Super Charger only

[gx9901]

Removing charging at home from the equation turns perhaps the greatest pro for owning an EV into its biggest con. With home charging, you are essentially eliminating all gas station visits required for an ICE car. With Supercharger charging only, you are essentially increasing gas station visit frequency and significantly increasing duration spent there each visit. Charging at home is such a huge plus I would do it even if it costs the same as gas.

I love EVs and specifically all the things Tesla has to offer, but if I could only Supercharge the car, I would probably not want to own one until maybe someday when it only takes 5 minutes to charge up at a Supercharger.

If you are mentally prepared for the rigors of Supercharging only, by all means go for it. But I know I would not want to deal with it unless maybe the Supercharger station is right next door.

 

[systemr]

I only charge at public DCFS, and it fits into my regular routine. Shopping at whole foods? Plug it into the 50kw charger, going to chinatown? Plug into the 100 and 350kw chargers.

I am at 1yr and ~7.6Kmi and battery deg is ~4%.

1yr battery degradation report

Sharing my own datapoint for condo dwellers: Just charged to 100% for the first time after 1yr 18 days of ownership to allow BMS to calibrate and balance cells: 2022 MYLR 7,600mi Charged almost exclusively on 50 - 100 kW public DCFS chargers Started out charging to 80% now always 90% Car...

teslamotorsclub.com

Would it be better if I could charge at my condo? Yes, but IMO it isn't worth the hassle of getting it setup and dealing with the HOA hassle.

 

[jjrandorin]

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.

I absolutely would not own one if I couldnt charge at home, but thats for me. I am not patient enough for that, and it removes one of the main convenience factors of having an EV.

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.

30 Miles a day in actual miles is likely going to be somewhere between 30 miles and 50 miles rolling off the cars range, depending on weather, elevation changes, etc.

If I were to only charge it 1 to 2 times a week will that be okay for the battery

This sounds like 2-3 times a week charging to me, not 1-2 times, and I also would caution you to think you are going to leave your car plugged into that level 2 charger overnight for more than a few times before someone either starts either leaving notes on your car or otherwise displaying displeasure with you parking your car there tying up a charger for extended periods of time.

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.

(moderator comment)

I am actually fairly draconian about this, as I very routinely change thread titles that dont describe what the thread is about, if I catch them before the thread gets super active. I left this one when I saw it though, because as you say its not the worst example of this, by far (and I mean by FAR). There are some that are much more egregious in this regard, that I have changed.

 

[johnny_cakes]

I've been an EV owner for 3 months now and I wouldn't buy one if I couldn't charge at home. I got a taste of not having a home charger for about a week while the city tore up my driveway (which made me lose access to my home charger). During that time, I had to constantly plan public charging sessions (they limit charges to 2 hours at a time here in Vancouver) and the occasional supercharging sessions. I could handle it for a week, but not worth it for the long term. There are plenty of great hybrids out there to buy instead.

 

[mike53north]

Many places in Canada will have outlets for block heaters where you park. Even plugging the mobile connector into a 120v outlet should get you 2-3 miles per hour of charge, which overnight might cover most of your commute. When I lived in BC most employee parking also had access to power for block heaters and interior warmers.

 

[Darmie]

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.

Someone had to say it. When I'm on vacation and spending time at family out of town, I'm always finding a S/C to ensure I have enough power to drive around. There's a little anxiety I'm not going to lie. When we purchased our 2017 MS, I was living out of town for work staying at an apartment. If it wasn't for the option of renting one of their garages with permission to charge on 110, I would have not made the purchase. Even then when we would do any weekend day trips, I would always start the trip at the supercharger topping off while eating a breakfast sandwich. There's also that power drain with sentry mode ect. Even 110 would be better than nothing. Best of luck to the OP. I hope you can figure it out.

 

[Midnightsun]

Many places in Canada will have outlets for block heaters where you park. Even plugging the mobile connector into a 120v outlet should get you 2-3 miles per hour of charge, which overnight might cover most of your commute. When I lived in BC most employee parking also had access to power for block heaters and interior warmers.

Normally if it is going to be -30 some may plug in, a huge difference if EV's are plugging in every day all year round. I have a feeling with the upcoming EV trend they will not be offering these for free everywhere in the not to distant future or sign that says not for EV charging subject to a XXX$ fine.

 

[jcanoe]

Normally if it is going to be -30 some may plug in, a huge difference if EV's are plugging in every day all year round. I have a feeling with the upcoming EV trend they will not be offering these for free everywhere in the not to distant future or sign that says not for EV charging subject to a XXX$ fine.

Just plugging in the Tesla Model Y does not warm the battery. The Tesla Model Y needs to be actively charging (or preparing to charge) else preconditioning to warm the battery.

 

[maksimfa]

EVs are super cool but as others mentioned, I would certainly not pick up an EV if I could not charge at home. It comes down to cost and convenience.

I am currently shopping for an EV or two for our family after spending 4k miles of renting EVs and using them around town on trips and on long trips (1k miles RT or more).

With a Tesla, if you are close to a super charger... and you do not value your time, then yeah, you can... but you are also going to be wasting a TON of money... and you would have been better off just getting a hybrid prius or something. On a recent trip where we had a Polestar 2 in Vegas for the week, the times I had to use the Lvl 3 EA chargers it was more than just renting a car and paying for gas. Only reason I came out on top, was that the EV rental rate was actually cheaper than gas cars with our business rental rates with Hertz. The hotels we stayed at, did offer LVL 2 charging, but I was only able to use it 3 days out of 10 as every other time, the chargers were packed, and most often cars were left there overnight.

With Tesla, it is a bit better as the EV charging rates at superchargers, at least here in PA and surrounding areas, is cheaper than EA, but it is still a hassle, especially when you have "get home itis" on a trip. On my last EV biz trip to SC... it was 4 stops down, and 5 stops up... and total charging time added about 2 hours to the trip.

Now imagine you are driving to work or school and were planning on parking car at a LVL 2 charger... and it is not working, or it is busy...

Do you REALLY want to plan your life around chargers? Nevermind the additional cost? and speaking of the costs, what do you think will happen to costs in the future? especially when more and more people hop on?

EA just raised their rates, Tesla superchargers seem to be more around here, on top of it all, Tesla is opening up SC to non Teslas... so if you had to wait in line before... you will REALLY have to wait in line.

The real beauty of EV's is when you don't need to change your life around the vehicle. You wake up, you have a fully charged car... you can use your 200+ mile range to do whatever. If you REALLY need to top up, you have chargers. Then you get home, take an extra 5 seconds to plug in your Lvl 2 charger and go about your business.

Your electric rates at home will also be far cheaper... and here is the REALLY cool part, if you generate your own power, whether Solar, Wind, Generator, whatever... you take the utility electric rates out of the equation! THAT is the EV revolution.

But if you cannot do that... then you are just wasting time and money and better off buying a used car... $30k buys a ton of gas... UNLESS you need to drive an EV for some moral reason, in which case time and money are likely not a priority.

 

[Physicslawyer]

I had a 2022 MYP with 16k miles that I exclusively supercharged. I charged it to 100% at least once a week and to 90% the other days. It had 287 miles. That's a 5.3% loss. I never saw 303 by the way, and I got it with 4 miles.

The 2022 MYP that I got this February has 7.5k miles and I have gone out of my way to baby it and follow all of the battery recommendations. I charge at home and set the limit low. I see 290 at 100%. Yeah. Ugh.

 

[Happy Hippo]

Okay, hear is my response. I live in a Coop in NY and does not have home charging however, I had researched this before I purchased it and it works for my lifestyle and it is extremely convenient! It really depends on WHERE YOU LIVE and what access you have to charging. I have FREE level 2 charging at work, FREE level 2 charging at the mall, FREE Level 2 charging at grocery stores I go to, FREE level 2 charging at the gym, FREE DC 50kw charging at a few ICE dealerships 2 miles away which I use more now than the FREE 10k Tesla Supercharging that I got when I picked up my car in December 2022! Yes, I use the FREE DC charging over the Tesla since the kilowatts are less(DC 50kw vs 250kw Tesla). Ohh and I have about 9 locations within 8 mile radius where there are Tesla Supercharging stations, they are all around me and NY is one place where there are TONS of SC networks. So AGAIN it depends on if you have access to it. My management company are looking into getting a few chargers but they said it is costly to install. If they do install and charge a fee for people to use it, I would not use it, don't want to pay.. Just plan ahead, its not inconvenient for me. IF I lived in an area where there were no chargers and I would have to pay for charging or pay for an electrician install a 220v, I would not get an EV period. I Have yet to pay for any charging the car period and it has been 4 months. NOW, for those who say they would never get a Tesla if they did not have home charging, do not generalize until you know someone situation.

 

[E90alex]

Having reliable charging at work where you can plug in the whole work day can replace having charging at home for sure.

The other public charge locations are nice but you’re only likely to spend 1-2 hours at each place at a time which gets you a few % but they’re not guaranteed to be available so you can’t really count on them to be a replacement for home/work charging.

Everyone has their own tolerance of what they consider an inconvenience. I’ve seen people just sit in their car at free Volta chargers for a couple hours or more. Couldn’t be me. I’ll plug in at a free charger if it’s available and I’m already going to the place but I’m not going out of my way to spend my free time just sitting there for a free charge.

 

[Happy Hippo]

Having reliable charging at work where you can plug in the whole work day can replace having charging at home for sure.

The other public charge locations are nice but you’re only likely to spend 1-2 hours at each place at a time which gets you a few % but they’re not guaranteed to be available so you can’t really count on them to be a replacement for home/work charging.

Everyone has their own tolerance of what they consider an inconvenience. I’ve seen people just sit in their car at free Volta chargers for a couple hours or more. Couldn’t be me. I’ll plug in at a free charger if it’s available and I’m already going to the place but I’m not going out of my way to spend my free time just sitting there for a free charge.

Those places are not to fill up your car but it is nice to get some charge as I am running around and doing errands which I do everyday anyway. I do not sit in my car b/c that is a waste of my time and I do not see people sitting in their EVs waiting to charge either. Again these Level 2 free chargers are located in shopping malls, grocery stores, gyms, the beach, or the boardwalk, so people are living their life, not in their car. lol People are busy in NY. I use charge point or plug share and can see which ones are available and free. I never had to wait for one of those free level 2 chargers since they are all around me and some within walking distance of where I live(those charge a fee since they are next to a train station). I don't go to those.

 

[E90alex]

Those places are not to fill up your car but it is nice to get some charge as I am running around and doing errands which I do everyday anyway. I do not sit in my car b/c that is a waste of my time and I do not see people sitting in their EVs waiting to charge either. Again these Level 2 free chargers are located in shopping malls, grocery stores, gyms, the beach, or the boardwalk, so people are living their life, not in their car. lol People are busy in NY. I use charge point or plug share and can see which ones are available and free. I never had to wait for one of those free level 2 chargers since they are all around me and some within walking distance of where I live(those charge a fee since they are next to a train station). I don't go to those.

Yes for sure. IMO for mass EV adoption we need L2 charging (free or paid) EVERYWHERE. Like anywhere you can park you should be able to plug in. Especially for people that don’t have charging at work nor home, they can just top off when they run their errands. But we’re not anywhere near that level of charging infrastructure yet.

 

[SKRILLOC]

I currently have a 2022 MYLR with ~9K with two months shy of being a year old. I only use SC stations because I live in a city that is mostly apartments, condos, or old Victorians that have faulty wiring anyways. I haven't noticed any battery degradation, except when experiencing California winter that doesn't include snow. 40°'s, etc. I don't personally find it problematic for me to have to predominantly use SC stations because it's all in timing. When you go...day, time, even the weather can be advantageous for a painless charging experience/session. Not having home charging was NOT a deterrent for me. 30-45min spent charging the car wasn't a deal-breaker.

 

[Dorkiedoode]

75k 2018 model 3 here and spend 95% of it life at a SC. Battery at 100% is 264.

 

[Happy Hippo]

75k 2018 model 3 here and spend 95% of it life at a SC. Battery at 100% is 264.

I love posts like this. It shuts up those who say/think that you will lose range from SC ALL the time, not really true all the time.

 

[E90alex]

I love posts like this. It shuts up those who say/think that you will lose range from SC ALL the time, not really true all the time.

I mean that’s 15% degradation from it’s rated 310 mi range.

If you compare to the numbers from this article where they mostly L2 charged, that’s almost double the degradation.

So there is an effect, but is not like your battery is going to be completely dead and useless from constantly supercharging after 3-4 years. The warranty covers 30% degradation within 8 years after all, so theoretically degradation should stay below that number even with frequent supercharging otherwise Tesla will have to replace a lot of batteries for free.

 

[father_of_6]

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.

It took me 6 months to get home charging, so I exclusively used SuperChargers during that time. It was Winter as well (yes, western New York has almost 6 months of Winter ).

I really appreciated the car, and charging was novel, so I just got used to sitting at the charger for 35ish minutes 3 times a week... it was also between home and work so it didn't add too much additional driving time.

Now that I've had home charging for 1.7 years I can concretely say... I'd never want that to be my permanent routine, no way.

Having taken a handful of 7ish hour road trips, SuperCharging when long distance driving is great... it's a good reason to take a break and is a much better pattern than refueling gasoline.

For local driving though, home charging is the way.

Really long extension cord?

 

[howardnj]

It took me 6 months to get home charging, so I exclusively used SuperChargers during that time. It was Winter as well (yes, western New York has almost 6 months of Winter ).

I really appreciated the car, and charging was novel, so I just got used to sitting at the charger for 35ish minutes 3 times a week... it was also between home and work so it didn't add too much additional driving time.

Now that I've had home charging for 1.7 years I can concretely say... I'd never want that to be my permanent routine, no way.

Having taken a handful of 7ish hour road trips, SuperCharging when long distance driving is great... it's a good reason to take a break and is a much better pattern than refueling gasoline.

For local driving though, home charging is the way.

Really long extension cord?

I'm on my fourth round trip from NJ to Florida and do not mind using the over 50 Supercharger stations along the way,
FPL in Florida has 350 kWh chargers along the Florida Turnpike and I use those that are faster and cheaper than the Tesla 250 kWh chargers