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Comment by megaman22 | Hacker News Reader

So, most people are going to have to completely rework their electrical system in order to put in an EV charger, going by the Tesla specs[1], up to including a larger service. Not too many people have an extra 40 amps of capacity kicking around, much less 60 or 90. And let me tell you, it's not exactly cheap to redo an electrical panel, particularly once you get in there and then have to bring up any other things that were grandfathered in up to newer code.

[1] https://www.tesla.com/support/home-charging-installation

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Your point is valid, but I'd mention that I doubt most people need >40 amp installation. If we talk about your average Joe who gets a Model 3 or equivalent than they're already getting 30mi/h charge at 40 amps. Average Joe only drives 16 miles to work.

We have the 40 amp installation and have never wanted for more.

Somewhat related, but a neat hack might be to get solar installed at the same time. Re-doing the panel would be included as part of the project, which means you can A) get a loan to cover everything, and B) get a 30% credit from the government (in the U.S.). [I say might; our solar installer explained to us offhand that many people do things like that and get other upgrades as well like new water heaters, etc. You'd have to check with your CPA to confirm.] Considering that solar is cheaper over the long-term it's a pretty good deal depending on what loan terms you can get.

I recently moved and have been lazy about getting a charger installed at the new place. I’ve been plugging into a standard outlet in the meantime. Turns out that’s plenty. I still want to get something faster because it’s more efficient and it would be nice before and after long trips, but there’s no rush.

Yea, it is a good starting point as many EVs use 30-32A charging (including the short range version of the Model 3 in fact), and fits into the 200A service that most homes since the 1980s have pretty easily.

Probably.

I had the advantage of moving into a place where the previous tenant had the service and panel upgraded / house rewired for their cannabis business.

Really glad too. There’s lots of Hazardous Federal Pacific Electric panels in operation around here.

Most Tesla owners install standard J1772, not the faster Tesla thing.

> Not too many people have an extra 40 amps of capacity kicking around

Not even EV owners. That's overkill.

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