Myths About EV Charging

All I need is a 240v outlet

We’ve seen a lot of problems arise from 240v outlets. Three main problems that we’ve seen arise over time is that they tend to stop working sooner than expected, they can cause nuisance tripping, and in some cases the outlets melt.

While nothing is built to last forever an outlet for a car charger should be reasonably expected to last more than a couple of years. It seems as if the current that the outlets are carrying for extended periods of time are more than the outlets are capable of handling. There are absolutely people that have had an outlet installed for years and while we have no data showing the causation of why some outlets are failing while others seem to thrive, charging habits could be the reason. 

Nuisance tripping is when an outlet trips for an unknown reason. The breaker is meant to trip whenever a problem arises like an overcurrent. The nuisance tripping is a problem because we don’t immediately know whether the breaker is tripping because it’s sensing a problem in which case an electrician should do some troubleshooting to determine the cause and then fix it. However, it’s just as possible that the breaker is misreading the situation and tripping even when an electrical problem isn’t present. In this case, we often see nuisance tripping occur because an EV will run a self-test cycle, often without our knowing, and the breaker picks up that cycle as a problem when an electrical problem isn’t actually happening. The solution is to go reset the breaker which wouldn’t be a problem for someone who is charging during the day but could pose a problem for someone that charges overnight and may be asleep when the breaker trips. Thus waking up to a car that may not have fully charged overnight. 

We have heard more than a few reports of outlets melting, thankfully, we’ve not heard of any reports of anything more serious occurring from these incidents. Of course, take this anecdotal evidence with a grain of salt because people don’t tend to call us when all is working as it should. We admit to having a skewed frame of reference but we believe that given what we’ve heard and seen that outlets are just not the best product to install overall. Car charging stations seem to last longer and have a better overall track record for charging electric vehicles safely, in our opinion. 

It’ll be too difficult to get power from my main breaker panel to my garage on opposite sides of the home

Some houses definitely make bringing the new car charger circuit from one side of the house to the other more difficult than others but electrically, most anything is doable. We are often looking to cross the house either through the attic for a home with a slab underneath or through crawl space for a home with pier and beam construction. Sometimes we can run surface mounted conduit along the soffit and sometimes we can run it along the foundation. The way in which we run the wiring depends on how the house is constructed and what’s the fastest route from Point A, our power source to Point B, our charger installation location. It’s uncommon to come across a house where there’s no option to run power for a car charging circuit. 

We’ll have to trench to move power from the breaker panel

This could be true if the main breaker and where the car charging circuit are going are separate buildings. This might be true for a detached garage. But it’s rarely how we choose to move power from a power source on the house to a garage attached to the same home. It typically takes more work to get a trencher in place than to attach surface mounted conduit to the home. 

My breaker panel doesn’t look like it has enough power available

It may not, but we can do a load calculation and see if the power is available. Some breaker panel brands give us the option to make space if physical space is the issue. I also want to take a minute to point out that if you’re adding up the numbers on the breakers that’s not how we determine how much power is available. The numbers on the handles of the breakers just tell us what size circuit that is and the load calculation gives us the working amperage of the house. 

If there truly isn’t enough power available to install a car charging circuit then the next step would be to upgrade the breaker panel and meter to a larger size. In some areas this step is easier than others but we’ll cross that bridge if this is something that is actually needed. Replacing a breaker panel is our last resort in an attempt to keep costs down but if it’s unavoidable we’ll definitely recommend it. 

I’ve been told that I need a breaker panel upgrade

While it’s possible your breaker panel does need to be upgraded, we do our own load calculation on the breaker panel to make sure that someone isn’t trying to upsell you on a cost that you don’t need. Our biggest pet peeve is when companies try upsell for the sake of padding their bottom line. Especially, when that upgrade is to the tune of $10,000 which is too much in our opinion. 

There are really only three reasons when we choose to upgrade a breaker panel. One reason is if we’re out of physical space in the breaker panel. We’ll need the physical space available in order to put in a new breaker for a car charging circuit. Another reason is if we’re out of amperage and need to be able to make power available for the new car charger. The last reason is if the breaker panel is one that is a brand no longer in production like a Federal Pacific or Zynsco. Those brands of breakers and breaker panels have a failure rate that drove them out of business. So we recommend that they be replaced with more trustworthy models. 

We do not replace breaker panels because they’re old. Breaker panels are just a way for us to connect power from the power provider and separate it into specific circuits into the home safely. If we still have power flowing where we need it to then the breaker panel is doing its job. 

We also don’t replace breaker panels because one breaker went out. Think of a breaker like a tire on your vehicle. When the tire goes flat (the breaker goes bad), we swap it out but we don’t buy a new car. If a breaker needs to be replaced then we replace it, if another one goes bad then we replace it too. Those are individual problems not likely related to the breaker panel which is just a conduit for moving power safely. 

I’m renting so an outlet would be a good temporary option

A car charging station can be uninstalled to go with you when you move. We don’t suggest putting in an outlet, see the section about outlets at the top. However, the thought process seems to be that an outlet will be cheaper than an install for a charging station. The circuit is roughly the same regardless of what goes on the end of the circuit. We (electricians in general) are doing the same amount of work whether you choose to put an outlet or a car charging station on the end of that circuit. We believe a car charging station to be a better product for any residence you live in. 

I don’t think I can put my charger outside

All of the car charging stations we’ve come across thus far are UL listed to be installed outside. Although we expected to see some long term breakdown in the Texas elements we have been pleasantly surprised to not receive any calls about seals breaking down or casing cracking in the heat. If installing outside works better for you it’s absolutely a safe option. We likely wouldn’t charge during a thunderstorm if it can be avoided but that’s a good rule of thumb regardless of parking and charging inside or outside. 

My power needs to be turned off for the installation

Unless we’re upgrading the breaker panel for the installation we almost never turn off the power to the home in order to complete the installation. The new circuit is typically run and then the last thing we do is connect it to power in the breaker panel. Since the car charger is on its own circuit we don’t need to interfere with the power to the rest of the house for the installation. Many people ask if they can continue working from home through the installation and the answer is yes, but we will occasionally be making some distracting noise. 

It would be better/easier to bring power from my subpanel in the garage

That would be true if the subpanel were wired with the intention of powering a car charging circuit. However, most subpanels in the garage are only fed with about 60 amps from the main breaker panel outside. The subpanel is going to control many of the small circuits through the house like bedrooms, bathrooms, and appliance circuits and doesn’t leave much power available for a car charging circuit. The vast majority of the time we need to come from the main breaker panel to find a sufficient amount of power for a car charging circuit. 

The circuit will need to go from the main panel into the subpanel and then to the charger

There is no code requirement that the breaker be near the charging unit so there’s no need to bring power from the main breaker panel to the subpanel and then to the car charger. It creates an unnecessary extra step. Instead we would use the main breaker panel to originate our power source and take the circuit directly into the charging station wherever it’s placed. 

I’ll need to upgrade my subpanel in order to install the new circuit

This would create a lot of extra, unnecessary work. Typically, for a new car charging circuit we don’t touch the subpanel because it’s not needed. For most circuits we bring power from the main breaker panel directly into the back of the charging station.