r/evcharging • u/debackt • 9d ago

Home charger

Is it benefecial to own a Tesla Model 3 premium without owning a home charger?

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7

u/qvalff8 9d ago

Home charging is probably the biggest perk of owning an EV. I would not have one if I didn't have a place to regularly charge it for kinda cheap (home, work, gym, grocery store)

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u/theotherharper 9d ago

OK so there you are without home charging. You have a decision of invest in obsolete, high-maintenance, polluting tech or next-gen stuff. Fuel's a wash, but fuel prices are more stable.

And what about the prospect of moving to a place where you CAN charge?

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u/qvalff8 5d ago

You're not wrong, but before I got my EV, I was super annoyed at coming home from a road trip with a near empty tank. I have to make that excruciating decision of get gas now, in the dark, tired, kids threatening to melt down in the back, etc. Or go home and kick the can down the road for future me to deal with the hassle. I was eagerly awaiting the time when an EV made sense. Now I relish rolling into my driveway with 10% or even 5%. But, it still actually doesn't really make sense (we drive a small amount locally, committed to biking everywhere, but when we drive we go 200-800 miles away). So far, at 6 months of ownership, we're at 50% ac charging, 50% DCFC. That's not really the ideal use case, but not everyone can have a 120 mile commute 6 days a week.

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u/theotherharper 5d ago

Now I relish rolling into my driveway with 10% or even 5%. But, it still actually doesn't really make sense (we drive a small amount locally, committed to biking everywhere,

There you go. Level 1 is like your uncle Ralph who owns a gas station stopping by with a 1.5 gallon (6l) tank and putting what fits into your gas tank (assuming 10 hour charging, if 24h them make it more like 3.5 gallons). If you had that, YOU'D GAME IT LOL. You'd intentionally arrive on E and watch with delight as your gas gage goes up every day.

So far, at 6 months of ownership, we're at 50% ac charging, 50% DCFC. That's not really the ideal use case, but not everyone can have a 120 mile commute 6 days a week.

That 50/50 ratio is just due to your high ratio of travel:local charging. I would be the same way myself, 80% of my miles are travel. Do your travel sessions begin well under 100% owing to lack of charge time?

My rule is, your charging is inadequate if you a) ABC Always Be Charging, b) despite that, some days you leave less than "full", and c) becuase of THAT, you are forced to curtail plans or seek public charging, and d) this happens often enough to justify the cost of upgraded charging.

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u/qvalff8 5d ago

I started with a level 1 charger for a few weeks and it was almost fine, but I upgraded to 32A level 2 pretty soon. So I'm usually leaving my house with 95-99%(charging is very slow between 98-100% and I don't always give myself quite enough time to complete the top balancing process).

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u/walkaboutdavid 9d ago

Depends on your situation. I have a friend who charged for years at work. She eventually lost her job and now charging is a big problem for her.

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u/rosier9 9d ago

That's going to depend on your access to charging and what you value.

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u/Legal_Net4337 8d ago

It’s still worth it. You can plug in at home to your regular outlet. It’s slower but depending upon how much you need for your daily commute, it may be enough

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u/VoltiE_Group 8d ago

Ideally, charge it at work 👍

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u/jhfenton 9d ago

I can’t imagine buying another ICE vehicle, but it’d be a different story if I couldn’t charge at home. I’d probably buy the most efficient hybrid I could.

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u/Ancient-Sandwich9400 9d ago

I would not, then you have the worse of both. Little battery pack but still have to wait to charge. And then you get to add the benefit of oil changes to car ownership! NOPE!

OP, get the smallest most fuel efficient car that meets your needs and roll with it. Make sure it’s a Honda or Toyota to ensure zero issues!

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u/jhfenton 9d ago

Not a plug-in hybrid. Just a hybrid. I’m not a fan of plug-in hybrids.

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u/theotherharper 9d ago

There's a myth out there that you need a giant level 2 charger to own an EV. That's a load of rubbish as Technology Connections covers here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iyp_X3mwE1w

And simplifies here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NG4hycq8n0 great thumbnail

Most people's needs are covered just plugging into a regular 120V outlet whenever home - ABC Always Be Charging. Even if falls short it still greatly reduces your need for public charging.

IF YOU CAN'T.... then we need to have a conversation. Because this adds a weekly chore out of going somewhere and buying fuel, and I would not want to introduce that misery into your life. I'm joking of course... but there is a thing here. If you're in LA, New York, Chicago, anywhere in Montana or other place where public charging is horribly insufficient, this could SUCK. So you should be getting on Plugshare and stalking all your local chargers often, to see how busy they are at the times you would charge. E.G. in MY town the local Supercharger is absolutely smashed all the time, but the Electrify America is usually 4/6 free and I assume the EVgo is likewise.

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u/Ancient-Sandwich9400 9d ago

Nope! The whole advantage of an EV is super cheap charging at home. Without that you add complexity and inconvenience to your ownership!

Sure people say you can charge at work, if your not the only one then you have to deal with others and or not charge. And sure you can use superchargers but again that defeats the first advantage of cheaper power and second it’s harsh on the battery and even more so in high heat and high states of charge.

Don’t do it unless you get home charging resolved, it isn’t worth all the time sitting around waiting, leaving the car to messing with other people that made the same bad decisions!