the install in a different year than you buy the car/claim the $7,500 credit. (So you could limp by until January if you are buying the car this year.)

I would say you might be able to get away with charging while you are at work, but that depends on how far your commute is. But I would want at least a 120v outlet at home to plug in to. (15A would be OK, 20A would be better.) Getting a 240V 20A outlet would be a very good choice if it was considerably cheaper than getting a 50A 14-50 outlet. (Or getting a Tesla WC installed.)

 

[AndreSF]

+1 on CHADeMO based FastDC options. That work option you have listed, while not ideal, is better than nothing, plus car would be juicing without you waiting for the charge to complete (especially with the amount of driving you do; that might change BTW with Tesla! )

We have more than a few ppl charging at work, where it comes to about $.23/Kwh, but I don't know if it's their only source of charging. Some just need it to make it back home in their BEVs with smaller batteries.

Good luck!

 

[skip8jj]

@Gopal, Contact Oregon Electrical Group, 503-535-2660. West Side Elect is another to consider if you have not already. Is your building very old? How much distance from your meter base/ unit disconnect to your parking spot assuming you have a dedicated parking spot?

OEG was competitive for our bid and worked well with the City when it came to getting inspection approval.

 

[Portland Blue]

I am a property manager in Portland. Which companies did you get bids from. I might be able to help you with that. You need a charger at home, having to go to the supercharge in Woodburn is a PIA.

We got that estimate from Young Electric.

I would not have to go out to Woodburn to charge, as there are options in town, but they become as costly as gas (not that it's all about cost, but if you have an electric car, hopefully there is some downstream fuel savings).

Where do you charge up locally?
Have you used the "Electric Avenue"?

Do you have the CHAdeMO adapter? If so, where do you go?

Would love any other charging advise you have. Thanks!

 

[Portland Blue]

@Gopal, Contact Oregon Electrical Group, 503-535-2660. West Side Elect is another to consider if you have not already. Is your building very old? How much distance from your meter base/ unit disconnect to your parking spot assuming you have a dedicated parking spot?

OEG was competitive for our bid and worked well with the City when it came to getting inspection approval.

I've contact West Side and will have a site visit in 2 weeks (took them a while to respond!).

Thanks for the tip for OEG. Will f/u on that.

 

[Portland Blue]

Consider a ChaDeMo adapter and the excellent AeroVironment network in your area. $19.95 for 30 days of unlimited, full strength, fully functional ChaDeMo is about as close to free as it gets.

Further, for as long as you don't drive much, although that may change, you might consider the AV a la carte option at $7/charge.

The cost of the adapter itself amortizes over the first 100 uses to just under $5/charge. Mine was $491 delivered, fwiw.

There's nothing wrong with 110V charging during the day at the office. Or at home for that matter. It adds up.

Having said all of the above, waking up with a full charge is one of the best things about owning a Tesla - if you have a garage or dedicated parking space.

I see the adapter is priced $450 on the Tesla website. Where do you see $19.95 for 30 days of unlimited charging (is that 30 consecutive days or 30 individual days over any time period)
The AeroVironment network did not have any stations in Portland, or maybe I am missing something. They look like they are spaced out like Superchargers. EV Solutions | Subscribe To The West Coast Electric Highway

 

[skip8jj]

Young Electric gave us the highest bid of the lot. They did not appear experienced with EV installations and wanted to take the circuit off the common area breaker box.

I have not used any Portland charger stations. We had a HPWC installed next to a 40amp disconnect behind our MS 70D parking spot. We get about 23 m/h charge rate which is plenty. Our condo electrical use went from about 4 kWh/day to about 8 kWh/day. The bill is up by about $10/ month as compared to before the T. Our town driving is about 300 miles/month. We used SCs for about 1700 miles of driving so our fuel cost are really low. We do not have a Chademo.

I tried out a J connection to the UMC to a level 2 charger in a parking garage in Berkeley, CA, just to see what it was like. Disconnecting was not graceful. We live on the city side of Washington Park. Getting ready for a trip to Oklahoma City.

 

[Dwdnjck]

If you can charge at home, a Tesla is much more convenient than a gasoline car. If you can't, that is a whole different story.

 

[ReddyLeaf]

I would not buy an EV without the ability to charge at home at night (even at least 120V, 15 Amp). Even for a small mileage driver like you and I, it's still much easier to pick up 40-50 mi every night. Did you ask for a NEMA 14-50 plug? Don't tell them it's for an EV. Anyway, $0.49/KWh is CRAZY talk in the PNW. I pay $0.07/KWh.

 

[Super_Popular]

I've contact West Side and will have a site visit in 2 weeks (took them a while to respond!).

Thanks for the tip for OEG. Will f/u on that.

We only use West Side in an emergency.

 

[Super_Popular]

Young Electric gave us the highest bid of the lot. They did not appear experienced with EV installations and wanted to take the circuit off the common area breaker box.

I have not used any Portland charger stations. We had a HPWC installed next to a 40amp disconnect behind our MS 70D parking spot. We get about 23 m/h charge rate which is plenty. Our condo electrical use went from about 4 kWh/day to about 8 kWh/day. The bill is up by about $10/ month as compared to before the T. Our town driving is about 300 miles/month. We used SCs for about 1700 miles of driving so our fuel cost are really low. We do not have a Chademo.

I tried out a J connection to the UMC to a level 2 charger in a parking garage in Berkeley, CA, just to see what it was like. Disconnecting was not graceful. We live on the city side of Washington Park. Getting ready for a trip to Oklahoma City.

Try 3 Phase electric. They have done many Tesla's. I would request Nick.

First Electric did mine.

Where's your condo?

 

[gavine]

FYI: your 120V/20A outlet at work should give you between 20 and 25 miles in 4 hours. There's your 500 miles per month, assuming 20 working days or month.

 

[LoL Rick]

I can park up to 4 hours per day at work with a 120 V/ 20 amp site at $0.49/kWh

This is the part the bothers me the most. Charging at 120V is ok, but it's inefficient. Especially when it is cold outside and you lose a significant percentage of power to battery heating. Fine when paying market rate and it's all you have. But I would try to avoid it at that sort of price premium.

 

[TexasEV]

You should be able to qualify for a 30%, up to $1,500, federal credit as long as you do the install in a different year than you buy the car/claim the $7,500 credit. (So you could limp by until January if you are buying the car this year.)

No, that is not correct. One tax credit has nothing to do with the other. There is no timing issue. Most Tesla owners don't qualify for the alternative fueling infrastructure credit, though, because it is subject to AMT. The tax credit for buying an EV is not subject to AMT.

 

[Portland Blue]

Try 3 Phase electric. They have done many Tesla's. I would request Nick.

First Electric did mine.

Where's your condo?

I'm in the Pearl District.

 

[Portland Blue]

FYI: your 120V/20A outlet at work should give you between 20 and 25 miles in 4 hours. There's your 500 miles per month, assuming 20 working days or month.

Thanks for estimating the mileage. That seems to be doable. I "lose" on cost for charging (40 cents/kWr vs 10 cents at home), but I don't have to pay any up front costs for what appears to be an expensive charger. This also assumes that the stalls are open.

How many kWh's for 20 mile charge?

 

[Portland Blue]

I would not buy an EV without the ability to charge at home at night (even at least 120V, 15 Amp). Even for a small mileage driver like you and I, it's still much easier to pick up 40-50 mi every night. Did you ask for a NEMA 14-50 plug? Don't tell them it's for an EV. Anyway, $0.49/KWh is CRAZY talk in the PNW. I pay $0.07/KWh.

The 49 cents is for commercial chargers. Home is around 10 cents like you said.