[JohhnyJo]

House is quite old, 100A, no electric stove, but air condition + dryer pls some... some A still left for charger... but with this all separate lines installments more then 1000$ 1500, 2000$, new electric box, etc etc etc ... then I will stick with level 1 :-(
Or electrics just saying stories ?

 

[shingles]

Disclaimer: Not an electrician, just some random guy on internet.

I think the goal would be to have maximum safety margin, so I can see why they recommend or suggest an upgrade to the service. But it seems like there's a possibility here. You probably could install it, lower the max charge amperage, and make sure AC/Dryer not running at the same time. Might be easier to control the dryer. For the AC, you could consider installing a soft start, which lower the amperage draw on start up.

 

[CANADAHYBRIDGUY]

Sep line , sep switch/ breaker and your doing a nema plug or a hardwired one ? . The other option would be to a panel upgrade and that’s big money . Also ask what gauge wire he’s running , line length . The time to do something right is the first time and run a 50 amp line for future proofing and 6 gauge wire

 

[jnads]

House is quite old, 100A, no electric stove, but air condition + dryer pls some... some A still left for charger... but with this all separate lines installments more then 1000$ 1500, 2000$, new electric box, etc etc etc ... then I will stick with level 1 :-(
Or electrics just saying stories ?

1. To be honest, L1 charging is perfectly fine unless you are doing multiple 30 mile trips a day. In fact it is preferable as it is gentler on the battery. Only invest in L2 charging if you are exceeding the 30 mile limit AND you are doing multiple 30 mile trips spaced in time. The only other way I'd invest in L2 charging is if your utility company gives you large rebates for a charger.

For our usage, we start the morning with 100%. My wife drives ~10 miles round-trip to drop the kids off at daycare and get back to 70%. She plugs in on L1 and by 4pm it's back to ~98%. Drives ~10 miles round trip and gets home at 60%. We plug in on L1 and it's at 100% the next morning.


2. 100A is pushing things close, but it's not terrible. NEC code allows subpanels to be installed up to 80% of the main panel. So as long as you have 2 adjacent breakers free on your main panel you can install an 80A subpanel in your garage with an EV charger attached to that.

Keep in mind the 2 breakers free can involve rearranging things. If you're in the south where they put water heaters in the garage you could move the water heater to be on the subpanel.

As for wiring between the subpanel and main panel, have your contractor quote you using ALUMINUM SER (Service) cable. It's a lot cheaper. They'll have to gauge up a size but it's perfectly within NEC code to string that connecting main and subpanel.


The main issue with the 100A panel is you still have that 100A breaker. If you exceed that your whole house power shuts off until you flip it back. This is a quality-of-life issue as opposed to a safety issue.

 

[ArizonaJon]

The link below is to a calculator where you can determine if you have sufficient capacity to add another circuit. The space in your panel is not usually the issue. If a permit is required, you normally have to submit the calculations as determined by the below calculator. Good Luck from a retired Electrical Engineer. Yes it will take a little reading to learn the details of this calculation, but if you really want an answer, it is worth it.
Electrical Load Calculations for Residential Panel - Online Load Calculator

 

[Hilltoppper]

Your mileage may vary but we have an older house with 100 Amp service. When we got solar ($4 bill this month), we wanted to upgrade to 200 Amp service for future proofing. We have all gas appliances and A/C now. To replace our existing underground service our utility wanted $100 per foot to trench in a new, larger feeder from the pad out back. We have a long run and 100 Amp has served us for almost 40 years so we just got a larger 100 Amp panel to accomodate more circuits and a 60 Amp outlet to the garage. That configuration passed local inspection.
They would not allow a 200 Amp panel because they cannot put the 100 Amp cables in the 200 Amp lugs.
Another consideration was the new trenched cable would have done significant damage to our landscaping plan.
Others may have different experiences but that is what I dealt with.

 

[CANADAHYBRIDGUY]

Stories like this will be the norm moving forward with vehicle electrification. Older buildings , houses , places not having the succulent infrastructure to accommodate fast charging .

 

[Hilltoppper]

Stories like this will be the norm moving forward with vehicle electrification. Older buildings , houses , places not having the succulent infrastructure to accommodate fast charging .

I love you spell checker! Our external infrastructure is "juicy" (succulent) but it is not possible at a reasonable price to get a sufficient amount of that "juice" to my panel. By the time 200A service is mandatory, I will be in a wheelchair that does not need much charging!

 

[allthatjazz]

Anyone had problems with their utilities? Some utilities are not equipped to handle higher loads due to old transformers. But I guess some residents just install anyway, and then the transformers blow in the summer heat.

 

[CANADAHYBRIDGUY]

I love you spell checker! Our external infrastructure is "juicy" (succulent) but it is not possible at a reasonable price to get a sufficient amount of that "juice" to my panel. By the time 200A service is mandatory, I will be in a wheelchair that does not need much charging!

Just because you have a 200 amp panel and a 50 amp separate breaker and charger doesn’t mean that power draw from regions will just mean rolling blackouts . If there’s rolling blackouts now with ac usage , could you imagine when you add a abundance of level 2 chargers .

 

[PacPDX]

Even with 200A panel I struggled. 40amp range + 30 amp water heater + 60 amp heat pump + 40 amp dryer did not leave a lot left. I pay 14c /kWh so electric is a lot cheaper than gas. I use the dryer outlet with level 2 charger at the moment and that is working for me. We probably cover 30 to 40 miles a day

 

[SKPacHy]

In fact it is preferable as it is gentler on the battery.

This just isn’t true. The 6.6kW capacity of the onboard charger is not enough to be “hard” on the battery. No OEM is going to put a charger in a vehicle that could “damage” a very expensive battery that they warranty for 10 years or 150,000 miles. The van is fully capable of keeping the battery cool while L2 charging. And each individual cell is getting a very small charge current since they basically all charge simultaneously. You can L2 charge all you want without worrying about being “hard” on your battery. DC Fast charging is a different challenge with a small battery, but not one the Pacifica has to worry about.

 

[PacDave]

Just because you have a 200 amp panel and a 50 amp separate breaker and charger doesn’t mean that power draw from regions will just mean rolling blackouts . If there’s rolling blackouts now with ac usage , could you imagine when you add a abundance of level 2 chargers .

Back in the 50s/60s there were not so many homes with central AC. Imagine what people might have thought back then, “oh, with everyone putting in central AC it’s gonna put an enormous load on the grid”. Well, gradually it happened. Now practically everyone has AC and in most places the grid evolved and didn’t suffer much.

 

[Hilltoppper]

Back in the 50s/60s there were not so many homes with central AC. Imagine what people might have thought back then, “oh, with everyone putting in central AC it’s gonna put an enormous load on the grid”. Well, gradually it happened. Now practically everyone has AC and in most places the grid evolved and didn’t suffer much.
[/QUOTE

In my area numerous homes are getting solar panels. That too is changing the dynamics of the grid. Before I got solar, I was drawing heavy Amps running the A/C. Today, even though we are running A/C, we putting Amps back to the grid so on sunny days our neighborhood is a bunch of producers rather than users. I do not know what the utility is doing but it will evolve.