I’m looking to purchase the model y long range. My question is I own a condo and do not have a power outlet in my parkade so I would only be able to supercharge the Tesla. What kind of damage will this do to the battery over time? I’m wanting to own the vehicle for the foreseeable future and am worried I’ll lose a lot of battery capacity over time. Also I live in a Canadian climate how is supercharging over the winter months?
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Super Charger only
- Thread starter KeydonB
- Start date
Sandiegodoug
Active Member
I have a 6 year old model x which i usually supercharge because it’s free. I do it to 90%. Original was 264 miles and after 6 years 61000, 90% is 242. I think battery holds up well at supercharger. I think you will loose range in the winter, I read 25%, but I don’t think it damages the battery.
Thats great but we do not have that kind of feedback for Model 3 or Y, which has a different battery chemistry than your 6 year old model X or any model S / X that is not the latest refresh.
Model 3 / Y doesnt have this kind of feedback for supercharging vs not, however we do know that "normal" for a model 3 / Y is somewhere between 5-10 percent degradation the first year, then slowing down after that.
@AAKEE has a lot more information on model 3 / Y battery degradation (a lot lot more).
Model 3 / Y doesnt have this kind of feedback for supercharging vs not, however we do know that "normal" for a model 3 / Y is somewhere between 5-10 percent degradation the first year, then slowing down after that.
@AAKEE has a lot more information on model 3 / Y battery degradation (a lot lot more).
Sandiegodoug
Active Member
I do have a 5 1/2 year old model 3 vin43xx. Unfortunately, because I’m cheap, I only charge to 80% at home using my huge solar system. Currently, 80% is 245 miles.
New 100% was 310. If you have to pay for supercharge in San Diego, it’s like .53/kWh vs free at home.
New 100% was 310. If you have to pay for supercharge in San Diego, it’s like .53/kWh vs free at home.
You can't select the charging power level when supercharging as Tesla manages this throughout the Supercharging charging session. What you can do is seek out an Urban Supercharger as these are limited to 72kW charging rate. This is approximately the capacity of the Tesla Model Y battery pack (depending on which Model Y). Holding the charging rate (in kW) to 1 X C where C is the capacity of the battery in kWh is less stressful than charging at 2C or 3C. You can find Urban Superchargers in parking garages (Urban Superchargers are commonly found in places where the space for the necessary Supercharger infrastructure may be limited.)
Don't overlook charging using a DC Fast Charge Network as you can use these networks to charge a Tesla vehicle if you purchase the Tesla CCS Combo 1 charging adapter ($175 US, not sure of the price in CN$.)
Every Tesla vehicle comes with the Tesla SAE J1772 charging adapter. This adapter will let you charge your Tesla at any public Level 2 charging station (sometimes these public Level 2 charging stations are free to use for a few hours.) Typical charge rate (in the US) when using a public Level 2 charging station is 200 to 208V (Commercial power) and 30 amps, occasionally 40 amps.
Google Maps can locate EV charging stations and Tesla Supercharger locations.
Download the Plugshare app onto your phone. Plugshare makes it easy to locate nearby charging stations, free to use or with cost for charging.
Don't overlook charging using a DC Fast Charge Network as you can use these networks to charge a Tesla vehicle if you purchase the Tesla CCS Combo 1 charging adapter ($175 US, not sure of the price in CN$.)
Every Tesla vehicle comes with the Tesla SAE J1772 charging adapter. This adapter will let you charge your Tesla at any public Level 2 charging station (sometimes these public Level 2 charging stations are free to use for a few hours.) Typical charge rate (in the US) when using a public Level 2 charging station is 200 to 208V (Commercial power) and 30 amps, occasionally 40 amps.
Google Maps can locate EV charging stations and Tesla Supercharger locations.
Download the Plugshare app onto your phone. Plugshare makes it easy to locate nearby charging stations, free to use or with cost for charging.
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Sandiegodoug
Active Member
In the us, new teslas come with 8 year battery warranty guarantee at least 70% whether you supercharge or not.
I think people underestimate how much time they'll be at superchargers if that is their primary charging source. If I were you I'd work pretty hard at getting an outlet installed at the condo. Preferably 240V50A, but a 120V20A would probably save you considerable time at the supercharger.
E90alex
Active Member
How many miles do you drive a day and are there superchargers along your route?
Consider a Model Y LR on 19” Gemini with 330 mi EPA. Sounds very doable on paper without home charging since most ICE cars can do ~300 miles between fill ups. But realistically you’ll only get about 280 mi in the real world. And if you stay between 20-80% that’s like 168 miles. That’s without counting things like phantom drain and energy used for things like climate and sentry mode.
Consider a Model Y LR on 19” Gemini with 330 mi EPA. Sounds very doable on paper without home charging since most ICE cars can do ~300 miles between fill ups. But realistically you’ll only get about 280 mi in the real world. And if you stay between 20-80% that’s like 168 miles. That’s without counting things like phantom drain and energy used for things like climate and sentry mode.
Sandiegodoug
Active Member
I don’t know about Canada, but here, the supercharger I go to is in the parking lot of a supermarket. We shop for food while juicing up.
Another data point:
2019 model 3, 89% battery health (per tesla's service menu option). Nearing in on 70k miles, most of which are roadtrips (without preconditioning) or track time.
I am incredibly "rude" to this battery pack, both rear jack pads are dragged off, lots of shocks to the battery from being airborne more times than I can count yes the car will throw a massive fit when you smack flat ground after said flights).
CCS/Chademo/supercharging on average 15k miles a year.
This is the other thing that someone considering "I dont have home charging but its ok" usually misunderstands.
Skipping the battery health question for a moment, the thought process is usually some form of "I know I dont have an outlet, but this thing has a range of 300 miles and I only drive about 20 miles a day. Even if I am conservative with my estimatte, I will only need to charge every 12-13 days and I will have some left over" and as you said it doesnt work like that... at...all.
OP if this statement I just made sounds anything at all like what you are thinking, take a look at what @E90alex posted, a variation of which I have posted on this website in multiple threads over the years.
Someone with a 20 mile commute, who thought they were going to charge every 13 days at a supercharger and have some left over, is actually likely going to have to charge every 5-6 days, and be complaining here about "I thought I bought a car with 330 mile range, why am I having to charge up after 5 days? I only went 150 miles?! My car is broken right? Tesla wont listen to me and they tell me its normal".
... and the above estimate of 5-6 days doesnt even take into account that someone without home charging is likely parking outdoors, and this is the exact person who tends to want to use sentry mode 24/7 because they cant park in a garage (meaning that 5-6 days will be more like 3-4 days with lots of sentry mode usage).
This is an important question. Where I live (more rural area), I routinely drive 40-50 miles per day just running local errands (e.g. shopping trips, getting food, kids activities, etc...). My car is always plugged in when I am at home but in theory I could probably go 2-3 days between charges if I had to.
Recently, I visited my parents who live in a city/suburban setting, I drove around there for a week without plugging in and only used about 50 miles of range total mostly due to how close everything was.
Thank you all for the answers. I drive roughly 30miles a day Monday to Friday then depends what I do on the weekend but would probably be around 60-70miles Saturday/Sunday. I have downloaded plug share and found I have a j-1772 about a block away with free charging so I could leave the car there over night 1-2 days a week if needed but could be an inconvenience as time goes on (especially in the cold winters). I have looked into maybe getting a outlet installed in my parkade but may be out of the budget plus the hassle of dealing with strata to get it approved. If I were to only charge it 1 to 2 times a week will that be okay for the battery instead of plugging it in every night? In Canada we have the 8 year/100mile warranty so that battery deterioration isn’t the end of the world but am worried that if it gets to the 70% within the next 3-5 years I’m going to regret having the leave it at a public charger all the time.
My advice is to try renting one for 3days or so, see if it fits your lifestyle (wishes to supercharge/free J1772). it'll be much cheaper than the purchase of the car and provide you with all the information you could hope to have, rather quickly.
I feel like you'll be okay, as long as you understand the potential charge sessions while grocery shopping or while grabbing a meal / catching a movie with your significant other.
I love my MYLR and have already put 8,184 miles in the first 4 months of ownership. Even took roadtrips just to spend time in the car. I wouldn't buy this car if I couldn't charge at home. It's too much of a hassle to rely on public charging. Perhaps Canada is better at this than the US. But man those J1772 stations always seem to be broken whenever they are free or blocked by Nissan Leafs / Bolts / any other EV. So far I've managed to use a hotel charger 2 trips out of approximately 9 road trips. It's nice to get free juice but I mostly end up just using the SC when I'm not home on a road trip. Otherwise all my charging is done at home
Midnightsun
Active Member
After spending almost 3 years with a couple of Teslas, I can honestly say, IN MY CASE, I would not own an EV if I could not charge at home. The price of Supercharging is getting out of hand, costs something like 15 times more than what I pay at home. Its like being able to fill up your gas tank for 1$ a gallon at home or $15 a gallon at the gas station, yet people line up at Costco to save a few pennies on the gallon? Makes no sense unless you have no alternative however fast charging is still cheaper than gas but the gap is slowly closing.
Then there is winter, if you live anywhere with real winters you want a heated garage, just way to much wasted battery energy trying to warm the battery and car interior up for best use during the cold compared to the battery/car being warm all the time. I only really use the garage during the brunt of winter as spring/summer/fall are a non issue.
Our daughters live downtown in apartments/condos, forget it trying to own an EV simply due to charging. I cannot even imagine how the charging structure will ever be able to accommodate apartment dwellers in dense city environments. ICE is not going to disappear any time soon unless there are major advances in battery tech that either store mass amounts of energy and/or can be charged as quick as a gas pump. In the mean time, charging at home works extremely well.
I’m in a similar situation, but our condo board is trying to put in a few chargers this year. I have about 9-10 neighbors with teslas (model y, 3 and s). They have been using local free charging at shopping centers and super chargers. They advised they do not have any issue with range anxiety. They have noticed a slight 5% degradation of battery of a few years but nothing they regret. Just thought I’d throw that out there as I wait for my model Y performance.
I almost exclusively charge at a free public L2 charging station for 60 to 90 minutes most days. I drive 12 miles per day. 30 miles would be ~90 minutes (perhaps 2 hours in winter) where I charge. If the public charging station is L2 and you can safely park and charge for several hours per day that could be your preferred charging method until you can arrange charging at your home location. (After your charging session has completed, setting daily charging limit to ~80%, you would want to move your Tesla vehicle, not block access to the charging station.)
How close is the nearest Supercharger or DC Fast Charge charging station? Cost per kWh?
It's good to see other people in this thread saying they wouldn't own an EV if they couldn't charge at home. I've been saying that in various threads for a while and usually a herd of people come along to tell me how wrong I am. 
houstonian
ಠ_ಠ
Somewhat off topic but a pet peeve of mine is poorly chosen thread titles.
Like this one, “Super Charger only”; granted it’s not the worst example but still poorly chosen.
Something along the lines of, “Pros & cons of relying heavily/exclusively on superchargers in cold climates / battery health?” captures the salient points of topic and makes it easier to find by others searching with a similar question.
Food for thought.
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