The simple satisfaction of home dryer outlet charging

[nelslens]

We have an unused NEMA 14-30 dryer outlet in our garage. I had a licensed electrician inspect it before using it for EV charging to validate appropriate wiring & inspect the 30 amp circuit. He found the 35+ yr old receptacle to be cracked and one wire was a bit loose. Got the receptacle properly replaced for $200.

I bought Lucid's 14-30 pigtail adapter ($60) for the supplied mobile charging cable, so the GGT can top up at 24amps. Translates to about 14 miles / hr of charge. I schedule for 12:05am when the TOU rates (PG&E, NorCal) are lowest. Last night I added 40% to the battery in just under 10 hours.

That costs about $16.

Considering that we just filled our I.C.E. vehicle's tank at Costco for $104, which provides under 300 miles of range -- we're pretty happy that we can wake up in the morning with the Gravity's "tank" filled, and for so little $$.

With the current (& likely future) price of fuel balanced against the expanding DCFC infrastructure, I feel like we're beginning to invert the notion of "range anxiety", with the latest EVs winning a TKO based on convenience & cost per mile.

 

[dbsb3233]

The value of home charging on cheap residential rates isn't sold enough for EVs. It may be the #1 advantage of buying an EV.

 

[Kairide]

The value of home charging on cheap residential rates isn't sold enough for EVs. It may be the #1 advantage of buying an EV.

PG&E and cheap can’t be used in the same sentence. I feel sorry for those who get stuck with PG&E for electricity.

 

[scal_air]

And yet, even with some of the highest rates in the nation, it still manages to beat gasoline in cost and convenience...

 

[nelslens]

We tend to do only short hops around town, then long road trips -- so we don't actually get a majority percentage of our total charging at home.

If we leave our place in NorCal with >95% SOC on PG&E rates, then hit our usual stops en route (Electrify America, Ionna, Tesla...) we can make our sorta-monthly 1300 mile R/T run down to SoCal with a total energy cost of ~$180.

So even with California's pricey electricity we're running at about $0.14 per mile average energy cost. That's a 828 HP 5900 lb vehicle with the fuel-cost equivalent of close to 50 miles per gallon (compared to CA's pricey fuel.)

And this ain't no Prius or leisurely hypermiling. Includes ripping down the I-5 at 85, with preposterous available torque for passing.

 

[7OaksTom]

My "cheap" TOU midnight to 6 am super off-peak rate here in San Diego is $.34 per kW. That works out to 9.47 cents per mile for me. My Lexus ES300H got about 16 cents a mile for Costco gas at July 2026 prices (41% savings). I still have to amortize the $1,600 cost to install the 240v 50 amp circuit: A penny a day over 20 years. Year mileage may vary.

 

[Saksak]

The convenience of home/destination charging can’t be overlooked. I used to hate having to stop at a gas station twice a week on the way home after a hard day’s work.

 

[Gangreene]

I miss gas stations! NOT

 

[BSheppard]

Here in the Pacific Northwest West I charge on a 50amp circuit at 11cents a kilowatt hour any time of day, it is a beautiful thing to roll in at the end of day and wiz out in the morning!

 

[DJohn]

Sky high electricity rates here in SoCal. In the very hot summer months a $400-500 electricity bill is common. Since there’s tons of sun, I had a very large Tesla solar system installed with two Powerwall 3 batteries. I can power my home, charge the two Powerwall batteries, charge my Lucid via a NEMA 14-30 plug, and give a little to the SoCal Edison grid all in one day. Now, my electricity bill usually is a $30 credit every month. I never use grid power, and it’s super nice having a “full tank” from the sun and driving by the $6+ a gallon gas.

 

[L-Dude]

Sky high electricity rates here in SoCal. In the very hot summer months a $400-500 electricity bill is common. Since there’s tons of sun, I had a very large Tesla solar system installed with two Powerwall 3 batteries. I can power my home, charge the two Powerwall batteries, charge my Lucid via a NEMA 14-30 plug, and give a little to the SoCal Edison grid all in one day. Now, my electricity bill usually is a $30 credit every month. I never use grid power, and it’s super nice having a “full tank” from the sun and driving by the $6+ a gallon gas.

How long is the payback period on your solar installation? I'm thinking about doing solar shingles.\

 

[DJohn]

How long is the payback period on your solar installation? I'm thinking about doing solar shingles.\

About 7 years for my setup and usage. Tesla did the rough calculation. Fortunately I got my Permission To Operate with 2 weeks to spare to get the 30% Federal tax credit before it expired on 12/31/2025. If you’re thinking of getting the Tesla Solar Roof (shingles) beware that Tesla discontinued their solar roof product a few months ago. They removed the solar roof from their website.

 

[DeaneG]

It seems that solar shingles are better as a concept than as a reality. GAF still has a product, but the cost/performance ratio isn't good.

 

[DJohn]

It seems that solar shingles are better as a concept than as a reality. GAF still has a product, but the cost/performance ratio isn't good.

Super expensive, and without a Federal tax credit these days the math just doesn’t work. That’s why Tesla dropped the roof product.

 

[DeaneG]

Super expensive, and without a Federal tax credit these days the math just doesn’t work. That’s why Tesla dropped the roof product.

I've seen them on a few homes in the area, and they aren't attractive either.

 

[Aka-none]

My "cheap" TOU midnight to 6 am super off-peak rate here in San Diego is $.34 per kW. That works out to 9.47 cents per mile for me. My Lexus ES300H got about 16 cents a mile for Costco gas at July 2026 prices (41% savings). I still have to amortize the $1,600 cost to install the 240v 50 amp circuit: A penny a day over 20 years. Year mileage may vary.

The cost becomes background noise shortly and valuable when you sell

 

[hwy17er]

I miss gas stations! NOT

I still find myself pulling into gas stations....but just to clean the windshield.
The wipers on the Gravity are a huge disappointment. Even my lowly Subaru Outback has better wipers.

 

[DJohn]

At 1:45pm today in SoCal on a sunny day my SOLAR panels are producing 10.1 kW. My POWERWALL 2X batteries were filled to 100% earlier today to use overnight tonight. My HOME is drawing a total of 9.4 kW … 0.4 kW for the house, 3.0 kW for the air conditioner, and 6.0 kW draw for the Lucid at 24 amps on a NEMA 14-30. 10.1 kW produced minus 9.4 kW draw = 0.7 kW excess, which is sent to SoCal Edison. My home has an old 100 amp box, so I went with a NEMA 14-30 for slower 24amp charging which is fine because I’m retired and don’t drive much. No need for fast charging here. All in all, it really is great having this system up and running with what’s happening in both the oil and electricity markets.

 

[djeuch]

I'm on Time-of-Use electricity so I'm currently running on batteries (which is why it's not 100%) but today was a good solar production day and not too hot, so house load wasn't bad.

It's an expensive buy-in, especially if you're adding batteries, but I think it's worthwhile.

 

[Leftlane]

Holy cow that is expensive electricity! Roughly 40c per kWh? I pay 7.5c/kwh any time of day with no TOU to worry about. Your price is more than I pay at Tesla superchargers even (34c on average).