Does anyone have any knowledge of a device called a SmartSwitch?

[73Bruin]

We are remodeling our townhome. It was built in 1981 with 100amp service at the meter which is in a HOA utility closet. The conduit from the closet is 1.5" and buried in concrete. The general contractor says that upgrading our electrical service from 100amp to 150 or 200, would be prohibitively expensive. And that assumes our utility can provIde that servive. He also said that our breaker panel is now full and that we need to replace it. He also says that he doubts that the city will allow us to keep our TWC which is on a 60amp breaker. FWIW, we have never had that breaker or the main 100amp breaker flip off. As part of the remodel I would like to add AC (we get about 1 month of uncomfortable weather where we live).

This brings me to the SmartSwitch 240 that I asked about. It claims to allow 2 devices (e.g. AC and a TWC) to share a single 50amp breaker. It sets up the first device as the priority device and gives it up to 40amps of service. It sets up the other as a secondary device with 32amps of service. The secondary device can only get service 5 or more minutes after the primary shuts off and will be automatically shut down if the primary starts.

This would allow me to set the AC as the primary giving it priority and the TWC as the secondary. I understand the I would need to back the TWC down to 40 amps or even 32amps. However, I am retired and can easily live with the slower charging speed.

Am I missing something that I should consider? I would like to present this as a possible solution to the general contractor and his electrician.

 

[240vPlug]

Any possibility of installing a 2nd service? Would be a separate feed from the Utility, separate meter, and separate breaker box. You would keep all your existing service.

Have not tried this smart switch 249 or heard of it. In theory that could work.

 

[Mike_TV]

NeoCharge Smart Splitter

The NeoCharge Smart Splitter allows you to share your 240V dryer and EV or two EVs on one outlet for faster home EV charging access. Save money by avoiding electric panel upgrades. Trusted by thousands of EV drivers for Level 2 Home EV Charging installation. Utility rebates available, UL Listed...

www.getneocharge.com

 

[73Bruin]

Any possibility of installing a 2nd service? Would be a separate feed from the Utility, separate meter, and separate breaker box. You would keep all your existing service.

Have not tried this smart switch 249 or heard of it. In theory that could work.

Not without incurring the same costs my general said would be prohibitively expensive. Thank you for the suggestion.

 

[73Bruin]

NeoCharge Smart Splitter

The NeoCharge Smart Splitter allows you to share your 240V dryer and EV or two EVs on one outlet for faster home EV charging access. Save money by avoiding electric panel upgrades. Trusted by thousands of EV drivers for Level 2 Home EV Charging installation. Utility rebates available, UL Listed...

www.getneocharge.com

The Neocharge works in a similar manner but with plugs. I believe that all of the major 240 items we have or are considering, need to be hard wired via conduit. I don't know that it's acceptable to have a break where these lines exit to a plug. If I had an electric dryer in the garage and was using the mobile connector to charge, the Neocharge would be a great solution. Thank you for your suggestion.

 

[Big Earl]

DCC Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging for Condos or Full Panel Homes

DCC Electric – DCC-10 EV charging hardware for a full electrical panel in a house. DCC-9 EV charging hardware for condos and apartments.

dccelectric.com

 

[73Bruin]

DCC Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging for Condos or Full Panel Homes

DCC Electric – DCC-10 EV charging hardware for a full electrical panel in a house. DCC-9 EV charging hardware for condos and apartments.

dccelectric.com

Thank you. Their DCC9 is very similar to one of the Smart Switch options. I will need to go through their solutions in more detail, but definitely a possible fit. It would be nice to present the general contractor and his electrician with a series of options that all comply with code. It might also help with our city's inspectors.

 

[davewill]

Thank you. Their DCC9 is very similar to one of the Smart Switch options. I will need to go through their solutions in more detail, but definitely a possible fit. It would be nice to present the general contractor and his electrician with a series of options that all comply with code. It might also help with our city's inspectors.

Looks like the DCC-12 would be the ticket to retrofitting with your existing 60a circuit. The nice thing about it is that it wouldn't be just air cond or car charging. The car would charge so long at you aren't currently drawing too much overall in the whole condo. You might want to consider downsizing to a 50a or 40a circuit if you think it likely that the switch might trip very often. Would be as easy as changing the breaker, and reconfiguring the wall connector.

 

[Big Earl]

Downsizing the car charging circuit is a good option to make room for adding air conditioning. Depending on what you install, some air conditioning systems require very little power. For example, a 1-ton mini-split only consumes about 1 kW at full power, is inexpensive to install, and could improve comfort in the summer and reduce heating bills in the winter. Pair this with a 40-amp circuit on your Wall Connector (32-amp charging) and I'd say* you probably don't even need the DCC since you'll have reduced car charging load by more than what you've added with HVAC.

What other high power electrical devices do you have in your home? Water heater, stove, oven, dryer, heat? Can you post a pic of your breaker panel?

*I'm not a licensed electrician

 

[73Bruin]

Looks like the DCC-12 would be the ticket to retrofitting with your existing 60a circuit. The nice thing about it is that it wouldn't be just air cond or car charging. The car would charge so long at you aren't currently drawing too much overall in the whole condo. You might want to consider downsizing to a 50a or 40a circuit if you think it likely that the switch might trip very often. Would be as easy as changing the breaker, and reconfiguring the wall connector.

Thank you for the suggestion. My, perhaps faulty, understanding is that the DCC-9 with a 50amp breaker for the TWC, is the recommended solution with a 100amp service. FWIW, I have never experienced a tripped breaker on either the main panel in the HOA's utility closet or on the 60amp breaker the TWC is on now.

 

[73Bruin]

Downsizing the car charging circuit is a good option to make room for adding air conditioning. Depending on what you install, some air conditioning systems require very little power. For example, a 1-ton mini-split only consumes about 1 kW at full power, is inexpensive to install, and could improve comfort in the summer and reduce heating bills in the winter. Pair this with a 40-amp circuit on your Wall Connector (32-amp charging) and I'd say* you probably don't even need the DCC since you'll have reduced car charging load by more than what you've added with HVAC.

What other high power electrical devices do you have in your home? Water heater, stove, oven, dryer, heat? Can you post a pic of your breaker panel?

*I'm not a licensed electrician

Thank you for the reply. Our current panel is now full and over 40 years old. Our general contractor says we need to replace it, stating we need more dedicated breakers for the AC and other major appliances. He also wants us to have arc fault breakers as well.

I have no problem doing the replacement as we have been told, by the electrician who installed the TWC, that thIs particular panel is prone to failure on the main bus. I also found out over time that the original builder and his electrician cut corners on the GFI protection (e.g. the wall outlet immediately adjacent to the kitchen sink was not placed on the single GFI circuit we have).

Finally, while we haven't any issues with a tripped main breaker with our double electric oven and TWC, I want to add AC and a hybrid heat pump water heater. We are meeting with the general contractor and his HVAC guy tomorrow. I am not opposed to a mini split system, especially the models with ceiling outlets. We also have existing forced air heating, so we may be able to reuse the existing ducting. I am merely trying to get ahead of the game.

 

[davewill]

I'm sure an electrician or the folks at DCC would be able to advise you better, but my understanding is that the DCC9 is for situations where you can't access the panel easily, and you therefore want to tap into the feeder. Think of a situation like a parking garage where the electric room and meters are closer than the panel in your unit. Since you have room for a breaker for the EV circuit (you already have one for the EV, and you're putting in a new panel after all), the DCC-12 with just the monitoring and switching HW seemed like the right choice.

 

[73Bruin]

I'm sure an electrician or the folks at DCC would be able to advise you better, but my understanding is that the DCC9 is for situations where you can't access the panel easily, and you therefore want to tap into the feeder. Think of a situation like a parking garage where the electric room and meters are closer than the panel in your unit. Since you have room for a breaker for the EV circuit (you already have one for the EV, and you're putting in a new panel after all), the DCC-12 with just the monitoring and switching HW seemed like the right choice.

Thanks again for your suggestion. It is my understanding that using the DCC-9 allows me to ignore the TWC when doing a service load calculation. Per the NEC load calculation pdf I am using for Los Angeles, we are at 94 amps with the AC and heat pump water heater and without the TWC. I assume that this will go up as they add more isolated 120v lines. I am aware that I may also need to use a SimpleSwitch device to further reduce the load.

 

[davewill]

Thanks again for your suggestion. It is my understanding that using the DCC-9 allows me to ignore the TWC when doing a service load calculation. Per the NEC load calculation pdf I am using for Los Angeles, we are at 94 amps with the AC and heat pump water heater and without the TWC. I assume that this will go up as they add more isolated 120v lines. I am aware that I may also need to use a SimpleSwitch device to further reduce the load.

Ignoring the EV's draw is the point of ALL of their products. The differences are where they connect and monitor the house power draw, and whether they also provide the circuit breaker. Also, there would be no reason to use a SimpleSwitch in conjunction with it. They all monitor your house usage and automatically shut off the EVSE if the house draw gets too high.

 

[73Bruin]

Ignoring the EV's draw is the point of ALL of their products. The differences are where they connect and monitor the house power draw, and whether they also provide the circuit breaker. Also, there would be no reason to use a SimpleSwitch in conjunction with it. They all monitor your house usage and automatically shut off the EVSE if the house draw gets too high.

You are probably correct and I am hardly a subject matter expert. My concern is making sure that, we are safe and have the ability to pass inspection. If you have experience with the DCC product line, I would love to discuss it with you off-line.

The reason, I am considering a SimpleSwitch as well, is because it can be used with other devices besides the car charger in the event we still have a load issue. For example, I could use it, setting the electric oven as the primary and the AC as the secondary and thereby remove another relatively big 240v draw from the load calculation. I can probably count the number of times we would have wanted to use the oven and have AC on at the same time in over 30 years on one hand.

 

[DaveInTO]

You are probably correct and I am hardly a subject matter expert. My concern is making sure that, we are safe and have the ability to pass inspection. If you have experience with the DCC product line, I would love to discuss it with you off-line.

The reason, I am considering a SimpleSwitch as well, is because it can be used with other devices besides the car charger in the event we still have a load issue. For example, I could use it, setting the electric oven as the primary and the AC as the secondary and thereby remove another relatively big 240v draw from the load calculation. I can probably count the number of times we would have wanted to use the oven and have AC on at the same time in over 30 years on one hand.

Did you ever go with this solution? I'm thinking of getting Simple Switch also.
Seems like a no brainer.

 

[73Bruin]

Did you ever go with this solution? I'm thinking of getting Simple Switch also.
Seems like a no brainer.

No, I didn't get the Simple Switch. I passed inspection with just the DCC-9. Whether I should have to further cut the maximum potential draw on my 100 amp main circuit is another question. I am going to see if the main breaker ever flips and what we are using at the time before I make a decision.