Home Charging Question

[CharlieAlphaMike]

Hi,

Please excuse me for writing in English. I'm an Englishman living near Stockholm but I'm still trying to learn Swedish.

I'm new to the forum and have just introduced myself in another section.

It does say that no questions here are stupid questions so let me start with a few.

I live with my Swedish wife to the South of Stockholm. We have a house (with a mortgage) and a garage. However, we also pay a monthly fee to a Housing Association which includes access to our garage. The garage is in a block (which is about 50 Metres from our house) of approx 10 and has power and lighting. Unfortunately, we can't charge from our house because there is no parking outside our property I've spoken to the Housing Association about charging an EV in our garage and they say they have submitted plans. I've no idea how long we'll have to wait for them to approve and action those plans but I'm sure we can't wait.

My questions have probably been asked before but I've searched the forum and can't find an answer. Here they are:

Can I insist to the Housing Association that I install my own charge point (and pay for the installation)?

Can I just charge from the standard power socket outlet? Assuming the cabling is checked and found to be sufficient for charging?

Would it be reasonable to offer the Housing Association an increase to our monthly fee? Or is there an 'accepted' monthly charge or calculation they can use to determine the cost?

I'm sure others have experienced similar challenges with charging at home so any advice will be welcomed.

We haven't bought the car yet but we are thinking about buying the Model 3 SR. We don't use the car everyday and don't do many miles (km's) per year. Maybe 6000 to 8000 km's only. With an EV, that might increase to maybe 10,000 km's per year. We do have 11KW charge points approx 10 km from home and a number of 3.7KW charge points close by. If we can't charge from home, can we rely on these charge points to charge our Tesla? The 11KW chargers are free to use at the moment

We've visited our local Tesla store and whilst they've been very helpful with lots of other questions, they haven't been able to help with these questions.

If you want to reply in Swedish, please do. Google Translate is my friend

[Skyltspurtaren]

I can at least confirm that if it’s just a short walk to the 3,7kW charge point then you will be fine. I would probably start with using the power socket in the garage even though it’s not a great long term solution. Set the current to 6-8A, that’s easy to configure in the Tesla, with your milage that will be sufficient as well.

[CharlieAlphaMike]

I can at least confirm that if it’s just a short walk to the 3,7kW charge point then you will be fine. I would probably start with using the power socket in the garage even though it’s not a great long term solution. Set the current to 6-8A, that’s easy to configure in the Tesla, with your milage that will be sufficient as well.

Thanks for your reply. The 3.7KW charge point is a short drive away, not a walk unfortunately. It's about the same distance to the 11KW charges but they're in different directions. So I'd obviously prefer to charge at home and use the charge points as 'top ups'.

Current settings of 6-8 Amps is nothing so I can't see the Housing Association having a problem with that. When I spoke to them about my plans, they seemed to be worried about overloading the circuits and causing a fire. Seems they're over-reacting. I need to find out the size of breaker (mcb/rcd) to the garages.

If I use this 6-8 Amp setting, do you know how long it will take to fully charge the batteries from say 20% charge?

[Niklas Z]

Current settings of 6-8 Amps is nothing so I can't see the Housing Association having a problem with that. When I spoke to them about my plans, they seemed to be worried about overloading the circuits and causing a fire. Seems they're over-reacting.

They are definitely overreacting. If the installation is properly made, you could set the charging current to 10 A as well.

If I use this 6-8 Amp setting, do you know how long it will take to fully charge the batteries from say 20% charge?

8 A would give you approximately 20 kWh if you charge for 12 hours. Remember that if the battery is cold, it will have to be warmed up and this will consume some of the electrical power you draw from the outlet. This is more of a problem when charging with low power.

[Skyltspurtaren]

From 20% to 100% is roughly 40 kWh on the SR+ So you will be fine with just some planning. If the car can not sit for 24hrs charging, just top it up on something faster before you get home.

[CharlieAlphaMike]

Current settings of 6-8 Amps is nothing so I can't see the Housing Association having a problem with that. When I spoke to them about my plans, they seemed to be worried about overloading the circuits and causing a fire. Seems they're over-reacting.

They are definitely overreacting. If the installation is properly made, you could set the charging current to 10 A as well.

If I use this 6-8 Amp setting, do you know how long it will take to fully charge the batteries from say 20% charge?

8 A would give you approximately 20 kWh if you charge for 12 hours. Remember that if the battery is cold, it will have to be warmed up and this will consume some of the electrical power you draw from the outlet. This is more of a problem when charging with low power.

Thanks for the information.

I think you are right, they are overreacting. I spoke to one of the Board today and I get the impression they don't know what they're talking about. When I pointed out that no one else has an EV, they told me that a neighbour has one but they charge it at work, not at home. When I asked them which car they had, they said a Toyota Corolla Estate. I had to inform the that this is a Hybrid, not an EV or even a PHEV and so it doesn't charge from the mains electricity supply.

I think it's going to be a difficult discussion with the association so wish me luck.

[CharlieAlphaMike]

From 20% to 100% is roughly 40 kWh on the SR+ So you will be fine with just some planning. If the car can not sit for 24hrs charging, just top it up on something faster before you get home.

Thanks. This will be my first EV and I've already realised that planning every journey is going to be vitally important. I guess from what you've said, that the 11KW charge point close to where I live will be ok for a quick top up?

[Skyltspurtaren]

It’s easy math, in 3 hrs at 11kW you will get 33 kWh in the battery. That’s about 85% if you arrive with 20 %. A faster option would be to stop at a 50kW-charger or a Supercharger. That said, with your quite low milage requirements the wall socket in the garge will probably be fine except for some rare occasions.

[SwedishAdvocate]

In case the Housing Association won't let you use the standard power socket outlet...

I would also like to get an EV but since I'm changing careers my current income and funds unfortunately don't allow me to...

But if I could somehow magically get an EV today I would face a similar problem like you.

My only option would be to try and find some kind of parking space within say a ~5 minute bicycle ride from where I live. So I would have to check with other Housing Associations and also people living in villas around me to see if someone would possibly agree to let me rent a parking space with a charger (with me paying for charger and possibly also the installation). If I were to cancel this contract I would then have to have the option to take the charger with me.

I'm actually not that good when it comes to charging solutions, so maybe there would be a smarter way than I described above, but I'm sure you get the basic idea.

Maybe you could find this 'idea' to be something that could work for you until your Housing Association finds a solution which they are comfortable with.

[Niklas Z]

Have you checked for charging points in areas you frequently visit? I recommend chargefinder.com which is a very good resource for locating charging stations. For most of them, the website (there is also an app you can download for your phone) will show the number of chargers available, updated in real time.

[CharlieAlphaMike]

Yes. Thanks. I've looked at the chargefinder website but haven't registered yet. That's where I found the information about chargers local to where I live. I know there are other charge points in locations where I go to but I don't yet know what KW ratings they all have and or whether they're free. I've also looked at the Tesla charger map. I notice there are very few Superchargers close to me but one is planned near Globen (Stockholm) for this spring which will be extremely useful.

I don't think I'm worried too much about being able to charge when I'm out and about. It's the home charging situation that concerns me.

I've read somewhere about 'vampire battery drain' and think it loses a few km's per day. I've also read that you can leave a LR Model 3 unplugged from the charger and it will last for 100 days. Can someone with personal experience tell me how long a battery will keep its charge without being 'charged' up? Let's say the battery is at 70%. Would I be ok for 1 week, 2 weeks, 1 month?

And what happens when a battery is fully discharged? I know that's a stupid question but what do you do? I can't jump on a bus and go to a 'battery refill garage' with a battery equivalent of a Jerry Can and 'fill up'

EV's is a whole new world of learning for me

[Niklas Z]

I've read somewhere about 'vampire battery drain' and think it loses a few km's per day. I've also read that you can leave a LR Model 3 unplugged from the charger and it will last for 100 days. Can someone with personal experience tell me how long a battery will keep its charge without being 'charged' up? Let's say the battery is at 70%. Would I be ok for 1 week, 2 weeks, 1 month?

I have not tested this, but vampire drain is generally very low. There have been periods between charging longer than a week for my M3LR while I have driven the car on a regular basis, which accounts for most of the consumption. If sentry mode is used, however, consumption will be much higher while the car is parked.

[[JM]]

Sentry mode consumes about 300W continously.
That adds up to 0,3kW×24h=7,2kWh or about 10% of the battery capacity per day (on a MY or M3).

Enabling range mode will prevent the battery from heating up when you do short errands.
The heater consumes quite alot of energy during winter (colder weather).

[themax]

I think it's going to be a difficult discussion with the association so wish me luck.

If you need help just let me know – I am the chairman in our housing association and we did a full install in 2017. If the board have questions I can help to answer them (on a board meeting or similar). Just PM me.

https://teslaclubsweden.se/bygg-laddbox ... elbilarna/

[CharlieAlphaMike]

I think it's going to be a difficult discussion with the association so wish me luck.

If you need help just let me know – I am the chairman in our housing association and we did a full install in 2017. If the board have questions I can help to answer them (on a board meeting or similar). Just PM me.

https://teslaclubsweden.se/bygg-laddbox ... elbilarna/

Oh wow. Thank you so much for your offer. I've given some information to the Housing Association already and I know they have a meeting in 2 weeks' time to discuss this. Let me wait and see what they have to say after the meeting. We haven't ordered our Model 3 yet so there's no rush. Thanks again.

[CharlieAlphaMike]

I'd just like to say thank you to everyone who has responded so far. You've given me a lot of very useful information for which I'm extremely grateful.

[CharlieAlphaMike]

Sentry mode consumes about 300W continously.
That adds up to 0,3kW×24h=7,2kWh or about 10% of the battery capacity per day (on a MY or M3).

Enabling range mode will prevent the battery from heating up when you do short errands.
The heater consumes quite alot of energy during winter (colder weather).

I had no idea about Range Mode or Sentry Mode. So you're saying that for short journeys, Range Mode should be used? And from a previous post, Sentry Mode should be used when the car is parked up for a long period of time? All of which will prolong the help keep the charge in the batteries?

[[JM]]

Sentry mode consumes about 300W continously.
That adds up to 0,3kW×24h=7,2kWh or about 10% of the battery capacity per day (on a MY or M3).

Enabling range mode will prevent the battery from heating up when you do short errands.
The heater consumes quite alot of energy during winter (colder weather).

I had no idea about Range Mode or Sentry Mode. So you're saying that for short journeys, Range Mode should be used? And from a previous post, Sentry Mode should be used when the car is parked up for a long period of time? All of which will prolong the help keep the charge in the batteries?

Range mode acttive for short trips = good
Sentry mode active for longer periods = bad (eats battery)

[CharlieAlphaMike]

Sentry mode consumes about 300W continously.
That adds up to 0,3kW×24h=7,2kWh or about 10% of the battery capacity per day (on a MY or M3).

Enabling range mode will prevent the battery from heating up when you do short errands.
The heater consumes quite alot of energy during winter (colder weather).

I had no idea about Range Mode or Sentry Mode. So you're saying that for short journeys, Range Mode should be used? And from a previous post, Sentry Mode should be used when the car is parked up for a long period of time? All of which will prolong the help keep the charge in the batteries?

Range mode acttive for short trips = good
Sentry mode active for longer periods = bad (eats battery)

Got it. Thanks

[daim90]

I have a Model 3 and I am pretty sure "range mode" does not exist in my car. I might be wrong but I thought that was only for Model S and X. Some other Model 3 owner are very welcome to prove me wrong though!

[Skyltspurtaren]

Yep, Range Mode on a TM3, that would be Chill Mode On and Climate Control Off

[daim90]

I agree to some extent. Climate off for sure. Chill mode only if you floor the accelerator.

See article that refers to TeslaBjörns tests.

https://insideevs.com/news/467421/video ... y-savings/

[Peter Guitierrez]

With Tesla's Model 3, it is possible to charge your electric vehicle in a private garage. If you are renting a property and want to install your own charging point, you will need permission from the Housing Association that owns the property. Depending on the terms of your rental agreement, they may or may not agree to this. You can ask permission for the installation and offer to pay for it, but it is ultimately up to them.

If you are allowed to install your own charging point, Tesla provides a range of solutions suitable for all types of garages. Its Wall Connector can charge Tesla Model 3 in around 10 hours depending on the battery size, while Tesla's 48-amp Tesla High Power Wall Connector is suitable for faster charging. Tesla also provides an installation service and you can contact them directly to discuss the best solution for your garage setup.

It is important to note that Tesla recommends a qualified electrician install all its charging equipment, as it involves working with electricity which can be dangerous if done incorrectly. If the Housing Association does not agree to the installation, Tesla also offers charging solutions for public spaces. Tesla has a network of charging stations dotted around the country and you can use these when you access your Tesla Model 3. Whichever option you choose, make sure that Tesla's requirements are met in regards to safety and other regulations so that your EV charging is as efficient and safe as possible.