How to Prepare Your Home For An Electric Vehicle

Electric vehicles are more affordable and available than ever these days in Elmhurst, with almost every popular automaker making an EV or an electric variant of a current model. If you’ve just bought an EV–like the exceptional Ford F-150 Lightning–or if you’re thinking about buying one, you should know that there are some ways you can prepare your home for an electric vehicle before it arrives.

Electric vehicles bring a myriad of benefits to the road–from zero tailpipe emissions to instantaneous torque and powerful acceleration–but they also require a bit more prep work than traditional gas-powered cars. This preparation includes picking out an electric vehicle home charger and having it installed, so you can top off your electric vehicle charging batteries from home. While public electric vehicle charging stations are fairly common, you’ll still want to do most of your charging from the comfort of your garage. The service team at Roesch Ford has everything you need to know about installing an electric vehicle home charger in the guide below.

1. Decide on a Charging Type (AKA Charging Level)

The first thing you should do, if you haven’t already, is do a bit of research on the kind of electric vehicle charging station you want in your home. Most home chargers are classified as either Level 1 or Level 2, which offer different charging times for your EV. Here are the details:

• Level 1 chargers can be plugged into the same three-pronged outlets you find everywhere in your house and beyond. However, Level 1 is also the slowest type of charger, often taking multiple days to bring your car up to a full charge.
• Level 2 chargers are the most common type of charger used by EV drivers, capable of charging a vehicle up to full battery in a matter of hours. You can also install a Level 2 DC (direct current) charging for even faster charge times–often generating 60-200 miles in just half an hour!

2. Ready Your Garage

The next thing to do is make sure your garage is cleared out and organized enough to fit a new car and an electric vehicle home charger. You don’t want your new car to arrive and not have anywhere to put it!

3. Find Your Power Panel & Assess Consumption

Your home’s power panel is in charge of distributing electricity around your property, which will soon include the electricity needed to recharge your EV. Every power panel is rated for a maximum amount of current flow, usually around 100 amperes for new homes. Locate your home’s power panel and identify the maximum amperage rating–it should be printed on the side of the main circuit breaker. Once you’ve found the maximum rating, calculate how much electrical energy you consistently use each month. It’s a good idea to know how much electricity you use per month so you don’t accidentally overload the panel when you fill up your electric vehicle charging batteries.

4. Hire an Electrician

Find an electrician that you trust and go over any concerns you have about your power consumption or about installing an electric vehicle charging station in your garage. You should also have your electrician install a dedicated 240-volt plug or a hardwired circuit to the power panel, to ready your garage for when the EV charger arrives. Installation can cost a couple hundred dollars if there’s no additional work to be done, but the cost can jump up to $1,000 or even $3,000 if the electrician has to upgrade your power panel.

5. Buy Your Charger & Have it Installed

Now is the time to pick out and purchase a specific electric vehicle home charger, and have it installed by the electrician of your choice. You’re all set!

Contact Roesch Ford to Learn More!

If you have any questions about installing an electric vehicle home charger in Addison or Villa Park, feel free to contact our office or stop by our dealership to talk to a member of our team. You can also check out our car buying tips. If you’re interested in learning more about Ford’s new fully-electric pickup truck, the Ford F-150 Lightning, check out our post on the topic!