A Complete Guide on Setting up a Home EV Charging Station

  If you pay close attention to the trends in the car industry, you’ll notice that more and more vehicles are going electric. Electric cars, SUVs, and trucks are predicted to make up the majority of vehicle sales by 2030 due to rising consumer demand. If you have an EV, you will need EV charging stations, and waiting for lengthy sessions at the charging station is inconvenient. We’ve put together a home EV charging station guide to help you easily set up a charging station at your house. 

What are the types of EV charging stations?

Home EV charging station converts 120-volt or 240-volt AC at your house to a form acceptable by the EV battery system. There are three EV charging stations: level 1, level 2, and level 3 charging stations. We will explain each in detail. 

• Level 1 charging station is the simplest type, and the charger that comes with the purchase or lease of an EV is level 1. These chargers use 110-120 V AC and can be plugged into a standard wall socket using a three-prong plug. Using a level 1 charger, expect your electric vehicle’s battery to gain four to six miles of range every hour. You should use level 1 charging solutions for PHEV or plug-in hybrid electric vehicles for easy recharging overnight. 
• Level 2 charging station has chargers that use 240 V circuits, and you can hire an electrician to run the circuit to the garage. You can also use a portable level 2 charger with a 240-volt outlet in their garage to charge your electric vehicle both at home and while you are on the road. Even though hiring an electrician can be costly, you can enjoy faster recharging rates. It is often four times faster than level 1 charging.  
• Level 3 charging stations enable DC fast charging (DCFC), resulting in much shorter charging times. Electric vehicle batteries can be brought from the dead to be fully charged in as little as an hour. Some latest EV models help charging from 10 to 80 percent in about 20 minutes using the 400-volt and 800-volt charging architecture. Even faster charging rates may be made possible in the future. But the chances of getting authorization from the electricity-supplying utility for installing a level 3 charging station are very low. 

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How can you install a home electrical charger?

Here are the different steps to install a home electrical charger. 

• Hire a qualified and licensed electrician with experience installing EV charging equipment. 
• Choose the type of charger as per your need. You can rely on a level 1 charger if the miles covered per day are less than 40, or if you can plug in your car for an extended period, or if there are public chargers near your workplace or in the regular places you travel. In other cases, level 2 chargers are sufficient, although level 3 chargers are also an option. Always ensure that you get approval from the landlord or condo association. 
• Choose a piece of charging equipment to deliver adequate power to your electric vehicle. Check whether any electrical upgrades are necessary, and the electrician does this. 
• Select the location or the place where you want to install the EV charger at your home.  
• An electrician should get all the required permits for starting the installation. 
• Install the electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE). 

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What is the cost of an EV charging station?

Depending on the sophistication and complexity, the cost of level 1 chargers varies, but it is usually between $180 to $300.  

The cost of level 2 charging stations is higher. Pricing ranges from around $300 to over $1,000 for a high-end, hard-wired, wall-mounted unit. Hiring an electrician is necessary if you plan to install a level 2 charger. An update to your home’s electrical system may be necessary if your property is older or has a higher electrical demand. Obtaining permission from your local authority to carry out the work is also highly recommended. Expect to spend between $1,000 and $2,000 in total. 

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Setting up a level 3 charging station in a private residence is too expensive. Do you happen to have a fund of $50,000 sitting there that you’re not using? But still, the high-power electrical infrastructure required to run such equipment is typically unavailable in a residential building. 

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What is the cost of charging an electric car?

The rates vary based on the time of day you charge your car, and the electricity rate charged.

Rates are high during the day when the electricity demand is high and low during the night due to low demand. Also, based on your locality, the electricity rates charged by your electricity provider vary. It costs around 3.1 and 11.3 cents per mile, driven for a typical customer. This value is much lower than that for a vehicle with an internal combustion engine which is around 4.4 and 38.75 cents per mile.  

Bottom line

If you have an electric vehicle with you, you might know the importance of an EV charger. But waiting long hours in a public charging station to get your vehicle charged is not easy. It is always convenient for us to get our vehicle charged at home and travel as per our needs. Choose the right type of charger and get all the required permits before going on with the installation process. It is advisable to get quotes from multiple electricians before choosing one to get the best prices. 

 

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