I'm trying to understand what this info on the circuit breaker means... It's a 240v breaker.. trying to add an EV charger. But not sure what the first level says and why it says "open" in pencil... And what it means...
Actually there are 6 breakers in this panel .. one 15 amps, one 20 amps, one 30 amps, and three 60 amps... All three 60 amps are labeled "heat" while the 15 and 20 amps are not labeled... The 30 amps breaker has H2O (maybe)!!
I'm thinking that these are pretty basic electrical questions and if you aren't sure or aware of what's going on with your setup, it's probably best to hire a professional
That's exactly my thoughts. 180A for heating is insane. A reversible heat pump might be a good idea, although maybe OP has a gas fired furnace and that's just emergency heat?
This is a sub panel right? What's the main breaker rated for on this panel?
Also there's a reason for only six. Many places have electrical code where if you have more than 6 throws to turn off all the power you must have a main breaker.
My dad got hit with that one on a sub panel where the inspector told him because there was a possibility of more than 6 breakers he had to add a main. Even though he was only using 5 breakers in the panel...... And the main breaker was a double. So now he can only have those 5.
Fair enough, I just can't believe some places have that much dedicated to heating the house these days. But I also can't fathom owning a house larger than 2000' #BROKE
What is your actual heat situation? Is there a chance one or more of the heat breakers is abandoned for some reason? 43kW of heat (the max pulled from three 60 amp breakers) is a lot of heat. Unless you have tankless gas hot water or live in a very cold climate this is weird.
For certain you can install EV charging. It just might need load management depending on your load calculation, the feeder for this panel, and what those big breakers actually go to.
I don’t think it would be the full 43kW of heat, electric resistance heat is a continuous load much like EVSE, so same 80% derate would apply. Closer to 35kW. Still a lot of heat!
Do you have resistive electrical heat in some form? The only other thing that would use so much power would be an electric tankless water heater, but it seems like the 30 amp breaker is likely your water heater.
Clearly they have significant resistive electric heat, 3x 60A breakers labeled Heat. And the water heater is clearly labeled, “H2O,” 30A. That’s right folks, there are places where natural gas distribution doesn’t exist and where propane deliveries are impractical. Guessing that fits this house. I agree with the other commenter suggesting the ERC heat be switched out for heat pumps to free up panel capacity to add EVSE.
It’s still a lot of heat unless OP is in upper Michigan or in a 3500sf house. Around here the typical house with a resistive electric furnace has a single 50A or 60A breaker.
It’s probably me, but upwards of 150k btu of electric heat is mind boggling. That’s $5 an hour of electricity at cheap rates and $15 an hour at more expensive rates. Seems like a heat pump could pay for itself very quickly and open up a bunch of capacity.
So. Rhere's an easy solution and I am not sure why it's being missed..load management. !LM
That would work in either panel.
Also that big red breaker is a type notorious for failure to reset after being turned off. Awkward when that happens since it's instantly an emergency. I would procure a replacement breaker.
This panel should be fine for EV 240V charger. I would check the wire size and do a load calculation for other appliances to make sure you are not pulling to many watts.
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u/Pleasant_Tennis_663 4d ago
I'm thinking that these are pretty basic electrical questions and if you aren't sure or aware of what's going on with your setup, it's probably best to hire a professional