Does this EV home charger solution make sense?

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not_an_electrician

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Boston, MA
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Hello everyone, this is my first time posting here.

I got this quote from a company specialized in EV home charging installation. The price is very competitive, but before I accept it, I'd like to make sure this is reasonable and that I won't have issues with the inspection for the city permit (Boston, MA). I need that in order to qualify for a rebate from Ever Source.

Quote:
quote-jpeg.959218


Some details:
- this is for a condo with 3 units (one each floor, I'm on 2nd floor)
- built in 2017
- the panel in my unit is rated at 125A
- my parking spot is in the back of the building, right next to the main/service panels (see photo below)
- I will get the approval from my HOA

main_panel-jpeg.959219


My understanding is that the electrician is proposing to tap into the electric supply right after the meter and route that wire into a 60A breaker in a new small breaker box, and hardwire that to the car charger. Is that correct or are they proposing to add a sub-panel with the 60A breaker from the main panel (100A I think)?

If it's the former, it looks like a pretty solid and simple solution.

If it's the latter, is that a problem? I've heard that adding a sub-panel out near your meter might mean they need to INCREASE the size of the feeder cable connecting to your main breaker panel inside my unit. Thoughts?

I'm just trying to avoid issues with the inspection and having to spend a lot of money to comply with the code.

Thank you in advance.
 
Not knowing your existing load there is no way to tell. If you have any significant electrical loads (range, heat, etc) I'd say his plan was sketchy.
 
If he can determine through power company what your peak is and is within that with the new unit I see no problem. I doubt it though but it could work.
Plus once he knows the peak he may just need to change the charging speed to make it work with your usage.
 
+ depending on the load of the complex and the particulars of the POCO supply it could become a major project.
 
augie47 said:
Not knowing your existing load there is no way to tell. If you have any significant electrical loads (range, heat, etc) I'd say his plan was sketchy.
Click to expand...

This is the panel inside my unit:
https://imgur.com/a/6GpFwds

2000 sq ft condo, A/C, dryer, tankless water heater (gas), gas stove.

I'm also planning on scheduling the charging during off-peak hours (overnight) where I won't be running the dryer for example. If anything, the A/C might be on, but only during the summer.
 
It looks like a pretty thoroughly detailed quote, reasonable price, and with the info we have most likely fine in terms of code and load.

The quote says 60A disconnect, but if it's a small subpanel with a main breaker it doesn't make much difference.
 
jaggedben said:
It looks like a pretty thoroughly detailed quote, reasonable price, and with the info we have most likely fine in terms of code and load.

The quote says 60A disconnect, but if it's a small subpanel with a main breaker it doesn't make much difference.
Click to expand...

The company got back to me and said it will be a separate feed. So it looks like I will end up with two feeds from the meter: the existing one with the 100A breaker that is wired to my unit panel and the panel with a 60A breaker that will be wired to the car charger.

This is how the panel will look like:
https://imgur.com/a/lAr0t0Y

Does this make more sense?
 
not_an_electrician said:
The company got back to me and said it will be a separate feed. So it looks like I will end up with two feeds from the meter: the existing one with the 100A breaker that is wired to my unit panel and the panel with a 60A breaker that will be wired to the car charger.
Click to expand...
Are they involving the power company?
 
Electrical contractor should be responsible for permit application and passing all inspections. No payment until approved final inspection. You can ask your local building department how much the permits costs. to make sure you're not getting ripped off. By all means get a permit. If you don't, you are handing your insurance company an excuse to not pay in the event of fire damage. Beware of very low bids.
 
David Castor said:
Electrical contractor should be responsible for permit application and passing all inspections. No payment until approved final inspection. You can ask your local building department how much the permits costs. to make sure you're not getting ripped off. By all means get a permit. If you don't, you are handing your insurance company an excuse to not pay in the event of fire damage. Beware of very low bids.
Click to expand...
I will certainly get a permit otherwise I won’t get the refund from Ever Source (they are running an incentive for EV home charger installation in MA).

I will also confirm about the payment. That’s a great insight.

About being aware of very low bids, the other quotes I got were way more complex (example, running an external wire from my unit panel). I did my due diligence and they have very good reviews. As I said before they are specialized in EV home chargers and operate in many cities in the country. They are also recommended by Tesla.
 
jaggedben said:
It's probably not necessary for just one residential charger.
Click to expand...

I would think the utility would want to be involved in the opening of the sealed enclosure, and to approve the additional load added between the meter and the main (or do I have this wrong -sounded like the 60A disco would be tapped between the meter and existing main breaker) which is essentially increasing the size of the service.
 
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