How Much Does It Cost To Install An Electric Car (EV) Charger In the Monterey Bay area?

With California set on a track to go electric for cars, the question on many peoples mind is “How much does an electric car charger cost to install?”. In this blog post we will help you understand the costs by tackling some of the questions about electric car chargers.

Here in the Monterey area, it can range on the low end of $600.00 to $900.00 for an electric car charger, it can quite easily get into the $8,000.00 to $20,000.00 range if large amounts of work are needed to accommodate the electric car you have.

There are a number of factors that can determine the cost of installing a new electric car charger in Monterey:

1. What model electric car did you get?

2. What is the charging capacity of the car?

3. What type of charging station should I get?

4. What size circuit do you want for the charger?

Let us go ahead and tackle these questions one by one to help you get a sense of what the costs of installing an electric car charger in Monterey is. 

A red Tesla electric car being charged.

What model electric car did you get?

Why is this important? Each manufacturer and model is going to be a bit different. They all put the charging ports in different locations, they have different size batteries, and they all charge at different rates.

For example a Tesla Model 3 can charge at a rate of 44 miles per hour of charge time with a Level 2 Charging station powered by a 60 amp 240 volt circuit. While if it is plugged int a 15 amp 240 volt circuit it will only charge at 11 miles per hour of charge time.

What is the charging capacity of the car?

This question closely ties into the model of the car. In our example above on the charging stations, we used the Tesla Model 3. Let us go ahead and use the Tesla Model 3 again to keep things simple. 

Like internal combustion cars and trucks, electric cars come with varying options on power and performance. The Tesla Model 3 currently has three options available to the consumer:

1. The Standard Plus

2. The Long Range Dual Motor

3. The Performance Dual Motor

Each of these three models has different capabilities as far as performance goes, one is obviously the standard unit, then a premium, followed by a more sporty version with a top speed of 162 mph. 

But the Tesla Model 3 Standard Plus also charges at a different rate than the other two models. It actually maxes out at a charge rate of 30 miles per hour of charge time, versus the other two models allowing full charging capacity at 44 miles per hour of charge time.

So if you want to the ability to charge faster, you must have that option available on the vehicle and its software.

What type of charging station should I get?

Let’s take and basic look at the options that are available. In this article we won’t really be going into brands and models of chargers, but rather the “Types” of charging stations.

Level One Charging Station

A Level 1 Charging Station is about the most basic that you can get when it comes to charging your vehicle at home. A Level 1 Charging station is really simple, it is just a standard 20 amp 120 volt circuit and a standard receptacle that you plug into. The cost is less expensive to install and likely doesn’t require you to upgrade your main electrical service panel.

The drawback is huge though. It can take a full 17 to 25 hours to charge an electric car to only go 100 miles. Now for some people that would fill their needs, but for most people and families, that simply won’t work.

Level Two Charging Station

A Level 2 Charging Station is the next step up, and a serious leap in ability to charge. This is where the voltage is upped from 120 volts to 240 volts in a home. The amperage has the ability to be upped as well, from 15 amps 240 volt all the way to 60 amps 240 volt. That gives you the ability to charge your electric car much much faster, making it a viable option in comparison to a gas powered car.

Level Three Charging Station

A Level 3 Charging Station is more likely what you will see at a public charging station. These are not really options for a home. They are super fast chargers often called DC Fast Chargers or DCFC for short. They are simply the fastest way electric car owners have to charge their cars, with some taking only 30 to 60 minutes to charge a car to 80% of its maximum capacity. There are a number of cars though that can’t handle this type of charging station. 

A logo painted on a parking space to signify it is an electric vehicle parking space.

What size circuit do you want for the charger?

Now that we have tackled the charging station, we will assume that we are installing a Level 2 Charging station. The next step is to determine what size circuit you need to power that station. Let’s assume yet again you purchased the Tesla Model 3, the Long Range model. Now we can install a 15 amp 240 volt circuit on the low end, all the way to a 60 amp 240 volt circuit on the high end. The higher the amperage the faster the car is going to charge.

So then, is it best just to get the maximum capability of the charger installed? Shouldn’t you just install the 60 amp 240 volt circuit?

Yes, it is nice to get the maximum capacity, but does your main electrical service have the capacity to handle a 60 amp circuit? Here is where the math comes in, here is where we as electricians perform what is called a “Load Calculation” to determine whether or not your existing system can handle any additional circuits at all, and if so what size or excess capacity your system has.

For example, many homes here in the Monterey Bay area have from 100 amps to 200 amps of capacity available to them. But we have some of that capacity tied up in the day to day functions of our house, running our appliances like dishwashers, refrigerators, ovens, dryers, etc. But when the summer comes, now we have the big energy hog, the AC unit. 

Here is an example of what some of these appliances draw:

Refrigerator: 8 amps to 12 amps

Dryer: 23 amps to 28 amps

AC Unit: 24 amps to 50 amps

Hot Tub: 30 amps to 50 amps

As you can see, some of these appliances can consume a lot of power. So if your system can’t handle the additional load of the 50 amp 240 volt Level 2 Charging station, you then have two choices. One, you opt for a smaller circuit, maybe 20 amps or 30 amps. But that comes with the drawback of decreasing the number of miles per charge you can do. The second option is to install a larger main electrical service, to allow you to max out the charging capacity of the Level 2 Charging Station, allowing you to really get the full use and function out of your electric car.

One of the other reasons to consider going with the option of installing a larger main electrical service is to allow more than one vehicle at a time to be charged. With vehicles seemingly going electric in California, we have to start to think about upgrading our homes systems to handle not only the added loads of electric cars, but also the ability for alternative energy systems like solar panels, and backup power such as generators or battery units.

In Conclusion

So wrapping it all up, we hope this article gives a good look at the different options available when it comes to getting that new electric car.

You have many different options to power and charge the vehicle, some budget friendly options and some that will require an investment into your homes electrical infrastructure. If you have any questions about if your home can handle a Level 2 Charging station in Monterey, then please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. 

And don’t forget to take a look at our pricing page where you can get some more detailed real world numbers on installations. 

Call today for a consultation: 831-402-4193