6 ms·

I used to run an extension cord out of my 2nd floor window, but I wasn't parking on the street. My space was off the driveway, behind a fence and a gate, but on

I used to run an extension cord out of my 2nd floor window, but I wasn't parking on the street. My space was off the driveway, behind a fence and a gate, but only about 12 feet from the curb. More recently, I had been parking an electric car in my apartment's lot, and running an extension cord from the exercise room, out to the car. Then the apartment decided to close off those outlets. In both cases, the car's battery was only 24Kwh. With 110 volts, it took about 18 hours to fully charge. With a battery the size of a Tesla, that charging rate is going to take all week.

rootusrootus 7y ago
The average car is only driven enough miles per day to require about one night of charging at 120V to top off. A lot of folks, even Tesla owners, get by fine just using existing 120V sockets.
- toomuchtodo 7y ago
  I get by with a 100' extension cord (12 gauge) for my 100D Model S charging off 120V. The vehicle detects the voltage drop and reduces its charge rate accordingly. 36-48 miles of range per 12 hours added to the vehicle (the average American round trip commute is ~34 miles/day). If I'm in a pinch, I'll pop over to a Supercharger for a top up, which is at the local grocery store so I'm shopping anyway. The charge is so fast (~150kw charge current, ~25 minutes), I sometimes have to go move the car mid shopping trip.
Finnucane 7y ago
There's a guy with a Tesla around the corner from me, who does this (cable out the 2nd floor window), and he does park on the street. Not sure what he does if he can't get a space close enough. (A neighborhood of row houses with little off-street parking) I think the car makers have to accelerate integrating solar charging into their cars. You probably wouldn't get 100% of your charge that way, but you could get enough to substantially reduce dependence on the grid.
- lonelappde 7y ago
  Leaf had a solar charger as a gimmick. It doesn't work. There isn't enough panel space.
  - tigeba 7y ago
    The Leaf solar charger is for the 12 volt system, which is separate from the main battery. I can't really conclude if it is a gimmick or not but my 12 volt battery has not yet died. To be fair, the car also charges the 12 volt battery when it is plugged in.
- davrosthedalek 7y ago
  I wonder what pedestrians et al. think about the cable running across the sidewalk. I don't think this solution scales well, also from an insurance perspective.
  - stcredzero 7y ago
    There was a time when I was renting a room in a house in East Oakland. The home owners had a traffic cone, and I used one of those cable-covers to cross the sidewalk. I never had a problem, other than overhearing a young woman who lived next door call me, "That douchebag with the electric car."
    - ghaff 7y ago
      To be perfectly honest, the comment seems rather deserved. It certainly doesn't scale if everyone does it.
  - roel_v 7y ago
    My neighbor does this as well. He does cover the cable with a piece of vinyl. I see him dicking around with his extension cord and vinyl several times a week, and then he tells me how charging EVs is totally not a problem and how convenient his car is. In the mean time I spend 5 mins every 3-4 weeks to fill my car up with diesel and I'm good for another 8-900 km. I wouldn't want an electric car today if I got one for free (well then I'd probably take it, I'm Dutch after all)
mohaine 7y ago
I used 120v exclusively for the first 3 months I owned my Model 3. It took a few days to get back full after a long trip but it worked great for day to day driving. I did finally put in 240v but only because it was easy since I just had to go through 1 concrete wall. This does speed it up 5x the 120v rate (2x volts @ 2.5x amps) which is nice after you drop down to a low charge but not really noticed in day to day use.
gist 7y ago
> I used to run an extension cord out of my 2nd floor window > More recently, I had been parking an electric car in my apartment's lot, and running an extension cord from the exercise room, out to the car. Then the apartment decided to close off those outlets. Won't even get to what I am sure others have raised about safety issues. My question is why do you go to this effort? What in you makes you want to go to this extent in order to use an electric car?
- thrill 7y ago
  Why not?
- pjc50 7y ago
  Personal contribution to the environment?
  - secabeen 7y ago
    That's a big one for me. It's the largest thing you can probably do to reduce global warming, personally. EVs are also faster to accelerate, and more fun to drive.
    - scarejunba 7y ago
      Well, not the largest. I'm doing something better. I offset all my carbon and drive an ICE SUV. I'm actually carbon-negative every year. I do contribute sulphur oxides and all that stuff, but global warming is driven less by those.
      - kaybe 7y ago
        I would argue that we do not yet have a true way of offsetting carbon emissions. Planting trees (that take decades to grow might or might not release the carbon again soon after) or helping other people emit less does not render your emissions harmless. The only way that can work is to take it out of the atmosphere again for good. Is there is an offsetting option that I'm not aware of that does this?
lutorm 7y ago
I think "charging time" is the wrong metric to think about. The relevant metric is "miles/h". The model 3 may have a giant battery pack that takes forever to charge fully, but it's also very efficient so whatever electricity you get into it corresponds to more miles. All that matters for the situation to be sustainable is that you drive less than the amount of miles that you can charge while not driving, on average. That's a simple comparison between miles driven, the current you can charge at, and the number of hours you can charge per day.

rootusrootus 7y ago

The average car is only driven enough miles per day to require about one night of charging at 120V to top off. A lot of folks, even Tesla owners, get by fine just using existing 120V sockets.

toomuchtodo 7y ago
I get by with a 100' extension cord (12 gauge) for my 100D Model S charging off 120V. The vehicle detects the voltage drop and reduces its charge rate accordingly. 36-48 miles of range per 12 hours added to the vehicle (the average American round trip commute is ~34 miles/day). If I'm in a pinch, I'll pop over to a Supercharger for a top up, which is at the local grocery store so I'm shopping anyway. The charge is so fast (~150kw charge current, ~25 minutes), I sometimes have to go move the car mid shopping trip.

Finnucane 7y ago

There's a guy with a Tesla around the corner from me, who does this (cable out the 2nd floor window), and he does park on the street. Not sure what he does if he can't get a space close enough. (A neighborhood of row houses with little off-street parking) I think the car makers have to accelerate integrating solar charging into their cars. You probably wouldn't get 100% of your charge that way, but you could get enough to substantially reduce dependence on the grid.

lonelappde 7y ago
Leaf had a solar charger as a gimmick. It doesn't work. There isn't enough panel space.
- tigeba 7y ago
  The Leaf solar charger is for the 12 volt system, which is separate from the main battery. I can't really conclude if it is a gimmick or not but my 12 volt battery has not yet died. To be fair, the car also charges the 12 volt battery when it is plugged in.
davrosthedalek 7y ago
I wonder what pedestrians et al. think about the cable running across the sidewalk. I don't think this solution scales well, also from an insurance perspective.
- stcredzero 7y ago
  There was a time when I was renting a room in a house in East Oakland. The home owners had a traffic cone, and I used one of those cable-covers to cross the sidewalk. I never had a problem, other than overhearing a young woman who lived next door call me, "That douchebag with the electric car."
  - ghaff 7y ago
    To be perfectly honest, the comment seems rather deserved. It certainly doesn't scale if everyone does it.
- roel_v 7y ago
  My neighbor does this as well. He does cover the cable with a piece of vinyl. I see him dicking around with his extension cord and vinyl several times a week, and then he tells me how charging EVs is totally not a problem and how convenient his car is. In the mean time I spend 5 mins every 3-4 weeks to fill my car up with diesel and I'm good for another 8-900 km. I wouldn't want an electric car today if I got one for free (well then I'd probably take it, I'm Dutch after all)

mohaine 7y ago

I used 120v exclusively for the first 3 months I owned my Model 3. It took a few days to get back full after a long trip but it worked great for day to day driving. I did finally put in 240v but only because it was easy since I just had to go through 1 concrete wall. This does speed it up 5x the 120v rate (2x volts @ 2.5x amps) which is nice after you drop down to a low charge but not really noticed in day to day use.

gist 7y ago

> I used to run an extension cord out of my 2nd floor window > More recently, I had been parking an electric car in my apartment's lot, and running an extension cord from the exercise room, out to the car. Then the apartment decided to close off those outlets. Won't even get to what I am sure others have raised about safety issues. My question is why do you go to this effort? What in you makes you want to go to this extent in order to use an electric car?

thrill 7y ago
Why not?
pjc50 7y ago
Personal contribution to the environment?
- secabeen 7y ago
  That's a big one for me. It's the largest thing you can probably do to reduce global warming, personally. EVs are also faster to accelerate, and more fun to drive.
  - scarejunba 7y ago
    Well, not the largest. I'm doing something better. I offset all my carbon and drive an ICE SUV. I'm actually carbon-negative every year. I do contribute sulphur oxides and all that stuff, but global warming is driven less by those.
    - kaybe 7y ago
      I would argue that we do not yet have a true way of offsetting carbon emissions. Planting trees (that take decades to grow might or might not release the carbon again soon after) or helping other people emit less does not render your emissions harmless. The only way that can work is to take it out of the atmosphere again for good. Is there is an offsetting option that I'm not aware of that does this?

lutorm 7y ago

I think "charging time" is the wrong metric to think about. The relevant metric is "miles/h". The model 3 may have a giant battery pack that takes forever to charge fully, but it's also very efficient so whatever electricity you get into it corresponds to more miles. All that matters for the situation to be sustainable is that you drive less than the amount of miles that you can charge while not driving, on average. That's a simple comparison between miles driven, the current you can charge at, and the number of hours you can charge per day.