Tesla Home Charging Outdoors
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HOW TO GUIDE FOR DETACHED GARAGE:
Maybe you have a small garage or you need to charge outside, but want to keep the charging in a safe place without closing the garage door onto the cables or leaving the side door open: Here’s my work around with a small detached garage.
Since the car will be parked on the outside. We decided to drill a ~3 inch hole for an outlet on the side wall. To be more exact, 2.8 inches. This allowed the cables and charger to stay inside when not in use and push out when it’s time to charge. You can purchase the EV charging outlet on Amazon here (see below). I folded the plastic at the back to allow the Tesla cable/charging head to move through easier. The diameter of the Tesla charging head is about 2 inches. Note: you will need to buy your own clear silcone sealant and screws + screw mounts. I used Gorilla Sealant (buy on Amazon). Make sure you are working in warmer weather when applying sealant that way it is easier to apply.
We had the electrician run a cable about 100 feet from the basement main panel to the detached garage. And then installed a subpanel next to the NEMA 15-40 outlet to allow for more modifications in future. I added the Tesla Cable Organizer to the left of the outlet. I realized the holder that comes with it is useless, unless your plug is flushed with the wall. I would just recommend you purchase a hook from Home Depot or this Charging Cable Organizer from Amazon. Since the cable is quite strong, I wouldn’t worry about hanging the power brick from the outlet. I had this confirmed by the electrician that dangling the wire and brick should not affect the cable wear and damage over time.
CHARGING COMPARISON GUIDE:
Depending your usage, you can see below how you can go about charging you vehicle. I am finding I will charge my car about once every 4-5 days. I could probably do it once every 6 days but I like to have more charge in my car. Some people will plug it in every day just so they have a full charge on a daily basis. It also will keep your car fully charge overnight.
Tesla Mobile Charger with standard (120v)
Speed 8 km/h
Overnight charge (12h) = ~96 km
Full Charge from empty = 63 hours (2.6 days)
Tips / Advice:
If you drive less than 30km daily total commute then using the standard mobile charger that comes with the car is doable.
Tesla Mobile Charger with NEMA 15-40 outlet (240v)
Speed 50 km/h
Full Charge from empty = 6-8 hours
Tips / Advice:
What you can do is order the NEMA 15-40 adapter from Tesla Shop and use the Mobile Charger with your car. When you go on a road trip, then you pack the mobile charger back into your car for just in case scenarios. Try to order this 1 week in advance of installing your outlet.
Tesla Supercharger (120 kWh)
Speed ~155 km/hr (23 kW)
Full Charge from empty = 2 hours
This is an expensive option, but if you use our referral link, you can get your first 1500 km of free supercharging with your Tesla order.
Stand-by Drain (not plugged in with Sentry mode on)
1 km/ 2 hr (above 0 degrees)
1 km/ hr (below 0 degrees) - assume you may lose about 10 km overnight if not plugged in
Winter Warm up Drain: Turning on Climate Controls for half hour in -10 degrees
~3-5 km
Note: you will most likely charge up to 80% on a daily basis and will not charge to full unless you go on a trip. Therefore, it’s always best to go with the long-range if you want to limit any range or cold weather anxiety.