car and driver's car of the century - Tesla model S 70D

sorry! i was referring to post #2.

 

At 80mph, our energy usage is like 320-370Wh/mi - kind of hard to estimate because we don't spend too much time on the highway.

The Model S will not complete a single lap of the nurburgring at racing speed before going into limp mode. The dragstrip is probably the only place where you could reasonably race it since the heat dissipation demands aren't so stringent. I'd wager you would get 5-6 passes in before having to take a break on average (dependent on ambient temperature). I haven't gotten around to bringing ours to autocross yet (things have been pretty busy).

I can see the 16k number in an old house needing substantial electrical upgrades in a high-cost-of-living area. Our own installation and parts for a 100A-capable circuit (requiring a 200A panel upgrade) was around $5k (some contractors had higher quotes that would have easily put us in the 9k range). I assume California prices would be higher.

 

thanks man. if thats not fud, it's certainly worst case scenario.

 

Tesla's site covers the options, but not costs, because it depends on the home and local regulations.
Tesla Charging | Tesla Motors
If the laundry is next to the garage, and it's an electric dryer, it will cost you nothing. Assuming the cord reaches the outlet.
For an EVSE or dryer outlet, it charges 29 miles an hour. An S with dual chargers can double that, but it will cost more for most installs for the 80 amp EVSE.

 

God point!
Also, if you have an outlet for an arc welder, a Model S can charge on that.
Got an outlet to provide power to an RV? It can use that too.

 

I like the flexibility in charging options Tesla gives. With the others, it's use the 15 amp outlet, or install an EVSE. Using higher amperage outlets that may already be in place at a home lowers the adoption hurdle slightly. Not an issue for those buying a Model S, but down the line for the Model 3 and others, it could be.

It also allows the use of RV parks for charging. Not ideal since it isn't quick, but far better than getting stuck using a basic outlet or stranded in case of a miscalculation.

 

thank you. for the 29 miles an hour, does my L2 work? i installed a 12 gauge wire. it was pretty easy. i'm not looking for myself, i'm just trying to get a handle on costs vs the articles claim. seems to me most people would be happy with 29 miles an hour and charging overnight.

 

The car comes with a J1772 adapter, so there shouldn't be any problem using an EVSE installed for another plugin.

 

it just seems like the article would leave most to believe that it's going to be very expensive, when in fact, for most, it shouldn't be more than a few thousand, unless they want fast charging.

 

For me, I paid $700 for changes to a subpanel, conduit, cable, and a 14-50 outlet. That's enough to allow me to charge a Tesla at 10KW if/when I get one and I can charge my 2012 Leaf at 2KW to 3.8KW until I get something faster.

Why charge below max speed? The 3.x KW charger has peak efficiency around 2KW as shown in http://avt.inel.gov/pdf/fsev/SteadyStateLoadCharacterization2012Leaf.pdf

If you have a Leaf with a 6.x KW charger the peak efficiency is at the max charge rate. http://avt.inel.gov/pdf/fsev/SteadyStateLoadCharacterization2015Leaf.pdf

But whatever the charging rate of future cars I don't see any reason to do more than the 14-50 I had put in for $700.

For those that don't know you can dial down the amps with the Tesla UMC (portable EVSE) or the HPWC (wall mounted). The UMC automatically does it based on the plug adapter used. The HPWC does it by way of dip switches at the time of install. Either can be overridden and set to an even lower amount in the center screen on a Tesla.

 

would that give you the 29 miles an hour charging rate on a tesla?

 

a 14-50 socket will allow the Tesla to charge at 10 KW. If you are using 333 Wh per mile when driving that is right at 29 miles an hour (more if the voltage is above 240, less if the voltage is below).

245x40a=9.8KW assuming 333 Wh/mile = 29.4 miles an hour charge rate
240x40a=9.6KW assuming 333 Wh/mile = 28.8 miles an hour charge rate
235x40a=9.4KW assuming 333 Wh/mile = 28.2 miles an hour charge rate

I see 245a on my socket in the mornings right now when no one in the neighborhood is running the AC in their house full blast and I'm not charging. I see 240v often in the evenings while I'm charging. I occasionally see 237 or 238 if the draw in the neighborhood pulls it down on a really hot afternoon.

 

that's excellent! 10 hours for a full charge, i don't see many people needing that.

did you buy an L2 evse to go with the $700. in electrical upgrades?

 

I'm using an openevse that allows me to select up to 32a. I bought it used and it think the j1772 cable is rated at 30a so it might be pushing it slightly to charge at 32a

On the Leaf I can charge to full from normal driving in a couple of hours at 16a. If I limped home near empty It'd take about 4 hours at 16a.

I don't limp home often so I've got the evse set to 14a and I charge to 80%. The charge session each night is about 1 hour.

 

i got mine from a member who bought a tesla. he built it and i paid him $500. for it. i think he said it would do 30 amps. i might have to change the feed to 10 gauge.

 

I had our (currently 50A-fused) circuit wired with #8 (or was it #6? Gotta check again) THHN for extra safety margin. We're seeing 248-253V at the wall under load, so at 40A (using a leviton evr-green 400) we max out the 10kW single charger in the car. That will give us the 30mi/hr number.

Update:

I checked my install and it was #3 THHN - I remember I had a minor issue with the electrician because the guys showed up with the wrong gauge cable. I figured since cable is relatively cheap compared to labor, you might as well pull cable that's a little overkill.

 

The electricity will actually flow more efficiently over thicker than required wire; there's less resistance.

 

i may have used 10 instead of 12 for that reason, or so i wouldn't have to change it down the road.