Owning an electric vehicle is a fantastic way to save money compared to driving a gas-powered vehicle. The only drawback is when it comes to having to charge the EV and ensure it always has sufficient range to get you wherever you need to go. The best way to overcome this issue and ensure you can always charge your vehicle as needed is with a home EV charging station. Here, we’ll provide an overview of home charging stations and the benefits you can enjoy by installing one at your house.
Reduced Charging Times
When discussing a home EV charging station, we’re referring to a Level 2 station that operates at 240 volts. Most EVs and hybrids come with an adapter that allows you to plug the charging cord into any three-prong 120-volt outlet, which provides Level 1 charging. The concern with doing so is that Level 1 charging is never going to be sufficient for a fully electric vehicle if you have a longer daily commute.
If you have a plug-in hybrid, it will typically only take five to six hours to fully charge a dead battery with Level 1 charging. For a fully electric vehicle, you’ll usually only get about 3 to 5 miles of range per hour with Level 1 charging. That means you could need to leave your vehicle plugged in for 40 to 50 hours to fully charge the battery if it’s nearly dead. This is where having a Level 2 station is extremely beneficial since it should be able to charge even the largest EV battery from dead to full overnight. In many cases, you won’t even need to leave your vehicle plugged in for more than four to six hours to get a full charge.
With a Level 2 station, you’ll typically get anywhere from 15 to 50+ miles of range for every hour of charging. Exactly how many miles you’ll get per hour of charging depends on your EV and what charging station you have. Charging stations vary in amperage, and how many amps your station is dictates in terms of how many kilowatts of power it provides per hour.
Your EV can also only handle so many kilowatts of power per hour. That’s why you want to make sure you choose a station that matches the amperage range of what your EV is meant to handle. There isn’t a major issue if you choose a more powerful station since you can still adjust how much power it provides. Nonetheless, it is a waste of money to purchase a station that has a higher capacity than what your vehicle needs.
Most smaller EVs can charge at speeds between 7.5 and 12 kilowatts per hour. At these speeds, you’d usually get somewhere between 25 and 40 miles of range per hour. However, it again depends entirely on your vehicle’s range in terms of how many miles it gets per kilowatt-hour of battery power. Some Level 2 stations can provide nearly 20 kilowatts per hour, but it’s extremely rare to find a vehicle that can charge at this rate other than when using a Level 3 DC fast-charge station. Even then, it’s not likely that your electrical system can provide that amount of power without upgrading your electrical panel.
One last note on charging speeds and range per hour of charging is that it also depends on temperature. EV batteries charge far slower in colder temperatures, and you also get fewer miles per kilowatt-hour in colder weather. Heat doesn’t have as much of an effect on range. However, your EV’s computer will slow down the charging speed when charging in extreme heat. The reason is to prevent the battery from getting too hot and help ensure it doesn’t get damaged.
Lower Cost Compared to Charging at Public Stations
Compared to other investments you could make in your home, installing an EV charging station is one that is almost guaranteed to more than pay for itself over time. The average electricity rate in the Phoenix area is 16 cents per kilowatt-hour, which is easily less than half of what you’d typically pay to use a public Level 2 station. If you instead charge at a Level 3 station, you’ll often have to pay 50-60 cents per kilowatt.
The average EV owner pays somewhere between $55 and $70 a month to charge one vehicle. That equates to approximately $600 to $800 per year, which is about the same as Level 2 charging equipment typically costs. The total cost of installing the equipment will be more than that, but a Level 2 station will still typically pay for itself within only a few years.
Excellent Return on Investment
When considering making improvements or upgrades, you should always think about what sort of return you’ll receive on your initial investment. That means how much value it will add to your home compared to how much the project costs. In terms of return on investment (ROI), installing an EV charging station is almost always going to far outperform almost any other type of upgrade or improvement you could make.
With most upgrades, you’re lucky if the ROI is much above 60-75%. Upgrading your house with an EV charging station, on the other hand, will usually provide an ROI of well over 100%. That means you’d more than gain back what you paid to install the station were you to sell your house in the coming years. In fact, some studies have shown that adding a charging station to your house can potentially increase its value by as much as $10,000-15,000. That goes to show you why a home EV charging station is such a fantastic investment.
There is a chance you’ll need to install a bigger electrical panel if the load on your electrical system is already near the system’s maximum capacity. While this will add quite a bit to the cost of the project, a new electrical panel will also further increase the value of your house.
Protecting Your EV Battery
One thing some EV owners aren’t aware of is that using Level 3 charging too often can end up damaging the vehicle’s battery and causing it to fail much faster. The same is true if you charge your vehicle in an extremely hot place. Both of these issues are why having a home charging station is so beneficial. Even during the extreme Arizona heat, charging your vehicle inside your garage where it’s usually at least a bit cooler will lessen the chances of your battery getting damaged. If you charge your vehicle every night, you can also minimize the times when you need to rely on a public Level 3 station.
The expert electricians at Christian Brothers Air Conditioning Plumbing Electrical are here to help if you want to install an EV charging station or need any other electrical installations, upgrades or repairs. We’ve been serving Glendale and the Phoenix Metro area for nearly 50 years and are dedicated to providing exceptional plumbing, electrical and HVAC services. No matter what type of home service you need, you can trust you’ll receive top-quality work and honest, upfront pricing when you choose Christian Brothers Air Conditioning Plumbing Electrical. To schedule an EV charging station installation or anything else, give our team a call today.
