Suggestions on setting up charging for my Tesla Model Y 2023 - LR AWD

[william_Chau]

Good Morning all ,



I have order TMYLR and pending my deliver. I live in SOCAL as a tenant. I have been looking for a charging solution at home. I have attached some picture of my unit panel; I did consulted with some local electrician to evaluate the panel/ braker ( which is 50 AMPS ) most of them suggesting to upgrade the whole panel.

It’s impossible for to invest $6k( that was the quote ) in a renal house and for obvious reason my landlord has no reason to update the panel for me nor willing to split the cost.

This is totally new for me and needs of your advice/suggestion apart from regular outlet charging , do I have an option for NEMA 6-15or 6-20.

Note : I have attached picture of the outlet is in my kitchen which looks like 6-20( i may be wrong ) this is being used for my microwave, I have gas washer and dryer no AC in my unit. Front unit panel is mine.

 

[Cosmacelf]

Is there another panel somewhere else in your front unit? That 50A Breaker must feed another panel. And where do you park your car?

 

[Rocky_H]

Is there another panel somewhere else in your front unit? That 50A Breaker must feed another panel.

Not necessarily. I've seen a few apartments that have a 60A main service for the entire unit. 50A might be real for a small apartment.

 

[1965Falcon]

It looks like 50 amps is for the whole unit is my guess. With AC it's going to be difficult to have much extra. You'd need to do a load calc to do it right. What you have in your kitchen is 5-20, which is a 120v 20 amp plug. If somehow you could plug into that it will give you about 7 mph charge rate. I think your best chance would be to somehow be able to squeeze a 6-20 circuit in there somewhere and get it wired where you park, but I can't tell from the pictures if you have any extra slots or not and you'd still need to have a load calculation done. This is a good example of the crux of electric vehicles for a lot of people... I would ask your electrician specifically about adding a 6-20 (which mind you isn't fantastic but it gets the job done).

 

[Cosmacelf]

People are misinterpreting what I wrote. Yes, I agree, there is a 50A double pole breaker for the whole unit, but there must be a sub panel for individual circuits somewhere…

Actually, I now see a small panel in the original post with four breakers. That might be it.

Well, you could indeed use the microwave 5-20 plug with Tesla‘s 5-20 adapter to charge at 16A/120V. Depending on how far you drive, that’ll work. But you can’t run the microwave at the same time as the charger. Since the car would be charging all the time, you’d have to unplug the charger to use the microwave…

Or, just replace that small 4 breaker internal panel with a bigger panel where you could install a 240V, 20A breaker and wire a 6-20 receptacle.

 

[william_Chau]

Is there another panel somewhere else in your front unit? That 50A Breaker must feed another panel. And where do you park your car?

I used to park my car on steet, my garage has two regular outer for drayer and washers

 

[william_Chau]

Not necessarily. I've seen a few apartments that have a 60A main service for the entire unit. 50A might be real for a small apartment.

It’s only 980 square feet.

 

[william_Chau]

People are misinterpreting what I wrote. Yes, I agree, there is a 50A double pole breaker for the whole unit, but there must be a sub panel for individual circuits somewhere…

Actually, I now see a small panel in the original post with four breakers. That might be it.

Well, you could indeed use the microwave 5-20 plug with Tesla‘s 5-20 adapter to charge at 16A/120V. Depending on how far you drive, that’ll work. But you can’t run the microwave at the same time as the charger. Since the car would be charging all the time, you’d have to unplug the charger to use the microwave…

Or, just replace that small 4 breaker internal panel with a bigger panel where you could install a 240V, 20A breaker and wire a 6-20 receptacle.

Thank you, I do not have a AC in my unit, my subpanel is inside the house ( in a Hall area) i guess it's feed - my Two tv, my refrigerator ( shows APMS 6.0 ) and my Dish washer ( total currrent 6.2 AMPS ) and my Microwave ( shows : Single phase 1800W single phase and output 1000W) and two computer ( Desktop ) and my oven is gas. Since the sub-panel is in the hall way will be difficult to bring the power my garage. but I will check electrician

 

[jjrandorin]

Not necessarily. I've seen a few apartments that have a 60A main service for the entire unit. 50A might be real for a small apartment.

My sisters townhome she sold about 2 years ago had 60amp for the entire unit, and it was a 3 bedroom 2 bath unit with an attached 2 car garage.

 

[william_Chau]

People are misinterpreting what I wrote. Yes, I agree, there is a 50A double pole breaker for the whole unit, but there must be a sub panel for individual circuits somewhere…

Actually, I now see a small panel in the original post with four breakers. That might be it.

Well, you could indeed use the microwave 5-20 plug with Tesla‘s 5-20 adapter to charge at 16A/120V. Depending on how far you drive, that’ll work. But you can’t run the microwave at the same time as the charger. Since the car would be charging all the time, you’d have to unplug the charger to use the microwave…

Or, just replace that small 4 breaker internal panel with a bigger panel where you could install a 240V, 20A breaker and wire a 6-20 receptacle.

Thank you, I do not have a AC in my unit, my subpanel is inside the house ( in a Hall area) i guess it's feed - my Two tv, my refrigerator ( shows APMS 6.0 ) and my Dish washer ( total currrent 6.2 AMPS ) and my Microwave ( shows : Single phase 1800W single phase and output 1000W) and two computer ( Desktop ) and my oven is gas one

 

[Cosmacelf]

Thank you, I do not have a AC in my unit, my subpanel is inside the house ( in a Hall area) i guess it's feed - my Two tv, my refrigerator ( shows APMS 6.0 ) and my Dish washer ( total currrent 6.2 AMPS ) and my Microwave ( shows : Single phase 1800W single phase and output 1000W) and two computer ( Desktop ) and my oven is gas one

If you can park your car in the garage, you should just be able to charge from the presumably 15A regular garage plug. How much do you drive every day? Like how long is your commute to work.

 

[william_Chau]

If you can park your car in the garage, you should just be able to charge from the presumably 15A regular garage plug. How much do you drive every day? Like how long is your commute to work.

I truly appreciate you quick response,my commute is about 24 mile a day( 12 mile each side)

 

[zman19]

I truly appreciate you quick response,my commute is about 24 mile a day( 12 mile each side)

You can probably manage that on a standard 15a 120v wall outlet. Might have to hit a supercharger every couple weeks or so depending on how much additional driving you do, how much time you charge each night, and if you can get level 2 charging at any of your destinations.

 

[Cosmacelf]

I truly appreciate you quick response,my commute is about 24 mile a day( 12 mile each side)

Yeah, you should be good with 120V charging in your garage. Just use the Tesla 5-15 adapter with a Mobile Connector. At least try it and see if the breaker flips due to being overloaded.

 

[william_Chau]

I thank you and appreciate everyone input. I am wondering just like my landlord had 60 and 40 AMPS = 100 AMPS in panel. It’s possible I can upgrade mine from 50 AMPS to 100 AMPS,for this do I need an approval form CITY or Edison.

 

[william_Chau]

Yeah, you should be good with 120V charging in your garage. Just use the Tesla 5-15 adapter with a Mobile Connector. At least try it and see if the breaker flips due to being overloaded.

I am wondering just like my landlord had 60 and 40 AMPS = 100 AMPS in panel. It’s possible I can upgrade mine from 50 AMPS to 100 AMPS, and my main panel shows on top 70A max , so it's possible to go upto 70 AMPS for this do I need an approval form CITY or Edison

 

[jcanoe]

The 5-15 receptacle in the garage should be replaced with a new commercial quality 5-15 receptacle if you plan to use this to charge your Tesla vehicle. Receptacles that are old and worn will not make a good connection with the power plug. This can cause the receptacle to overheat.

If you charge for at least 10 hours or more each evening the 5-15 receptacle should meet your daily charging needs, i.e. driving up to ~30 miles per day.

Download the Plugshare app to locate nearby public charging stations. A few hours a week using a public Level 2 charging station would help ensure your Tesla Model Y was adequately charged. (Most public L2 charging stations are 200V and 30 amps, 6kW; this can add ~22 miles per hour to the range of the vehicle.)

Since this is a rental I would not recommend spending any significant money to upgrade the electrical. (Replacing the 5-15 receptacle is something you can do yourself or have a friend help you. Be sure to first turn off the breaker.)

 

[william_Chau]

The 5-15 receptacle in the garage should be replaced with a new commercial quality 5-15 receptacle if you plan to use this to charge your Tesla vehicle. Receptacles that are old and worn will not make a good connection with the power plug. This can cause the receptacle to overheat.

If you charge for at least 10 hours or more each evening the 5-15 receptacle should meet your daily charging needs, i.e. driving up to ~30 miles per day.

Download the Plugshare app to locate nearby public charging stations. A few hours a week using a public Level 2 charging station would help ensure your Tesla Model Y was adequately charged. (Most public L2 charging stations are 200V and 30 amps, 6kW; this can add ~22 miles per hour to the range of the vehicle.)

Since this is a rental I would not recommend spending any significant money to upgrade the electrical. (Replacing the 5-15 receptacle is something you can do yourself or have a friend help you. Be sure to first turn off the breaker.)

Thank you, that’s my best option . Will one these
work :

Leviton 15 Amp 125-Volt NEMA 5-15R 2-Pole Commercial Grade Tamper-Resistant Duplex Outlet, White TCR15-W - The Home Depot

Leviton 15 Amp and 20 Amp side wired commercial spec grade tamper-resistant receptacles are designed with your safety in mind - they meet or exceed all existing codes and standards. NEC (National Electrical

www.homedepot.com

 

[zman19]

I am wondering just like my landlord had 60 and 40 AMPS = 100 AMPS in panel. It’s possible I can upgrade mine from 50 AMPS to 100 AMPS, and my main panel shows on top 70A max , so it's possible to go upto 70 AMPS for this do I need an approval form CITY or Edison

Based on the pictures you provided, I don’t think you have many cost effective options for a high amperage plug. It’s hard to tell anything really except it’s old and has been retrofit with many subpanels along the way. And honestly due for replacing if you want to utilize it for more than it’s utilitarian design. It already looks like a fire hazard and I don’t really see how you can swap things around or make room when the panel only has slots for 4 breakers.

I really feel like there’s a service entrance panel or something we’re no seeing that you might be able to use? Where is the meter?

Are either or those panels near where you park? You could try to intercept the feed into the old 4 breaker panel on the wall, install a sub panel, and then feed the old panel and your charger.

I assume you’re in the front unit since you don’t have A/C? If so, that looks like a sub panel of the main disconnect, but could be passed through from somewhere else.

 

[zman19]

Thank you, that’s my best option . Will one these
work :

Leviton 15 Amp 125-Volt NEMA 5-15R 2-Pole Commercial Grade Tamper-Resistant Duplex Outlet, White TCR15-W - The Home Depot

Leviton 15 Amp and 20 Amp side wired commercial spec grade tamper-resistant receptacles are designed with your safety in mind - they meet or exceed all existing codes and standards. NEC (National Electrical

www.homedepot.com

That’s okay. An industrial grade one would be better. Single outlet if you can spare the space.