How to Prepare Your Home For An Electric Vehicle

Are you prepared to save a lot of money with your new electric vehicle? Do you know how to prepare your home for an electric vehicle? While there are many benefits of electric vehicles, they do require a bit of preparation. 

You will need to prepare your garage for an EV charging station. Learn how here with the auto pros at Columbia Hyundai, and reach out to us with any questions.

Decide on an Electric Vehicle Home Charging Type 

If you haven’t already researched electric vehicle charging stations, you’ll find that most home electric vehicle home chargers are Level 1 or Level 2. Here’s the difference:

• Level 1 electric vehicle charging stations usually take days to fully charge an EV. 
• Level 2 electric vehicle home stations usually take several hours to completely charge an electric car. But, you can typically achieve between 60-200 miles of range in only about 20-30 minutes with Level 2 DC charging. That’s why most Cincinnati EV drivers use both daytime “top-off” charging and overnight charging.

2. Prepare Your Garage

If you haven’t recently cleaned out and organized your garage, now is the ideal time! Then you’ll have room for your electric vehicle home charger. It will be much easier if you clean all your clutter out of your Mason garage first.

3. Locate Your Power Panel & Assess Your Consumption

Your home power panel should be rated for the highest amount of current flow (measured in Amperes). Most new houses come with a 100 Amp power panel, but an amperage rating should be printed somewhere on your main circuit breaker. Next, assess how much electricity you consume on average every month. This is an essential step because you will want to avoid overloading your electric distribution panel.

4. Hire an Electrician

Now it’s time to call and hire an electrician in Cincinnati. Point out any concerns you have about your power usage and adding an electric vehicle charging battery station. They may want to install a dedicated 240-volt plug or a hardwired circuit back to your main power panel. Usually, it will only cost a few hundred dollars, but it could be as much as $1,000 – $3,000 if your power panel needs upgrading. 

5. Buy Your Electric Vehicle Home Charger & Have it Installed

If you haven’t already researched and purchased an EV home charger, get on it! Then ask your favorite electrician to install it in your garage. 

Shop For Your next Electric Vehicle From Columbia Hyundai

Now that we’ve shared how to prepare your home for an electric vehicle if you still need to choose the right EV for you, contact us at Columbia Hyundai You might want to learn about the difference between hybrid and electric vehicles. Feel free to browse our new vehicle specials and reach out to us today!