Upgrading capacity to home?

[lefkonj]

If you remove the circuit for the 'Hot Tub' you need to remove the outlet as well. Never want outlets that go no where and don't want circuits that go no where.

You could also look at doing a load test on the circuits. A 10amp circuit for bedroom lights was fine 20 years ago, but with LEDs today it is way overkill.

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[EarlyAdptr]

If you remove the circuit for the 'Hot Tub' you need to remove the outlet as well. Never want outlets that go no where and don't want circuits that go no where.

You could also look at doing a load test on the circuits. A 10amp circuit for bedroom lights was fine 20 years ago, but with LEDs today it is way overkill.

Thanks @lefkonj! Yes, of course remove the plug. But just to be clear (not that it really matters) we're going to take-over the dryer circuit for 60 amps. But yes, cap and label the wires on both ends and remove the plug.

And good point on the load test - yes, LED's matter now

 

[ATL_Canes]

I don’t have nearly as scientific of an answer, but when I needed to have our plug installed in the garage, the first electrician said I needed a new panel and it was really expensive. I had another company come out to get a second quote (I didn’t tell them what the other place said), and it never came up. Went with company 2 and never had an issue.

Everyone has their own set of facts, but just wanted to put it out there the value in getting a second bid/set of eyes on the work.

 

[Gshenderson]

PS One additional point a friend of mine made, a sizable draw in any home is lighting. As we all move to LED lighting - that draw decreases substantially. So the total draw on the panel is less than when it was originally put in.

Not to mention that once you’re kids move out, the number of times every light in the house is left on dramatically decreases! ?‍

 

[EarlyAdptr]

Not to mention that once you’re kids move out, the number of times every light in the house is left on dramatically decreases! ?‍

Great point. Last child should be out this coming fall

 

[CommodoreAmiga]

Not to mention that once you’re kids move out, the number of times every light in the house is left on dramatically decreases! ?‍

I wonder if a passive-aggressive dad has ever gotten so fed up that they replaced light switches with these:

On a more serious note, I did install one of these motion-detection switches in a garage, once, and it was nice:

 

[Gshenderson]

Great point. Last child should be out this coming fall

 

[svet-am]

Echo all of the comments about that hot tub circuit because it's _exactly_ what I did at my house. The prior owner had a hot tub on the porch but took it out before selling the house and left the circuit. When my EVSE was installed, they tapped into where the circuit was capped and ran a small little connecting from that point into my garage. Works like a charm.

My only caution is that it is 60A. The 60A requirements have changed in the NEC and for a constant load like an EVSE there are specific requirements for a load like an EVSE about the guage of the wire and whether or not it needs to be conduit-rated (and actually installed in conduit). Make sure you double-check your wiring in that circuit before just going on that amperage rating for the EVSE hookup.

 

[ajdelange]

Anyways, is there a simple "rule of thumb' where I can look at our 2 panels and determine if I actually need more power to the home to be safe?

Yes, sort of. It is exactly what you suggested and you have made it easy to apply by adding up all the breakers in your main panel which total 1085. The load factor is 1085/400 = 2.71. with 400 being 2 x 200 - the main breaker. This is over 2 by a fair amount but it is not that uncommon to see an inspector allow factors that high. Clearly if you disconnect those loads you don't use you will pick up 100 or 120 pole amps which will support either a 50 or 60A circuit for EVSE and stay at of get below your 2.71 load factor. Now will the inspector accept that? It's up to him. That factor was deemed acceptable before but the fact that one guy signed off on it doesn't mean the next guy will. The man that knows best what the local inspector will buy is your local electrician. So yes, I'd say you are "maxed out" with the current configuration but cap off the unused circuits and you are back at or under 2.71

There is one way to force an inspector to accept load factors as high as 2.71 (I have panels higher than that), and that is to present him with a year's worth of data that shows that 200A service is adequate. This involves installing a consumption meter and monitoring its output and knowing how to interpret that. $. Sometimes just the presence of the monitoring equipment will suffice. My electrician added a 100 A EVSE circuit to a 200A panel. The inspector arched his eyebrows whereupon the electrician told him "See all those CT's? This guy knows where every amp in the house goes". That was sufficient. YMMMV.

The other approach is, as was suggested in the video, to do a Standard Method calculation (a PITA but you can download spreadsheets to make it easier). Take out the unused dryer, sauna etc. and you will probably come in a under 200A as the service requirement.

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