EV Charging, Explained: The Trepidation of Moving in a New Comfort Zone

If you’re about to get an electric vehicle and are concerned about getting your EV charging situation sorted out at home without getting seriously charged — as in digging a big hole in your wallet — you’re reading the right post.

I’ll explain, via my own experience, how to get your new vehicle’s “tank” filled and avoid those over-the-top electrical upgrade estimates.

While I wrote this based mostly on my two-plus years of experience with my 2021 Model Y Long Range, most of what I’m mentioning here applies to any EV. It’s collective wisdom from my friends and neighbors with different EV types.

To cut to the chase: Getting your car charged is generally more straightforward than you might think, and it’s much better than going to a gas station. If you live in a home with a garage (that has an electrical outlet) or an accessible outdoor socket, you’re already ready to leap. Think of your EV as another large appliance.

But there’s more to getting a car charged than plugging it in. Let’s start with the simple math of charging a vehicle.

EV charging: The general math of getting a car charged

Charging a battery is like filling a tank with water (or any type of liquid.)

The tank is the battery, and the water flow (pressure + pipe size) is the incoming electricity determined by Ampere (A) and Voltage (V). Combining the two, we have Wattage (W), which is, in this case, the tank’s volume or power flow.

When the flow is constant, the rate of water going into the receiving tank is the same. So, how long it takes to fill a tank depends on its size.

After that, how long that full tank lasts depends on the usage or efficiency. Generally, the flow of electricity is always constant.

My Tesla Model Y 2021’s battery has a capacity of 75 kWh. Per the EPA estimate — which is massively exaggerated — the car has a range of up to 324 miles on a full charge or 4.3 miles per kWh.

With that range, when plugged into a 120V (which caps at 15 A) socket, its charge rate is 5 miles per hour. The actual real-world distance you can drive per kWh varies greatly depending on speed, load, wind, terrain, your belief in Elon Musk’s nonsense, and so on. But the rate at which electricity flows into the battery remains the same, which, in this case, is about 1.5 kWh (give or take).

This electric flow rate applies to all Tesla EVs that use the same battery technology. But on a Model S, when plugged into the same 120V socket, this rate will translate into roughly 3 EPA miles per hour — this model requires more energy to move.

The point is this: You can increase this charging rate by using higher amps (and voltage). That’s the case for all EVs.

Typically you need a 240V socket if you want more than 15A. And, in the US, that means you need to do some serious electrical upgrades.

Or do you?

EV charging: It’s different from the pump

More than two years ago, in preparation for my Model Y’s arrival, I had difficulty figuring out our electricity situation at home.

Chances are some of you are feeling the same right now when anticipating the delivery of your beloved vehicle or mulling over the idea of getting one.

Doing my search and listening to the advice of online EV “experts” — there are lots of them these days — I got quotes from reputable electricians that range between $5,000 to $15,000 in electrical wiring and breaker upgrades, depending on the scope of the work.

That’s not to mention the required permit and inevitable disruption — a home would have no electricity for at least a day during the retrofit.

It’s “all about the amps,” they told me, and it made sense. As mentioned above, the standard 120V socket in the US can push out a maximum real-world rate of 15 amps — often lower for safety reasons.

A Tesla Wall Charger, for example, needs a 60 amps breaker at 240V to deliver the fastest home charging speed. My Model Y would get up to 42 miles (68 km) per hour of charging from it, or eight times the charging rate compared to when plugged into the existing 110V socket.

And that’s all true — we need higher amps to deliver faster charging, which generally requires better wiring and breaker upgrades. The electricians didn’t lie.

But in hindsight, it was only because I was looking at the whole thing from the mindset of a person who had always driven a car with an internal combustion engine (ICE). And so did the electricians. None of those giving me the quotes had an EV.

The real question is this: How fast do you need to charge?

EV charging vs filling the gas tank: You’ve got all night

With an ICE car, we “feel the pain at the pump,” as they often say during high gas prizes. And since we don’t (want to) spend much time there, it’s great that the tank only needs a few minutes to fill up.

And then what? You drive the car home, put it in the garage, and there it sits, doing nothing for hours.

With an EV, on the other hand, you can get the tank filled (slowly) whenever you’re home or even when the car is not driven. So, in most cases, fast charging is unnecessary, at least for daily usage. You literally have got all night.

Slow charging is generally better for batteries.

Take my Model Y, for example. If I plug it in the 120V socket when I get home at 5 PM, by 8 AM the next day, it’s obtained enough juice for some additional 60 real-world miles. And that’s enough for the day’s driving. And on the days I don’t drive, I can keep the car plugged in much longer.

Even if you drive a fair bit more than I do daily, the combined charging time over a week of a regular socket is generally good enough.

So again, if you have a garage with a 120V socket or one that you can plug outdoors, you’re ready to get an EV as far as charging is concerned. But, sure, a faster charging option doesn’t hurt — among other things, it gives us more flexibility.

But how fast is fast?

Check out the three current charging levels below, and I’ll talk about how I managed to get my fast-charging solution (for the Model Y) without going overboard and spending thousands of dollars I didn’t have.

EV charging levels (1, 2, and 3) in brief

The tabs below contain brief info on the three current EV charging levels.

As you might have noted, all charging options require a to-car connector — the part that goes into your EV’s charging port.

In the US, there are two main charging connection standards:

• Tesla proprietary: Supports all three levels of charging using alternating current (AC) or direct current (DC).
• Combined Charging System (CCS): Supports charging level 3 via DC but has built-in support for the AC-only J1772 standard for Level-2 and Level-1 charging.

Only the Tesla connector can fit Tesla cars. For this reason, a converter is needed if you want to get your Tesla juiced up at a non-Tesla charging station. Currently, there are two converters in the US, the J1772-to-Tesla and CCS-to-Telsa.

I’m not a huge fan of proprietary connectors — like Apple’s Lightning connector — but to be fair, worldwide, the standards for charging connectors are still very fragmented. In Tesla’s case, it needed to create a new standard since none existed for EVs.

When Tesla opens its charging network to non-Tesla EVs in the US, you’ll also find converters for the other way around for level-3 charging. For home charging, the Tesla-to-J1772 adapter has been available for a long time.

Simple home charging options

For home charging, the portable charger (included with most EVs) is generally enough.

I’ll use my Model Y’s Mobile Connector as an example, but other portable charger shares a similar concept.

Though much bigger, the Mobile Connector is similar to a laptop’s power adapter — it can handle power input from 110V to 240V and various amps outputs via different to-wall adapters that fit different wall sockets.

And by default, the charger includes the standard adapter head for the region. In the US, that adapter head is the NEMA 5-15, the three-prong plug for any wall socket around your home. In this case, you can plug it right in, just like a phone, and it will charge the car a few miles per hour, as mentioned above.

Using different adapter heads out of the bundle in the above picture, you can charge the car at faster rates, depending on the power output of the fitting socket.

In the US, the best option is the NEMA14-50 — a popular plug for electric ovens or dryers. With it, the Mobile Connector works with a 240V outlet to draw up to 32 amps of power to deliver a filling rate of around 7kWh. (For my Model Y, that’s about 30 miles per hour.)

Starting in August 2022, in the US, the Mobile Connector includes the Nema 5-15 and NEMA 14-50 adapters.

The actual amps the car’s charger draws depend on the real-time condition when you plug it in, and for Level-2 and Level-1 charging users generally have control over that. With a Tesla, you can use the mobile app to make the car draw lower amps than available.

So a 240V Level-2 charging option will also allow you to trickle charge the car when you’re not in a hurry.

A typical home charging station

In my case, I decided not to do any major breaker upgrade or install the Level-2 Tesla Wall Charger.

Instead, I had a licensed electrician friend install a 240V 40-amp outlet by upgrading an existing line and using the NEMA 14-50 adapter head for my Mobile Connector. All that cost less than $500.

It’s important to get this done correctly. I’d recommend using a professional for the job. I did. Also, generally leave the NEMA 14-50 adapter in the socket — it’s best not to remove it often.

With the new socket, the Mobile Connector can deliver up to 32 amps and fill my model Y at around 30 miles per hour, or about half of a real level-2 charging station.

I later got a second Mobile Connector, mounted it permanently in the garage as my home charging station, and kept the original with the car.

But that’s proven to be already more than enough. Most of the time, I use the Tesla app to tune that down to 20 amps or lower to slow down the charging rate — there’s no need to put an unnecessary strain on the wiring.

I find it a fun challenge to make the car have an exactly specific amount of energy before leaving for a trip.

Once in a while, I still plug my car into a 120V socket, especially when traveling as I’d need to charge from a rental house or a campsite, and that has always been sufficient in most cases.

So my routine has been to plug the car in and let it do its things when I get home. And I generally set the max charge at 180 miles — about 55% of the battery’s capacity — which is more than a day’s worth of averaged real-world driving in my case.

And that brings us to some tips on charging your EV.

EV charging tips

Generally, batteries are at their best when they are not completely empty or full.

For EVs, it’s recommended to keep the battery level between 20% and 80% because:

• You can charge it the fastest. It takes much shorter to fill a battery from 20% to 80% than from 80% to 100%.
• It outputs energy the most efficiently.
• The battery itself can last the longest without degrading.

This idea of giving stuff some “breathing room” exists in ICE cars, too. Most gas stations suggest that you don’t “top off” the tank, and all mechanics will tell you that letting the car run completely out of gas is a bad idea. Getting stranded aside, running the car till the gas tank is empty means you will let harmful sediments into the engine.

So unless you’re about to drive on a long trip, never charge your EV over 90%. And when you’re on the road, plan to get it plugged in before the battery gets lower than 10%.

Don’t drive your EV until its battery is completely depleted. Unlike ICE cars, EVs need their juice to keep their subsystem running.

Finally, it’s best to monitor your car’s battery using percentages than miles. The range estimate is so greatly inaccurate and widely exaggerated — especially in Tesla’s case — that it’s dangerous to count on. But if you use it, discount at least 30% to be safe — more on that in this post my Model Y’s real range.

Tesla Supercharger

It’s impossible to talk about EV charging without mentioning Tesla’s Level-3 Supercharger network, the most comprehensive charging network worldwide.

In fact, the only reason I get the Model Y (or any Tesla) is because of the company’s Superchargers. They make talking road trips possible.

There are two things worth noting about Tesla’s supercharging network.

First, it’s ubiquitous and super convenient to use:

• When the car’s battery is low, its screen will show nearby Supercharging stations on the map, which is much more convenient than using Google Maps, which has EV chargers as points of interest.
• Punch in a destination on your car, and the car’s navigation will include stops charging station(s) if need be.
• When you pick a charging station, the car automatically optimizes its battery for fast charging.
• Drive the car to a charging station, plug the charging cord into the car, and you’re all set.

You can manage the charging (and payment) via the car’s touchscreen or the app. But if you don’t do anything, the vehicle will be charged at your predetermined level, or enough to get to the next charging station of the trip, based on the car’s current rate of consumption and real-time road and weather conditions.

Secondly, a Supercharger station can charge a car fast. Starting at 70kW and can go as high as 250kW, a station can fill my Model Y’s battery from 20% to 80% in 30 minutes or 5 minutes, respectively.

Tesla also has Level-2 Destination Chargers, similar to home chargers, that top at around 60 miles per hour.

EV charging: The takeaway

There you go. If you have a wall socket and maybe a long extension cord, chances are your home is ready for an EV. There’s no need to get fancy with electricity.

Give your new driving experience some time, and you’ll find out if you need a Level-2 charger at home, and even if you do, first consider the option that requires the least amount of work — the 240V socket as mentioned.

In my experience, a Level-2 home charger is about convenience and flexibility. It never hurts to have one, including a top-notch option, but in most cases, it’s not money well spent.

The key is to know that there’s no need to charge an EV at a fast rate at all times and every single time, which is the common presumption that plays a huge part in draining your bank account on an unnecessary electrical upgrade.

So, plug your vehicle into an available 120V socket, and things will be fine — the car has all night to fill up its battery. You can always take it to a public Level-3 charging facility when needed, as you’ve always done with a gas car and a gas station.

The truth of the matter is getting your EV charged is much more readily available than going to a gas station. You literally can do that wherever there’s a power socket. And with a solar panel, that’s almost anywhere.

And driving an EV does bring about a side effect: After a while, you’ll realize how you don’t miss the smell of gasoline or the oil stains on your garage floor, and if your loved one still has an ICE car, the frequent and unavoidable trips to the pump will slowly become a dreadful task.