wire losses add up quicker than you would expect! I am using my EV for daily commute and a conservative estimate shows me that I am charging at least 5,000 kWh per year. If I use the cheapest/smallest allowed wire size and drop 10V of the 240V during charging, well within the 6% drop allowed, then I am losing a staggering 200kWh per year to heat loss in that wire, which over here in PG&E land cost me $100 per year. So, if I spend an extra $100 to upsize the wire and only lose 5V during charging, the avoided losses pay for that wire in 2 years and save me $50 every year after. Some hidden cost are larger than you think.
Another one is even more obvious: I used to get around 3 mi/kWh in my first EV. Then for a while I drove another on the same commute and got 4. What was the difference? I found wheel alignment, esp. toe. After I adjusted my own EV, I also got 4. Today, with tires pumped to max sidewall pressure of 44psi and going a constant 55 on the freeway, I get 5 on a warm day, 4.5 in California winter. Big cost difference and only a few minutes difference on a long commute. Cor. On Fri, Feb 13, 2026, 8:17 AM DOOLEY PHILIP G JR via EV <[email protected]> wrote: > This now applies when replacing equipment that has both 120 and 240 > loads. It doesn't apply to equipment with only 240V loads like for > charging EVs and welders, plasma cutters, air compressors. For those of us > with lots of 3 conductor wire on hand, the 3 pin connectors like the 10-50 > make more sense. The 4 pin connectors have a different shaped pin for > earth and using a neutral pin for earth might be a misuse, but the J1772 > connector does this. > Phil > > On Thursday, February 12, 2026 at 10:34:04 AM EST, Lee Hart via EV < > [email protected]> wrote: > > A historical note: In the US, the NEC requires all kitchen outlets need > to be GFCI protected. UL requires all kitchen appliances to have all > exposed metal parts grounded. But these are not legally required unless the > local building codes cite the NEC and UL regulations. > > BUT... for decades, the electric kitchen range manufacturers lobbied hard > and got an exception. Ranges used a 3-pin connector with NO GROUND and NO > GFCI. Instead, it had two hots and a neutral. They used the neutral as > their "ground". Any 120v devices in the range (light bulbs, fans, etc.) > were wired between one of the hots and neutral. This was obviously less > safe (but saved them money). > -- > Excellence does not require perfection. -- Henry James > But it *does* require attention to detail! -- Lee Hart > -- > Lee A. Hart https://www.sunrise-ev.com > > _______________________________________________ > Address messages to [email protected] > No other addresses in TO and CC fields > HELP: http://www.evdl.org/help/ > > > -------------- next part -------------- > An HTML attachment was scrubbed... > URL: < > http://lists.evdl.org/private.cgi/ev-evdl.org/attachments/20260213/62896f35/attachment.htm > > > _______________________________________________ > Address messages to [email protected] > No other addresses in TO and CC fields > HELP: http://www.evdl.org/help/ > > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://lists.evdl.org/private.cgi/ev-evdl.org/attachments/20260213/f43b7b10/attachment.htm> _______________________________________________ Address messages to [email protected] No other addresses in TO and CC fields HELP: http://www.evdl.org/help/
