Today on Tesla Tech we're going to go over how to install a third-generation
Tesla wall connector in my garage and cover some useful tips and tricks along
the way to help you install yours. So grab a seat,
buckle in, and let's get to it. So, I just ordered a Tesla Model Y which
should be here in a month or so and I need to prepare my garage for charging
there are plenty of unboxing videos for the gen 3 wall connector already so
we'll skip all of that and get the materials together and get right to the
install. We're installing the wall connector in the same wall as the load
center three feet away and mounting it inside a garage. So I'm opting to use six
gauge Romex NM-B 6/3 wire, which means that it has three six gauge insulated wires
plus a bare 10 gauge ground wire. Even though the run is only three feet away I
bought 10 feet of wire to account for the running up and down of the walls, a
little bit extra within each box, and some slack just in case. If you run your
wiring exposed to your outside walls you may need to run yours through some sort
of conduit like EMT, Flex, or Schedule 80 pipe to meet your code requirements. We
need a double-pole 60 amp standard breaker that matches our load center.
Mine is a GE, so I bought the GE 60 amp breaker to match. You may have another
brand like Square D. Just make sure to get the right 60 amp breaker that fits
your specific load center. The National Electric Code, or NEC for short, requires
GFCI or ground fault circuit interruption for this type of install. However, according
to the instruction manual which you can find in the link in the description
below, the wall connector has integrated GFCI protection, so you don't have to buy
a GFCI breaker to do this install. In fact, on page 5, Tesla specifically tells
you do NOT install a GFCI breaker. We'll also need properly sized cable straps
which accommodate 6/3 wire to secure the wire to the studs. Just look
on the packaging it will tell you which size conductors the staples or cable
straps will hold. We will also need (2) 3/4 inch non-metallic (NM-B) cable
clamps to secure the wires to the bottom of the Tesla wall connector and for the
knockout at the bottom of the load center. A set of electricians pliers. An
insulated screwdriver set or multi tool, which has bits for standard electricians
square drive, a #2 phillips head, and a medium flathead. A cable cutter or
lineman's pliers. A drill with either 3/4 or 1 inch drill bit
in order to create the hole in the 2x4 to run the cable between the studs. A 1/4
inch bit torque wrench to properly fasten the conductors to the specs
required, which is 50 inch-pounds. Flat -head or pan-head screws to fasten the
cable clamps to the studs. And finally, we'll need a level to make sure we don't
install the wall connector crooked. I'll be using the "Measure" app on my iPhone.
First, we need to shut down the power to the house by turning off the main
breaker. Now, we need to choose a location on the panel with two open slots on top
of each other to install the double pole 60 amp breaker. We need to get a double
tall slot because the load centers are wired with alternating bus bars, which
means they actually have (2) 120 volt hot wires coming into the panel from the
power company. In this case, I've chosen the next two available slots: number 25
and 27. You can see the bus bars alternate in a vertical fashion, which
means that slot 25 is pulling from hot leg 1, while 27 is pulling from hot
leg 2, each carrying 120 volts. When you add them together it gives us the 240
volts we want. Now that the power is shut-off, we can take off the front cover
panel. It's important to remember that even though we shut-off the main breaker,
the two thick, black wires coming into the panel from the meter are still hot,
so stay clear of them. Now that we've got the panel off
you see I've already punched out the slug from the bottom and tightened the nut
and run the wiring through. Since my camera wasn't recording while I did the
wiring I'll demonstrate it again on this excess piece of cable. Slide the loosened
clamp over the entire unstripped cable and give yourself enough length to the
longest run. Then, snug down the clamp using your square drive bit. Not too
tight just enough to Snug the cable. Now, very carefully with a sharp knife, run a
shallow cut longways in between the gap of the inner cables and then peel
back the cover. Now, just gently score a cut across the cover, just deep enough to
score the cover itself. Careful not to cut into any of the cable insulation
underneath. You can also peel it back and just slice the cover only from the
underneath so as to not take a chance of scoring the cable insulation. Now prepare
the circuit breaker by loosening the screw posts and
install the circuit breaker into the slots. In this panel, it has a hinged
catch on the outer edge and then just click it into the middle. So let's
discuss wiring for a second. Technically speaking, this run should be sized as
4/2 wire, which is rated for 70 amps. Meaning that it has (2) 4 AWG
insulated conductors, plus a bare copper 8 AWG ground wire. This is because
the code requirement states that the circuit breaker must be rated at or
below the max amp rating of the wire. Since 6 AWG NM wire is only rated
at 55 amps, it should technically not be tied to a 60 amp breaker. However, in
practice, since the wall connector is hardwired to the circuit, and we know
nothing else will be plugged into it, and the vehicle's onboard charger regulates
a limit of 48 amps, it's therefore less than the 6 AWG rating of 55 amps, so
this will be safe. And frankly, I couldn't find 4/2 or 4/3 Romex NM
wire at Home Depot or Lowe's. Sure, I could have special ordered 4/3 Romex
off the internet, but since the 6/3 wire would work in this case. I just went
with that instead. As for the wire colors, we're going to cut the bare 10 AWG
ground wire out and I'll use the 3 insulated 6 AWG conductors
normally on this type of run, you would use the two insulated conductors for the
hot legs and the thinner 10 AWG bare wire for the ground. I want the ground to
be thicker and insulated so I'm gonna use the standard black and red for the
hot legs just like they normally are, but for the ground wire I'm gonna make it
white, which is normally the neutral wire on a 120 volt circuit, but here we're
going to use it for the ground instead. While we're on this topic, you need to
understand something important: this panel is the only and main load center
in the house, which means that the grounds and neutrals are tied together
with this bus bar at the bottom. If we were installing this in a sub-panel off
of another main load center somewhere else in the house, the grounds and the
neutrals would be separated on the sub panel. In which case, I definitely would
not run this white wire as your ground because it might get confused as a
neutral to anyone coming to look at this panel in the future. Notice how I'm
bending them at 90-degree angles with a slight radius. This is an industry best
practice. You don't really want sharp 90-degree bends in your wires. It causes
resistance which in turn causes excess heat. Remember that all the connectors
whether the Wall Connector, the CMC, or the UMC
are all just supplying the power available in a circuit to the charger in
the car. The charging module itself in the car is what regulates the charging
rate. So the first thing to know is that while the old gen 2 wall connector was
capable of 240 volts on an 80 amp circuit, effectively giving you 64 amp
charging, that really only serves the Model S and Model X. Beginning with the
Model 3 and now with the Model Y, outside of DC super charging, they're limited to
charge at 48 amps AC for the 75 watt hour battery pack, which are in the Long
Range Dual-Motor and the Performance Edition, while the 50 watt hour pack in
the Short Range + will only charge at up to 32 amps. If you have the 50 watt- hour
pack in your Tesla, I would recommend you just installing the NEMA 14-50
receptacle and putting it on a GFCI circuit. Then, get the 14-50 adapter for
your UMC for $35. You just simply won't get any faster charging from the more
expensive wall connector. Like many others, I've considered making a NEMA
14-50 outlet and just buying the $35 adapter from Tesla for the Mobile
Connector the car comes with. But in my case, there were factors that made me
decide to spend the $500 on the wall connector. Number one is speed: a NEMA
14-50 outlet will only supply 240 volts at 50 amps. Using the NEC load calculator of 80%,
that puts your available continuous charge current at 40 amps, which
for an 80% recharge of a 75 kilowatt hour Tesla would make it 6.5 hours,
whereas, with a 60 amp circuit on a wall connector, which provides
48 amp charging, that takes the charge time down by an hour to around 5.5 hours.
Number two is convenience: I want to have a mobile connector in the
car at all times just in case. Sure, I could unplug it after every recharge, but
the 14-50 plug isn't designed to be taken in and out daily and it will wear out
over time. Also, I could leave in a rush one day and forget to unplug it and put
it back in the Model Y and find myself needing to use it.
Number three is cost: I could have bought another dedicated connector for the
house; either the CMC that has a hardwired 14-50 plug for $520,
which makes absolutely no sense since the wall connector is $20 cheaper,
charges faster, and it's better looking. Or the other option
is to buy a second UMC, but at $300 plus another $35 for the
14-50 adapter, I figured I'd just spend the extra $165 and have a better looking
and faster permanent solution. Also, if you're planning on getting an electrical
plan that has peak and off-peak hours, you'll actually save money in the long
run by not having your charging cycle spillover into the peak rates with the
slower chargers, or even worse consuming more energy per day than you can
recharge back into your car. If you found this video helpful, hit the LIKE button
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