happy intruder
Well-known member
- First Name
- O. K.
- Joined
- Mar 5, 2020
- Threads
- 8
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- 1,136
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- 911
- Location
- Irvine
- Vehicles
- Model 3 Jun 2019..... Model S Jan 2020
- Occupation
- Retired
my home is 45 years old...primary residence....when built, Warmington used a 100a panel.....no pool, gas appliances, no Tesla charger and no air-conditioning.....I installed a/c and a pool.....upgraded some breakers.....One of the mistakes builders/homeowners make is they install a breaker panel that is too small (a 100 amp panel may be good for a small house with not many loads but they trip breakers pretty quick when bigger loads are used). So a 200 amp panel would be great and you prolly wont trip any breakers even when using 240v with 50-80amp output ( assuming you don't have a jacuzzi, heated pool, sauna, hot tub... then you may need a 400 amp or bigger) - but a 100 amp would be tripping a lot.
If you need to "save money" a good way is to determine what volt& you will be using then buy the breaker(s), wire, wire length, wire clamps and female connector/outlet and run the lines yourself then pay an electrician to do the termination at the breaker and outlet ( if your electrical code allows such).
when I went to add the Tesla HPWC (gen 2) I did the calculations and I was within code by using only 50a breakers for the charger.....my panel is now full....no more space....
I am contemplating Tesla solar panels and 2 power walls.....in order to do this I am upgrading my panel this weekend to a 200a panel with solar......then I can run 100a sub-panel for the solar......
I agree, I am an electrical engineer from Ga Tech and am pretty familiar with electricity....but, I agree, you probably want to run lines and have the certified electrician connect....thats what I am doing....I have never experienced and tripping of any of my circuits in the 100a panel as of yet, but I do not want to take any chances.....one advantage I have is that all my wiring is 12awg copper.....I found that out when I had a charred light switch.....so I bought 175 outlets and light switches only to find that I could not just slip into the fixture.....everything now is 14-16awg....I have to cut, stripe and hand mount.....took 10 days.....but I feel good now that everything is new.....I also pulled new wires for the pool equipment....what a pain that was .....over 300 feet for 3 wires and 7 turns and gates.....
so I hope he does it right and things go well.....but do get a certified electrician
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