New Taycan owner - Charging question

[Markee]

Hi everyone

…just delivery of a 21 Taycan and have a question about charging at home. Option 1 I take it is using the charger that the car came with, and having an electrician install a nema 15 50 outlet. Option 2, would be to buy something like a ChargePoint and hardwire. Is there a difference/advantage between the 2?

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[Tooney]

Link to thread that is a good place to start - has lots of links to related threads: Home Charging

 

[SergeyIndy]

Hi everyone

…just delivery of a 21 Taycan and have a question about charging at home. Option 1 I take it is using the charger that the car came with, and having an electrician install a nema 15 50 outlet. Option 2, would be to buy something like a ChargePoint and hardwire. Is there a difference/advantage between the 2?

Direct answer from me is the following:

1) Get a real EVSE and hardwire it by the electrician for clean install. I got Emporia and love it.
2) Keep the one that came with the car in the case. I cannot think of a situation I will use it for, since I would be using fast DC charging out of town. Others carry a Tesla tap to get into hotel Tesla dummy chargers or I can see me taking it with me and plugging into a dryer plug at an out of town rental but that would be for backup purposes with both requiring overnight timeframe to get the car to any decent level.

 

[ShiftyWolf]

My car came with the mobile charger connect so I went the wired outlet approach. If you don't have the charger, multiple threads say there are better options.

 

[W1NGE]

Hi everyone

…just delivery of a 21 Taycan and have a question about charging at home. Option 1 I take it is using the charger that the car came with, and having an electrician install a nema 15 50 outlet. Option 2, would be to buy something like a ChargePoint and hardwire. Is there a difference/advantage between the 2?

Nothing wrong with what came with the car. Why pay more? Have it professionally installed (will remain portable should you need that). Sorted.

 

[ShiftyWolf]

Nothing wrong with what came with the car. Why pay more?

Completely agree if OP already has the charger. My Porsche charger setup is as shown and works for me, although notice how short the cable is from the receptacle to the charger itself.

 

[Hirschaj]

Completely agree if OP already has the charger. My Porsche charger setup is as shown and works for me, although notice how short the cable is from the receptacle to the charger itself.

I originally went this route but the PMC+ and PMCC have an overheating issue in the US and mine started having issues within about 6 months of installation. I swapped out to a relatively cheap Lectron EVSE and have never had another problem charging at home. There are many threads on this forum describing this issue.

 

[ShiftyWolf]

I originally went this route but the PMC+ and PMCC have an overheating issue in the US and mine started having issues within about 6 months of installation.
... There are many threads on this forum describing this issue.

Yeah, I read those as well and had some concerns but went with the Hubbel receptacle and fully rated wire, plus my car included that charger from the prior owner. I figure I'll use it for now and buy something else if the OEM starts to have problems.

 

[Hirschaj]

Yeah, I read those as well and had some concerns but went with the Hubbel receptacle and fully rated wire, plus my car came with that charger from the prior owner. I figure I'll use it for now and buy something else if the OEM starts to have problems.

Hopefully you won’t. I have the industrial outlet and proper wiring too. I do however live in Texas and it stays HOT in garages here in the summer. I see you’re in Florida so I would expect your garage temps to be pretty high during summer too. My garage even has an active ventilation system.

 

[arijaycomet]

Is there a difference/advantage between the 2?

I'm not an electrician by trade, but I -think- a proper "to code" NEMA 14-50 would require 4 wires, whereas a hardwire install usually doesn't have a neutral. So depending on the length of the run, the wiring will cost a bit more for an outlet. Also, outlets can fail. I've had it happen to me. Don't get a cheap one; get the Hubbell brand as noted, if you go the 14-50 route.

But for most people the biggest gain from the 2nd option is that you're probably going to install a 60A breaker and get 48A current draw (11.5 kW), whereas a 14-50 outlet is going to be on a 50A breaker and offer 40A max draw (9.6kW). That may not sound like much, but it's a 20% increase in power, and as such, speed. Basically shaving ~20% off your charging times.

That said, for most folks, non-issue as you're only plugging in a single car and usually overnight. Even on a "heavy use" day you're probably not going to need more than 4-5 hours of AC charging to replenish. But we have 3x cars, all electric. So being able to swap a 11.5 kW charger around in the garage between 2x cars (the other is in the driveway), means faster charge times, etc.

If you hardware, you can also consider getting 2x units that power share. WallBox is probably the best option there but Tesla works great too, and their recently released universal wall connector is a great price for the features and power it offers. Good luck!

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