Natural gas service is pretty much ready to go actually. That’s a good idea to ponder over.
$10k for a 240v outlet install?
- Thread starter TXCarGeek
- Start date
No crazy loads lol…just normal home loads. The bit about 225A jumping a wire size over the 200A panel that you mentioned in your previous post was really helpful.
Thanks. Copper too, but it's so on rare service I'd have to look it up.
I imagine you won't be in that small house forever, (maybe, just guessing) - save the $. 200A and new mains will be a HUGE improvement.
The power company is in charge of determining the size of the wire between the transformer and the meter base (or weatherhead if overhead service). They base this wire size on the calculated load NOT the size of the service. Ditto for the transformer.
That is why I have 350MCM aluminum wire from a 37.5kva transformer feeding a "400 amp" service.
That's where we were when we bought our LG home that was built in '62 I believe. The 60A service panel, or whatever it was, was a mess.
Yes. OK. That's at least closer. Would they allow some undersize wire and just throw 225A service in? So his load is 125 tops, fine - sure would be a waste of money. The main breaker almost pointless.
4WD
$50 site donor 2024
Indeed - power company and electricians worked it out together on mine - I failed to mention the SME who recommended my upgrade was commercial only and an officer with the VFD who did the inspections … he then recommended a couple more residential types …
They'd look at his existing wire, determine if it's enough to support an additional 50A of load, if it isn't, they'll upsize it to one that will. They care not about the service size.
I know there's multiple pages of this, but it seems insanely high. I had a quote of $1k which the company isn't interested in coming out to do unless I add some other work. I haven't bothered yet because the Tesla isn't my daily. Unless you're in a situation where you don't have power in your garage and the power supply you do have isn't powerful enough, I could see $5k, but this is nuts.
Oh, is that a thing in earthquake prone areas? Not a worry here on the Texas coast.
Dunno what a "giant earthquake joint" is but a slip meter riser is to allow for expansion/contraction, otherwise, the conduit will break.
That is waaaaay too much.
These ConnectDER EV panel-bypass systems should be on the market fairly soon. Essentially grabs 240v power right after the meter, but before the panel, so you don’t have to upgrade the panel. Might be an option.
connectder.com
connectder.com
Siemens and ConnectDER Partner to Offer Plug-in Home EV Charging Solution
WASHINGTON, July 27, 2022 –– ConnectDER, a company enabling consumers to decarbonize their homes by easily adding new electric service capacity, will supply Siemens with a proprietary plug-in adapter for […]
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ConnectDER adapters let anyone connect solar panels or EV chargers to their home at a fraction of the typical time and cost....
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200A main panel replacement alone is about $7-8k out here. I’d say that number is reasonable for a place that uses computerized estimates. 
That's a pretty sweet idea if mine was in a good spot.These ConnectDER EV panel-bypass systems should be on the market fairly soon. Essentially grabs 240v power right after the meter, but before the panel, so you don’t have to upgrade the panel. Might be an option.
View attachment 189998
View attachment 189997
Siemens and ConnectDER Partner to Offer Plug-in Home EV Charging Solution
WASHINGTON, July 27, 2022 –– ConnectDER, a company enabling consumers to decarbonize their homes by easily adding new electric service capacity, will supply Siemens with a proprietary plug-in adapter for […]
Home
ConnectDER adapters let anyone connect solar panels or EV chargers to their home at a fraction of the typical time and cost....
In my experience, utilities size the transformer and cable based solely on the size of the service. I've never had to provide calculated load to a utility for a new service, aside from the very large non-residential services.
The reason your service cable and transformer seem undersized for 400 A is that the electrical code rules that normally dictate that those ratings don't apply to the utility. They have their own standards and do what they want. On paper, transformers are often only rated for about half of the service size, but they're rated at a low temperature rise for long service life and can handle much higher loads than their rating implies.
Utilities often standardize their residential transformer and cable sizes based on either 200 A or 400 A services, meaning that even if you have a main breaker rated at 100 A or 150 A, upgrading to a panel with a 200 A breaker might not require any changes from the utility. It depends on the utility and what their standards were back in the 70's.
This is what the local utility requires:
That is true, and they know, because of the information supplied above, how much load is actually in my house.
This same utility used to put 12 houses on one 50kVA transformer back in the 60s, but recently changed that neighborhood to 4 houses per 25kVA transformer, as part of a pole replacement project. This also got rid of the secondary distribution lines between poles, so now there is 1 transformer per pole instead of 1 transformer every 3rd pole. One major load difference between then and now is most if not all of those houses have central air conditioners; they generally didn't back in the 1960s.
My brother had his 200 amp service changed to a 400 amp service. The local utility did NOT, as far as we can determine, run new wire to the meter base. Unless it's in conduit and they pulled new wire, I doubt that it's in conduit.
JHZR2
Staff member
Most trades will screw you over because they can. HVAC is the worst, the others are a bit more traceable.
in the last three years I’ve installed two main services in NJ. One to a building that never had any, the other was a change out with a live service coming from the street.
Both cost around $2000 to install about $200-$500 worth of stuff and conductor. One with Siemens panel, the other with an Eaton panel. One pulled a permit and got an inspection, one claimed and lied about it, but the service was already there and connected so it worked out other than that I should have sued them for a discount. Neither had significant numbers of breakers/conductors to refit, which is a time savings, but 5e cost seemed pretty “flat”, as they coukd tell me over the phone the rough cost.
Once you have a panel, the sky’s the limit based upon what they have to go through…. Or it can literally be $5 in parts from home deopt…
in the last three years I’ve installed two main services in NJ. One to a building that never had any, the other was a change out with a live service coming from the street.
Both cost around $2000 to install about $200-$500 worth of stuff and conductor. One with Siemens panel, the other with an Eaton panel. One pulled a permit and got an inspection, one claimed and lied about it, but the service was already there and connected so it worked out other than that I should have sued them for a discount. Neither had significant numbers of breakers/conductors to refit, which is a time savings, but 5e cost seemed pretty “flat”, as they coukd tell me over the phone the rough cost.
Once you have a panel, the sky’s the limit based upon what they have to go through…. Or it can literally be $5 in parts from home deopt…
That’s pretty cool. Checked availability in TX and doesn’t appear to be here at the moment. That would be so easy.These ConnectDER EV panel-bypass systems should be on the market fairly soon. Essentially grabs 240v power right after the meter, but before the panel, so you don’t have to upgrade the panel. Might be an option.
View attachment 189998
View attachment 189997
Siemens and ConnectDER Partner to Offer Plug-in Home EV Charging Solution
WASHINGTON, July 27, 2022 –– ConnectDER, a company enabling consumers to decarbonize their homes by easily adding new electric service capacity, will supply Siemens with a proprietary plug-in adapter for […]
Home
ConnectDER adapters let anyone connect solar panels or EV chargers to their home at a fraction of the typical time and cost....
