Electrical Vehicle charging

I want to install an EV Charging System in my home?

• A level 1 Charge comes standard with your car. This allows you to plug into a standard 15amp/120vac outlet like your TV plugs into. Charging your car with a level 1 charger can take up to 10hours.
• A level 2 Charger is an option with all Electric Vehicles. This allows you to plug into a stove outlet using 30amps @ 240vac, 40amps @240vac, and 50amps @240vac. Tesla Wall Chargers, Mopar Wall Chargers and Flo Chargers are examples of Level 2 Chargers that can be hard wired or plug directly into an outlet. Charging your vehicle with a Level 2 Charger can take as little as 3-6 hours.
• A Level 3 Charger is a Commercial grade charging station found at gas stations and shopping centres. Charging your vehicle with a Level 3 Charger can take less than 1hour for some. 

• If you have a 200amp panel, you generally do not need to upgrade your panel. As long as, you have breaker spots available to add your EV Charger. Exceptions to this would be if your home has higher power demands from existing heating appliances, Electrical Vehicle Chargers, etc.
• If you have a 100amp panel, it may be necessary to upgrade your panel and home services to 200amps. Most 100amps panels do not have the load capacity to allow for the EV Charger. Typically, a 100amp panel runs at 40-60% load capacity; the max load allowed to put on a 100amp panel is 80amps. Adding a 30amp Level 2 Electrical Vehicle Charger means you are adding 30 extra amps to the existing load. These extra amps can cause stress on wires and panel boxes, if they are not rated for them.

Your Hydro provider can provide a Kilowatt per Hour usage report. This report will show the last 365 days of your homes KWH usage and give us the peak reading. Using the peak KWH reading, we can calculate the amps.

Example of calculation:

10.6KWH/240vac = 44.16amps x 1.25= 55.2amps + 40amps= 95.2amps

• The Ontario Electrical Code says that no electrical work shall be installed without pulling a permit and receiving an Electrical Inspection through the Electrical Safety Authority (ESA). The ESA requires a Hydro KWH Usage Report to pass the inspection for the EV Charging system. Typically this report is required by ESA for all EV Charging installations. 

• Yes. There are new products available on the market to allow you to disconnect certain appliances while using the level 2 EV charger. Load shedding or load transfer switches will allow you to temporarily disconnect things like stoves, dryers, water heaters and baseboard heating. Due to the cost of these new market products, it is generally more cost effective to upgrade your panel but every situation is different.

Eric Hunter Electrical Services offers professional advice to our customers to help determine what are the best options when it comes to your new Electric Vehicle. We understand that every home is different and so are their power requirements. 

Send us your request today and we will help you develop a plan to get your Level 2 EV Charger install done professionally and correctly.