Where should I install a charger inside my garage?

[bcsteeve]

I have my own ideas, but considering I'm brand new to this (Tesla specifically but also EV in general), it occurred to me that maybe I should seek advice.

By world standards, I'm sure we have a huge garage. Yet, it always feels cramped. Right now we park our little Honda Fit in there and between tools, lawnmowers, kid's toys and random junk... there's no way I could park a 2nd car in there, let alone something as big as the S. OK, so Honda now lives outside, I'm good with that

I normally park nose in, on the side nearest the door to the house. The charging port on the car is on the driver side rear, right? So that would mean I'd have to walk to the back of the car and then back to the front. So am I better off changing my habits and backing in? That would have the advantage of installing the charger closer to the electrical panel (which is on the opposite side of the wall with the door, but in the basement). Then I'd get out and walk toward the door and plug in on my way, right?

That's what I think I should do anyway. Other thoughts/suggestions? Might as well get it right the first time.

 

[Shock-On-T]

I'd get used to backing in. You'll have to do that for most superchargers as well.
Being close to the panel will make the install a little cheaper (for the electrician at least), and will also reduce voltage drop (microscopically).

I'd go with the long cord wall connector (7.3m), which will give you some more options if you want to park outside the garage sometimes, or nose first.

 

[jbcarioca]

I'd get used to backing in. You'll have to do that for most superchargers as well.
Being close to the panel will make the install a little cheaper (for the electrician at least), and will also reduce voltage drop (microscopically).

I'd go with the long cord wall connector (7.3m), which will give you some more options if you want to park outside the garage sometimes, or nose first.

I'm with @ShockOnT on this issue. In a crowded garage backing in will take more time, but egress becomes easier. The shorter the electrical run the better anyway. With the long cord you'll be able to adopt whichever pattern you find most convenient. In my case I usually back in but sometimes do not. The long cord allows either choice.

 

[gjunky]

Sorry but I disagree. I would hate to have to back in every time especially if you have limited space / kids stuff to hit. Is it really that hard to walk around the car and plug it in?

Install the charger wherever it is easier and where nobody is going to trip over the cord when plugged in. I would (did) get the long cable version.

 

[oktane]

If possible, install it in a way that you can suspend the charging cable from the ceiling so it dangles directly by your port. I have done this rather crudely and it makes charging so convenient. No more dirty cables or fear of running over them.

 

[cbdream99]

When I have the leaf which the port is in the nose, so my charger is installed on the wall facing inside of the garage, now I have the S and I always back into the garage, it takes time to practice but the camera and aids help tremendously, it never hit anything and I can park just 1 inch gap from the table on the passenger side - so that I have plenty of room for opening the driver door on both cars. The cord is long enough to reach the end but it's a hassle to drag it, but since you are brand new installation - either way will work for you. Personally I just don't like to drag the wires along on the floor and causing tripping hazard for the dogs or kids.

 

[Blup85]

Backing in seems like a pain. By the time you safely back in to your garage, avoiding kids toys, bikes and legos you could have walked around the car twice, plugged in the car and started dinner

Some people have mounted in the middle bay, ( me included) and I wouldn't change a thing. It was a little more work and wire but well worth it IMHO
HPWC between garage doors?

 

[bcsteeve]

Thanks for the responses! I didn't mean to sound lazy about walking to the back of the car. As I've never done it, I started to wonder how tedious that would become after the 1000th day and I'd be thinking (cause this is how my brain works) that shaving 2 seconds every time would eventually be a considerable time savings. But if that's more than offset by the additional time to back in? But then... once you're practiced, isn't backing in and driving out the same as driving in and backing out? I know when I back my car in now, it does take me longer and feels weird, but that's because I never do hardly do it.

As for long cable vs. short.... I was planning to not get the wall charger at first. I was going to install a Nema 14-50 socket and use the charger that comes with the car and swap a wall charger in if that becomes too much of a problem. Should I forget that and just get the wall charger?

Hanging from the ceiling sounds interesting

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

Key reasons _not_ to back in:
- very precise maneuver required (angles, narrow garage relative car)
- you have a driveway large enough that you can turn around in it
- other drivers would refuse to back in

I suck at backing up, but I back in my Prius (which is narrow and maneuverable, to be fair) so that I am always pulling out forwards into the street. It's particularly useful for me in the winter (especially after a bunch of February storms) when the snowbanks have built up on our street and there's reduced visibility.
It's a reasonable solution if it makes logistics much easier.

And, I'd take this as a good reason to get the garage organized to try to unload any junk and to get the other car in there. Even our unheated garage allows us just to get in and go.

 

[bcsteeve]

My car won't have that summon feature, right?

 

[brkaus]

I back in - it's the only way I can make the tight angles. And the side mirrors let me carefully monitor the sides of the car (i'm 2" from the wall). If someone else drives, it stays in the drive until I put it back in the garage.

With that said, a HPWC closer to the door is more flexible. You could charge a friend in the driveway, etc.

 

[davewill]

Personally, I say adapt the wall connector location to you rather than adapt yourself to it. Decide how you WANT to park, then place the wall connector to be the most convenient.

 

[Trips]

It sounds like you have a situation similar to mine. I chose to go with the reverse in for many reasons.
1. Cheaper to install (I have an unfinished basement and did not have bust open any walls or ceilings)
2. Opening the driver door to a clear center vs. junk on the side.
3. Less drywall patching.
4. I do not need to charge every night so I can still pull in forward 70% of the time.

I have a friend that designs industrial cable management systems for his job. They are currently working on a few prototypes that I am going to be trying out that hang from my 15 foot ceiling. This back in location allows for that as the garage door is not in the way.

Car is to roughly to scale so I have plenty of room

 

[siucity]

I recommend backing in. Here's why:

- It doesn't take much to get use to it.
- With the rear view camera and side mirrors, you'll probably be more precise in parking.
- Cheaper for your charger install
- With all that practice at home, you won't be one of those that park crooked at the Superchargers, or one that takes forever to back in.

 

[brkaus]

Forgot earlier, to make backing in easier, get the car positioned where you want it. Then mark the floor next to the rear tire.

I typically put a water bottle on the mark to make it easy to see. Can also mark the floor based on the backup camera lines.

We used the reflective street line markers glued down (bots dots??) to mark the tire spots when I drove a fire truck.

 

[bcsteeve]

OK, so I think my plan is this: I'll install the basic nema 14-50 at a location closest to the panel, which happens to also be the closest to the door to the house. I'll back in. Personally, what sold me most was this:

2. Opening the driver door to a clear center vs. junk on the side.

Oddly enough, in the 10 years we've been here that hasn't once occured to me lol.

*If* it becomes a problem or hassle to back in OR using the included car charger becomes inconvenient for whatever reason, then I'll buy the wall charger, probably with the longer cord (unless backing in becomes 2nd nature then I'll probably prefer the shorter cable).

Meanwhile, I'll put thought into that ceiling mount idea because with my background I should be able to come up with an X/Y stepper that tracks where my charge port is and dangles the cable down before I even get out of the car. Worth the effort... undoubtedly not. Cool? Hell yah.