Does My EV Charger Need A Service Panel Upgrade?
If you came to this blog, you are asking this question: Does my EV charger need a service panel upgrade? There are some factors to consider when answering this question. Before we begin, we just wanted to give you some background information about our installation expertise and the EV market. Our company gets a lot of phone calls for home EV charger installations. In fact, KB Electric LLC began installing home EV chargers 6 years ago back in 2016! Since then, we definitely noticed an increase in demand for EV charger installations. Although the US lags behind Europe and China in the electric vehicle market, according to the Pew Research Center, as of 2020 there has been an increase of 3 times the amount of EV owners (1.8 million) since 2016 when we first started installing EV chargers.
Now that you know a little about our expertise in the EV charger installation market, let us begin with the information that will let you know if your home can handle the power it takes to charge up your electric vehicle!
Factors To Consider For Your EV Charger
There are two things to consider to know if your existing service panel will handle the load of your EV charger: your existing service size and your household electrical load.
What Is Your Existing Service Size?
Determine what your service size is first and foremost. If you have a 200amp service, you are more than likely good to go with your EV charger install, depending on if you have enough space in your 200amp panel to add a dedicated line for a level 2 charger. If you have enough amperage but not enough space in the panel, a sub panel may need to be installed for the electric vehicle charger installation. An electrician will be able to survey your service and determine if you have the space, which more than likely is the case.
If you have a 60amp panel, you will not be able to add an EV charger to your home. This amperage will not be sufficient enough to run your appliances and handle the car charger, so upgrading to a 200amp service at this point would be recommended.
If you have a 100amp service and your electrical panel’s amperage is maxed out or almost maxed out, it will be recommended to upgrade your service from 100amps to 200amps.
If you have a 100amp service and you have enough amperage, it still may be suggested to upgrade your service from 100amp to 200amp depending on your electrical appliance load. Which brings us to our next question…
What Is Your Electrical Load In Your House Like?
If you have a 100amp service and are considering an EV charger for your home, KB Electric LLC highly suggests a 200amp panel upgrade if you have many appliances running on electric. This is because an EV level 2 charger utilizes almost half of a 100amp service to charge a vehicle (a Tesla long range battery utilizes 42amps). So, if your dryer and cooking range are electric, you may experience substantial dimming of lights, flickering lights, nuisance breaker trips, etc. from the high electric load of your every day appliances running while your electric vehicle is charging on a 100amp service.
EV Charger Service Panel Upgrade Conclusion
In conclusion, a 200amp service is best for installing a home electric vehicle charger. It’s certainly doable to install a charger on a 100amp service if many of your appliances like your dryer and cooking range run on gas and not electric, but you still may be cutting it close on the amount of amperage your house can handle while charging your EV and running other things. Your average home built 20 plus years ago will have a 100amp service (if not a 60amp). Today, new homes are built to code with a 200amp service just for the simple fact that the average home in the U.S. now runs many more electric appliances and electronics that need more amperage than a home built 20 plus years ago.
Licensed And Insured Electrician For EV Charger Installation and Service Panel Upgrade
A licensed and insured electrician like one from KB Electric LLC will be able to help survey your existing service to determine if an electric service panel upgrade is necessary, and will be able to install your home EV charger correctly, professionally, and safely. KB Electric LLC is also Tesla certified and featured on Tesla’s website. We install all types of electric vehicle chargers for all types of electric vehicles, not just Tesla. Call us today for a consultation! (267) 467-3178