Page 21 - Green Builder Remodeling Field Report 2021

determine the panel sizing requirements don’t reflect that. doing to make your local grid ready for the increased demand,
“There are four homes on the same transformer on the when electrification becomes widespread?
street,” he adds, “and at first my utility was doubtful it was “Apart from uncertainty about who pays for new local wiring
large enough to handle all four homes, given my increase to infrastructure, most homes that switch over from gas to
400 amp service. They said I would have to pay $10,000, or electric will draw a lot more power, and could need extensive
possibly more to replace it.” service panel upgrades,” he explains. “New construction is not
He says the utility eventually calculated the transformer so much an issue, but for the 100 million existing homes, it will
loads, and determined he did not need an upsized transformer, be. More and more municipalities nationwide are banning gas
but the threat still looms. “What if my neighbors want to do hook ups, and California’s new Building Standards require that
the same thing and upgrade to all electric?” he asks. “The single family homes be electric-ready.”
clock is clearly ticking, and this is a national issue.” Easley says utilities must wake up quickly to the change
“It’s the last couple miles of distribution that could make that’s coming. He’s also optimistic that “smart” power man-
wide scale electrification challenging,” he explains. “With this agement systems can help reduce the infrastructure needs.
house, we’ve had to upgrade to 400-amp home service panels. For example, 200 amp panels with 100 amp sub panels with
Think about it. You have fully loaded 200-amp panels common load prioritization technology could work in many applications.
across the country. How many will need to be upgraded?” “I’ve been studying Schneider Electric and their Wiser
“Some utilities may expect you to pay for a new transformer, power management products and their smart service entrance
as well as new service entrance conductors,” he adds. “I’ve panels, for instance,” he says. They have developed smart pan-
reached out to five large utilities, and a large Midwest co- els, breakers and other equipment, plus some game-changing
op, and had discussions with two so far to figure this out. AI that can prioritize home energy use and even load shed.
But it’s not looking like the utilities are preparing much for This means homes could have smaller and less costly panels
electrification, other than to acknowledge it could happen. as well as connections to the feeder conductors, transformers
On the generation side, many utilities are looking to switch to etc. We’re going to need every piece of technology available to
more renewable energy for power generation, but what are they make this happen on a grand scale.” GB

How to Calculate Your

Electrical Load Needs

When planning to convert a home from fossil fuel dependency to
all-electric equipment, circuit demands, panel capacity and even
your neighborhood transformers may be impacted. HVAC and
electric vehicles will likely be the “big ticket” energy users. You can
mitigate these loads to some degree with smart controls and
products from companies such as Vivint and Schneider Electric.

CIRCUIT SAFE WATTAGE
15-amp 1,440 watts
20-amp 1,920 watts
30-amp 2,880 watts

HEAT PUMP
Typically the largest load in the
home, newer units such as those
offered by LG include variable
speed inverter compressors, and ELECTRIC VEHICLE
cool homes as much as 53% Most electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles available today can
more efficiently than only accept a maximum of 16 to 32 amps, while charging on a
conventional HVAC. Level 2, 240-volt charging station.