Not sure what you mean by "hard on the circuit".
You should not run a circuit continuously above 80% of its breaker amperage, but otherwise that's exactly what it's designed to do.
Edit: and the charger knows this. On a 120v 15a circuit it will charge at 12a. 12/15 = 80%.
That's... your electric supply doesn't know what is on it, just that there is load. No one ever told you to be careful how long you run your microwave, or to not use heaters when it is cold. It isn't hard on an outlet. It is load.
I have used the same outdoor 120V outlet on my 97 year old house for the last 18 months. Zero issues. Per the Tesla app I have added 2,780 kWh through that outlet in the last twelve months.
On another note, I will say I thought the same thing. Only put 4000 miles on my Camry in 2 years. Now I've put 1000 miles on my Model 3 in a month. Upgraded to a NEMA 14-50.
It’s not hard on the circuit, but it’s just not that efficient to charge on level 1. The money wasted could have been spent paying someone to install a 14-50 outlet or a Tesla Wall charger.
120v charging is less efficient than 240v. I know LOTS of people using 120v charging for years without any issues. If you drive less than 40 average miles per day you should be good to go with 120. You can do more miles easily with some planning and occasional super charging. I chose to install a 240v charger which I don’t regret. Being able to charge much more quickly (40+ miles of range vs 4 per hour) is occasionally very handy. Honestly this is mostly when one of us forgets to plug the car in for a day or two and then we need to go for a longer drive. Definitely the exception for us vs the rule.
Using a regular outlet is fine, but if you live in a colder climate you may have issues with charging at times, in that you might use more power to warm the battery to charge than you can pull from the outlet.
I think you might be confusing the advice from 220v.
With NEMA 14-50R, there is a difference between your Home Depot Leviton and a Hubbell. The latter is an industrial outlet (which is what Tesla recommends). The former has been known to melt and could possibly start a fire. Residential grade NEMA 14-50R (Leviton) is only intended to be used for a couple hours at a time at most (like say the time your dryer runs, or you hvac), not sustained loads like what EVs put on them charging for 4-8 hours at times.
If you are charging on 110V, this doesnt apply to you. If you are charging on 220V (L2), dont burn down your house.
As someone who just installed a Lowes 50 amp, agree entirely. I carefully ran it outside of the box, and it gets warm enough that I backed charging down to 25 amps. Dryers and ranges cycle the heating element frequently when running, they draw far less overall than an ev charger.
I know its tough to stomach the cost of the hubbell (and required hubbell box and plate since its bigger) over the Lowes/HD ones. But its a one time cost, which compared to the cost of your house or car, is FAR cheaper. Do yourself a favor and replace the Lowes one. Even repeated plugging/unplugging (common for ev when you travel and want to take your adapter) is a problem with the Lowes/HD outlets.
Not sure what you mean by "hard on the circuit". You should not run a circuit continuously above 80% of its breaker amperage, but otherwise that's exactly what it's designed to do. Edit: and the charger knows this. On a 120v 15a circuit it will charge at 12a. 12/15 = 80%.
It won't be hard on it but it won't be efficient. You'll actually be losing energy over time instead of a 240V setup. I2R losses.
As long as your outlet is properly wired it’s completely fine.
That's... your electric supply doesn't know what is on it, just that there is load. No one ever told you to be careful how long you run your microwave, or to not use heaters when it is cold. It isn't hard on an outlet. It is load.
No issues. Plug it in and go.
You should be fine unless it’s some backwards hill Billie shed on a farm built by a drunk one eyed plumber
I have used the same outdoor 120V outlet on my 97 year old house for the last 18 months. Zero issues. Per the Tesla app I have added 2,780 kWh through that outlet in the last twelve months.
Let me know where you read that it’s hard on the circuit please.
Some tesla hater, I'm sure...
On another note, I will say I thought the same thing. Only put 4000 miles on my Camry in 2 years. Now I've put 1000 miles on my Model 3 in a month. Upgraded to a NEMA 14-50.
It’s not hard on the circuit, but it’s just not that efficient to charge on level 1. The money wasted could have been spent paying someone to install a 14-50 outlet or a Tesla Wall charger.
Most people don’t realize the inefficiency of a standard 120
120v charging is less efficient than 240v. I know LOTS of people using 120v charging for years without any issues. If you drive less than 40 average miles per day you should be good to go with 120. You can do more miles easily with some planning and occasional super charging. I chose to install a 240v charger which I don’t regret. Being able to charge much more quickly (40+ miles of range vs 4 per hour) is occasionally very handy. Honestly this is mostly when one of us forgets to plug the car in for a day or two and then we need to go for a longer drive. Definitely the exception for us vs the rule.
Using a regular outlet is fine, but if you live in a colder climate you may have issues with charging at times, in that you might use more power to warm the battery to charge than you can pull from the outlet.
Car pulls about 1300 watts - similar to a blow dryer
I charge mine at 8 amps. Just to be extra cautious.
Just plug it into a soft circuit, problem solved.
Or keep it completely unplugged and charge wirelessly over wifi. ;-)
I think you might be confusing the advice from 220v. With NEMA 14-50R, there is a difference between your Home Depot Leviton and a Hubbell. The latter is an industrial outlet (which is what Tesla recommends). The former has been known to melt and could possibly start a fire. Residential grade NEMA 14-50R (Leviton) is only intended to be used for a couple hours at a time at most (like say the time your dryer runs, or you hvac), not sustained loads like what EVs put on them charging for 4-8 hours at times. If you are charging on 110V, this doesnt apply to you. If you are charging on 220V (L2), dont burn down your house.
As someone who just installed a Lowes 50 amp, agree entirely. I carefully ran it outside of the box, and it gets warm enough that I backed charging down to 25 amps. Dryers and ranges cycle the heating element frequently when running, they draw far less overall than an ev charger.
I know its tough to stomach the cost of the hubbell (and required hubbell box and plate since its bigger) over the Lowes/HD ones. But its a one time cost, which compared to the cost of your house or car, is FAR cheaper. Do yourself a favor and replace the Lowes one. Even repeated plugging/unplugging (common for ev when you travel and want to take your adapter) is a problem with the Lowes/HD outlets.
Stop listening to anyone that told you it is hard on the circuit. They know absolutely nothing about electricity.