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This might be an unusual post. I am President of a Co-op in the Inwood area built in the 1950's. Each unit has 45 amps coming up from the basement (we are sub-metered) in three buildings (111 units total). It will cost us a fortune to have ConEd bring more power in from the street.
In my opinion, the real obstacle are the 15 amp fuses or circuit breakers in the units that, as one may imagine, blow rather frequently, especially with new appliances (even energy*star ones). This fixed circuitry seems like an artificial boundary to a modern, active lifestyle. I am not trying to get around the protection that fuses and circuit breakers offer – just the limitations of fixed circuitry.
Does anyone know of any ‘smart home distribution systems’ (my terminology) that would allow all of the outlets in the unit access to the power system (full 45 amps) without any pesky circuit breakers in the way. That way, if we wanted to run a dishwasher and microwave at the same time, we could.
Would anyone have any thoughts?
We have 75 units in our Coop built in 1950 which had 30 amp fuses. Our transformer blew 2 years ago when we were considering making the upgrade. Hire an electrical engineer to cost out the project of increasing power to the bldg (based on a load test) and add circuit breakers-NOT FUSES. When a circuit breaker trips, it's doing its job. We now have 60 amps per apt with dedicated outlets for AC and have not had 1 issue since. You may currently have residents trying to circumvent the fuses blowing by putting pennies/dimes behind them, which is an incident waitng to happen.
get a new panel and put in more circuits. Put in as many 20 amp circuits as you need and then a 45 amp main
Just bringing in power from the street does not get it to the panel. Check you lease to see who is responsable to bring the power up from the meter in the basement to the apt. Probably the shareholder
re your original question: if you "combined" existing circuits [which no licensed electrician would do] & turned on all appliances, the amperage would fry conventional wiring which is designed for much lesser loads.
One thing to consider is "slo-blo" fuses, which are designed to allow for the higher inrush current that all big appliances draw for a few seconds after being turned on. If used inappropriately, however, these can allow sensitive electronics--rather than cheap fuses--to burn out if there's an overload condition.
I agree that circuit breakers are preferable, particularly on an undersized service, because they're less prone to be abused [the penny trick]. However, this won't solve your power shortage. A creative engineer might find a compromise less costly than rewiring the entire building, such as installing a dedicated riser for big appliances that bypasses existing panels.
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Why don't you get Con Edison to upgrade your electrical supply? It is going to cost you even more down the road! You should start putting funds on the side for this capital project. Sooner or later you are going to have to bite the bullet on this!
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