Plug or charger for guests?

Rodolfo Paiz · Mar 1, 2013

I've seen many mentions of the TMC Florida charging network where members let others charge at their home or business. I'd love to reciprocate, but since we often travel and the gate won't allow access unless they can call the house and check with us, it hasn't seemed feasible so far. However, my Model S is almost here, and I'm doing a little planning so that I can offer guests and fellow EV drivers charging facilities at my house in the near future.

What would be the best infrastructure to provide for general guest use outside the house? Would a 14-50 suffice? Do most people travel with their UMC's? I'd be happy to install something like a Clipper CS-100 for guests, but my only concern is that it wouldn't get used very often and is just $2500 sitting there corroding. So basically, if I'm trying to be hospitable to any EV drivers -- and especially Tesla owners -- what should I install, and with how much amperage?

Opinions welcome.

ClearwaterBchSteve · Mar 2, 2013

Rodolfo Paiz said:
Do most people travel with their UMC's?

Since I use the UMC at home for charging, I only take it in the car on longer trips when I expect to need to charge remotely. I can't speak for others, but this is likely a common procedure since the majority of owners use the UMC at home for charging. An exterior 14-50 would be a very generous offering to fellow owners. I plan to install our 14-50 at the front of our garage (inside) so a guest could easily plug into it with their EV in the driveway, however I would need to be home to provide access.

NigelM · Mar 2, 2013

I installed a HPWC in my garage so that I can keep my UMC in the Model S. If you're heading into unknown territory it's a good idea to be prepared by putting the UMC in your car.

I have outside 14-50s which anyone can use in an emergency and to be honest anything less than that is probably a waste of time and money.

agentsmith1612 · Mar 3, 2013

In Germany we have a website that called "www.drehstromkiste.de" (http://translate.google.de/translat...-8&eotf=1&u=http://drehstromkiste.de/&act=url).

There you can buy a box that you can install outside of your home (make sure that everyone that have also the box installed at their home can have access to your box). The box is locked by a key and everybody that have this boy too have access to all others. In the box is a meter with this you can count how much energy others have used.
The energy will be free for all in the network, but the website recommend to donate some money in the box if you have charged by somebody.

It's like a private chargestation network.

montgom626 · Mar 3, 2013

Rodolfo Paiz said:
Opinions welcome.

Start with a 14-50 and see how much use you get.

Larry Chanin · Mar 3, 2013

Rodolfo Paiz said:
I've seen many mentions of the TMC Florida charging network where members let others charge at their home or business. I'd love to reciprocate, but since we often travel and the gate won't allow access unless they can call the house and check with us, it hasn't seemed feasible so far. However, my Model S is almost here, and I'm doing a little planning so that I can offer guests and fellow EV drivers charging facilities at my house in the near future.

What would be the best infrastructure to provide for general guest use outside the house? Would a 14-50 suffice? Do most people travel with their UMC's? I'd be happy to install something like a Clipper CS-100 for guests, but my only concern is that it wouldn't get used very often and is just $2500 sitting there corroding. So basically, if I'm trying to be hospitable to any EV drivers -- and especially Tesla owners -- what should I install, and with how much amperage?

Opinions welcome.

Hi Rodolfo,

It is very generous of you to arrange to install an additional charging source outside your house. Obviously hosts are free to do whatever they are comfortable with, but generally we encourage a member of the household to be available when guest club members arrive for a charge. As much as the charging network is a practical means of overcoming range anxiety, it is also a social activity that provides an opportunity for fellow club members to get acquainted.

I agree with others that an outdoor NEMA 14-50 is more than generous, and visitors should be traveling with their UMCs. However, depending on where you are located and how much of charge a visitor will need it may turn out in some instances that a NEMA 14-50 may be impractical. For example, if you are in a gated community and not walking distance from amenities, and say the visitor needs over 100 miles of range, then they would essentially be camping out in your driveway for more than three hours without access to a restroom, etc.

The ClipperCreek charger has the advantage of permitting both Roadster and Model S owners a charge twice as fast as a NEMA 14-50, as you point out it is fairly expensive.

The Tesla Model S High Power Wall Connector is suitable for outdoor installations, it will also charge twice as fast as a NEMA 14-50, and it is less than half of the cost of the ClipperCreek. The disadvantage is that it is not compatible with Roadsters.

If you wish to share details regarding your location, please start a thread in our secure private discussion group.

Regards,

Larry

bonnie · Mar 3, 2013

Rodolfo - Please consider also sharing your location on PlugShare - EV Charging Station Map - Find the nearest location to charge your electric car! . This will allow fellow EV drivers who are not a member of the local Florida Tesla group to also find you.

I've listed my location on PlugShare and never had a problem.

Rodolfo Paiz · Mar 4, 2013

Larry brings up a good point: we are in a gated community, about 8 blocks from the nearest public street, and the house is not accessible unless we either let the gate know in advance or they can call in for authorization. Plus, the plug or charger for guests (at least the first one) will be outside our garage but within our own back gate, so we'd still have to be home to provide access to that. So anyone using the charger at my house is most likely visiting us as well, regardless of whether the primary motivation to reach us was the visit or the charge. I'll eventually add a plug or charger to the front driveway as well, but that'll take some time.

I love the design and the price of the Tesla HPWC for what it delivers, but I also want to be a good host to those poor unfortunate souls who've chosen inferior (non-Tesla) EV's. ;-) So I want to install a solution that is open to everyone or nearly everyone. From what little I've been able to learn so far, I think my only two real options are a 14-50 or a charger with J1772 connector. Is that right?

- - - Updated - - -

bonnie1194 said:
Rodolfo - Please consider also sharing your location on PlugShare - EV Charging Station Map - Find the nearest location to charge your electric car! . This will allow fellow EV drivers who are not a member of the local Florida Tesla group to also find you.

I've listed my location on PlugShare and never had a problem.

Thanks, Bonnie. I don't have any concerns about security when listing our location on something like PlugShare... breaking into our home would be an unfortunate experience for the burglar. What I worry about is quite the opposite: that listing a charging asset with significant limitations like the gate access might actually give someone a false sense of security if they try to access the charger while I'm traveling and can't get to it. But I'll definitely continue to evaluate the issue.

Doug_G · Mar 4, 2013

J1772 is really the only option that ensures all other EVs can charge (in North America of course).

bonnie · Mar 4, 2013

Rodolfo Paiz said:
Thanks, Bonnie. I don't have any concerns about security when listing our location on something like PlugShare... breaking into our home would be an unfortunate experience for the burglar. What I worry about is quite the opposite: that listing a charging asset with significant limitations like the gate access might actually give someone a false sense of security if they try to access the charger while I'm traveling and can't get to it. But I'll definitely continue to evaluate the issue.

I don't have any security issues either - my property is gated (though not in a gated community), three large dogs, alarm system, and many of the folks back in this area are retired law enforcement. While I'm planning on putting a J1772 on the outside of the house, the current charging solution is in my garage. Which, even though I can open my gate remotely, means charging is not accessible unless I am home. And PlugShare allows you to list that kind of information. "Charger on private property - contact me to obtain access."

Rodolfo Paiz · Mar 4, 2013

Thanks... all of these things are good to know.

Search

Plug or charger for guests?

Rodolfo Paiz

Fidelius Family Office

ClearwaterBchSteve

P445 / VIN 1794

NigelM

Recovering Member

agentsmith1612

Member

montgom626

Active Member

Larry Chanin

President, Florida Tesla Enthusiasts

bonnie

I play a nice person on twitter.

Rodolfo Paiz

Fidelius Family Office

Doug_G

Lead Moderator

bonnie

I play a nice person on twitter.

Rodolfo Paiz

Fidelius Family Office

Similar threads