HPWC now $800! Huge price drop!

[stevezzzz]

Somebody with electrician credentials please answer me this: I have a pair of 14-50's in my garage, wired independently, each on its own 50A breaker. What do I have to do (hiring a licensed electrician to do it) to retain one of the 14-50's and replace the other with an HPWC? My house service is rated for the extra load; I've had two Model S charging at the same time and the voltage drop is insignificant. I'd like the HPWC to be capable of delivering 80A, even if it means I can't use the 14-50 at the same time. In most instances, I'd plan to throttle the HPWC to 40A and be able to charge two Model S simultaneously, one from the 14-50 and one from the HPWC. Thoughts?

 

[Peter_M]

Somebody with electrician credentials please answer me this: I have a pair of 14-50's in my garage, wired independently, each on its own 50A breaker. What do I have to do (hiring a licensed electrician to do it) to retain one of the 14-50's and replace the other with an HPWC? My house service is rated for the extra load; I've had two Model S charging at the same time and the voltage drop is insignificant. I'd like the HPWC to be capable of delivering 80A, even if it means I can't use the 14-50 at the same time. In most instances, I'd plan to throttle the HPWC to 40A and be able to charge two Model S simultaneously, one from the 14-50 and one from the HPWC. Thoughts?

I'm not an electrician but I can give a partial answer. You'll need to have a new, bigger cable installed for the HPWC if you want to run it at 80A. And if you want the HPWC to deliver 80A, it needs to be on a 100A breaker. I believe the wire needs to be AWG#2, but your electrician would know for sure.

As for the total load, if your main breaker (service size) is big enough to handle the total load of your house with both cars charging at once, you wouldn't need to reduce the charging rate. The question is not so much the voltage drop, but whether you will draw enough current to blow the main breaker. The electrician can do a load calculation to tell you if your main breaker and service are sized to handle the total load.

Note that the electrical code requires electric car charging stations to be considered as "continuous loads" for the purpose of this calculation. In other words, it doesn't matter if you plan to run them at less than their capacity or use them one at a time - your main breaker needs to be able to handle them both running at their maximum current (80% of the breaker sizes).

 

[hingisfan]

I'm not an electrician but I can give a partial answer. You'll need to have a new, bigger cable installed for the HPWC if you want to run it at 80A. And if you want the HPWC to deliver 80A, it needs to be on a 100A breaker. I believe the wire needs to be AWG#2, but your electrician would know for sure.

As for the total load, if your main breaker (service size) is big enough to handle the total load of your house with both cars charging at once, you wouldn't need to reduce the charging rate. The question is not so much the voltage drop, but whether you will draw enough current to blow the main breaker. The electrician can do a load calculation to tell you if your main breaker and service are sized to handle the total load.

Note that the electrical code requires electric car charging stations to be considered as "continuous loads" for the purpose of this calculation. In other words, it doesn't matter if you plan to run them at less than their capacity or use them one at a time - your main breaker needs to be able to handle them both running at their maximum current (80% of the breaker sizes).

Much simpler to just keep your current wiring setup and replace one NEMA with one HPWC.

 

[Peter_M]

Much simpler to just keep your current wiring setup and replace one NEMA with one HPWC.

True - I have my HPWC on a 60A breaker and haven't yet wished it was faster, but he said he wanted 80A from the HPWC.

 

[Ssssly]

I found this interesting.

"The standard warranty for the Wall Connector is 1 year for over the counter and aftermarket online purchases. The Wall Connector purchased with the vehicle is covered under the 4 year/50,000 miles (80,000km) Basic Vehicle Limited Warranty for North America."

Don't recall this language before and was originally considering buying a second mobile UMC. For $100 extra, it appears like a no brainer to buy the HPWC with the car.

 

[mitch672]

I found this interesting.

"The standard warranty for the Wall Connector is 1 year for over the counter and aftermarket online purchases. The Wall Connector purchased with the vehicle is covered under the 4 year/50,000 miles (80,000km) Basic Vehicle Limited Warranty for North America."

Don't recall this language before and was originally considering buying a second mobile UMC. For $100 extra, it appears like a no brainer to buy the HPWC with the car.

that verbiage has been on the HPWC page for a while. It encourages buyers to order it with the car, since the warranty is much better.