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A comment on In New York City, congestion pricing leads to marked drop in pollution. Parent comment

Re:In New York City, congestion pricing leads to marked drop... by fullstop on Wednesday December 10, 2025 @11:39AM (#46219899)
> Just the cost to get my garage outfitted with a charging port is about to be in the thousands because it requires me to replace the entire breaker panel. Now this is a me problem because that panel is ancient but it does add to the total cost of "doing this" and going EV.

You likely don't need to replace the panel, as load management options exist. Wallbox, in particular, has an option where you can add a modbus doo-dad (carlo gavazzi energy management module) to your panel and it will monitor the overall usage and drop the EVSE current to keep it at a safe level.

It's more expensive than if you had a modern panel, but less expensive than replacing the panel itself.

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Re:In New York City, congestion pricing leads to marked drop... by Spivak on Wednesday December 10, 2025 @12:43PM (#46220809)
I'm probably just going to bite the bullet and replace the panel but this is really good to know.
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Re:In New York City, congestion pricing leads to marked drop... by theluketaylor on Wednesday December 10, 2025 @02:59PM (#46222882)
Another option is just stick to a smaller circuit.

80% of 15A x 120V = 1.4 kW

80% of 20A x 240V = 3.8 kW

Just going from a standard 15A outlet to a 20A/240V nearly triples the amount of power, and many homes that would need a new panel for a 50A charger have room for one more 20A circuit. Cars typically spend 8-16 hrs per day stationary in their own driveway, so 3.8 kW translates into tons of range.

While 40A or 50A is nice to have, it's far from necessary.

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Re:In New York City, congestion pricing leads to marked drop... by fullstop on Wednesday December 10, 2025 @12:48PM (#46220882)
How many amps is your current service? I have 200A service where I live, but the house is 100% electric -- water heater, range, heat pump, washer, dryer, etc. All electric. There's even a little medallion on the front of the house about it: https://i.imgur.com/BrHj1XQ.jpeg The 70s were weird.

And when you say that your panel is old, just how old are we talking?

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