Most of the Superchargers and Wall Connectors are 220v, letting you charge a Tesla faster so you can get back on the road sooner. You may be asking yourself if it is possible to charge your Tesla on 110v instead of the common 220v that Superchargers and Wall Connectors use. This is where I come in to guide you, below I will be going over if you can or can not charge your Tesla on 110v.
You may even experience the issue of Not Being Able to Unplug Your Charger and you are in luck since I’ve got an article on the subject.
Can You Charge Tesla on 110v
Yes, you can charge your Tesla on 110v. However, it will take a lot longer for your Tesla to charge up. You may be thinking that you are saving money when you use less power. This might not be the case when it comes to charging your Tesla.
Yes, you are using more power, but if it takes longer for you to charge your Tesla it will take more power overall. And it is not guaranteed that you will get your Tesla fully charged when you are charging on 110v. You can charge your Tesla on 110v, however, it is not the best option to take when you are charging your Tesla.
When you have the option of charging your Tesla at 220v, it is better to choose that option than choosing to charge your Tesla using 110v. Below I will be going over how long you can charge your Tesla on 110v and how much it costs to charge your Tesla on a 110v outlet. I will also be going over the differences in charging your Tesla on 110v and 220v.
How Long Can You Charge Tesla on 110v
Since you can charge your Tesla from a 110v outlet, you may be asking yourself how long can you charge your Tesla on 110v. When you are charging your Tesla using 110v, like I stated above it takes a lot longer than using 220v.
Most Tesla Superchargers, Wall Connectors, and Mobile Connectors are 220v, however, there is an option to use 110v. You can charge your Tesla all night and only get about 40 miles when you are using 110v. Compared to when you use 220v to charge your Tesla, 110v will take much longer to charge.
It will take around 4 full days to completely charge your Tesla if it is empty when you use a regular 110v charger. That is why most Superchargers and Wall Connectors use 220v charge, it only takes about 8 to 10 hours to completely charge your empty Tesla.
You can charge your Tesla for as long as you need to get your Tesla fully charged on a 110v outlet. However, if you are using a regular 110v outlet at your home for more than a day. It is advised that you keep an eye out on the outlet you are using so it does not overheat the outlet.
If your outlet overheats this can cause damage and melting to the outlet. In the worst-case scenario when your outlet overheats it can cause a fire. So there is that to worry about if you are using your home 110v outlet to charge your Tesla.
How Much Does It Cost to Charge a Tesla From a 110v Outlet?
Since you can charge your Tesla at 110v instead of 220v it must be cheaper since you are using less power, right? This is not the case when it comes to charging your Tesla. Yes, you are using less power, but since it takes a lot longer to charge your Tesla using 110v instead of 220v.
Since it takes a lot longer for you to charge your Tesla using 110v it costs more to charge your Tesla. In order for me to give an example of how much more charging your Tesla using 110v is to using 220v, we have to compare the two.
When charging your Tesla using 220v, if you are charging your Tesla for about an hour and a half, that is about 40 miles on your Tesla. And say that you only used 40 miles on your Tesla that day when it was fully charged and charging it for an hour and a half will fully charge your Tesla. It will cost you around $0.12 USD per kWh (kilowatts-hour).
When charging your Tesla using 220v, for about an hour and a half, you will use about 13.2 kWh of power. This means that charging your Tesla using 220v, to get 40 miles added to your Tesla, will cost you around $1.58 USD.
Now let’s compare that to if you use 110v to charge your Tesla to get the same amount of miles. So in order for you to gain 40 miles when charging your Tesla using 110v of power it takes you around 12 and a half hours.
So if you only need to charge your Tesla for 40 miles to get it fully charged it will take you over 12 hours using about 17.7 kWh (kilowatts-hour) of power when using 110v to charge your Tesla. This will cost you around $2.12 USD to fully charge your Tesla.
Yes, the cost is more than when you charge your Tesla using 110v vs 220v. You may think that using less power will cost you less money, but when it takes a lot longer to charge your Tesla using 110v it will cost you more than when you use 220v.
Tesla Charging 110v vs 220v
Now it is time to compare the two, yes you can charge your Tesla using 110v but it is not better than charging your Tesla using 220v. Technically you are using less power since it is 110v instead of 220v, but since it takes a lot more time to charge your Tesla using 110v you are using more power overall.
It takes your Tesla to full charge from being empty for 4 full days when you use 110v. If you are using 220v it will only take your Tesla 8 to 10 hours to fully charge your Tesla when it is empty.
Even when you compare the cost of charging your Tesla in 110v vs charging your Tesla on 220v, it is different. It costs you more to charge your Tesla on 110v than it is when charging your Tesla on 220v. Since it takes your Tesla a lot longer to charge using 110v it also costs more than using the common 220v.
That is why most Superchargers and Wall Connectors are 220v instead of 110v. Not everyone wants to wait 4 days to fully charge your Tesla, which is why using 220v to charge your Tesla is the best way to go.
To charge your Tesla using 220v costs you about $1.58 USD for about 40 miles which will take about an hour and a half. While charging your Tesla using 110v will cost you about $2.12 USD for about 40 miles and that will take about 12 and a half hours.
So when comparing the two options it only makes sense to use the 220v instead of 110v to charge your Tesla. Especially when it takes you over double the time to charge your Tesla from empty to full.
And also it costs you more to charge your Tesla on 110v than when you charge your Tesla using 220v. As previously stated you can charge your Tesla using 110v but is it worth it?
Not really, when you have the option to charge your Tesla using 220v. Not only does charging your Tesla using 110v cost more but also takes a lot more time to charge. This is why most Superchargers and Wall Connectors are 220v and not 110v. Keep that in mind when deciding on how to charge your Tesla.
My Final Thoughts
With all that being said, even though you can charge your Tesla using 110v does not necessarily mean that you should. Charging your Tesla using Superchargers or Wall Connectors that are 220v can charge your Tesla faster.
While it takes your Tesla 8 to 10 hours to fully charge on 220v, it can take your Tesla up to 4 full days to charge your Tesla using 110v. Yes, you can charge your Tesla using 110v but why would you want to when there is another option to charge your Tesla using 220v?
Not only does it take longer for your Tesla to charge on 110v, but it also costs more since you have to charge your vehicle longer. But if you need to use a 110v to charge your Tesla it is possible, it might take a lot longer to charge but it can be done.