How to Prepare Your Home for an EV

Becoming the proud owner of an EV comes with many benefits — eliminating the need to visit a gas station at the top of the list. Imagine replacing your trips for fuel with the capability of charging your vehicle from the comfort of your Asheville garage. Well, here’s your chance to prepare for EV ownership by learning what’s necessary for installing an electric vehicle home charger. Keep reading as the team at Apple Tree Honda explains electric vehicle charging batteries and how to prepare your home for an electric vehicle.

1. Choose Your Charging Type (AKA Charging Level)

Once you decide to trade in your gas-powered car for a new electric vehicle one of the first things you should do is become well-versed with the different charging levels and how they work. Home car charging systems commonly fall into Level 1 or Level 2. Here’s more information on how they differ:

• Level 1 EV charging often takes days to fully charge an electric car. 
• Level 2 EV charging often takes several hours to fully charge an electric car. You can often get between 60-200 miles of range in just 20-30 minutes with Level 2 DC charging, though. For this reason, most people intermix daytime “top-off” charging with overnight charging.

2. Prepare Your Garage

There’s no secret, the Fletcher area is full of electric vehicle charging stations. But, why stand out in the cold charging your car when you can handle it before even leaving home? Having a home charger gives you more time to prepare for your adventures on the roads of Hendersonville and keeps you from having to stop on the way to your destination. So, before you take delivery of your new electric vehicle, make sure your garage is ready to accommodate an EV charger. It’s a good idea to declutter and organize the area especially if it’s primarily used as a storage space. 

3. Locate Your Power Panel & Assess Consumption

A very important step in preparing your Johnson City home to charge an EV, is to make sure the power panel in your home is able to evenly distribute electricity throughout the entire structure. It should be rated for a maximum amount of current flow measured in Amperes. Most new homes come with a 100 Amp power panel, but there should be an amperage rating printed on your main circuit breaker.

Next, you’ll want to get a handle on how much electrical energy you consistently use in your house by performing a self-assessment of your electricity use before you install an EV charging system. You do not want to overload your electric distribution panel.

4. Hire an Electrician

Consult a professional electrician who can guide you down the right path, and discuss any concerns you have about power consumption and adding EV charging to your home. An electrician can also install a dedicated 240-volt plug or add a hardwired circuit back to the power panel. This typically costs about $200 but could be up to $1,000 or $3,000 if it’s found that your power panel is not sufficient as-is and requires upgrading. 

5. Buy Your Charger & Have it Installed

You may be able to purchase an EV charger at your local Home Depot or Best Buy store for between $200 and $900. Be sure to ask for your electrician’s advice on which brand is best equipped for your Greenville home.

Contact Apple Tree Honda to Learn More!

Transforming your home into an electric vehicle charging station is easy when you have guidance from the experts in our service center. Contact us with all your questions and concerns to make sure you properly prepare your home for an electric vehicle!