Got a quote for installing a pedestal with two 50A outlets between my two parking spots for my condo, including a new electrical meter installation with 100A service. Including trenching to the parking spots from the transformer (~75 feet) and re-paving over the trench, parts and labor ~$11.5K. Seems much higher than I expected, and feels almost not worth it, but it means that I don't stay plugged in daily about 1/4 of the year when I'm there, and I constantly have to charge on public L2 chargers, or Supercharging about 5 miles away. I know everyone wants to blame price increases on inflation, political views - please none of that here, thank you. Just looking for an insightful, experienced opinion. Condo is in Maryland. Condo association not interested in installing a public charger and doesn't want billing to flow through them. Lot is not open to the public (need fob/code to enter), so I'm not overly concerned about others using the charger, as I'm the only EV ever in the lot. I don't want to install two Tesla wall chargers at my parking spots because 3/4 of the year, I'm not at the location, and I don't want it vandalized or tampered with.
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Reasonable price for 2 50A outlets to my condo parking spot
- Thread starter BreatheEasier
- Start date
ChrisMPK
Member
Pictures? Most companies will have a per foot charge for trenching and covering. If this is through concrete I can see it being that much. If it is in softscape it should be cheaper. More details required to tell if it is a rip off or not. Is it worth it or not is another question.
The Tesla Gen3 Wall Connector now has the capability to only allow specific Tesla vehicles to charge (only allow specific VINs to charge.)
Depending on how many miles you drive per day it is not necessary to charge every day. Some charge their Tesla vehicle several times per week, others as little as once per week. Once you establish a routine it becomes easy to charge every other day or whatever fits your need and schedule.
Two to four Tesla Gen3 Wall Connectors can share a single circuit with automatic load balancing. Two Wall Connectors could share a single 60A circuit instead of installing 100A service. When one Wall Connector is charging the charging rate would be up to 48A; with two Wall Connectors the charging rate would be up to 24A per Wall Connector (you could alternately set the maximum for each Wall Connector as desired as long as combined this did not exceed 48A (for a 60A circuit.) The load balancing capability of the Gen3 Wall Connector requires access to a home WiFi network. (The older Gen2 Wall Connector will support load balancing without WiFi using a low voltage signal cable between the Wall Connector units.)
Depending on how many miles you drive per day it is not necessary to charge every day. Some charge their Tesla vehicle several times per week, others as little as once per week. Once you establish a routine it becomes easy to charge every other day or whatever fits your need and schedule.
Two to four Tesla Gen3 Wall Connectors can share a single circuit with automatic load balancing. Two Wall Connectors could share a single 60A circuit instead of installing 100A service. When one Wall Connector is charging the charging rate would be up to 48A; with two Wall Connectors the charging rate would be up to 24A per Wall Connector (you could alternately set the maximum for each Wall Connector as desired as long as combined this did not exceed 48A (for a 60A circuit.) The load balancing capability of the Gen3 Wall Connector requires access to a home WiFi network. (The older Gen2 Wall Connector will support load balancing without WiFi using a low voltage signal cable between the Wall Connector units.)
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Most of the cost is due to length of the 6awg wire required for 50a service and the associated costs of install (trenching, concrete cutting, conduit, etc). Ie running a 3 ft line from the service panel to an outlet directly next to to it in the garage would run around $500 while running a 20 ft line underground and through a brick wall can easily cost over $5k.
I'm your case, a 75 ft run through parking lot concrete doesn't sound outrageous. They will need to sub contract out concrete company (along with associated insurance) and possibly pull permits from the city.
I'm your case, a 75 ft run through parking lot concrete doesn't sound outrageous. They will need to sub contract out concrete company (along with associated insurance) and possibly pull permits from the city.
These three things made up my mind immediately. For a less than half of the year living situation, I sure as hell would just Supercharge as needed when it's that close instead of putting thousands of dollars into an installation.
I'd get a couple more quotes, or do it myself if the HOA will allow it. Another benefit that might pay off is if you decide at some point to sell the condo or B&B it. Having a charger is a big benefit. Shoot, if I was doing this I'd pull a few lines and put in a few chargers nearby. Maybe the HOA would even pay for it?
Thanks for the feedback. When discussing with the contractor, 90% of the cost is the cutting the lot, trenching, back fill and re-pave. The second highest cost is the cable runs and conduit, and overall costs are also up at least 30% since 2019 due to supply chain and the area has been hit hard with labor shortages. I can't do it myself, so that isn't an option. At this price, I can't justify the convenience over using the nearby Superchargers. May revisit in a year to see if prices have gone back down.
I'd sure wait until you have a couple of users to share the cost of the trenching and re-paving with. If you have four people needing plugs the cost would be a lot more palatable splitting that cost four ways. Running 2-400 A service to the parking lot wouldn't be significantly more expensive than 100. You'd have to figure out a way to split the ongoing costs.
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