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Wall charger consuming >10KW daily when not in use
It took me about 7 months to identify the culprit of why my electricity bill skyrocketed after I purchased the Model X earlier this year. My home electricity consumption ranged between 300-400KW before the car arrived, it shot up to 900-1300 KW when I used to charge the car 2-3 times a month in my garage. My electricity bill went from $50-75 a month to high $200 range, I felt the promise of electric car was a lie. So last month I solely used superchargers, and my electric consumption went down to 750KW. Something was still not adding up. So I thought hard about all things that had changed in my household, and unplugged the wall charger from the outlet, observed for 2 weeks, and my daily conservation went down to 10-12 KW, getting back to my previous 300-400KW a month range. This is completely mind boggling, and no laws of physics seem to be able to explain it. Anyone had similar observations?
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Tesla's connections take less than 2W while not connected to a car. If it is taking more, something is clearly wrong.
And yes, something is clearly wrong with that piece of equipment that I have :/
Also, you are confusing kW with kWh.
Daily usage without the wall connector: 13-14 kWh
Daily usage with the wall connector plugged in: 22-25 kWh
These numbers are in the last month or so when neither the AC nor the heater is running in the house.
So an extra 450kWh per month would be something using 625W of power constantly. I am going to say that it is impossible for the corded mobile connecter to draw that amount of energy for a month without catching fire or at a minimum being too hot to touch.
I see your words but there is something else going on.
What type of outlet are you plugged into?
> Once had a friend remodel her house with all new energy efficient appliances and her electric bill went up. It was because she took her old refrigerator and put it into her garage that was usually between 80 and 90 degrees in the summertime.
I hear you, and I do have a refrigerator in my garage as well, bad news is it's been there for the past 5 years. Trust me, I scratched my head for months before nailing down this source. I know this does not make sense, hence I am looking for you guys to share ideas.
There's something else going on in your home. Electric heat or forced air plus outside temperature changes?
Look at your outside electric meter. Newer ones have a digital display that rotates through different values. It should show the current power draw in watts. Note that level. Remove the MC from the NEMA 15-50. Again check the power at the meter. I'd expect it to drop by about 2 W or so. It might not even register as any difference.
Now, trip the breakers where the MC is connected and check the meter once more. Did it drop quite a bit? If so it indicates something else is on the same circuit and is drawing power.
Hear's one guess at what may be going on. I suspect the circuit for the NEMA 14-50 is shared with some other appliance, such as other outlets in the garage and something else is using that power. You may need to look around and see if something is no longer working when the breaker is off.
you said something was done "on the main board right outside my garage". i don't know your location. i'm in NJ (USA) not an expert by any means, but i've not personally seen a breaker panel outside of a home (save for transfer switches). also, is it possible that your meter was switched for some reason? (rate change/class etc)
that said, it might be prudent to have a different electrician take a look, maybe the power company?
i think it would be a stretch that someone was stealing your power, but it is not unheard of. good luck, ron
> Hmm I didn’t check, I will try to plug it back again and see.
It would have been memorable if it was hot when you unplugged it.
For those who has the time to spend and the trust that I have no reason to hack your computer with these links, here are some screen shots from my electric company website:
1. 2020 Monthly Usage (I got the Tesla in May): https://www.dropbox.com/s/m813c7d0m7qeyhk/Monthly%20Usage%202020.png?dl=0
2. 2020 December daily usage (with wall connector plugged in, I did not charge the car during this month at all, and we were out of town on Dec 19 and 20): https://www.dropbox.com/s/przwvcs4n9uvaki/Daily%20Usage%20December%202020.png?dl=0
3. 2021 January usage (we were out of town on 13 and 14, came back on 15th and charged the car overnight, and unplugged the wall connector on Jan 17): https://www.dropbox.com/s/qdcqcx6o9lr6ojq/Daily%20Usage%20January%202021.png?dl=0
It sure would be nice to know what was done "on the main board right outside my garage".
If it were me I would get someone in asap just in case something is happening that you can't detect.
I like to err on precaution side.
Get out the 5-15 Tesla pigtail and use that and plug it into a 120V outlet and see what that does. It should tldo the EXACT same thing.
> I guess it never rains :)
>
> If it were me I would get someone in asap just in case something is happening that you can't detect.
>
> I like to err on precaution side.
Indeed, now that I do not have the connector plugged in, I already feel a bit safer. But do want to go to the root of this. Oh, it’s raining in Orange County this entire week lol
> Hey I have a test...
>
> Get out the 5-15 Tesla pigtail and use that and plug it into a 120V outlet and see what that does. It should tldo the EXACT same thing.
Great idea, I will try that. But may be connector behaves differently when connected to 110v vs. 220v, but it’s worth a try anyway.
> Yodrak - you summarized my situation very well. The electrician told me he merged two phases of 110v on the main wall unit to create a 220v outlet in the garage, that’s as far I can technically tell you about what was done.
Again, not an expert, but you don't actually "merge". Two 110 legs are picked up and brought to the outlet individually. Plug is 2 line, 1 neutral and a ground. Expect that's what you mean cause if anything got merged it would be an issue.
> > @rcsjr said:
> > I guess it never rains :)
> >
> > If it were me I would get someone in asap just in case something is happening that you can't detect.
> >
> > I like to err on precaution side.
>
> Indeed, now that I do not have the connector plugged in, I already feel a bit safer. But do want to go to the root of this. Oh, it’s raining in Orange County this entire week lol
I'm in Irvine, too, and I don't believe your consumption is because of the mobile connector. I would get that electrician back out. There is no way the UMC could possibly dissipate that amount of energy by itself.