You’re proud of your new electric or hybrid vehicle, since you know it will help reduce your environmental footprint while allowing you to have access to reliable transportation. As you prepare for the arrival of the new vehicle, there’s the need to consider the installation of one or more EV charging solutions on the property. Here are some points to consider closely. Once you have these details worked out, the charging stations can be installed quickly.
Assess the Capacity of Your Home’s Electrical System
You will need help from a professional electrician for this step. The goal is to ensure that the wiring and other elements within the system can safely carry the capacity needed to keep your vehicles charged. In other words, you want to be able to connect the vehicles to the stations without any worries of overloading the system.
Homes constructed in the last few decades should have systems with adequate capacity. Even if you live in an older home that’s been rewired in the last couple of decades, you should be fine. Once the electrician verifies the current system will support the additional stress, you can move on to other considerations.
Decide How Many Charging Stations You Need
You do need to have a charging station for each electric vehicle that you own. Consider that the minimum amount to install. There are reasons to consider having more stations than the number of electric vehicles that belong to household members.
For example, wouldn’t it be nice to have an extra station that overnight guests or other visitors could put to good use? While they are spending time with your in your home, their vehicles can be charging. See this as one more way to be a good host and accommodate the needs of your guests.
Consider Where the Chargers Need to Be Located
Along with the number of stations, it helps to determine where you will locate those chargers. Assuming that you have a garage and normally park your cars in those spaces when not in use, it makes sense to install the charges on one or more convenient interior walls. This is the solution that many homeowners will select.
If you don’t have a garage and normally park the car in the driveway, consider EV charging solutions that can be mounted on a pole that’s placed adjacent to the drive. It should be positioned so that it will be easy to connect the vehicle to the charger without creating any type of blockage to getting in and out of the car.
Professional Installation is the Only Way to Go
As with any alternation to the home’s electrical system, installing an EV charger is not a task you should take on yourself. It’s best to have a professional who has experience with this type of work do the job. That professional will ensure the installation is done in compliance of local safety codes and that the new addition will pass any inspection required by the local municipality.
Professional installation is also something that your insurance provider will prefer. When the work is done by a certified pro, there’s not likely to be any limits imposed on the scope of your coverage.
If you have any questions about EV charging stations for the home, feel free to talk with a professional before selecting any design. Doing so increases the odds that you’ll be happy with those stations for many years to come.
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