Tesla has become the world’s most popular electric automobile manufacturer.
If you’ve got one of their EVs, you are probably interested in learning how to charge it at home.
Home charging options are available, and they’re rather convenient.
Investing in a charging station would make recharging convenient at the end of each day.
There are several options available, each at its own price point. Comparing them should make figuring out which is the best deal relatively simple.
Tesla offers many different self-charging options. When you’re at home, you can charge your Tesla using an integrated wall connector. They also have a mobile connector that allows you to charge up at any outlet on the go. Of course, Tesla Supercharging Stations are still the fastest route towards a full charge.
For a full rundown of all your Tesla home charging options, read on!
Tesla Home Charging Options
The fastest way you can charge a Tesla at home is by installing a walled connector. These can charge a Tesla’s batteries enough to drive 44 miles after plugging them in for just an hour.
You’ve got to order all the parts online.
Plus, you’ve got to hire a technician that’s been certified by Tesla to install everything.
Another popular option would be to use a mobile connector.
You can get a 20-foot mobile connector by ordering them from Tesla, directly. They’ve also got NEMA 5 – 15 adapters, too.
You can hook them up to the mobile connector, so it’ll be compatible with 120 V outlets.
120 V outlets are among the most common you’ll find in residential developments. As such, using one of these adapters tends to be relatively simple.
Tesla also has a mobile adapter that you’re able to use on 240 V outlets. These are what you’ve got the fridge and often plugged into.
Usually, you’ll get 30 miles of range for each hour you’ve charged the batteries with a 240 V outlet.
If you’re someone living in an apartment, you might want to speak to your property manager.
Tesla has a program that’s meant for multiunit buildings. They’ll provide your management company with the resources to install charging stations.
These would be the most popular methods you can use to charge your Tesla at home. However, you should still see whether there are any Tesla superchargers nearby.
They’ve got a ton of them close to residential neighborhoods, meaning one might be close.
Plugging your Tesla into a supercharger means you can get 200 miles of range in as few as 15 minutes. That’s the fastest charging rate you can get anywhere if you are driving one of them.
So far, Tesla has built over 30,000 supercharging stations around the globe. Most of them operate around the clock, meaning you won’t have to adjust your schedule.
You can also see whether there are any destination chargers near your neighborhood.
These aren’t going to charge your Tesla nearly as fast as a supercharger. But, they’ll still provide up to 40 miles of range per hour of charging time.
It’s important to plan your route while traveling, so there are plenty of chargers to visit along the way.
You can also look at places like Plugshare.com to see if there are third-party chargers in your area.
Sometimes, you can find them really close to where you’re living. That’s helpful if you’re renting and unable to make changes to the property
What Is the Fastest Way to Charge a Tesla at Home?
By far, the fastest way to charge your Tesla would be to plug it into a supercharger.
However, you’re not going to have one at home unless you’re living in a luxury apartment complex. Tesla’s supercharger delivers 200 miles of range after charging for only 15 minutes.
If we are strictly talking about home equipment, your maximum charging rate is much lower.
Tesla has a wall connector that lets you use 120 V and 240 V outlets at home. It’s able to deliver up to 44 miles of range per charging hour. That’s about one-quarter the charging rate of a Tesla Supercharger.
Using it to charge overnight should give you about 320 miles of range by the time you’re getting up in the morning.
That’s about how far you’d get on a full tank if you were driving a gasoline car. So, as long as you’re able to remember to plug it up, charging overnight should be enough.
How Much Does It Cost to Install a Tesla Charging Station at Home?
The amount you’ve got to spend if you’d like to install a charging station at home depends. Some places tend to charge a lot more.
If you live somewhere with higher taxes than usual, installing one is going to cost more.
You’ve also got to consider which type of technology you’d like to use while designing the station.
Certain technologies cost more than others, meaning they’ll carry higher price tags.
The actual price varies depending on your home’s electrical system and project needs. You can visit Tesla’s website and use their quote request tool to see an estimate. They’ll put you into contact with a local electrician that’s able to give you a quote.
Tesla says people usually spend between $700 and $1,500 for at-home charging stations. Areas with strict permitting can be more expensive to install.
You’ve also got to consider what they’ve got to charge if they’re warranting everything.
Larger systems always cost more if you’d like to cover them with a warranty.
How Much Does It Cost to Charge a Tesla at Home?
To get one of the newest connectors, you’ll have to spend $500. That’s just to get the actual equipment you need to plug in the walls.
It’ll cost more if you are charging at home when you’re paying utility bills at the end of the month, too.
The Gen 3 Tesla Wall Connector is compatible with 240 V outlets. It’s able to deliver 48 A while it’s plugged into your vehicle.
Charging at home will increase how much electricity you’re using.
Don’t forget that solar charging is an option with Teslas, too.
The amount you’ll pay depends on what the utility company charges per kilowatt-hour. Let’s assume you’ve got to spend $0.14 per kilowatt-hour.
The Tesla Model S contains a 100 kWh battery.
So, if you were charging it from empty, it’d cost about $14 to fill it all the way up.
That’s certainly less expensive than filling up a 15-gallon gas tank.
But, it’s not insignificant, either.
The Tesla Model 3 only has a 50 kWh battery pack. As a result, you’re not going to spend as much money charging it.
Assuming the same price for electricity, you’d only spend $7 dollars for a full charge.
Charging the Model Y would cost something in between these examples. It’s got a 75 kWh battery.
That’s more than what they’ve got in the Model 3 but less than the Model S.
Filling it all the way up from empty would run a little over $10 at $0.14 kWh.
How much would charging at a supercharger cost, though?
That all depends on what they’re paying at the station to get electricity from the grid. Tesla’s pricing mechanism changes according to prevailing market conditions.
If energy costs increase, you’ll have to spend more to charge at their station. Some of them charge as much as $0.20 per kWh. That’s probably quite a bit more than what you’re paying to charge at home.
Keep in mind, Tesla’s supercharging network can charge your car way faster.
They’re able to charge your car’s battery by using direct DC current.
As such, there’s not any AC conversion necessary while using their charger.
Tesla’s Supercharger is an order of magnitude faster than what’s possible at home.
How Long Does It Take to Charge a Tesla at Home?
The time it’ll take for you to charge your batteries depends on several factors. If your battery is completely dead, it’s going to take longer to fully charge.
The number of amps your charger delivers to the battery also impacts its charging time.
Using one that’s got higher amperage would mean you can charge your battery faster.
The fastest one they’ve got available lets you use 48 A while charging at home.
Charging your battery at 48 A for an hour should give you enough power to drive more than 40 miles.
If you’re driving the Tesla Plaid Model S, then you’ve got a 100 kWh battery. Getting it to 100% would take about eight hours if you were charging it at this amperage.
That’s assuming you were starting from a completely dead cell, of course.
Charging a Model 3’s battery won’t take nearly as long because it’s not as big. You could probably reach full capacity in about six hours if you were using 48 A.
That also means it would take about eight hours to charge the Model Y’s battery from dead.
We recommend plugging your Tesla into your home charger at the end of every day.
That way, its battery never fully discharges. Fully discharging the battery isn’t good for its cycle life, increasing the odds of damage.
Can You Charge a Tesla With a Regular Outlet?
There are some converters you can use to charge a Tesla using a standard wall outlet.
Using one of them to charge your battery poses a problem, though.
They’re not able to deliver a reasonable amount of range, owing to low amperage.
A standard wall outlet would only give you about 4 miles of range per hour if you were using it to charge a Tesla.
That’s enough to get you to a nearby charging station when you’re in a pinch. But, that’s not enough to be sustainable while you living at home.
What You Need to Know About Charging Your Tesla
You’ve got several options available if you’d like to charge at home. Tesla has created 3 generations of wall connectors. Their newest generation can even connect to 240 V outlets, delivering 48 A.
You can also you one of their standard outlet converts.
These only provide enough power to give you a few miles of range for each hour spent sharing.
The fastest way you’re able to charge is by using a Tesla Supercharger.
Tesla designed them to charge your battery with direct current.
As a result, you save a lot of time because they’re not converting power from AC.
If you’re at home, using a supercharger isn’t an option. That’s why we’re such big fans of Tesla’s Gen 3 Wall connector.
It’s powerful enough to charge the Plaid Model S overnight and give it a full charge.
