Charging at 250v?

[iamnid]

I'm not sure if this is a new issue or not. I've had my charging setup for over a year now but I noticed it's been charging at 250+v lately and I'm getting about 37mph with 32A. How is it getting more than 250v? I thought it was supposed to be around 240v? I'm using a HPWC set to max 40 amps but the car is SR+ so it's limited to 32 amps. I'll attach a photo.

 

[Rocky_H]

That's not very unusual. 240 is the "nominal". There is always some variation allowed, and actually most utilities intentionally try to have it a few volts higher, because they need to account for some transmission loss through lines and neighborhoods and connections, and then your house wiring, etc. My house has always run about 245V without heavy load on it. Once the charging current ramps up higher it drops by a few, but is still just a little over 240. And if you read the specifications on most types of devices, they will talk about acceptable voltage ranges and usually say something like 100V-250V if it's dual voltage for 120/240 use or if you look on a 14-50 outlet, it will say "250V".

 

[iamnid]

Ok. I wasn't sure if it has always been like this and I didn't notice it or if something was potentially wrong.

 

[iluvmacs]

It's all good. Typical allowable utility variance is +/-10% of nominal 240V, and electronics are designed for this.

 

[Brock-WI]

Way out there, but I imagine the electronics would not like 480 or 277?

 

[MN-MS100D]

Several generations ago, 277V L-G was supported by HPWC, but not anymore.

 

[Rocky_H]

Way out there, but I imagine the electronics would not like 480 or 277?

Ah--that is an interesting one. 480--no, definitely not that high.
277V is not something that is officially published as being supported, but there have been some onboard chargers and external connectors that have been able to use that at some points in time. Here are some threads discussing what has been tried and worked with 277V:

277 vac Support. Does anybody have experience with it? Tesla can't help me.

Info from Tesla - 277v feed to Wall Connector (HPWC) - Which Cars Support It

UMC Support 277v AC Power?

 

[iluvmacs]

The car itself supports 277V, but in terms of the EVSE half of the equation, only the Gen 1 & 2 HPWCs do, so its usage is fairly limited.

 

[TheRFMan]

There is always some variation allowed, and actually most utilities intentionally try to have it a few volts higher, because they need to account for some transmission loss through lines and neighborhoods and connections, and then your house wiring, etc.

Sometimes it works the other way around too. It's common here for utilities to decrease the voltage on the power grid a bit when freezing rain occurs. This increases the current in the conductors to heat them up slightly to help melt the ice off.

As was stated previously, electrical equipment is designed for +/- 10%, so nothing to worry about. What you want to watch out for is voltage that drops a lot as the car starts to charge, which can indicate a bad connection in the wiring or a bad receptacle.

Enjoy the slightly faster charge speed @ 250V

 

[Wennfred]

Contact your utility company and have them check for a leaking transformer down the street, my solar system was detecting 264 volts hot and I noticed that my light bulbs around the house were burning out sooner, They came out and was like WoW! The whole area was Hot as in higher voltage, they immediately replaced the bad transformer and came back to the house to check my stats, was a clean 240v so it looks like that one could be going bad,
I get around 226v out of my Tesla Wall Connector.

Fred

 

[Candleflame]

View attachment 627708 I'm not sure if this is a new issue or not. I've had my charging setup for over a year now but I noticed it's been charging at 250+v lately and I'm getting about 37mph with 32A. How is it getting more than 250v? I thought it was supposed to be around 240v? I'm using a HPWC set to max 40 amps but the car is SR+ so it's limited to 32 amps. I'll attach a photo.

Teslas can charge up to 265V (i think).

In north Australia the standard voltage is still 240V (probs going down to 230V over the next 10 years). In rural areas we can often pull 245 and I have seen up to 248V before. no problem at all.

 

[TJKR]

That voltage is what you are getting from your utility. You may have a old or dying local transformer. You should double check the voltage at your power panel at a 240 outlet in you house or at the panel using multi-meter. If you have solar, your inverter might be crapping out.