EV Chargers

One install

A customer had just bought a Tesla and was charging it from the slow cord that plugs into an ordinary outlet while he waited for us. His panel had room for the circuit and was less than 100 feet from where he wanted the charger: on the outside garage wall, between the two bay doors. We ran the circuit up the wall and through the attic to get there.

He’d bought a locking enclosure for the charger, so a neighbor can’t use it while he’s away. We mounted the enclosure first, then installed the charger inside it.

How long it takes

Usually less than a day. If your panel has room for the circuit, the power in the house stays on the whole time. It only goes off if the panel needs upgrading too.

The question we hear most is simply when we can come. By the time most people call, they already have the car and the charger, and charging from an ordinary outlet isn’t keeping up.

Will I need a panel upgrade?

It depends on the size of your service, which is usually the number on your main breaker:

• 100 amps, common in older houses: almost always, especially once air conditioning and an electric range have been added over the years.
• 200 amps, the average house: usually not.
• 400 amps, which we put on some larger new houses: almost never.

A Tesla charger, for example, draws 48 amps, and the circuit has to be sized at 125% of that because the load is continuous, so it needs a 60-amp circuit. If yours does need an upgrade, see our panel upgrades page.

Before you buy a charger

Many chargers are made for one brand of car, so make sure yours works with your vehicle. Then have it wired for its full rating. A charger can be set to charge more slowly on a smaller circuit, but nobody wants that.

Charging is a continuous load

A car can pull its full charging current for hours. The electrical code treats that as a continuous load, and the calculations for a continuous load are different from those for a dryer or a range that cycles on and off.

That changes the wire. The NM cable most houses are wired with (often called by the brand name Romex) is rated for 55 amps in the 6 AWG size, because of its temperature rating, so it can’t feed a 60-amp charger circuit. That circuit needs 90°C-rated wire such as THHN. THHN has no outer jacket of its own, so it can’t just be run through the walls and ceiling. It has to go in conduit or another raceway. It’s an easy detail to miss.

For businesses

A business can put charging stations on a few parking spaces for customers who come in to eat or shop. Most of the chargers we install are at houses, but we can do those too.

We set up the app, too

Almost every charger comes with an app for scheduling and settings. Some owners set it up themselves; some would rather not. Either way, we don’t wire the charger and walk away.

Permits and inspections

We pull the permit and handle the paperwork, for a fee on top of what the county or town charges for the permit itself. Our North Carolina unlimited license lets us pull permits in any county or town in the state that requires one. We’re at the inspection ourselves, so if the inspector wants something changed, we can usually correct it on the spot and pass.