Hi All,
I know this topic comes up regularly and I have read a ton of threads on it and they almost all say the same thing, 240v is pretty much a necessity in winter, but can anyone relate any experiences in surviving winter (particularly Ottawa region) on a 15A/120v service alone.
Unfortunately, our 100A panel is pretty much full, so in all likelihood I am looking at upgrading the panel, or opting for a lower amperage breaker (20A). I would consider a panel upgrade, but we are thinking of moving in the next year or two, so I'm not keen on investing that kind of money if we aren't going to stay long term. Likewise, investing in a 20A/240v, especially if we are going to be moving doesn't seen ideal either, unless absolutely necessary.
We have 2 M3s (SR+ and LR AWD), and luckily our daily usage is low. 20-30km each a day, so the 120v handles our daily needs flawlessly thus far, but come winter, is this at all viable? We have 2 individual outdoor circuits, so each car can have a dedicated charge feed (about 1kw / 8 km/h warm weather), but I am not sure how much of this will be diverted to battery warming as I've read varying accounts with no real confirmation. In the depths of an Ottawa winter, can the 120v service provide enough power to warm the battery and supply any charging power, even a couple km/h? Ottawa's only supercharger is downtown, not super convenient, but we do have various L2 options around, so periodic top offs is doable without much struggle, but not something I want to be dealing with on a daily basis.
Thanks.