Wouldn’t it be great if you could charge from 10% to 80% at home in minutes instead of hours? Yes, but there are several reasons why you can’t, and you shouldn’t. We’ve previously discussed the three levels of EV charging here, if you need a refresher.
It is currently impossible to install a Tesla Supercharger (or any DC Level 3 fast charger) at a private residential home. Here are the main three reasons:
Not for sale
Tesla installs and operates their own Supercharger network by partnering with retail businesses. But does not sell Superchargers to third parties, and certainly not to private individuals. Tesla only sells the Tesla home charger (Tesla Wall Connector), which maxes out at 11.5 kW (48amps).
Your home can’t deliver enough electricity
A typical home likely consumes 1-2 kW as a base load, so the electrical circuits were not designed to deliver enough power for a 150 kW fast EV charger. Most homes can handle 40 amp (7-8 kW) charging without issue, and some homes can handle 50 amp (9-11 kW) loads without needing additional electrical upgrades. For safety reasons, only 80% of the circuit breaker power can be used continuously. So you will need to have a 60 amp circuit breaker in your home to pull 48 amps and charge at 11 kW. Even commercially zoned areas require expensive electrical upgrades from the electricity provider to handle the 150-250 kW loads of Level 3 fast chargers. This is why it would not be practical to do Level 3 DC charging at home.
Daily fast charging can degrade the EV battery faster
Finally, as we previously discussed in other articles; frequent DC fast charging will wear down the EV battery faster. Fast charging is convenient for road trips, but it introduces a lot of extra heat into the battery pack, and batteries do not like to sit too hot. All EV manufacturers recommended Level 2 AC charging for daily usage, and less frequent DC charging for trips.