Question on Home Charging

[Jcefaratti]

First Energy offers a program where they install a Chargepoint wall charger and it costs about $40/mth for 3 years.

My question is, do I need the chargepoint charger to charge my Model 3? Or can I just have the electrician install a 240 line and use my mobile connector to attached the 240 to the Model 3? And I do not need any chargepoint or tesla charger?

 

[Bleu]

You can just install a NELA 14-50 outlet. $40/mo for 3 years is $1,440. I don't know much about Chargepoint but the Tesla wall connector is $500, far less. I went with the wall connector because where I live the power company offers a $500 rebate, so I will end up just paying the sales tax plus installation.

 

[COrocket]

The easiest and cheapest is to have a 240V outlet installed then use the proper adapter for your mobile connector. The car comes with a 50 amp adapter, but you can also get 30,20,15 amp adapters and outlets depending on how much you can pull from your electrical panel. Any of those should be sufficient for overnight daily charging.

That Chargepoint would cost you over $1400 total over 3 years, and have to use a J1772-Tesla adapter constantly. So I’d avoid that option if I were you.

 

[Petrlol]

The included UMC charger is what most people use. If you want the full charge rate available out of the included adapter, have your electrician put in a NEMA 14-50 outlet using a 6awg wire and a 50amp breaker. Ground plug goes on top! Opposite of a normal household outlet.

 

[brkaus]

Does the charge point include electricity for $40?

As others have said, here are the options...
1. 14-50 (or smaller using an adaptor from Tesla if your panel is limited)
2. HPWC (any current, but needs to be on a 50A breaker to be faster than a gen2 UMC)
3. J1772 with the included Tesla adaptor

 

[brkaus]

It looks to me like the chargepoint home they are offering is 32a power delivery, on a 40a circuit. Same capability as the included UMC.

Lots of J1772 EVSE are hiding behind "5x faster charging" compared to a standard 120v wall plug. It is no faster for a Tesla.

It does have wifi scheduling and some other features such as reporting... nice but not necessary.

 

[paulk]

$40/month for three years is only a good deal if the electricity is included or other people are going to use it and ChargePoint would pay you. Since neither of those are realistic, avoid that option.

 

[ewoodrick]

First, the Chargepoint charger isn't the best option, it has a J-1772 plug, which means that you must use the adapter and you don't get the easy push to open feature on the UMC / HPWC.
It can be done, it's not a problem, but much more cool to just press the button on the plug handle as you approach the car.

The UMC plugged into a NEMA 14-50 is generally an awesome solution, not quite as pretty as the HPWC, but since the 14-50 plug is there, it can be used for other things, like charging other EVs if they come to visit or motorhomes. That's what I've done and I got another UMC to stay in the car.
Also, getting the NEMA 14-50 installed by an electrician doesn't tend to invoke the "it's an expensive Tesla owner, so charge more" response that has been known at times. But also watch out if there are rebates for installing home chargers.

I'd also caution, that many programs like First Energy may have clauses that if it is expensive to install, you may have to pay some more.

In order, for me

• NEMA 14-50 and extra UMC
• HPWC
• J-1772 generic
• J-1772 Chargepoint

 

[srs5694]

First Energy offers a program where they install a Chargepoint wall charger and it costs about $40/mth for 3 years.

If you "Chargepoint wall charger" you mean a brand called ChargePoint's Home EVSE, then that has advantages and disadvantages over a Tesla EVSE. On the plus side, it's network-connected and it can be used with any EV, not just a Tesla. On the down side, it requires use of Tesla's J1772 adapter, so you'll either be plugging and unplugging the adapter with every use or you'll need to buy a second adapter to keep constantly with the EVSE (assuming you want to keep one with the car for charging away from home). Some utilities use network-enabled EVSEs' network features to facilitate "smart" charging, and it's conceivable that yours is trying to promote this type of use. If so, they may offer you a special rate, and that may be an important point in your decision, so look into this possibility. OTOH, such deals might limit when you can charge, which might be a problem.

If you're not getting a special rate, then this doesn't look like a great deal. The total price is $1440, which is way more than this EVSE is worth (it sells for about $600, and Tesla's is about $500); however, if that price includes installation, it might not be so bad -- but that depends on your home, how far the EVSE would be from your breaker box, what other electrical upgrades might be required, etc. You might want to call an electrician to get an estimate on installing an EVSE or NEMA 14-50 outlet.

One more point is that the ChargePoint Home (if that's what's being offered) delivers 32A to the car. So does Telsa's Mobile Connector that comes with the car. Tesla's Wall Connector, though, can deliver more, at least to the long-range Model 3s -- up to 48A, IIRC. If I'm not mistaken, mid-range and lower-range Model 3s are limited to 32A. A higher-amp EVSE will charge the car more quickly. IMHO, the difference between 32A and 48A isn't likely to be a big deal for a LR Model 3 unless you drive a lot, but I thought I'd mention it.

My question is, do I need the chargepoint charger to charge my Model 3? Or can I just have the electrician install a 240 line and use my mobile connector to attached the 240 to the Model 3? And I do not need any chargepoint or tesla charger?

Technically, the charger is built into the car. The device that plugs into a wall outlet or is hard-wired to your house, and whose other end plugs into a car, is generically called an Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment, or EVSE. Tesla's Mobile Connector is an EVSE that comes with the car, and Tesla also offers a Wall Connector that's designed to be mounted to a wall. If you want to charge at home, you need some variety of EVSE, but many Tesla owners use the one that comes with the car, typically plugged into a NEMA 14-50 or other 240v outlet, and are happy with that. Buying something else makes it easier to carry the mobile connector with you at all times, and in some environments, you might prefer to have something permanently installed. For instance, I park outside (I have a driveway but no garage), so I wanted something with serious weather-proofing that can be mounted permanently. People with garages may be just as happy to leave their Mobile Connectors sitting on a counter or hung from a hook on a wall inside the garage most of the time.

 

[Jcefaratti]

Thank you all the replies, this helps alot!

First Energy was including install as well, but issue is I have 60ish feet of trenching and that will actually increase the cost above the $1440 over 3 years. Most quotes I have gotten in NE Ohio area are around $1300-2000 for just the 240 line, which based on the posts above that is all I need. I will then hook the mobile connector to that, inside my garage, and be good to go.

 

[Mike Tessy]

I had a 240 welder in garage, but wrong plug. So I got the NEMA 14 50 from Amazon for ~$9:00 and connected in with Tesla provided plug. I get about 29 miles / hr charge.

 

[srs5694]

First Energy was including install as well, but issue is I have 60ish feet of trenching and that will actually increase the cost above the $1440 over 3 years. Most quotes I have gotten in NE Ohio area are around $1300-2000 for just the 240 line, which based on the posts above that is all I need. I will then hook the mobile connector to that, inside my garage, and be good to go.

In that case, if the $40/month x 3 years (=$1440) offer includes all the installation costs, then it sounds like a good deal; that's near the low end of the installation-only quotes you've received, and you get a dedicated EVSE out of it. The worst-case scenario is you'll need an extra $95 J1772 adapter for your Tesla, if you want to keep one with the ChargePoint EVSE and one with your car. I think somebody earlier in the thread commented that this type of offer sometimes includes a clause to the effect that you may have to pay more if the installation is difficult, which it sounds like yours would be. Thus, I recommend you read the contract carefully, and/or have them do an on-site inspection and guarantee they won't jack up the price after you've signed a contract.

 

[SMAlset]

It looks to me like the chargepoint home they are offering is 32a power delivery, on a 40a circuit. Same capability as the included UMC.

Lots of J1772 EVSE are hiding behind "5x faster charging" compared to a standard 120v wall plug. It is no faster for a Tesla.

It does have wifi scheduling and some other features such as reporting... nice but not necessary.

And OP should know that even with a 240v NEMA 14-50 and using your mobile connector, you can schedule charging from inside the car. That's how we charge at home. I don't see any advantage even if installation costs are similar to add some third party EVSE when you don't need it. More to go wrong.

 

[notAnExpert]

...
First Energy was including install as well, but issue is I have 60ish feet of trenching and that will actually increase the cost above the $1440 over 3 years. Most quotes I have gotten in NE Ohio area are around $1300-2000 for just the 240 line, which based on the posts above that is all I need...

I checked their Terms & Conditions. There are a few things I noticed.
1. They install a 40amp line. Would you want a higher amp circuit for future?
2. Permit costs are not included. Your contractor quotes may include that.
3. Do they include trenching? Their terms say they won't do detached garages that don't have power which makes me wonder if they would trench.
4. The ChargePoint charger is a 36 month lease after which you return it or pay $350 to buy. It is probably ok because you can connect a Tesla connector to it when they take away the ChargePoint.

Good luck.

 

[srs5694]

And OP should know that even with a 240v NEMA 14-50 and using your mobile connector, you can schedule charging from inside the car. That's how we charge at home. I don't see any advantage even if installation costs are similar to add some third party EVSE when you don't need it. More to go wrong.

There are advantages to having a separate EVSE from what's included with the car:

• You can keep the car's EVSE with it at all times, without the hassle of storing it and then pulling it out of the car when you get home. Mostly this is an unlikely-to-be-needed emergency benefit, like having a spare tire or fix-a-flat; but if you happen to have an accessible plug, but no EVSE, at work, then it might have some more benefit.
• Having two EVSEs means that if one breaks, you'll still be able to charge. Although in some sense that is "more to go wrong," that's a strange way to look at it; it's redundancy, which is a plus, not a minus.
  
• The ChargePoint unit is network-enabled and offers controls and monitoring features that might be helpful. These features are at least partially redundant with what Tesla provides, or what's available via tools like TeslaFi, but there may be something desirable in the ChargePoint feature set. At a minimum, that's worth further investigation.
• As the ChargePoint unit is a standard J1772 EVSE, it can charge non-Tesla EVs. This might be beneficial if you get a non-Tesla EV or even if a friend or relative with a non-Tesla EV visits. (Most non-Tesla EVs come with Level 1 EVSEs that are capable of charging only from 120v outlets, so plugging into a NEMA 14-50 isn't likely to be an option for visitors with non-Tesla EVs.)

I checked their Terms & Conditions. There are a few things I noticed.
1. They install a 40amp line. Would you want a higher amp circuit for future?
2. Permit costs are not included. Your contractor quotes may include that.
3. Do they include trenching? Their terms say they won't do detached garages that don't have power which makes me wonder if they would trench.
4. The ChargePoint charger is a 36 month lease after which you return it or pay $350 to buy. It is probably ok because you can connect a Tesla connector to it when they take away the ChargePoint.

I haven't reviewed those terms and conditions myself, but if this summary is accurate, these are more serious drawbacks, or at least potential drawbacks. The fact that it's a lease, rather than a purchase, of the EVSE is the most certain downside, but the other issues require clarification, at a minimum. Point #3 could be disqualifying.

 

[Rocky_H]

I had a 240 welder in garage, but wrong plug. So I got the NEMA 14 50 from Amazon for ~$9:00 and connected in with Tesla provided plug.

Uh...really? We would like to hear more about what kind of outlet it used to be before you just swapped a 14-50 onto it. If it didn't have a 14-50 before, that was probably for a good reason because of how it was wired. Maybe it didn't have a neutral wire, or maybe it was a lower amp circuit run with smaller wires, like a 20A or 30A circuit. 240V outlet types are not all the same, where you can just interchange whatever you want to get one that can physically get the plug to fit in.