[Fastskiguy]

Thinking about getting and electric car and possible garage modifications. Obviously a charger and maybe a garage fan to keep the temp under 100 degrees inside?

What garage mods have you done to make your electric car happy? Thanks

Joe

[asianthree]

Mini split instead of a fan, keeps better even temp, have car company install connection, (sometimes small or no charge)

[Toymeister]

We have a gas line and 220 at our dryer. We have a gas dryer.

I took the 60 amp dryer 220 line and rerouted it to the garage for a level 2 charger. So now I have a 220 line for the car i/l/o an unused dryer line

I had looked into having Lenhart installing a new 220 circuit and it was over $1,000 since I am placing the level 2 charger over 25' (as measured by the length of the wire) from the breaker box. If the breaker box had been on the same side of the garage as where I needed the charger it would have been extremely simple to put the 220 outlet for the charger below the breaker box.

I'm my case erouting the dryer line was a DIY job for my skill level.

[Keefelane66]

Originally Posted by Fastskiguy

Thinking about getting and electric car and possible garage modifications. Obviously a charger and maybe a garage fan to keep the temp under 100 degrees inside?

What garage mods have you done to make your electric car happy? Thanks

Joe

Found this article
How To Get Your Garage Ready For an Electric Car

[vinricci]

I had Lenhart do mine but installer said he had to put plug under my circuit breaker box. A few months later I hired Dan Mansir an electrician with over 35 years experience come out to hook up a plug near my water heater for a recirculating pump and he asked why my charging cable was stretched across my garage. Told him about Lenhart saying couldn’t be done where I wanted it. He went up into the attic and said of course it can be done. He had me order the wire from Amazon and a week later it was done right next to my car. Professional and neat. Very reasonable prices. 352-446-8140. Corrected work done by Lenhart for less money.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by Fastskiguy

Thinking about getting and electric car and possible garage modifications. Obviously a charger and maybe a garage fan to keep the temp under 100 degrees inside?

What garage mods have you done to make your electric car happy? Thanks

Joe

There are lots of threads about adding a garage fan. My garage doesn't have a fan, but the garage almost never gets above 95 degrees or so. There is no guarantee that adding a fan will do much to lower the garage temperature.

[Babubhat]

Chevy bolt was offering free charger and installation recently

[pikeselectric]

Hi Joe! So many residents have invested in a dedicated circuit for the car charger plug/charging station. We have installed various types of set ups for different EVs from Teslas to Jeeps, and anything in between! Here's a photo of a Jeep station we have installed. We offer FREE estimates and 5% OFF if you mention you saw us on Talk of the Villages! (352) 748-6251

[sparky4840]

When you are ready for the charger circuit, PM me and I will give you a great estimate.45 years in trade and licensed and insured for Florida.

[Fastskiguy]

Thanks for the ideas guys! Sure appreciate it

Originally Posted by asianthree

Mini split instead of a fan, keeps better even temp, have car company install connection, (sometimes small or no charge)

Now...a mini split is essentially air conditioning the garage, right? I'm not sure we're ready to go whole hog out there....on the other hand...we have a weight lifting area out there and do the occasional crafting thing (wood project, easy carbon fiber layup) and have a pumpin' garage sound system so it could be a possibility maybe.

[sdeikenberry]

We own a KIA Niro EV, and have a level 2 charger mounted on our garage wall next to the breaker box. We have a screen garage door, and the attic is insulated above the garage ceiling, but otherwise do not mitigate the temperature in our garage. We do not have problems. However, we only charge between 9PM and 6AM since we are on DUKE energy's EV rebate program.

[MandoMan]

Originally Posted by asianthree

Mini split instead of a fan, keeps better even temp, have car company install connection, (sometimes small or no charge)

I drive a Prius. I buy about 9 gallons of gas PER MONTH—about $35 at most. Having a mini split installed in the garage would cost me about $6,000. (Toymeister wrote here last year that his system cost him $10,000.) If I have had my car out in the sun for a few hours (or minutes, actually), then park in the garage, it is like parking a 3,000 pound hot iron in the garage—it eventually cools, but that heat radiates into the garage. The morning sun hits the garage door and heats that up, too, making it like a hot frying pan. An inch of insulation there doesn’t help much. Cooling that garage with a heat pump could cost as much as cooling the rest of my courtyard villa (usually under $100 a month). If I buy an electric car to help the environment, then use lots of energy to cool my garage, I may not be helping the environment at all. And is this cost effective for me, compared to what I have? Nowhere near! I’ll stick with what I have.

[Wondering]

Originally Posted by Fastskiguy

Thinking about getting and electric car and possible garage modifications. Obviously a charger and maybe a garage fan to keep the temp under 100 degrees inside?

What garage mods have you done to make your electric car happy? Thanks

Joe

The electric car should come with a charger that you can plug into any garage 110 outlet. Charging time is loner on a 110 outlet. You could have an electrician put in a 220 line and plug which takes a much shorter time charging.

[Fastskiguy]

Originally Posted by asianthree

Mini split instead of a fan, keeps better even temp, have car company install connection, (sometimes small or no charge)

Originally Posted by MandoMan

I drive a Prius. I buy about 9 gallons of gas PER MONTH—about $35 at most. Having a mini split installed in the garage would cost me about $6,000. (Toymeister wrote here last year that his system cost him $10,000.) If I have had my car out in the sun for a few hours (or minutes, actually), then park in the garage, it is like parking a 3,000 pound hot iron in the garage—it eventually cools, but that heat radiates into the garage. The morning sun hits the garage door and heats that up, too, making it like a hot frying pan. An inch of insulation there doesn’t help much. Cooling that garage with a heat pump could cost as much as cooling the rest of my courtyard villa (usually under $100 a month). If I buy an electric car to help the environment, then use lots of energy to cool my garage, I may not be helping the environment at all. And is this cost effective for me, compared to what I have? Nowhere near! I’ll stick with what I have.

Between corporate shenanigans, government "wisdom", and plain old ignorance, I'm not sure you can make a solid case for anything regarding electric cars and the environment.

I'm more looking at the one foot driving, performance, convenience (no gas, no oil changes) and the safety of autopilot as reasons for a Tesla. I don't really care if it's electric or not. Your Prius has most of those features and, amazingly, reliability with two complete drivetrains is excellent. It's incredible!

Active cooling would cost something, no question. But cooled to a dry 85 degrees might not be too bad. Or a screen door or garage fan could be enough and that would be very cheap.

Just a data point for everybody, it costs $1073 per year to insure my 2017 chrysler pacifica, it would cost $1747 for the model Y. So the money you save on gas can go directly to the insurance company LOL.

Joe

[jarodrig]

One and a half years ago, Lenhart Electric installed a 50 AMP breaker and a NEMA 14-50 receptacle directly on the side of the electrical panel . They would have placed the outlet anywhere I wanted but the cost of the cable per foot was VERY high !

The only thing I had to do was to talk my wife into switching parking places so that the Tesla would be right next to the electrical panel.

The charging cable that came with the Tesla is about 20 feet in length so I can simply pull in and charge.

This is a level 2 charging system that will charge the car overnight from 20% to 80 % in a little less than 4 hrs.

As far as any other “modifications” to the garage, none needed IMO….

Cost of this setup ?

Lenhart Elec : $250 (parts and labor)
Tesla 14-50 adapter: $75