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Need Advice for home charging

Discussion in 'Model 3: Battery & Charging' started by house9, Mar 2, 2021 at 8:09 PM.

  1. house9

    house9 Supporting Member

    Joined:
    Nov 16, 2019
    Messages:
    321
    Location:
    California
    Need Advice for home charging

    Main panel has one switch which says 100W

    I think sub-panel is maxed out? see pics below

    Oven and Dryer are electric.

    Currently getting 1kWh on standard plug in the garage which isn't great but not the end of the world.
    I do have superchargers nearby, 20 minute drive in any direction.
    Would be nice to have something just a little bit faster than 1kWh at home.

    Is it possible to add a 220 to this sub-panel? (blanks at the top make me think so?)
    If so, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't want to use it while the Oven or Dryer were on.

    Maybe I could get away with installing NEMA 6-15 240 volt / 15 amp breaker ?

    Thanks

    PXL_20210130_220800422.jpg PXL_20210130_220804325.jpg
     
  2. GenralSpecific

    Joined:
    Nov 4, 2018
    Messages:
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    Location:
    Wisconsin
    You must have an electric range top too; this seems a bit tight. you could add another breaker since there is space there but your appliances seem to have high draws. Maybe you could use scheduled charging so it’s in use while the oven and rangetop aren’t (?)
    You just really don’t want to overdo it and have the whole house shut down!
     
    • Like x 1
  3. jeremymc7

    jeremymc7 Active Member

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    I’m was in nearly an exact same situation.

    I had some of the breakers switched to the slim type. I charge the car mainly at night when sleeping or at least when I’m just watching TV without the appliances on.
     
    • Like x 1
  4. 1.21Jigawatts

    1.21Jigawatts Member

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    I'll explain what I did because you might have something similar. Since you live in CA, I'm going to assume you have some whole-home A/C in your house, yet I don't see a breaker on this panel for it.

    In my case, the house had a main panel on the outside of my house by my A/C units that had 300amps from the street. My sub-panel in the garage (which looked like your picture) had 90 amps run to it. I had about 45-50 amps used from that panel in a dryer, a stove/microwave combo unit, and a whirlpool tub - plus all lights/outlets for the house. I could have pulled 40-50 in an outlet from this panel and used the portable charger, but I really wanted the wall charger. I had the electrician run 60 amps off the main panel, under the house, thru conduit in the garage to the wall where I park. With the wall charger, I get 49 mi/hr charging and it's awesome, no matter what is running in the house at the same time.

    Bottom line, this looks like a sub-panel. You are going to want to find the main panel (might be on the outside of the house) and get an electrician for sure. I don't understand the folks who say they wont run the dryer when they charge. IMO this is a band-aid that is going to be frustrating long term.
     
    • Like x 1
  5. house9

    house9 Supporting Member

    Joined:
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    California
    No A/C, live near the coast with very mild climate.

    Yeah, I was thinking about this too, see pic below of main panel, not sure if this is easily 'expandable'?

    I will definitely get an electrician for any of this work, just want to go into that discussion with a vague idea of what is possible and there are a lot of smart experienced people on here.

    PXL_20210305_040524604.jpg
     
  6. alexgr

    alexgr Member

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    You have a perfectly fine space for something like a 50A fuse for a NEMA14-50 240 V outlet. If you are concerned about your main fuse then you have 2 options: (1) replace it with a 150 A fuse wires coming to your house allows that and if not then (2) try not to use the Oven, the Dryer, the Range, and the Car Charger all in the same time (or your main fuse may go off).

    And yes, all this must be done with a professional and properly insured electrician.

    I paid $225 for the fuse and NEMA 14-50 install.
     
    • Like x 2
  7. Uncle Paul

    Uncle Paul Well-Known Member

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    Electrician will do a load survey of your property. If there is capacity an new breaker can be easily installed.

    If you do not have capacity to add the charging circuit, the electrician will offer options.
     
    • Like x 2
  8. F14Scott

    F14Scott Member

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    Houston
    And a great way to use all 40 continuous Amps that a 14-50 will allow would be to to set your car to charge only between, say, 2200 and 0600. You'll likely not be simultaneously cooking, baking, and drying, and 8 hours at about 35 MRpH is over 250 miles of range added each night.
     
    • Like x 1
  9. Uncle Paul

    Uncle Paul Well-Known Member

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    Problem with work arounds like this is that when you sell your home, the new owner will not be aware that this circuit could be overloaded.

    Get the recommendation of a professional electrician after a load capacity survey.
     
  10. Big Earl

    Big Earl bnkwupt

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    If it were my house, I'd install a 40 amp circuit and not use the oven or the cooktop while charging the car. If a future owner is a concern, remove the circuit when you sell the house.

    Not advice.
     
  11. alexgr

    alexgr Member

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    If you add up all the fuses, the total will be way over 100 A. So, it never designed to run at the maximum of the fuse load anyway. A good electrician may provide more details on this. is there an electrician here on TMC?
     
  12. alexgr

    alexgr Member

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    It could be a good idea because then he may safe on inspection. Inspections may cost as much as installations sometimes, but generally maybe avoided if the house is not preped for sale.
     

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