William McBride, October 2024. – A common question for homeowners once they have bought their electric vehicle or plug-in hybrid vehicles.
The most important considerations for EV charger installations in Orange County are linked to location, home age, panel condition and the EV charger.
EV Charger type
We have sold hundreds of EV chargers in Orange County, starting in 2020. When we were first involved in the industry, the average EV charger would cost around $800. Hardwired EV chargers that are UL certified and incorporate strong app enabled software, are around $600. Plug-in EV chargers are less sophisticated and will generally be around $350. High power 48- or 40-amp level 2 EV chargers will of course be more expensive than lower power EV chargers. Here is a link to our sister company with examples of a hardwired EV charger.
Installation location
A big predictor of the charger installation costs, especially for larger Orange County homes, is the location of the EV charger in relation to where the car is parked. The longer the distance of the EV charger (the spot where the charger is mounted to the wall), the more expensive the installation will be, this is due to the extra labor, copper and other materials. There will also be more extensive patching and repairs to drywall
Installation Complexity
The cost increases if the installation requires multiple days of work, involves a new panel or panel upgrades. This can happen when there are no available breaker slots on the electrical panel, which can involve more work to free up a power line
Service Panel Capacity
One of the primary considerations for home EV charger installations in Orange County is the size and available capacity of the service panel. Older homes in Orange County often will only have 100 amp service panels. An EV charger will generally need at least a 30 amp and ideally a 50 amp service on a dedicated line. In this situation, an electrical panel upgrade is needed, which will significantly increase the cost and time to have the EV charge installed.
Trenching
If the charging cable needs to be run underground (mainly if the panel is an unusual location), the cost of trenching will need to be included. This is usually around $50-70 per hour
Most installations take about 2–3 hours and about 50% of EV charger home installations in Orange County are more simple installations with a panel that has capacity, a panel location interior or exterior to the garage, which is close to where the car will be parked for EV charging.
William McBride, October 2024. – A common question for homeowners once they have bought their electric vehicle or plug-in hybrid vehicles.
The most important considerations for EV charger installations in Orange County are linked to location, home age, panel condition and the EV charger.
EV Charger type
We have sold hundreds of EV chargers in Orange County, starting in 2020. When we were first involved in the industry, the average EV charger would cost around $800. Hardwired EV chargers that are UL certified and incorporate strong app enabled software, are around $600. Plug-in EV chargers are less sophisticated and will generally be around $350. High power 48- or 40-amp level 2 EV chargers will of course be more expensive than lower power EV chargers. Here is a link to our sister company with examples of a hardwired EV charger.
Installation location
A big predictor of the charger installation costs, especially for larger Orange County homes, is the location of the EV charger in relation to where the car is parked. The longer the distance of the EV charger (the spot where the charger is mounted to the wall), the more expensive the installation will be, this is due to the extra labor, copper and other materials. There will also be more extensive patching and repairs to drywall
Installation Complexity
The cost increases if the installation requires multiple days of work, involves a new panel or panel upgrades. This can happen when there are no available breaker slots on the electrical panel, which can involve more work to free up a power line
