Preparing Your Home for an Electric Vehicle With 5 Steps

2019 Chevrolet Bolt EV

When it comes to buying a new car, especially when it comes to being eco-friendly, a lot of drivers don’t think about how to prepare their home for it. While electric vehicles certainly have many benefits, not just the reduced carbon footprint and lower maintenance costs, one aspect that still requires a bit of preparation actually occurs before you ever receive your EV. Namely, when you buy a new EV, you want to make sure that your home is ready to charge it, and that you have the proper electric vehicle charging batteries. While there are charging stations for EVs around Derby and El Dorado, home charging will still be your primary method of charging your electric vehicle. Find out more about how you can set up an electric vehicle home charger with Don Hattan Dealerships. If you have any questions, you can always contact us today. 

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

If you haven’t already done research on types of EV chargers, now is a good time to start. As a refresher, most home car charging systems fall into Level 1 or Level 2. Here’s more information:

  • 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. Ready Your Garage

If you haven’t cleaned out or organized your garage, now is the time to do that! Make sure that you get your garage ready for an EV before you take delivery. You may wish to clean out clutter first if your garage has been used as a storage space for a long time. This makes it easier for you to set up an electric vehicle charging station at your home.

3. Find Your Power Panel & Assess Consumption

The power panel in your home distributes electricity throughout the entire building. 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

Next, hire an electrician, as many of them are now very well trained on electric vehicle home charger systems, and the demand that it might have on your system. You can discuss any concerns you have about your power consumption and adding EV charging. You can also have them install a dedicated 240-volt plug or add a hardwired circuit back to the power panel. Usually this costs a couple of hundred dollars, 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 an upgrade. This is most common where older houses are concerned.

5. Buy Your Charger & Have it Installed

If you haven’t already researched and purchased an electric vehicle home charger at this point, it would be the time to do so and have it professionally installed by the electrician of your choice.

Prepare your Home For Your Electric Vehicle Today with Don Hattan Dealerships

While we can’t help you physically install your electric vehicle charging station, we certainly are here to help make sure your new EV is running well for years to come. Our service team near Newton has been factory trained on the latest EVs, and we also have plenty of experience with electric vehicle charging batteries, so we can help make sure that you’re getting everything in order for your new EV. If you’re ready to take home a new electric vehicle today, then talk to our finance department.

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