Sections below:
– Level 1 might be enough
– why spend more for Level 2
– picking a Level 2 charging station
– UL-listed and three-year warranty
– plug vs hard-wired
– determining what size breaker and wiring you need
– finding an installer / electrician
– EVSE tax credits and incentives
– home charging tip: set your car to 80% max charge
– home charging tip: consider a TOU rate plan
Up front, we’ll assume you know what Level 1 and Level 2 means. If not, click here for the basic background from Plug In America; it was written in 2011, at the beginning of this EV revolution, so it’s a little dated but also generally accurate. The US Dept. of Energy also offers a good introduction to EV charging levels. FYI, the official industry term for the charging cordset is “Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment” or EVSE.
Owning EV fundamentally changes your “fueling” routine. Instead of stopping at a gas station once every week or two, you charge up at home as needed overnight, and start every day with plenty of range to do everything. All you need to do is spend a few extra seconds plugging in when you get home at night, and a few seconds unplugging when leaving in the morning. It becomes as natural as locking and unlocking the door to your house, or plugging in your cell phone once a day.
Charging at home is always going to be your cheapest option. Your electricity at home costs around 12 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh), and you can see this number on you electric bill. Public charging is usually much more expensive, typically starting at $0.25/kWh and going up from there — sometimes way up. If you charge at home, your electric driving cost is typically one third of the cost of gasoline driving. Plenty of people have done this math over and over, and the conclusion is always the same: it costs one-third as much. If you spent $100 per month on gas, when you switch to electric that number goes to zero and your electric bill will go up about $33. If you spent more, you’ll save more.
Another useful rule of thumb is that driving electric costs the equivalent of $1/gallon gasoline. Pretty much everyone knows how much gas costs these days, so this illustrates how much cheaper electric driving is, thanks to the electric drivetrains (and power plants) that are much more efficient.
If you are having a particularly long day, with a lot of errands or perhaps a road trip, then you’ll need to make use of public charging stations. You’ll also need them if you can’t plug in at home, not even on a regular outlet, likely because you live in a multi-unit dwelling that doesn’t offer EV charging. See the public charging page for more on that. This page is all about your options for charging at home.
For charging, you can easily get by with just using the 120 Volt (“Level 1”) cord that came with your car, plugging into a regular wall outlet. About half of EV owners just use the Level 1 cord and never bother upgrading to Level 2 capability. A Level 1 cordset will deliver about 4 miles of range per hour plugged in. A typical EV will thus gain about 40 miles of range in a 10-hour (overnight) charging session, more if you have it plugged in longer. So you may not need to purchase a faster charger, especially if your daily commute is 40 miles or less. (Note that if you got a plug-in hybrid then a plain Level 1 setup is usually plenty, since those PHEVs typically have smaller batteries anyway.)
Before plugging in your Level 1 cord, you should determine what else is on the circuit that feeds the outlet you are about to plug into. Typically, multiple wall outlets will be daisy-chained and fed from a single breaker (circuit) in your house’s electrical panel. Figure out what other outlets share a breaker with your EV-charging outlet, then make sure that no high-power devices are plugged into those outlets. Examples of devices that draw high power (typically 1000-1400 Watts) are chest freezers, dehumidifiers, table saws, vacuum cleaners … and EV chargers! Only one of any of devices can be drawing power at a time. Ideally, you either have only low-power devices on that circuit, or nothing else at all.
Being able to charge faster than Level 1 is useful if you regularly drive more than 40 miles in a day. If you’ve got a long commute, then you really don’t have a choice: you need a Level 2 charger. (The funny thing is, people with long commutes tend to be more interested in EVs, because the fuel savings can be so dramatic — the more you drive, the more you save.)
Faster charging is also particularly useful on weekends, when you might run a bunch of errands in the morning, then get back home and charge up during the afternoon, and then head out again in the evening. Or you might forget to plug in the car the night before (it happens), and when you discover your error the next morning, Level 2 vs Level 1 could be the difference between running a little late and upending your day’s plans completely.
A Level 2 charging station will deliver around 20-30 miles of range per hour plugged in, depending on the car and the station. A typical EV will thus charge up completely during an overnight charging session, even if you got home late that night and had completely emptied the car’s battery, and even if you’ve got a long range EV with a big battery. That Level 2 station will fill the car up overnight, no matter what.
Installing a Level 2 station also gives you redundancy. If the Level 1 cord is all you have for charging at home, you’re going to be in a real pinch if that cord should fail (it happens). If you get Level 2 installed, then you can keep the Level 1 cord as a backup. This also makes it easier to use your Level 1 cord at work every day, if you’ve been doing that — you only have to unpack/pack it once a day instead of twice.
So while the Level 1 cordset that comes with the car may suffice, you should plan on eventually installing a 240 Volt (“Level 2”) charging station.
If you don’t get a Level 2 charger, make sure you know how to use the nearest DC Fast Charging station (see the public charging page for more on that) so you can fall back onto that if your home charging setup fails on you. Stop by and test it out so you’re familiar how it works, before the day comes when you really need it.
OK, so you’ve decided to go ahead and get a Level 2 charging station. Unfortunately, I personally recommend against the chargers that the carmakers supply, because they are usually overpriced, especially for the higher-power models. Further, you should steer clear of the low price leaders in the market, whether it’s Bosch or Siemens or Duosida or whatever cheapo $200 device is showing up on Amazon today. This device is going to become pretty important to your day-to-day life and you don’t want to cut corners on this.
The easiest way to separate the men from the boys in the EVSE market is to see a) if the station is UL listed, and b) if they offer a three year warranty.
Underwriters Laboratory is an organization founded by insurance companies to ensure that consumer equipment is safe. If you look closely at extension cords and kitchen appliances, for example, you’ll see that every single one has a UL label on it somewhere, indicating that the company has put the product through the grueling UL process of proving that it’s safe. In the case of EV charging hardware, a UL certification means the station hardware won’t ever shock you, won’t overheat and burn your skin, won’t catch on fire and burn down your garage (or house!), and so on. The UL safety standard specifically for EV chargers is UL 2954, but as long as you see a UL label (or “ETL” label) on the unit, or they mention UL in the marketing materials, then you should be good.
Lots of cheapo EV chargers come with a one-year warranty, or worse. The better ones come with a three-year warranty.
Some chargers offer neat “smart” features like LCD screens and smartphone apps. In my opinion you can safely avoid all of that — your CAR will have that connectivity and advanced functions like charge timers. Leave the complexity in the car, and keep the wall charger as simple and robust as possible. A “dumb” charger simply delivers the electricity to the car, with only the required safety features, and is the most likely to last the decade or more that you’d expect of a basic appliance.
Here’s an example of why you might want to go steer away from a smart charger and go with dumb. Over the years there have been cases where a previously trendy EV charger company fell on hard times and went out of business. When that happened, we have seen situations where their deployed hardware stopped working, after they shut down their remote networking service, like their internet servers and phone app systems. People that owned their hardware literally saw them stop working overnight, and had to figure out how to work around the loss of network function, or do a “rip and replace” with all new hardware. A DIY repair community has even sprung up around this problem. But you can just avoid all that drama by getting a dumb station in the first place.
If you’re nerdy and like a little bit of tinkering and lots of cool features, check out the OpenEVSE kits, or the community that sprung up around the now-discontinued JuiceBox hardware.
For many many years, EV veterans invariably recommended the Clipper Creek chargers. Clipper Creek had been in the EV charging business for a very long time and they made very reliable gear (they started in 2006, and if you count EVI they go back to 1994). They were generally on the “dumb” side of the spectrum (see section above) but extremely robust and high quality. They offered value products such as the compact LCS series (LCS-20, LCS-25, etc.) which required a cheaper circuit from your breaker panel, but still delivered enough to charge up the smaller EVs overnight. But the HCS series were their real workhorses, with the HCS-40 seen everywhere, both in homes and at businesses, and able to charge nearly any car overnight. Heavy duty users would spring for the higher power HCS-60 and HCS-80 models. Tesla even recommended them for business sites that wanted to support both Tesla and non-Tesla EVs, at least until Tesla finally started offering their own non-Tesla (J1772) charging stations and then their “universal” model with built-in adapter. Sadly, CC was bought out by Enphase in 2021-2022, and in subsequent years they gradually shut down the independent CC product.
When you are placing the order for your Level 2 charger, one of the first questions you will encounter is whether to get a hardwired model, or one that plugs into a wall receptacle. The latter is useful because you can easily remove the charger off the wall and take it with you on a roadtrip, plugging in at RV parks (that’s a whole other story). However, you should not plug/unplug from the wall every day! These 240V wall receptacles are not designed to handle daily plug/unplug cycles — over the long term, the receptacle will weaken and may create a safety hazard. Just leave it plugged in, and unplug it only for the rare day that you need to take the charger with you. Here’s a good quick reference on NEMA receptacle types — NEMA 14-50 is by far the most common receptacle type used for EV charging stations.
Installing the EVSE with a plug also makes it easier to take the EVSE with you if and when you move out of the house. The outlet will remain with the house for the next owner.
Finally, getting a pluggable unit simplifies the work for the electrician. You just tell him that you need a NEMA 14-50 outlet installed. He (or she!) doesn’t need to read the EVSE manual, he doesn’t need to wire directly to the EVSE, he just needs to install a NEMA 14-50 outlet like he’s done a hundred times before. Then just mount the EVSE on the wall above it!
That said, you can choose to hardwire it in instead of using a plug — the EVSE gets directly wired to the circuit, with no intermediate wall receptacle and plug. Officially the National Electric Code (NEC) requires the EVSE to be hardwired, not plugged in, if it’s going to be used outdoors, although many people ignore that rule. If the EVSE location is directly exposed to rain, it’s better to hardwire it. You can always hardwire it now and then change it to pluggable later.
All of the Clipper Creek units are available in either hard-wired or pluggable forms.
The electrician you hire to install the new circuit will want to know what current amperage (in “Amps”) to size the new circuit for, which determines what size wire and breaker to use — literally what size components he brings with him and installs in your house. A NEMA 14-50 receptacle can handle up to 50 Amps, but it is quite common to wire a 40 Amp circuit to it to that NEMA 14-50, because 40 Amps is what most EVSE models need. The installed circuit amperage should be sized to match (not exceed) the EVSE’s circuit requirement.
Therefore, before you have the electrician do the work, know exactly which EVSE you’re getting (Clipper Creek whatever, Tesla HPWC, etc.), and check what amperage circuit the EVSE is sized for. Note that Tesla HPWC stations are configurable between 15A and 100A, so for those you can have the electrician install whatever amperage you’re willing to pay for. A 100 Amp circuit can get very expensive, because those wires can get really fat and copper isn’t cheap. Further, a really high power install like 80-100 Amps can even overload your HOUSE (your breaker panel’s “service” connection from the street) so if you really want 100A, you might also have to pay to have the breaker panel and utility service upgraded — big bucks, and almost certainly vast overkill.
A 40 Amp circuit is the most common and is typically enough for anyone, as it’s enough to fully charge most EVs overnight. Only electric trucks, with their 100+ kWh batteries, would call for a higher-power installation, and even in those cases you’ll still need “only” a 60 Amp circuit, not 80-100 Amps. For any EVSE that calls for more than a 50 Amp circuit (60, 80, 100, whatever), you’ll need to get the hard-wired version of the EVSE, not the pluggable kind.
If you’re getting an EVSE with a 240V plug on it, and need a 40 or 50 Amp circuit for it as discussed above, literally any electrician can install one of those in their sleep, and then you can just mount your new EVSE on the wall next to it and plug it in.
But if you want to get a higher-powered EVSE that needs a 60 Amp or grater circuit, that will need to be “hard wired” (instead of pluggable) and in that case it’s better to get an electrician who is experienced with EVSE installs. There are two services out there to help you find that electrician.
First, Plug In America runs the excellent PlugStar website with all sorts of EV resources, including a database of qualified electricians. Enter your zipcode and they’ll give you options.
Second, Qmerit is a service that certifies and lists electricians with EV charger skills and experience, and you simply work through their process to describe what you need, and they’ll connect you with a certified local electrician.
If you’ve already read through and thought about the issues described above, you’re ready to contact an electrician. You can buy your own EVSE separately and have them install it, or if using one of the qualified electricians above you can buy the EVSE through them and let them do everything.
Depending on your jurisdiction, installing the outdoor circuit may require pulling a permit with the local city or county, and any certified electrician will know what needs to be done and can take care of that if needed. Most of the time no permit is required.
Georgia Power will give you $250 to install a charging station!
Georgia Power is the primary, regulated power utility for the state of Georgia and increasingly a solid supporter of electric vehicles and EV infrastructure. On Georgia Power’s EV page they have information about their new EVSE rebate program — scroll down to the “Get Current” section and see the “Flyer” and “Rebate Form” PDF links there for complete details. Highlights from the website and documents:
– $250 rebate for each new residential charger purchased and installed
– Must be a Georgia Power customer
– 208/240-volt Level 2 charger (not Level 1)
– Must have a dedicated electrical circuit feeding EVSE
– Must be new EVSE (not used, refurbished, rented, etc.)
– Single-family homes
– Third-party vendors or EV charging businesses not eligible
Self-installation is OK, as long as you adhere to the applicable codes like a real electrician would. In that case, you don’t need to send in a copy of the installation invoice, just the EVSE purchase invoice.
Some EVs come with an EVSE that can plug into a NEMA 14-50 (240V) outlet, notably all Tesla models since Day One and Nissan Leafs since 2018. If you’re just getting an outlet installed to go with the plug-in EVSE that you already got with the car, you can still get the rebate for that install cost. On Georgia Power’s rebate form, just put in “Tesla EVSE or “Nissan EVSE” for the make and model, and if there’s no serial number just enter the model number again. Or whatever. Georgia Power really isn’t picky about this. As the form states, just make sure to include the copy of the installation invoice that you got from the electrician.
The rebate officially expires at the end of the year, but Georgia Power keeps extending it. Check the site above to see if it’s still available, and if it is consider getting it done this year.
It’s worth noting that NOT all Georgia residents get their power from Georgia Power. Many regions, especially exurban or rural, are served by an “EMC”, which is a more local entity that basically resells the Georgia Power energy. This rebate program only applies to direct customers of Georgia Power, not EMC customers.
In August 2022, new federal legislation revived the federal tax credit for purchase and installation of an EVSE, which had previously existed but died. Once again you can get a tax credit (not just a deduction!) back to you of 30% of the entire cost, including hardware and installation, up to a maximum of $1000. You’ll get that credited back to you when you file your federal tax return, and you’ll include IRS Form 8911 with your return. That credit was killed again with 2025 legislation, but doesn’t actually end until 30-Jun-2026.
EV batteries are based on lithium-ion chemistry. Unlike older battery chemistries like nickel-cadmium or even good old lead-acid, Li-ion batteries don’t like to be at 0% charged (empty) or 100% charged (full). It’s OK to push the battery all the way there, but don’t leave it there for hours (or days or weeks) because doing so basically cooks the battery and shortens its long-term life. For EVs charging at home, this means that you should not charge it to 100% every time, rather to 80% or 90%. Fortunately, most EVs have a setting in the menu to do this automatically — it’s typically labeled a “daily” charging limit, versus a “roadtrip” limit. When the car is charging, it’ll stop at that lower limit. Even with an 80% charge, you’ll likely have 200 or more miles of range, plenty for any day’s driving around town.
There are two exceptions to this. First, if you’re about to go on a roadtrip, you’ll want to set that limit to 100% the night before you leave, so that you start the trip in the morning with maximum range; this step is in the checklist on the EV roadtrips page here. Second, if you have an old EV from the early-mid 2010s, like a used Nissan Leaf, the fully-charged range is going to be much lower like 50-70 miles, and in that case you may very well need every bit of range every day.
Some electric utilities offer a Time Of Use (TOU) rate plan, in which your home electricity costs a different amount depending on the time of day, instead of just being a flat rate 24/7. They’ll provide a steep discount for the energy that you consume overnight (typically in the 11pm-7am window), encouraging you to charge your car then, because that’s when they have lots of extra generation capacity. You do not need to wait until 11pm to plug in your car! All EVs have TOU capability, where you tell the car (in the car’s menu somewhere) to wait until a certain time to start charging. So you still plug in when you get home, but the car will just sit there and not start charging until the TOU window opens (e.g. at 11pm).
Nothing is free, though. The tradeoff for the discounted energy overnight is that the energy cost is jacked up during the utility’s peak hours, typically summer weekday afternoons. Every summer, on weekdays, in the afternoon, you’ll see that the energy cost is way higher, typically two to three times more expensive. If you can relax your energy demands during those times, usually by programming your home thermostat(s) to relax the air conditioning, you’ll be good. But if you have to keep the house chilly even during those hours, you may find that a TOU plan is actually worse than the regular flat rate.
EDIT: I bought an OpenEVSE model in August 2015, but have not updated the notes below, and the information below is sorely outdated.
If you really want to live on the bleeding edge, read on …
One place where the Level 2 EVSE market is still evolving is portability. A portable EVSE is typically used when you are attempting a roadtrip in your EV, through areas that have no EV charging infrastructure at all (e.g. rural areas). In that case, people will often make use of RV parks, which typically offer high-power 240V receptacles like the NEMA 14-50. Or perhaps you want to plug into someone’s electric dryer outlet. So you carry a portable EVSE with you, one that has that 240V plug, and perhaps some adapters for dealing with other receptacles.
This is something that I’ve been interested in for a while, and below are my notes so far, as of Dec 2014. I haven’t bought one yet.
portable needs:
– 30 Amps delivered (not just circuit size), to match the capability of the car; 32 Amps is even better (a few cars absorb 32A)
– adjustable current, to manually force current draw lower (to deal with flaky RV park breakers, for example)
– not too bulky, so it can go on roadtrips
– UL listed / tested?
Clipper Creek HCS-40
– 32 Amps delivered
– NOT adjustable
– bulky, 19.7″ x 8.9″ x 5.3″
JuiceBox
– $500 including power input and long output cord
– 40A circuit, 32A delivered
– Pro model (+$100) offers wireless + smartphone app
– current is adjustable in Pro model
– https://www.facebook.com/eMotorWerks
– not UL listed, might never be
– V8.9 boards will have hardware GFCI
– discussion on MNL
OpenEVSE
– $330 assembly kit, components already soldered
– needs input and output cords, ~$150
– up to 50A delivered
– compact, 8.75″ x 5.25″ x 3.24″
– max current IS adjustable, pushbutton LCD menu
– note: unit is not fully assembled
– discussion on MNL
JESLA
– $1000 or $300 plus donor UMC
– max 40 Amps delivered
– multiple adapters for all receptacles
– current draw follows plug type automatically
– no manual current override
– sometimes sold out
– newer version in the works?
Manzanita Micro P3:
– $750
– 30 Amps delivered
– adjustable current via knob
– not UL tested, no GFCI?
EVSEupgrade:
– Panasonic $650
– 20 Amps delivered
– adjustable current via scary paper clip method
Sources for adapter cords:
– Cord Depot — they have a great web tool (“Product Finder” / “Product Filter”) that lets you select each end of the desired cable, instead of paging through dozens of adapters
– Camping World — with locations across the country, Camping World is a great local source for adapter cords in a hurry
– Camco — good source for NEMA 14-50 plugs and receptacles, purchase via online retailers (Amazon, eBay, etc.); however do NOT buy their adapter cables because they can be faulty; only get loose plug/receptacle parts that you can assemble and inspect yourself