How do I know if a garage has the right wiring, switch box, outlet, or whatever to install a level 2 charging station?
I have a BMW i3 and I recently started to go to open houses for my next home. I remember seeing some posts here a while ago that you cannot install Level 2 charging station in some garages due to outdated wiring/equipments. What do I need to check/ask to know if I can install Level 2 charging station in a garage.
Best to ask a qualified electrician or BMW specialist. I think they have a phone number specific.
Not sure if this helps, but I have a cousin who has a model 3 Tesla and he had an electrician install a 240 volt outlet for charging purposes and I think that should be what level 2 is maybe.
Thanks. But I wonder if there is an easier and quicker way since I’m not going to ask an electrician or BMW specialist for every open houses I go to. It doesn’t has to be 100% accurate as I will definitely have an electrician to inspect it before entering escrow.
But you could ask them how to tell if it’s doable??
I’m not an electrician, but I’ve slept at a Holiday inn. I’ve also done done small home improvements, including running new circuits myself.
At the end of the day, i assume you’re going to have to install a new circuit. So the real question would be is how hard will it be to run wire from the electrical panel to the garage, how many free slots are in your breaker, and finally how many amps the charger requires vs how much panel capacity you are using. And i don’t mean physical capacity. For that you will need an electrician to do a load calculation.
I’m assuming you’ll need 40A(maybe more? You should be able to look this up easily) at 220V. You could have a 200 amp panel with 400A worth of breakers, but the max load of the house might really only be 100A, in which case you’re fine. But you could have some other high load items and be at 180A utilization in the house that means you might need a service upgrade
Prepare $1000 just in case if you have multiple equipments that you need to replace. My place was build in 196x… Average electrician quoted me 500~800 since I need to change the box in the back( in SF Bay area). I’ll do 40A, 240V for future proof. Since electric cars battery will only get bigger.
Pretty much any house can be wired for a level 2 EV station, but if you want the legwork done for you beforehand you’d want to check to see if there is a 240v outlet in the garage. If the home uses an electric stove, electric water heater, or electric dryer (non gas) all of those require a 240v line and would indicate the home can support it.