The ability to have a fueling station in the comfort of your house is one of the best things about having an electric vehicle (EV). If you have access to home charging, you can also avoid a lot of the fuss and hoopla around the quantity, caliber, and innovation of available public charging choices.
Your decision-making criteria are rather simple. There are two levels of home charging: Level 1 and Level 2. L1 is easy. It doesn’t have a lot of bells and whistles or call for specific setup. However, the entire conversation switches to L2 if you determine that charging at a rate of a few miles per hour is insufficient for you. You then have a lot of decisions to make regarding the charger you want as well as whether and how much to spend on electrical upgrades.
EV Charging at Home Level1 Everything You Need to Know
L1 charging is simple and quick, albeit slow, and is possible in almost any home as all you need to do is connect your device into an ordinary outlet. Technically speaking, it makes use of a NEMA 5-15 receptacle, which is a typical 120-volt, 15-amp household outlet. The “charger” is basically just an extension cord that links your car’s internal charger to a power outlet. Although you may purchase an L1 charger, most EVs already come equipped with the requisite cable and adapters, which are sometimes referred to as travel chargers because they are meant to be used during trips. These 1.5 kW chargers are the slowest method of charging, taking at least a few days to fully charge, but they might suffice for your daily needs.
For other people, this modest rate of charge is more than enough. You might not need to be able to fully charge your car overnight if you work from home and just really use it on the weekends or for errands. Your L1 charger could likely keep your ‘train car’ charged if you plan to use it mostly as a commuter with a known short path, like a 5-mile drive to the train station and back during the week, but have an ICE minivan as a family hauler on the weekends. You might not charge at home at all if your employer offers EV charging as a perk and you only require a charger at home as a backup.
But if you do have a long commute and plan to recharge at home, buying an L2 charger is probably your best bet.
EV Charging at Home Level2 Everything You Need to Know
The speed and simplicity that the majority of homeowners desire are provided by an L2 charger. L2 charging can provide you the flexibility of fully charging your car overnight for a relatively modest initial cost and can provide a number of time- and money-saving features. However, not all Level 2 chargers are made equal. To determine which layout is best for you, you must first assess the fundamental wiring in your house.
This is due to the input voltage your EV receives from your home, which increases from 110–120 volts to 208–240 volts, being the primary difference between L1 and L2 charging. In other words, you need some form of the odd outlet that you use for your washer/dryer hookup in order to charge your L2 device rather than using the same type of outlet that you use for your laptop or tea kettle, which you almost definitely already have in your garage. As a result, the charger’s output can increase from about 1.5 kW for L1 to generally 5.8 kW to 19.2 kW. The precise amount of electricity you can use within that range relies on a number of variables influenced by your residence, your car, and your charger.
IF YOU HAVE AN OUTLET THAT IS 240 VOLTS
The majority of the work necessary for L2 charging has already been completed if your garage is fortunate enough to have a 240-volt outlet (often for a dryer). The most popular type of outlet is the NEMA 14-30, which accommodates a 30-amp circuit and is available in a number of designs and amperage ratings to serve a range of appliances. This makes it possible to install a 24 amp, 5.8 kW charger that can fully charge the majority of midsize EVs in 13 hours (with a 20 percent safety buffer), which is faster than most people require. If you’re very fortunate, you might come across a NEMA 14-50 outlet with a 50 amp rating, which would allow for an eight-hour charge.
It’s simple to determine how much electricity your outlet delivers and only takes two steps. The first step in determining your amperage is to examine the outlet itself and compare it to the right NEMA outlet type. See the useful table below.
Once you are aware of the type of outlet you have, check to see if your panel has a breaker that matches it. In general, your main service should be able to support it without any problems if the outlet is present in your home. However, it might be a good idea to assess your overall electricity use, especially if you are aware of any significant electrical upgrades to your home, such as a hot tub or central air conditioning.
NOT HAVING A 240-VOLT OUTLET
In actuality, the majority of homes do not have a strong outlet idling in the garage. If such is the case, you will need to decide what you actually need and engage an electrician to conduct the installation.
Plug-In vs. Hardwired
The first choice you have to make when installing something is whether to hardwire your charger or just install an outlet and plug it in. There isn’t much of a difference between the two chargers in terms of how they work, but a hardwired charger may be slightly safer because it has fewer potential failure points (the outlet and plug) and may also look nicer if you want a tidy garage. Installing a hardwired charger is actually a little less expensive than installing a plug-in charger because the plug-in charger itself must be purchased along with a more expensive GFCI (ground force circuit interrupter) circuit breaker. On the other hand, if you utilize the plug-in, it is simpler to replace or move your charger.
How Much Power Is Needed to Charge My Electric Car?
How much electricity you want to use for charging is the next concern. A circuit’s power depends on both the current running through it and its voltage. There is a limited amount of power available to your home at any given time, and the current is measured in amps. The majority of contemporary residences have a 100- or 200-amp main service from the grid, while some extremely ancient homes may have less. As you may expect, if your total service capacity is only 100 amps, using 50 of them for continuous vehicle charging might be overkill. Unless you have a very large EV, a 30-amp charger should be adequate to meet your demands, as further stated here. The cost of installation will normally increase slightly when going from 30 to 50 amps, primarily because of the larger cables that must be installed in your home and inside the charger. Having said that, having a larger circuit would be advantageous to support a larger car (or many EVs) in the future or to support advancements like wireless charging that might need extra power.
How Much Will It Cost to Install a Home Electric Car Charger?
  A certified electrician can install a charger for a variety of prices, but for the majority, it should be between $500 and $1200. Your residence and the distance between your garage and the electricity panel will largely determine where you fall within that range. You might notice that your electrician’s rates are a little bit more expensive if you have a large house and a garage that is located rather distant from the panel.
If your electrician concludes that you need to upgrade your service panel because your current circuits can’t support the added load, your charges may also go up. Online worksheets can assist you in understanding your current loads and calculating how much electrical headroom you may have if you’re attempting to conduct a preliminary estimate. You should prepare to spend an additional $1000 to $3000 for a panel upgrade on top of the installation expenses mentioned above for the standard installation. If you decide to take this option, keep in mind that the Inflation Reduction Act does permit a tax deduction of up to $1,000 for 30% of the installation costs of a home EV charger.
Read on to see if dynamic load balancing, a feature of some higher-end L2 chargers, could solve your circuit capacity problems before assuming you need to change your panel.
Features of a Level 2 at-home charger
L2 chargers come with a range of functions, from the just practical to the perhaps crucial. Many chargers come with apps that help you manage when and how quickly your car charges, which is convenient. The majority of EVs currently have this functionality, but if you have numerous EVs or guests using your charger, it can be convenient to also have that control at the home level. Many EV chargers also feature dashboards that let you monitor how much electricity your EV uses and compare that use to your electricity usage to determine how much of your bill is spent on charging versus how much is spent on the rest of your home.
The provision of dynamic load balancing is particularly beneficial for individuals who have 100 amp service. In fact, you can have more circuits in your breaker box than your entire service can support in every residence. This is allowed due to “load diversity,” or the fact that it is uncommon for you to use all of the electrical appliances in your home at once. As a result, it is extremely unlikely that a connected load drawing 150 amps will actually draw even 80 amps in usage. Dynamic load balancing makes the most of this by enabling your EV charger to keep track of how much electricity is being used throughout your entire home and ramp up and down its own consumption to make sure that it stays below the maximum load permitted. This suggests that you might be able to use a more potent charger at home without worrying about tripping the main breaker. These chargers are normally a little more expensive, but they can spare you the expense of having to replace your primary electrical service in order to reach high power levels. Depending on these qualities, chargers often cost between $300 and $1000.
The cable and connector that are ideal for your physical configuration should be given some thought. Most EVs come with a portable charger that can be used for L1 or L2 charging; all it takes is a different adaptor. However, these bundled cables lack the characteristics listed above and frequently have lower amperage ratings than dedicated home L2 chargers, making it possible that you won’t be able to fully utilize your power supply.
The kind and length of the charging cable are more important than you might realize when looking for chargers, especially if you have two electric vehicles and intend to use one charger to keep them charged. A shorter connection can save you money and be simpler to maintain if you only have one EV or a one-car garage.
The sort of connector you choose on your charger is a decision you can make, just like automakers do. There are two choices: NACS and J1772. The J1772 connector, which makes up half of the CCS1 connector and was previously the de facto public charging standard, is by far the most popular type of charger. The renamed and somewhat altered Tesla charging connector is known as NACS (North American Charging Standard). Because almost all automakers have declared their intention to switch from J1772/CCS1 and produce vehicles with the NACS connector within the next several years Not surprisingly, well-known Level 2 charger producers like Wallbox have announced that they will also soon start making NACS native chargers. There is no wrong decision because adapters are available to connect any automobile with any charger, even if you wind up purchasing a new car in the future that adheres to a different standard.
If I Live in an Apartment, What Should I Do?
What if your residence is a townhouse or an apartment rather than a detached house? In that situation, installing charging can undoubtedly be a little more challenging. Owners and tenants may not always be able to run electrical conduit there or link it to their individual electrical meter, even if their apartment comes with a designated parking place. The good news is that towns and states have begun passing legislation requiring that new projects have EV charging or at least make the parking spaces “EV ready,” which involves allocating enough electrical power and installing conduit to facilitate the future installation of chargers a simple and quick process.
For instance, New York City recently proposed legislation mandating that 60% of new parking spots be EV-ready and that 40% of current parking spaces in garages and lots be able to support chargers by 2030 (or the next time the facility is updated). Property managers are responding to renters’ requests for charging even without government prodding by offering alternatives chargers that incorporate a pay-per-use procedure similar to public EV chargers.
The Future
Considering how your tastes may alter given the quick changes in the EV environment is a difficulty when installing a home charger and making electrical modifications because the EV revolution is only getting started. The size of EVs and their batteries, which seems to be getting bigger all the time, is the biggest factor that can influence what you install at home. Manufacturers are realizing the necessity for powerful onboard chargers as more models with 130-kW, 150-kW, and 200-kW+ batteries are released. These batteries need to be charged overnight. The GMC Hummer EV and other large EV SUVs and trucks as well as the Porsche Taycan offer the current power limit of 19.2 kW. Interestingly, Tesla provided dual 9.6-kW onboard motors in the Model S’s early years.
Bidirectionality is a factor to be taken into account in the very near future. The Ford F150 Lightning is now the only EV officially supporting bidirectionality, allowing you to use your EV battery to power your home, but it won’t be the last. Currently, the Ford Charger Station Pro, a creatively named first-party L2 charger, is the sole option. It costs $1300, which is undoubtedly more than the standard L2 home charger, but it handles 80 amps on a 100 amp circuit, giving the vehicle 19.2 kW of power. More intriguingly, it enables the vehicle to communicate with the Home Integration System, a Ford-branded item that comprises of an inverter, a transfer switch, and a tiny battery that can work with your solar system.
The prospect for more widespread use of wireless inductive charging is one of the more interesting advancements in home charging. Installing a pad in or on the garage floor will allow power to be wirelessly sent to the car’s inductive charging loop, eliminating the need for a plug-in vehicle. Although third-party retrofit kits for doing this loop installation yourself have been around for a while without really taking off, probably due to cost, the attractiveness of going plugless is obvious, and OEMs have started to express interest. Tesla recently acquired the German business Wiferion and has hinted about wireless home charging in investor day presentations, while BMW provided a wireless charging pilot on leased 530e vehicles in California.
The majority of owners will find that an L2 charger on a 30- or 50-amp circuit is more than sufficient for daily use and strikes a balance between spending sparingly in household electrical infrastructure that may go unused and charging devices fast. With the eventual paradigm shift brought about by bidirectional charging and when EV trucks and SUVs become popular for people who drive for a living rather than just commuting, that power may prove insufficient, but it serves as the solution for those who want to base their electrical upgrades on the options that are currently available.
FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)
Q: What are the different types of EV chargers for home use?
A: There are three main types of EV chargers for home use: Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3. Level 1 chargers are the slowest, but they are also the most affordable and convenient. They plug into a standard household outlet. Level 2 chargers are faster than Level 1 chargers, and they require a dedicated electrical circuit. Level 3 chargers are the fastest, but they are also the most expensive and require a commercial-grade electrical connection.
Q: Which type of EV charger is right for me?
A: The best type of EV charger for you will depend on your needs and budget. If you have a short commute and can charge your EV overnight, a Level 1 charger may be sufficient. If you have a longer commute or need to charge your EV more quickly, a Level 2 or Level 3 charger may be a better option
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Q: How long does it take to charge an EV at home?
A: The amount of time it takes to charge an EV at home will depend on the type of charger you use, the size of your EV’s battery, and the current state of charge. With a Level 1 charger, it can take up to 24 hours to fully charge a typical EV battery. With a Level 2 charger, it can take anywhere from 3 to 8 hours to fully charge. With a Level 3 charger, it can take as little as 30 minutes to fully charge a typical EV battery.
Q: Is it safe to charge my EV at home?
A: Yes, it is safe to charge your EV at home. However, it is important to follow the manufacturer’s instructions and safety precautions. For example, you should never charge your EV in a wet location or use a damaged charger.
Q: How much does it cost to charge an EV at home?
A: The cost of charging an EV at home will vary depending on your electricity rates. However, it is generally much cheaper to charge an EV at home than it is to fill up a gasoline-powered car. For example, the average cost of charging an EV at home is about $0.05 per kilowatt-hour. In comparison, the average cost of gasoline is about $0.50 per gallon.
Q: Are there any government incentives for installing an EV charger at home?
A: Yes, many governments offer incentives to encourage people to install EV chargers at home. These incentives can include tax credits, rebates, and grants. Be sure to check with your local government to see what incentives are available in your area.
Q: How do I install an EV charger at home?
A: The best way to install an EV charger at home is to hire a qualified electrician. They will be able to assess your electrical needs and recommend the best type of charger for your home. They will also be able to install the charger safely and securely.
Q: What should I do if I have problems with my EV charger?
A: If you have any problems with your EV charger, you should contact the manufacturer or the company that installed it. They will be able to help you troubleshoot the problem and get your charger back in working order.
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