I might've been unclear, I don't mean 230 V by itself, but three-phase distribution. The standard socket is labeled either 3x16A 230V alternatively labeled 380V 16A. Typically uses an IEC 60309 plug that looks like this:
(Source: https://www.plugsocketmuseum.nl/IEC60309_2.html)
Three phase has other benefits besides just more power, the US has it with their lower voltage as well, but typically reserved just for larger buildings.
Are they somehow more expensive in the US? 40A 230V rated ones cost something like 30-50 € around here which doesn't feel that expensive to me. I'll admit it's considerably more expensive (~4x the price) than a standard breaker, but it's still more like a rounding error in overall costs.
Although EVSE's projection doesn't require you to periodically trip the GFCI so it doesn't get stuck, which is a major plus.
One thing I really don't get in the discussion around EVs and charging is, why are people so afraid of tripping the main breaker? If you have a total of e.g. 17 kW available and happen to go over, just reset the main breaker (or replace it in case it's still a traditional one). It's there precisely so that you wouldn't need to care about overloading the connection.
In my experience people get by with a 3x25A (17 kW available, matches approximately a 70A service in the US) while using the available power to
While it's true you can trip the main breaker if you have everything on at the same time, typically it never happens even if there are no lockouts in place preventing overuse. And it's not like tripping it causes any permanent harm.
Why is an electrical service upgrade constantly brought up as a solution when any home with >15 kW of available power won't need it? Is it against code to purposefully overcommit your mains in the US or something?
Edit: there were valid concerns raised over how long-lived the breakers are (probably won't be rated for tens of fault-condition related trips), also that these smaller service specs aren't as common as I've gathered from the media. That might have something to do with this at least. Thanks for the replies – it's been an interesting discussion.
Yep – US also doesn't generally do residential three-phase unlike many countries in the EU. A lot of garages around here have 3x16A 230V, not (only) due to the power requirements but because having three phases allows for simplest induction motors for things like blowers and circular saws. When you have three phases having a proper outlet in the garage starts making sense.
Around here (Finland more specifically) we have three-phase even in most apartments. My two bedroom apartment has a 3x25A main breaker, and two devices on 3x16A circuit's – the sauna stove and oven+stovetop. Most single-family homes have 3x25A or 3x36A as well.
US households are missing out on a lot of things due to their split-phase system.
Finland present 🇫🇮
Homeburning can be surprisingly robust as a backup method, and as an option of physical media, but I'd still keep backups on an actual NAS as well. There's also a ton of variables that affect the lifetime of a burnt CD, like dyes used (cyanine - phthalocyanine - azo), lamination quality, storage and the burner used. Especially the quality and intensity of the build has a surprisingly strong effect, despite things being set in a standard – you can get a lot more storage life out of a CD burned using a quality 5.25" burner compared to a budget slim drive.
Also early discs based on cyanine had a notoriously short shelf life compared to the later archival quality discs, around 30 years or so in optimal conditions (and typically a lot less), so much of the stuff burnt in 90's and 00's has already began deteriorating. More recent quality discs can last over a century if stored properly, but the older ones can't.
DVDs can also often have issues with delamination, meaning that especially the outer rim of the disc can start exhibiting bit rot quite early if you're using low quality media. I've noticed even new discs having signs of early delamination between the two disc halves (DVDs have the data layer in between two acrylic discs, unlike CDs which have it on the backside directly under the reflective coating). I've also experienced a lot of issues when burning multilayer DVDs that might affect how long they last in storage, so for actual backups I'd prefer using a single layer disc instead.
But as per reasons for still using discs – they're an unparalleled cold storage solution. With proper care you can actually leave them be for decades and be sure the data is still readable, unlike with SSDs which will lose their data when unpowered for a long period of time. Tape is a good option, but not really viable for consumers – also tape needs more active upkeep, since you typically have to copy over the old data to new media every 20-30 years or so (promised life in archival is 30 years, after which it might not be possible to get new drives for reading the tapes). Optical is also king when you need to transfer data into air-gapped environments, since with optical media it's relatively easy to audit that what's burned to the disc is unalterable. There's a reason why I still keep a full install set of Debian handy.
Cray (the company) often had interesting designs that probably ended up influencing a lot of sci-fi. CDC (control data corporation) had interesting designs as well, prior to that, and Cray (the person) worked there before founding his own company.
One other supercomputer line with iconic looks is Connection Machines which are IMO some of the coolest looking computers ever made.
Yep, I think it's from Helsinki market square – and not sure if this needs to be said but not taken by me 😅
Yep, I also think the French in general don't really appreciate Finnish coffee culture, if their presidents reaction is anything to go by. Still one of my favourite pictures.
Not sure if that's a thing in France, but alternatively to plant milk for lactose intolerant
I don't really see plant milk as the lactose-intolerant variant, but a vegan option, but that might just be due to the fact Finland has lactose-free milk available as an option basically everywhere as milk is such an important part of the coffee culture.
Not talking about the circuits, but the main electrical connection to the grid. To me it often seems like there's reluctance in ~~overcommitting~~ overprovisioning that capacity: as an example, four 16A circuits on a 25A main breaker. Here that's quite common, but even in Tech connections videos I've seen him bring up smart electric cabinets or automatic load monitoring when putting enough capacity on the mains to possibly go over.
What I'm asking is, why bother? If you trip the mains by having too much load, just reset the breaker and be done with it. No need to automate things to not run into that situation, one will learn to not have the oven on while charging the car full blast. No need to gimp the charger amperage since you're running a new circuit anyway, and it's not like it's much different running a 20A circuit vs a 40A one. If that's 70% of your total available capacity, it doesn't matter – worst you have to do is walk downstairs and flip a switch.