#9,282 in Tools & Home Improvement
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Reddit mentions of Square D by Schneider Electric QO Plug-On Neutral 200 Amp Main Breaker 54-Space 54-Circuit Indoor Load Center with Cover
Sentiment score: 1
Reddit mentions: 1
We found 1 Reddit mentions of Square D by Schneider Electric QO Plug-On Neutral 200 Amp Main Breaker 54-Space 54-Circuit Indoor Load Center with Cover. Here are the top ones.
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Engineered for a quick Plug-on Neutral breaker connection on every circuit, fewer connections, faster installation, no pigtails frees up gutter spaceIncludes a factory-installed indoor coverAccommodates plug-on secondary surge arrestor (sold separately)Overhead/underground feed simply by rotating the device before installingSingle phase; Rated 120/240 VAC and 22,000 AIR short circuit current rating
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Glad to help!
One thing I forgot to mention: When I moved into my house we only had a 100a meter. So we had an electrician upgrade the meter and the breaker panel to 200a (it requires a permit and is definitely not a DIY job).
But you need to see what size meter or panel (whichever is smaller) is. Having a new EVSE pulling 30a for 3 or 4 hours on a 100a meter means the rest of your house only has access to 70a while your EV is charging when it used to be 100a. Which will make it more likely to trip your 100a main breaker (the big breaker at the top of the panel that cuts power to the whole house).
Just consider what circuits you already have, and what your peak power consumption might actually be. IE: A cooktop on high might draw 3.7kW. On a 240V circuit that's 3700 / 240 == ~16a. When in doubt round up. So if I have a tankless electric under-sink water-heater like a Rheem RTEX-13 that can pull 13kW (13000 / 240 == ~55a), then I'm right at the limit if I'm charging at 30a, have my cooktop on high and am running the hot water. If I start the dryer at the same time or the air-conditioner kicks in I'll probably trip the main breaker if I only have 100a service.
It's peak power you need to worry about. A cooktop on medium might pull 1.5kW to start, but after the pan is hot it's going to modulate the power and probably only sustain 500W or something. So it's not something you'll find out by dividing your utility bill's kWh by 30 days.
I know it sounds complicated. It's really not. Just spend a few days taking note of what things that use electricity come on and when, and take special notice of when that happens simultaneously. Then see what breakers those circuits are labelled for, and add up the numbers. You could totally make a 30a charger work in a 100a home, just like you can make a hair-dryer work in the bathroom. You just can't run multiple hair-dryers at the same time if all your bathrooms are on the same circuit. An even better idea would be a lower power charger though. The smaller 16A charger I use for my car will give me about 10 miles of range per hour of charging. There's never been a time an overnight charge wasn't enough at that rate. I've only used my wife's 30a charger a couple times when I went days without charging and then felt like going somewhere and realized I could use a little more juice.
If you do end up needing to replace the panel, I recommend buying yourself and shopping for an electrician to do a labor-only job. Most will throw out quotes around $1,500 to $3,000, but with a little shopping you can get a labor-only job done in my area, including the permit, for about $700.
The panel and all the breakers were probably about $500 all in.
I actually replaced the 40-space load-center I had installed back then with a 54-space one last month since I wanted to add some new circuits and it was out of space.