I have an interesting scenario that could use some feedback.
I have 200A service in my home with a sub panel running to a detached garage (actually an old barn). The breaker running to that sub panel in my home is a 60A breaker but the main breaker in that sub panel is a 100A breaker. I was perplexed by this so I followed the wire coming from that 60A breaker and it ran to a junction box very close to the main panel. It seems that's where the wire steps up to a 4AWG wire that runs to that sub panel into the 100A breaker.
SO....it seems the wire serving the sub is adequate for 100A, but the wire in the main panel is only rated up to 60A, hence the 60A breaker. That wire that runs out to the garage is buried in the ground running under my driveway out to the barn (as far as I can tell, it doesn't seem to be in conduit so stuck with that wire out to barn).
My plan is to upgrade that short wire run going to junction box so it matches the 4awg wire and upgrading the 60A breaker in main panel to 100A. That way I have a full 100A serving the barn. May put in a 50A breaker in that sub for EV charging down the road and to have something to plug my RV into when I have it here for limited use. So I would run a 50A compatible wire from that sub to a NEMA 14-50 plug. I'm looking at a plug-in hybrid that is rated for 32A charging. But want it to be a 50A breaker/wire in case we need it down the road.
I checked with my utility company over a 12 month period to see what my max power pull was at any given hour over 12 months. The max that I found was 43A. I know the EV chargers are pulling constant power but I would most likely only have this charging over night when power use is low anyway.
Anything to consider that I'm missing?
I have 200A service in my home with a sub panel running to a detached garage (actually an old barn). The breaker running to that sub panel in my home is a 60A breaker but the main breaker in that sub panel is a 100A breaker. I was perplexed by this so I followed the wire coming from that 60A breaker and it ran to a junction box very close to the main panel. It seems that's where the wire steps up to a 4AWG wire that runs to that sub panel into the 100A breaker.
SO....it seems the wire serving the sub is adequate for 100A, but the wire in the main panel is only rated up to 60A, hence the 60A breaker. That wire that runs out to the garage is buried in the ground running under my driveway out to the barn (as far as I can tell, it doesn't seem to be in conduit so stuck with that wire out to barn).
My plan is to upgrade that short wire run going to junction box so it matches the 4awg wire and upgrading the 60A breaker in main panel to 100A. That way I have a full 100A serving the barn. May put in a 50A breaker in that sub for EV charging down the road and to have something to plug my RV into when I have it here for limited use. So I would run a 50A compatible wire from that sub to a NEMA 14-50 plug. I'm looking at a plug-in hybrid that is rated for 32A charging. But want it to be a 50A breaker/wire in case we need it down the road.
I checked with my utility company over a 12 month period to see what my max power pull was at any given hour over 12 months. The max that I found was 43A. I know the EV chargers are pulling constant power but I would most likely only have this charging over night when power use is low anyway.
Anything to consider that I'm missing?
