I started a reply in another thread regarding home charging, but I put so much detail into my post I decided it maybe deserved its own thread.
Basically I wanted to let people know what it "feels" like to have a car that can charge at different charging speeds since I've lived through almost every level for months at a time. I'm hoping this might help those of you planning your charging situation for when your Model 3 finally arrives.
I've been charging a BMW i3 for over year now on various charging methods starting with a standard outlet 12 amp 120v, 16 amp 120v, then eventually worked my way up to various L2 methods and finally to a Model X on a high powered wall connector.... I spent several months at each stage working my way up. So I can give input on what "range anxiety" feels like at different levels of charge.
My commute is only ~20 miles a day, but I tend to have a lot of auxillary trips, errands and visits which put my basic daily usage at ~40-80 mi per day as an average range.
Here are my thoughts on charging speed at the different levels. (I've converted everything to kw charge level as it is easier to visualize the improvements
1.44 kw (This is charging on any old standard 120v receptacle @ 12 amps)
~2-3 mph charging
Costs: $0
Who this might work for: People with less than an 60 mile round trip commute who do not use their car for anything other than commuting.
Who this won't work for: -nyone who commonly takes unplanned trips more than 15 miles away, spends large portions of the evenings away from home where they can't charge, or don't want to be bothered to charge every single day for long periods of time.
How I felt using this method: I was capable of making this level of charging work... but I found myself stressing a lot about getting the thing charged, especially on the weekends funny enough, when I traveled further distances to meet up with family and friends, see movies, etc then came home late. I would have the car plugged in and charging on the weekends, and then find myself not wanting to take that trip to the hardware store because not only would it use my miles, but I would be loosing the opportunity time of charging the hour I was out. Sometimes if my battery was really low, I worried about what would happen if my kids had an accident before the charge got high enough to have range to get to the hospital. Sure it was rare that I stressed or didn't have the charge I needed, but it
1.92 kw charging (This is charging on a 20 amp 120v outlet. I was using a special EVSE with the BMW i3 but for a tesla you would just need the 5-20 adapter)
3-5 mph charging
Costs: If you look inside your outlet box, if you are using 12 gauge wiring, and you are on a 20 amp breaker, you just need to change out your outlet to a 5-20r receptacle ($2-3) If you have 14 gauge wire, you are sol as it isn't worth it to install 12 gauge wiring over installing level 2 cabling.
Who this might work for: - People with less than a 80 mile round trip commute who don't use their car for anything other than commuting.
Who this won't work for: Anyone who commonly takes unplanned trips... pretty much the same as 1.44kw charging, just 33% better.
How I felt using this method: It was a minor lessening of range anxiety, I could come home later in the day and still get a full charge before the next day's commute, although a lot of the range anxiety I mention for 120v charging above still remained, but it was a bit more workable.
3.84 kw charging (I broke down and installed a 240v line to the garage, but I still only had a 240v 16 amp evse. This is the tesla equivalent of charging of a 20 amp 240v receptacle)
9-11 mph charging
Who this might work for: Commutes under 150 miles round trip, some additional usage, if willing to plug their car in EVERY time they step out of it.
Who this won't work for: Someone who uses their car heavily, or take long trips and then leave within a few hours to take another trip
How I felt using this method: I felt so much less restricted.... Many days, after making my commute, my car was charged a substantial amount to make any errands I might usually make by the time I had eaten dinner and changed my clothes. Range anxiety was aleiviated substantially by making the bump to L2 charging (even if at the slowest possible L2)
7.68 kw charging (I purchased a 32 amp EVSE, which could charge my bmw i3 at full speed l2 charging)
20-22 mph charging
Who this would work for: This rate is capable of charging around 300 overnight... so pretty much anyone.
Who this won't work for: The only person this rate wouldn't work for is a heavy taxi or uber driver, or perhaps someone who is only home 6 hours a day before leaving again who also has a large commute?
How I felt using this method: This is now at the level of not even realizing you have an electric car... almost 0 range anxiety, even forgetting to plug in won't leave you stranded at your house for hours if you happened to be low.
11.52 kw charging (Now with a tesla wall connector and model x 100d @ 48 amps 240v)
30-31 mph charging
Who this would work for: capable of charging 400-500 miles a night (more than the battery takes); Anyone except maybe the highest mileage taxi or uber driver.
How I feel using this method: The model X has so much capacity compared to the i3 anyways, combined with super fast charging; It literally feels like a gas car in terms of Range anxiety... With my length commute and usage I could forget to plug it in for days and still be fine. Forgetting to plug in once isn't even an inconvenience. When I do need to charge quickly... I have more range in 1-2 hours than I could really drive through with the places I go.
As a bonus here is a nice little table:
P.S. If you end up installing a tesla wall connector... and are confused about breaker and wire gauge, I'll make it easy for you... use THHN wire, don't use romex, unless it is pre-existing, (but you'll most likely be limited to 40 amp charging if you repurpose some 6 gauge romex.)
If you are certain that 60 amp breaker 48 amp charging is sufficient for you; and that is as fast as your car is anyways; use 6 gauge wire in 3/4" conduit and be done. However, If you think more electric cars or faster charging speeds might be for you in the future, use 3 gauge thhn wire and 1" conduit, even on the 60 amp breaker 48 amp charging to future-proof yourself. (with my model 3 almost here, I'm kicking myself for not just putting in the $$ to have done it right with 3 gauge wire and be able to charge both cars at once at almost full speed.)
For load balancing two cars, or 72 amp charging, just do it right the first time and just use 3 gauge thhn wire in 1" conduit on a 100 amp breaker and be done.
Basically I wanted to let people know what it "feels" like to have a car that can charge at different charging speeds since I've lived through almost every level for months at a time. I'm hoping this might help those of you planning your charging situation for when your Model 3 finally arrives.
I've been charging a BMW i3 for over year now on various charging methods starting with a standard outlet 12 amp 120v, 16 amp 120v, then eventually worked my way up to various L2 methods and finally to a Model X on a high powered wall connector.... I spent several months at each stage working my way up. So I can give input on what "range anxiety" feels like at different levels of charge.
My commute is only ~20 miles a day, but I tend to have a lot of auxillary trips, errands and visits which put my basic daily usage at ~40-80 mi per day as an average range.
Here are my thoughts on charging speed at the different levels. (I've converted everything to kw charge level as it is easier to visualize the improvements
1.44 kw (This is charging on any old standard 120v receptacle @ 12 amps)
~2-3 mph charging
Costs: $0
Who this might work for: People with less than an 60 mile round trip commute who do not use their car for anything other than commuting.
Who this won't work for: -nyone who commonly takes unplanned trips more than 15 miles away, spends large portions of the evenings away from home where they can't charge, or don't want to be bothered to charge every single day for long periods of time.
How I felt using this method: I was capable of making this level of charging work... but I found myself stressing a lot about getting the thing charged, especially on the weekends funny enough, when I traveled further distances to meet up with family and friends, see movies, etc then came home late. I would have the car plugged in and charging on the weekends, and then find myself not wanting to take that trip to the hardware store because not only would it use my miles, but I would be loosing the opportunity time of charging the hour I was out. Sometimes if my battery was really low, I worried about what would happen if my kids had an accident before the charge got high enough to have range to get to the hospital. Sure it was rare that I stressed or didn't have the charge I needed, but it
1.92 kw charging (This is charging on a 20 amp 120v outlet. I was using a special EVSE with the BMW i3 but for a tesla you would just need the 5-20 adapter)
3-5 mph charging
Costs: If you look inside your outlet box, if you are using 12 gauge wiring, and you are on a 20 amp breaker, you just need to change out your outlet to a 5-20r receptacle ($2-3) If you have 14 gauge wire, you are sol as it isn't worth it to install 12 gauge wiring over installing level 2 cabling.
Who this might work for: - People with less than a 80 mile round trip commute who don't use their car for anything other than commuting.
Who this won't work for: Anyone who commonly takes unplanned trips... pretty much the same as 1.44kw charging, just 33% better.
How I felt using this method: It was a minor lessening of range anxiety, I could come home later in the day and still get a full charge before the next day's commute, although a lot of the range anxiety I mention for 120v charging above still remained, but it was a bit more workable.
3.84 kw charging (I broke down and installed a 240v line to the garage, but I still only had a 240v 16 amp evse. This is the tesla equivalent of charging of a 20 amp 240v receptacle)
9-11 mph charging
Who this might work for: Commutes under 150 miles round trip, some additional usage, if willing to plug their car in EVERY time they step out of it.
Who this won't work for: Someone who uses their car heavily, or take long trips and then leave within a few hours to take another trip
How I felt using this method: I felt so much less restricted.... Many days, after making my commute, my car was charged a substantial amount to make any errands I might usually make by the time I had eaten dinner and changed my clothes. Range anxiety was aleiviated substantially by making the bump to L2 charging (even if at the slowest possible L2)
7.68 kw charging (I purchased a 32 amp EVSE, which could charge my bmw i3 at full speed l2 charging)
20-22 mph charging
Who this would work for: This rate is capable of charging around 300 overnight... so pretty much anyone.
Who this won't work for: The only person this rate wouldn't work for is a heavy taxi or uber driver, or perhaps someone who is only home 6 hours a day before leaving again who also has a large commute?
How I felt using this method: This is now at the level of not even realizing you have an electric car... almost 0 range anxiety, even forgetting to plug in won't leave you stranded at your house for hours if you happened to be low.
11.52 kw charging (Now with a tesla wall connector and model x 100d @ 48 amps 240v)
30-31 mph charging
Who this would work for: capable of charging 400-500 miles a night (more than the battery takes); Anyone except maybe the highest mileage taxi or uber driver.
How I feel using this method: The model X has so much capacity compared to the i3 anyways, combined with super fast charging; It literally feels like a gas car in terms of Range anxiety... With my length commute and usage I could forget to plug it in for days and still be fine. Forgetting to plug in once isn't even an inconvenience. When I do need to charge quickly... I have more range in 1-2 hours than I could really drive through with the places I go.
As a bonus here is a nice little table:
P.S. If you end up installing a tesla wall connector... and are confused about breaker and wire gauge, I'll make it easy for you... use THHN wire, don't use romex, unless it is pre-existing, (but you'll most likely be limited to 40 amp charging if you repurpose some 6 gauge romex.)
If you are certain that 60 amp breaker 48 amp charging is sufficient for you; and that is as fast as your car is anyways; use 6 gauge wire in 3/4" conduit and be done. However, If you think more electric cars or faster charging speeds might be for you in the future, use 3 gauge thhn wire and 1" conduit, even on the 60 amp breaker 48 amp charging to future-proof yourself. (with my model 3 almost here, I'm kicking myself for not just putting in the $$ to have done it right with 3 gauge wire and be able to charge both cars at once at almost full speed.)
For load balancing two cars, or 72 amp charging, just do it right the first time and just use 3 gauge thhn wire in 1" conduit on a 100 amp breaker and be done.
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