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Electrify America Fast Chargers - Huh?

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By no means an expert, I'm under the impression that even 4 stall EA locations have two 350 kW and two 150 kW, for a total of 1 MW power.
Nope. Even the 4) 350kW stall EA sites normally only have a ~750kW transformer. They are paired stalls, where 350kW is shared between two stalls. (They called it "balanced".) They don't have a dedicated 350kW available per 350kW stall.

But that specific point was about EA only having a lease for 4 parking spots, and Tesla would likely want to put in a minimum of 8 stalls, so would need a new lease anyhow.
 
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Nope. Even the 4) 350kW stall EA sites normally only have a ~750kW transformer. They are paired stalls, where 350kW is shared between two stalls. (They called it "balanced".) They don't have a dedicated 350kW available per 350kW stall.

But that specific point was about EA only having a lease for 4 parking spots, and Tesla would likely want to put in a minimum of 8 stalls, so would need a new lease anyhow.
That would trigger the requirements for new building permits, planning board approvals etc.
 
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Most 8-stall V3 around my area are serviced by 750kva transformers.
Former electric company employee DFW here. We typically load transformers to 130% nameplate in the summer and 160% winter. Besides, the transformer is really heavy and so takes a long time to heat up. Since EV's only use the max charge power for ~10 minutes or so, it's not a big deal. We also used readings from the meters connected to the transformer to be able to tell when the transformer is overloaded.
 
By no means an expert, I'm under the impression that even 4 stall EA locations have two 350 kW and two 150 kW, for a total of 1 MW power. I'm pretty sure Tesla can figure out a use for that power. Perhaps 72 kW destination chargers for people without L2 at home
Most 4-stall EA I've been at are 150 350 350 150. But Kittery, ME is 4 x 150. (I was charging at #2 in Kittery, and offered to swap with a waiting EV6 when #4 became available, but then realized it was all 150). 4 stalls, 8 cables no power sharing is so frustrating.
 
Nope. Even the 4) 350kW stall EA sites normally only have a ~750kW transformer. They are paired stalls, where 350kW is shared between two stalls. (They called it "balanced".) They don't have a dedicated 350kW available per 350kW stall.

That’s only true of recent installs. For the first 5+ years, EA highway site stalls always had dedicated power so the 350 kW stalls were unshared and essentially all highway EA sites had 2 350 kW stalls and at least 2 150 kW stalls for a combined 1 MW. I’m not aware of any site wide power limitations that were commonly enforced in order to limit things to less than 1 MW peak.
 
In the real road does 250 kw charging make a meaningful difference over 150 kw? For a typical charge, saves maybe a minute or two?

It sounds like people claiming the 0-60 times impact the length of their daily commute. Does 0-60 sub 5 seconds get you there regularly faster than 7 seconds.

When I charge I rarely get a charge over 150 kw for a couple of minutes, tops, then drops to 144 kw. I suspect (no data) that the high initial charge warms up the battery so fast fast it drops down to 144 (not 150) to not overstress the battery.
 
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In the real road does 250 kw charging make a meaningful difference over 150 kw? For a typical charge, saves maybe a minute or two?
It depends on the vehicle. On the refresh S&X it really does, they hold ~250kW from 7-31%. They don't drop below 150kW until 50%.

1712237565651.png
 
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It depends on the vehicle. On the refresh S&X it really does, they hold ~250kW from 7-31%. They don't drop below 150kW until 50%.

View attachment 1035432
But does it actually save more than a minute or two? Does anyone know if the 150 kw line would extend horizontally to 60% before declining if not charged at 240 kw+ for a few minutes?

22 kw @249 kw takes about 5.3 min. 22 kw @ 150 is about 8.8 min. Time savings delta 3.3 minutes. And if you are starting at an often typical 20% SOC, you save a whopping 99 seconds. YMMV. I mention this because I see comments about searching for 250 kw, or avoiding 150s.

Irrelevant aside: With my wife and I traveling with our dog, the car often finishes before we're done with doggie walks and bathrooms.
 
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But does it actually save more than a minute or two?
That all depends on what SoC you are at and how many miles you need to add. If you only need ~115 miles added it would be ~60% of the time of 150kW. (9 minutes instead of 15.)

Current Model S adds 180 miles in 15 minutes: (0-49%)

1712259207297.png

I mention this because I see comments about searching for 250 kw, or avoiding 150s.
Well, V2s, i.e. 150kW, suffer from sharing with a single other post or they become ~75kW. (Where V3s share power across the site instead of just with a single post.)

So, a V2 site that is 50%+1 full has two people limited to ~75kW. Or even at an empty site if you plug in and get 150kW and go to a restaurant and some person pulls in and plugs in next to you, dropping you to 75kW, doubling your charging time.
 
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