Show your home charging setup for your Taycan

[daveo4EV]

voltage is like the weather - it varies - at my home right now in my garage - my measured voltage is 232 volts…therefore all calculations will vary due to that current condition - if I start my electric dryer (30 amps) it drops a bit

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[feye]

125 A sub panel, 14-50 outlet.

Does any of your cable getting hot while charging?

 

[feye]

my Taycan in my home in the evening reports 8.96 kW when charging from the PMCC - and I can see the 9.6 kW draw on my power meter…

What difference do you see between your grid meter and your Porsche charger?

 

[Jhenson29]

Added 125A subpanel to the garage.

18kW Wall Wattz
75A 240VAC single phase

Plus a 14-30 receplacle

The receptacle is a backup for the main charger. I’m ordering a 14-30 supply cable for the PMC+.

If we get a second EV, I’ll also get a 24 amp EVSE to put on the 14-30 for a total charging capacity of 99 amps or 23.76kW which just about maxes out that 125A circuit.

Now I just need a car...

My only other BEV uses some kind of proprietary connection. The J1772 wouldn’t fit. ?‍

 

[HelfFL]

Here's my setup - wall with panels labeled for parking, then charger on side wall.

 

[Jase700]

I have a 2018 Panamera e-hybrid on a 40amp circuit. Will I need to do anything different with the charger once I get my 4CT?

 

[daveo4EV]

I have a 2018 Panamera e-hybrid on a 40amp circuit. Will I need to do anything different with the charger once I get my 4CT?

nope you are good to go…if you use the same charger as you’re using for the Panamera.

you say “40 amp circuit” - is that a 40 amp breaker? or a 40 amps of charging capacity on a 50 amp breaker/wire/plug?

your Panamera‘s charger will charge the Taycan just fine at 32 amps on a 40 amp breaker - however depending on the plug type _IF_ you plug in your ‘taycan’s charger it may try and charge at the full 40 amps which would potentially overload the wire/breaker. To charge at a full 40 amps (which the Taycan can do and the charger that comes with the Taycan supports) requires a 50 amp breaker and associated 50 amp rated gauge wire…

the Taycan can charge from any J-1772 charger (like the Panamera’s) but chargers come in different sizes/capacities and it’s the charger that needs to be matched to the breaker and circuit.

so the answer to your question depends on a few things:

• what is the actual breaker in your electrical panel?
• what is the gauge of the wire from the breaker to the EV charger “plug”?
• what is the plug type?
• what charger will you use to charge the Taycan (the Panamera’s charger? or the Taycan’s charger)?
• what charger have your ordered for your Taycan?

if you continue to use the Panamera’s actual charger you will be fine and have no problem.

If you intend to use the Taycan’s charger you may need to upgrade the circuit to 50 amps (wire/breaker) since the Taycan’s charger is a full 40 amp 9.6 kW charger vs. the Panamera’s 32 amp 7.2 kW charger.

Either charger can charge either/both cars just fine, but the Taycan charger is a higher powered charger and needs to be on a matching higher powered/rated circuit.

so you most likley have a few choices:

1. continue to use the Panamera’s charger to charge both cars at 7.2 kW - this will work fine and requires no changes - 7.2 kw is 32 amps of charging capacity which requires a 40 amp breaker and appropriate wire gauge. Your panamera will continue to charge just fine, and the Taycan will charge just fine albet slower than it’s maximum 11 kw potential charging rate.
2. use the new charger that comes with the Taycan, but that charger is 9.6 kW - 9.6 kW requires 40 amps of charging capacity which according to US building electrical codes requires a 50 amp breaker and associate wire gauge rated for 50 amps - this setup will charge your Taycan at 9.6 kW and also your Panamera at 7.2 kW (it’s maximum charge rate) - you may need to “upgrade” your charging circuits breaker, wire & plug to match the greater power of the Taycan’s charger - you’ll need to consult with a licensed electrician to evaluate your current circuit.
3. Upgrade the circuit to a 60 amp breaker and associated 60 amp rated wire gauge and purchase a ClipperCreek HCS-60 which will charge your Taycan at it’s full 11 kW charging capacity/rate - and will also charge any other EV at it’s maximum rate (like your Panamera at 7.2 kw) - with this configuration you will leave the Porsche charger “in the bag” and never use the new charger that comes with the Taycan since you’ll be using the hardwired 60 amp ClipperCreek charger for your nightly charging sessions.
4. Upgrade your garage circuit to 100 amps, install a 40/50/60 amp charger -and have left over capacity for your eventual 2nd EV and then you can split the 100 amp load between the two EV’s so both can charge over night during off-peak billing time windows at 40/50 amps each - this is the only have the electrician come out once and get ready for 2 EV’s approach.

To reiterate _ANY_ EV charger in North American can charge _ANY_ EV and will/should function just fine. Your existing Porsche Panamera charger WILL charge your Taycan with NO problems at it’s rated 7.2 kW maximum charge rate. However the charger that comes with the Panamera has different electrical capacity requirement than the charger that comes with the Taycan (panamera’s 7.2 kW vs. Taycan’s 9.6 kW). If you continue to use the Panamera’s charger you need to do nothing. If you intend to use the Taycan’s charger you need to review your electrical circuit and make sure it’s up to snuff for a full 40 amp charging rate which requires a 50 amp breaker/wire/circuit. If you have to make a change I’d recomending moving to a 60/80/100 amp breaker and associated wire gauge in anticipation of your glorious multi-EV future where you’ll want to charge two EV’s at the same time overnight and run two high capacity EV chargers at the same time.

so the answer ot the question of “will EV charger ‘x’ charge car ’y’?” is yes 99.9% of the time in North America - they are not vendor specific. However EV chargers come in different electrical capacities (like the Porsche (cayenne/panamera) Hybrid 7.2 kW chargers vs. the Audi eTron/Taycan 9.6 kw chargers) - any EV charger will charge any EV (you can use a Nissan Leaf’s 3.6 kW charger to charge your Taycan - it will work just fine) - but not all chargers have the same electrical requirements even if they look the same or are from the same vendor (such as the case for the Porsche/Audi/VW chargers where in north american they are shipping 32/40 amp chargers with different cars depending on hybrid vs. full EV).

the other “implied” but often unstated question is will my EV charge at it’s maximum rate? The answer there is also “maybe” depending on the charger. The North American Taycan’s maximum charge rate is 11 kW. That requires a 60 amp breaker, and a 48 amp charger (like the ClipperCreek HCS-60). Neither the Panamera Charger nor the Taycan charger will charge the Taycan at it’s maximum rate - Porsche does not ship a 60/48 amp charger in North America - for that you’d need to purchase a non-Porsche EV charger which will work fine and there are numerous high quality affordable choices.

So will the Panamera’s charger charge your Taycan? Yes!!! But it will not charge it as fast as possible because it’s a 7.2 kW charger and therefore will charge your Taycan slightly slower than possible but be 100% functional for most usage of 40-80 miles daily driving.

The Taycan’s charger will charge your Taycan at 9.6 kW which is faster than the Panamera’s 7.2 kW charger - but still not the full charge rate possible with the Taycan. Again you may need to upgrade your existing Panamera’s rated circuit to accommodate the Taycan chargers additional requirements for more capacity.

To optimally charge the Taycan in North America requires a 60 amp breaker, wire and associated 60 amp charger - this will charge your Taycan at it’s maximum rate but requires a non-Porsche EV charger since Porsche north america to date has no offerings in this space for a Porsche branded 60/48 amp charger (even though they ship such chargers elsewhere in the world). This is OK since Porsche is really really really overpriced in this space and there are equal/better more affordable chargers that will work just fine for this function.

Bigger/faster/higher capacity chargers (like a 60/48 amp ClipperCreek) charger will also charge other “slower” car like the Panamera or leaf just fine - since when you plug the car in it “asks” the charger how big are you. If the charger says “I can do 48 amps” - the car says “great” all I need/can-handle is 32 amps everyting will work fine. The Panamera will charge at it’s maximum 32 amp rate and not fully utilize the external charger’s 48 amp capacity - this is fine and expected. You can charge a 3.6 kW Nissan Leaf using a 100 amp 19.2 kW EV charger since the car’s demands are less than what the EV charger can provide. you can install a big bad over capacity EV charger and the cars will all work just fine, they will simply only take what they can handle not fully utliizing the entire capacity of the charger.

• will the Panamera charger charge your Taycan? Yes!!!
• can you plug the Taycan’s charger into your existing electrical circuit? We don’t know, you need an electrician to review your existing circuit.
• will the Panamera charger charge your Taycan as fast as possible? No.
• if I upgrade my electrical circuit will the Taycan charger be able to charge my Panamera? Yes!
• If I upgrade my electrical circuit for the 9.6 kw Taycan charger will it charge my Panamera any faster? No! The panamera is limited to 7.2 kW maximum charge rate - but it will work just fine.
• Will either the Panamera or Taycan Porsche charger charge my Taycan as fast as possible? No! The maximum charge rate for a North American Taycan is 11 kW which requires a 60 amp breaker/circuit to accommodate an 11 kw (48 amp) charge rate.
• Does porsche currently offer/sell an 11 kW charger in North America? No. You would need to purchase a non-Porsche EV charger to obtain this charge rate.
• Will high capacity EV chargers charge slower/lower-capacity EV’s? Yes - no problem - this is how the charging standards and system is designed to work and it’s why all EV chargers for North America work with all EV’s.
• Does it really matter if I’m not charging my Taycan as fast as possible? No it does not. It will most likely be fine 98% of the time over your entire ownership period. But sometimes/rarely when you come home with 7% battery remaining it might be nicer to fully charge the car in 7 hours instead of 15 hours which is what a 60/48 amp charger will get you vs. the Panamera’s 40/32 amp charger will get you.

 

[Rcrewse7]

I explored running a dedicated line on a 50 or 60 amp breaker to my garage which of course would have been optimal, however it would have been a royal pain and expensive due to the location of my panel relative to the garage (extensive trenching.) My electrician buddy and I came up with a safe, shared solution with my sole existing 240V, 30 amp line running to my water heater as follows:

The live load is run through the AC disconnect box down through the conduit to the switch which then determines if position 1 is active to power up the 14-30 socket and charge the vehicle , or position 2 is active to send the load back up to the conduit and into the AC disconnect box to run the electric water heater. The design of the switch prevents both the charger and the water heater from ever running simultaneously.

I did consider the ramifications of powering off my water heater for a few hours at night, and it has been a non issue with an old school tank unit. We rarely use hot water after 8 PM on almost any given day, the water heater is able to recover spent hot water within an hour, and once the water is hot the tank can keep it hot for 2-3 days...especially in the hot desert AZ summers. The most economical time to charge per my electric company EV plan is from 11 PM-6 AM, so the water heater is just off every night. Basically, just need to switch it back to the water heater every morning which is already part of the routine. For $150 in materials, and pizza for me and my buddy, I’m content with the set up.

The 5.8 KW charging rate (5.2 KW is actually the best the car registers after losses) may not be as fast as it could go, getting my 20-50% worth of charging to get back up to 85% while we sleep has been sufficient. With a new EA station powering up close by, I’m covered for the occasions when I need to replenish the battery more quickly.

 

[NC_Taycan]

Innovative solution! Any chance of converting your electric water heater to gas? Not now of course since you have solved your problem, but down the road when your hot water heater needs to be replaced?

 

[andrewket]

You might consider a slight change to your setup by adding a Dryer Buddy:

https://www.bsaelectronics.com/collections/dryer-buddy-plus-auto

It would remove the manual switch and add an automatic switch. This would allow you to use profile/timer settings in your car and make the process “touch less”.

In your config you would plug the EV EVSE into the “dryer” plug, and the hot water heater in the “EV” plug, this way your EV has priority.

 

[Rcrewse7]

Innovative solution! Any chance of converting your electric water heater to gas? Not now of course since you have solved your problem, but down the road when your hot water heater needs to be replaced?

Sadly, I don’t have gas running to my house, but a good idea!

 

[Rcrewse7]

You might consider a slight change to your setup by adding a Dryer Buddy:

https://www.bsaelectronics.com/collections/dryer-buddy-plus-auto

It would remove the manual switch and add an automatic switch. This would allow you to use profile/timer settings in your car and make the process “touch less”.

In your config you would plug the EV EVSE into the “dryer” plug, and the hot water heater in the “EV” plug, this way your EV has priority.

I actually looked into the Dryer Buddy right from the get go, however my water heater has no plug to begin with and is connected directly into the AC disconnect box as required by code. I suppose I could have spliced the water heater into a plug and explored further, but it would have complicated the setup.

 

[chrisk]

I actually looked into the Dryer Buddy right from the get go, however my water heater has no plug to begin with and is connected directly into the AC disconnect box as required by code. I suppose I could have spliced the water heater into a plug and explored further, but it would have complicated the setup.

Correct. The dryer buddy is for dryers that have a plug and it is not meeting code requirements for an A/C or Water heater 30amp line that must be hardwired into a disconnect.
If you don't drive a lot you can also get a 120v charger (or use your PMCC) on a regular garage outlet. You can get 30miles or so overnight with 120v 15ams and even more if f you keep plugged during the day. Then you would only need to switch when you need more. If you do that make sure your 120v circuit is grounded and no other big loads run on the same line

 

[Jase700]

• will the Panamera charger charge your Taycan? Yes!!!
• can you plug the Taycan’s charger into your existing electrical circuit? We don’t know, you need an electrician to review your existing circuit.
• will the Panamera charger charge your Taycan as fast as possible? No.
• if I upgrade my electrical circuit will the Taycan charger be able to charge my Panamera? Yes!
• If I upgrade my electrical circuit for the 9.6 kw Taycan charger will it charge my Panamera any faster? No! The panamera is limited to 7.2 kW maximum charge rate - but it will work just fine.
• Will either the Panamera or Taycan Porsche charger charge my Taycan as fast as possible? No! The maximum charge rate for a North American Taycan is 11 kW which requires a 60 amp breaker/circuit to accommodate an 11 kw (48 amp) charge rate.
• Does porsche currently offer/sell an 11 kW charger in North America? No. You would need to purchase a non-Porsche EV charger to obtain this charge rate.
• Will high capacity EV chargers charge slower/lower-capacity EV’s? Yes - no problem - this is how the charging standards and system is designed to work and it’s why all EV chargers for North America work with all EV’s.
• Does it really matter if I’m not charging my Taycan as fast as possible? No it does not. It will most likely be fine 98% of the time over your entire ownership period. But sometimes/rarely when you come home with 7% battery remaining it might be nicer to fully charge the car in 7 hours instead of 15 hours which is what a 60/48 amp charger will get you vs. the Panamera’s 40/32 amp charger will get you.

This was a very useful response. I lucked out that I had a broken old school garage heater that already was already wired for 40 amps. When I had my electrician come in, he just put in a new breaker (for no other reason that the old one was ancient) and ran some new wiring. My panel is literally on the other side of my garage wall. I got off really easy. I’m turning in the Panamera so I’m going to see if I can operate on the 7.2 or if I really need to upgrade.

 

[Rcrewse7]

Correct. The dryer buddy is for dryers that have a plug and it is not meeting code requirements for an A/C or Water heater 30amp line that must be hardwired into a disconnect.
If you don't drive a lot you can also get a 120v charger (or use your PMCC) on a regular garage outlet. You can get 30miles or so overnight with 120v 15ams and even more if f you keep plugged during the day. Then you would only need to switch when you need more. If you do that make sure your 120v circuit is grounded and no other big loads run on the same line

Once derated down to 12 amps continuous and crunching the numbers, the 5-15 outlet option just seemed like it wasn’t a long term solution, although I could see how it could help with constant plugging.

At one point I considered upgrading one of my 5-15 120V outlets to a 6-20 outlet for the extra amperage as it would be super easy, cheap, and garage outlets are often already on a 20 amp breaker. The included Porsche charger can’t make use of that plug type along with the extra amperage however.

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