How an EV charger gets installed

Step 1: Decide where the charger goes

Before anyone quotes, know your mounting position. Measure the cable run from there to your charge port as you actually park, and add three feet of slack -- the measuring method. Mount height is typically 40 to 50 inches; check your unit's manual.

The single biggest cost lever is distance from the panel. Every foot of heavy conductor, and every wall it has to pass through, is money.

Step 2: Load calculation

The electrician confirms your service can carry the new circuit. This determines your charger's amperage, and whether you need a subpanel or a service upgrade. Load calculation.

Step 3: Permit

Most jurisdictions require an electrical permit for a new 240-volt circuit, typically $50 to $300. Your electrician normally pulls it. Permits.

Step 4: The circuit

The physical work: a double-pole breaker in the panel, conductors sized for the load and the run, and a route to the charger location -- through walls, through an attic or crawlspace, in conduit along a garage wall, or underground if the destination is detached.

For a plug-in installation the run terminates in a receptacle; for a hardwired one it terminates at the charger itself. Hardwired vs plug-in.

Step 5: Mounting and connecting

The charger is fixed to the wall -- into studs or with appropriate anchors, and on masonry with the right fixings. Hardwired units are landed on their terminals and torqued to the manufacturer's specification. The holster goes on so the connector hangs downward.

Step 6: Commissioning

Power on, set the amperage to match the circuit, connect to Wi-Fi if the unit has it, and complete a test charge. This is where you confirm the unit is actually set to the right current -- a charger set above its circuit is a real hazard and it is worth watching this step.

Step 7: Inspection

The inspector checks the breaker, conductors, terminations, grounding, GFCI protection where required, and that the equipment carries a recognized safety listing. Keep the signed permit -- you will want it when you sell.

How long it all takes

Where a homeowner must stop

• Anything inside the panel. The bus bars are live even with the main breaker off.
• Running new circuit conductors, in almost every jurisdiction.
• Any work that requires a permit, unless you are permitted to pull one as a homeowner and are competent to do it.

What you can do: choose the location, measure the run, buy the charger, and -- if a suitable 240-volt outlet already exists -- plug a plug-in unit into it.