The US just announced a $1 billion dollar clean energy program!

Low emission vehicles are here to stay.  With electric vehicles(EV) hitting the market, consumers have to educate themselves when it comes to EVs and their home.  What does it really mean if you purchase an EV?  Can you just plug it in and you’re on your way to savings?  Well it’s not that simple, not yet anyway.  In fact you can plug into a regular receptacle but it could 24 hours or more to charge the vehicle.  Therefore a visit from your local electrician is in order to set up your home to receive your new addition to the family.   With the right setup you could be on the road in no time.   Below you will find the more efficient circuits your electricians would have to install:

What does this mean?

For most homes this means a 50 amp circuit will have to be installed.  A typical stove in a home is a 40Amp circuit, so you could equate this to having an extra stove in your home.  With this the vehicle would be fully charged in about 6 hours (overnight).  Your average home might not support anything higher, and anything lower will take an awfully long time to charge.

The process is simple as doing any other electrical work in your home.  You will need to have an assessment of your home done, followed by permitting (submitting for all proper permits), installation by a qualified electrician, and inspection by your municipal regulator.

On a different note, what happens when you have a party and all your friends show up with their EV and charge up on your meter?   There are systems in development that will be able charge the usage to the vehicle itself, but these are still in the works.