Charger Installation - Advice Needed

[Meteile]

Here's our situation: we'll be installing a wall charger outside on our driveway (no garage), our electrical panel is full (aka no free breakers), but we do have a laundry room right beside the driveway.

I've heard that instead of upgrading the entire panel, people simply install a switch on the dryer outlet or better yet a secondary electrical panel that mechanically switches between the dryer and the charger. Have people done either the switch or secondary panel option, and what are your thoughts? Upgrading and upsizing the electrical panel looks to be at least $1k-1.5k more at this point.

 

[GtiMart]

No free breakers means your panel is physically full but it doesn't mean you are hitting its limit. There are normally slimmer, "double" breakers that can be used to make room. Still, you need an electrician to calculate the load and see if you have capacity for a charger. Maybe you also have "dead" circuits, breakers that aren't used anymore and could be removed?

I think you're referring to the DryerBuddy. Do a search on the forum, some people have reported their experience.

 

[Meteile]

No free breakers means your panel is physically full but it doesn't mean you are hitting its limit. There are normally slimmer, "double" breakers that can be used to make room. Still, you need an electrician to calculate the load and see if you have capacity for a charger. Maybe you also have "dead" circuits, breakers that aren't used anymore and could be removed?

I think you're referring to the DryerBuddy. Do a search on the forum, some people have reported their experience.

Thanks!!

 

[jcanoe]

Consider how long you plan to own the home. If more than 4 years then it probably makes sense to install a new circuit even if it means having to add a sub panel, move circuits around.

The Dryer Buddy is probably the original dryer outlet sharing device: Dryer Buddy Plus AUTO

The NeoCharge Smart Splitter is another option: Shop Home Level 2 EV Charging Adapters | NeoCharge

 

[esantosnyc]

No free breakers means your panel is physically full but it doesn't mean you are hitting its limit. There are normally slimmer, "double" breakers that can be used to make room. Still, you need an electrician to calculate the load and see if you have capacity for a charger. Maybe you also have "dead" circuits, breakers that aren't used anymore and could be removed?

I think you're referring to the DryerBuddy. Do a search on the forum, some people have reported their experience.

Yes, do this. You might be able to free up space by combining several 15 or 20 amp breakers into tandem breakers. A skilled electrician should be able to do this for you in about 30-60 minutes. I'm assuming of course that you have a 200 amp panel installed. Anything below that and you probably will need a new panel or sub-panel.

 

[Braindrainer]

I built such a switch from basic parts: 2 x 15-30 outlets, one dryer 6' cable, face plate, box and 250V 30A switch. You can order it all at HD if you prefer. It cost me ~$120 plus my time and the most complicated thing was drilling the round holes in the plastic box for the outlets.