Should I install a 240 outlet in my garage?

[tnt1971]

I will have my 85D in a little over a week. I had a NEMA 14-50 installed at work and my daily round trip commute is about 30 miles. The car will be typically plugged in 10 hours a day at work, M through F, and garaged at my home at night and on the weekends. I typically do less than 150 miles on a weekend and I live less than 10 miles from a supercharger if I need a quick boost in a pinch. I can also plug in to a 110 outlet in my garage at night if needed, but would prefer not to.

My my question is, should I bother with the expense of the installation of a 240 home outlet? I am in the NYC suburbs of Long Island.

 

[Jason S]

For the first 6-8 months I just charged using a 110v in my garage, with a similar commute and zero charging at work.

Even if work charger is only 110v, you won't even run a negative balance except in the cold months.

But you should count on using the home charging with the 150 miles on the weekend.

 

[GSP]

I would invest in a 240 V home charging solution, especially if you plan to keep the house for some time, or the 14-50 install would be inexpensive (i.e. breaker panel in or near the garage).

I recommend buying the HPWC. It can be set up for 40 A (50 A breaker), or whatever your panel can handle (up to 80 A). It is only slightly more expensive than buying a second UMC, and you will not have to plug and unplug your UMC as much. Not only would that be a PITA, 14-50 outlets are not rated for lots of plug/unplug cycles.

You never know when you are going to do unexpected driving over the weekend, and a full charge every morning is much more convenient than stoping at a nearby supercharger.

GSP

 

[kort677]

despite the fact that you have the ability to charge at work I agree with the prior comments and would still, as long as it is an easy install, install the 14-50 at home. FWIW, the hpwc isn't necessary, I have had teslas for two years+ and relied on a 14-50 for most of my charging

 

[tstafford]

I'd wait and see how you feel. There's no urgency about this since you have the 14-50 at work. Maybe you want it, maybe you don't. But you'll know in a month or two.

 

[AndreSF]

IMO you will be fine with work outlet and regular 110V at home "just in case". I agree with others that said "wait and see".

 

[Cottonwood]

A 14-50 outlet is a pretty simple install in most garages, and will give you about 28 rated mph charge rate. That gives you a lot of flexibility and convenience, and in my opinion, is well worth it.

If that is a problem, and/or you don't have enough capacity left on your panel, a 240V, 6-20 outlet is an even simpler and less expensive install. With a 6-20P to 5-20R adapter and a 5-20 UMC adapter, that will give you about 12 rated mph charging, which is a lot better than the 3 rated mph you will get with 120 Volts and a 5-15.

 

[mike-415]

I would. If you ever want to take an impromptu trip on a weekend or day off, it would be nice to be able to top up overnight starting the prior evening without having to go wait at a supercharger. The cost to install a NEMA 14-50 plug is trivial ($200 to $300) if you have the available capacity in your box and the box isn't too far from the garage. If the box is near capacity, I'd still install a 30-amp circuit and a 240-v dryer plug, which is plenty for a charge overnight. However, if your circuit breakers are far away from the garage, the install could be quite costly; I'd play it by ear before committing more than $1k to do it given that you're optimally situated to not have to charge at home.

 

[Max*]

I'd wait and see. I thought I could live on 110V charging at home (my daily commute was 20 miles) and I had a charger at work. But after a few months, I decided I actually need a 14-50 at home, it just makes life easier.

Could I have lived without it? Probably.
Am I glad I got a 14-50? Definitely.

 

[AB4EJ]

My experience has been with a Leaf. Having in-garage charging is a big advantage (I put J1772 station there). I am now investing in having a 14-50 outlet put in garage of house I just moved into to be ready for Tesla purchase later this spring (even though this has been expensive since it requires a home run back to main panel on the other side of the house). Doggone it, I even paid big $$ to put a 14-50 into the house I just moved out of and never used it(because I put it in, anticipating the Tesla, and then the opportunity popped up for this other dream house).

The advantage is that if you want to have the convenient use of the car as much a possible,you'd like to be able to charge it in a reasonable time frame. 110v won't do that for a Tesla.

 

[AudubonB]

I have no idea where you work or for whom, but for most Americans, the probability of needing a charge at home greater than is possible with a 120V line far exceeds the probability of staying with the same employer. And as Cottonwood says, it's so easy, under most circumstances, to install a 14-50, that it scarcely merits a debate.

One more item, however: even assuming you stay "forever" at your present job, is there a possibility that charging sites there might some day be sought by some of your co-workers?

 

[FlasherZ]

(or he owns his own business and charging there is automatically a tax deduction instead of having to put a special meter and do the calculations at home...)

I'm going to give you an answer halfway between the "wait and see" and "home charging is good" crowds. If your electrical panel is in / near the garage wall (as many are), then I'd install a 14-50 receptacle. If it's not, I would use 120V in a "wait and see" mode.

If you find that you're tired of unplugging and carrying your UMC back and forth, rather than buying an extra UMC to keep at home I'd invest the extra dollars ($100 + installation) in installing a wall connector.

 

[Rocky_H]

I have no idea where you work or for whom, but for most Americans, the probability of needing a charge at home greater than is possible with a 120V line far exceeds the probability of staying with the same employer.

But that just gets down to a horse race. Which will be longer? Staying at that employer, or staying in that house? If he has free charging at his work, which is very close, installs the outlet at his house and never ever uses it before he moves, then it would have been completely a waste of money.

This situation has so many backup plans that I don’t see it as being any problem to wait and see how it goes. What I will say is that I think the OP might get tired of the cumbersomeness of getting out his mobile charge cord every day at work. It might be nicer to get something installed, just to have the convenience of grabbing something from the wall and plugging in in a few seconds. I leave my mobile cord plugged in a 14-50 at home and hanging on the wall and don’t take it with me, so I get the convenience that way.

 

[tnt1971]

It is my company and my private parking spot. Not an issue.

 

[Chris TX]

Charging at 110 is terribly inefficient, so keep that in mind as well.

 

[ReddyLeaf]

It is my company and my private parking spot. Not an issue.

Then I wouldn't bother. Just charge to 100% before leaving Friday night from work. Assuming about 250 mi range minus 50 mi used to drive home, you arrive with 200 mi. Overnight (8pm-8am) on 120V should add about 50 mi every night. Thus, you are back to full 250 mi Sat AM. Even if you drive all 150 mi estimated for the weekend just on Sat (2-3 hr driving), you still have 100 mi Sat PM. Overnight you pick up 50 mi and have 150 mi Sun AM. Even in a WORST case of driving another 150 mi Sun (double your weekend estimate), you arrive home at zero, but pick up another 50 Sun night, with enough range to return to work Mon morning. This doesn't even account for emergency Super Charger use. In your base case 150 mi weekend, you gain enough throughout the day/night that you are back to full by Mon morning.

Full disclosure, I charge at 120V at home since my panel is in the basement, 100 ft from the garage and through two 12" concrete walls. I have a Leaf for my daily driver. The 70D is for weekends and out of town trips, which means it might go weeks between uses.

 

[LoL Rick]

...I live less than 10 miles from a supercharger if I need a quick boost in a pinch.
<snip>
I am in the NYC suburbs of Long Island.

I didn't see a comment on this bit. If you're counting on Syosset, don't expect a quick boost. That location is clogged with locals. You'll likely have to wait to get a spot and then suffer with reduced charging speed because of charger sharing.

 

[jerry33]

I don't charge at work because:

1. 61 cents / kWh vs 9 cents at home.

2. It's a pain because, assuming you're polite, you have to move your car when charging is complete. Hard to do in a dynamic environment and because everyone else has already parked, you don't get a good space.

3. There are two, count 'em, two chargers for a few hundred employees.

4. There's no need to because the Model S has plenty of range compared to my round trip commute.

I realize others may have a different situation where work charging makes sense. I have a 14-50 and a Clipper Creek 32 amp (which mainly changes the Leaf, but could be a backup for the Model S if necessary).

 

[StaceyS]

As others have done, I survived on 110v charging for months, until the cold weather set in. Since its March now, you might just wait and see.

I'd say the biggest benefit to putting the 14-50 in your garage is that you can keep the battery in that 50-75% charge level more consistently, and then charge it fully right before you leave to drive off somewhere. This is best for the longevity of the pack. If you charge the car fully when you leave on Friday, the car's going to sit with a fairly full pack until you drive it. You're going to see higher degradation rates over time than others by doing this.

I'd agree that you really don't need the 14-50 at both the office and your house, but given the random nature of the weekend trips, it seems like it would be more convenient to have the 14-50 at home, rather than at the office. Is there something about your garage that makes it difficult to plug in there? You mentioned it wouldn't be preferable to plug in to 110v there either.

 

[GasKilla]

If you stick with 120v charging at home at least upgrade that outlet to a nema 5-20, it makes a noticeable difference in 120v charging speed. And for now Tesla still sells the nema 5-20 adapter.