If you’ve recently bought a Tesla Model 3, you might be wondering about how to charge your car. There are different adaptors to charge your Tesla, but one highly talked about option is the Combined Charging System, better known as CCS. Many are questioning if, or when, this adaptor will be available in North America.
Are CCS adapters available in North America? Currently, CCS adaptors are not available in North America. There are different adaptors available, but with the charging industry moving ever more toward the CCS standard, Tesla is slowly moving to make this option available for all of their owners.
Don’t worry. If you’re wondering how you’re going to get energy for your car, there are different options that work just as well. Plus, Tesla will eventually provide this type of adaptor to its car owners. Let’s break down some information about CCS adaptors, and some other adaptors you can use in the meantime.
What are CCS Adaptors?
Before we go on, what even is a CCS adaptor? It can seem really overwhelming on how to even charge an electric vehicle or what you’re even supposed to use. To be honest, actually charging your vehicle is a lot less scary than the terminology associated with it.
As we mentioned earlier, CCS stands for Combined Charging System. It’s a connector used for rapid-charging electric vehicles. Unlike, CHAdeMO, which we’ll get to later, it’s an open international standard that can be used all over the world. It’s a smaller connector that doesn’t take up a ton of space and uses a direct current (DC).
See, it’s not so scary now that we know what it means.
Although North American Tesla models do not have the ability to use the CCS adaptor, many other electric vehicles do.
All you have to do to charge your car is:
- Go to a charging location,
- Follow their instructions,
- Select the connector, and
- Charge away.
Since the CCS adaptor is small, it’s easy to transfer from your car to the station and back again.
Since it’s so easy to use, it is becoming the standard for electric vehicles.
If you have this adaptor, you’d be able to charge an electric car all over the world. Tesla just hasn’t made it available for their North American models. Yet.
They have made it available for European models and are planning to have the adapters in North America as soon as possible.
Tesla Charging Options
Just because the CSS charging adaptors aren’t around in North America, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t get a Tesla Model 3. There are other great ways to charge your Tesla at home and on the road.
At Home Power
One of the main sources for charging your Model 3 will be at your home.
By using what you have at home with the included 20-foot mobile connector and the plug, your charge would be about 5 miles per hour. As a result, a lot of owners charge their vehicles overnight.
By plugging in for this amount of time (about 10 hours), you can get around 50 miles of range. The assumption is that this is usually enough to get you to work and back. Again, that would just be the basic, what you have at home, with no extra installation. It supports the daily duties of driving, but you might want more.
Additional Charging Options
There are two components that make charging happen: the vehicle onboard charger and the home connector installation.
As stated, you can use what you have at home with the included mobile connector and plug. Every Tesla owner will get a 32-amp onboard charger for the standard model, and a 40-amp for one with a long-range battery pack. If you want to be able to have more power at home, there are other options.
One option is to get a 240v NEMA 14-50 plug with 20-foot mobile connector and adaptor which triples the charge rate and you only need a 240-volt plug. These are simple changes to your home set up that will give you faster results. There will be some money that has to be put into it, but many feel it’s well worth the quick charge.
Another option to charge at home is to buy Tesla’s Wall Connector. With this, you need to make sure you’re matching your onboard charger, depending on the model you have. A Wall Connector can come in two sizes, 8 or 24 feet. This is the least expensive home charging option with the cords beings either $500 or $550. All you have to do is get everything set up and you’re ready to instantly charge. You don’t have to have a specific adapter because it’s made by Tesla for its vehicles.
If you don’t want a Tesla-specific home charging system, there are plenty of third-party options available to use too. All you have to do it pick which is best for you and use the J1772 charging adapter that’s included with the Model 3.
If you’re set on using Tesla products, their Wall Connector would be the best and least expensive product for you to utilize.
On the Road Power
Although Tesla’s have a mobile connector that you can use at home, it’s better to keep them in the car so you are able to charge on the road. Since the CCS adaptors are mostly used on the road, there are two other options that are commonly used.
Supercharger Network
Tesla has a vast Supercharger Network across the world and in North America. It’s bigger than any other DC charging network and keeps expanding.
These charging stations used to be free for Model S and X owners, but now there is a pay-per-use model, which is still very reasonable.
When charging at these stations, you can get about 170 miles for a half an hour of charge. Although it’s not as fast of a charge as the Model S and X, it is still faster than any other electric vehicles on the market.
Using the Supercharger Network is the best option for on the road power. It’s specifically made for Tesla and their cars at a quick pace and low price.
CHAdeMO
If you don’t have access to a Supercharge Network station, you’ll find yourself at a public charging network station. For these, you are able to use the included J1772 adapter and recharge normally but having a CHAdeMO adapter will give you access to other DC fast-charging networks, such as Electify America and EVgo.
Like with CCS adaptors, CHAdeMO isn’t as overwhelming as it looks. It’s simply an abbreviation of “CHArge de Move” or “move by change.” Pretty much, it’s a reference that it’s a fast charger. That’s what electric vehicle owners want to hear.
The CHAdeMO adaptor can be found on Tesla’s online shop for $450 and is compatible with the:
- Model S,
- Model 3,
- Model X and
- Model Y.
Be aware that when using different charging stations besides Tesla’s Supercharge Networks, the normal prices you pay to charge your car may be different depending on the company.
When charging on the go, it’s best to stick to the Supercharge Network.
Moving Forward
Although Tesla does not have an option for Model 3 owners to use the CCS adapter in North America, there are many other options for them to use.
Charging at home will help get the day to days miles out of the way. When you’re on the road, there is the Tesla Supercharge Network and other public stations as well. The CHAdeMO adaptor is available and works too.
If your heart is set on a CCS adaptor, Tesla is working hard on bringing it to North America in the foreseeable future.
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