How to Prepare Your Home for an EV
Electric vehicles are becoming more and more popular among Minneapolis drivers for many reasons: fewer carbon emissions, no need for gasoline fuel, and significantly less maintenance than standard gasoline-powered vehicles, among many other advantages. However, many drivers don’t take into consideration the preparation that’s needed to make sure that your home can effectively store your EV and keep it charged.
Learn how to prepare your home for an EV with the service experts at West Metro Buick GMC. We’ll show you what kind of charging stations to choose, how to prepare your garage, and everything else you need to know to efficiently store your EV. Then, visit our dealership to explore our current inventory and find an electric vehicle that will be a great addition to your garage.
Preparing Your Home for an EV Step by Step
Below, we’ve broken down the process of preparing your home for an EV in easy-to-follow steps. Take a look at our guide to see how you can make sure that your home and garage are ready to store your EV so that when you take to the St Paul roads every day, you’ll be able to drive with confidence:
1. Choose a Charging Type or Charging Level
The biggest thing in preparing your home for an EV is making sure you have an adequate charging station that can keep your vehicle’s battery at full power. For home charging stations, you’ll have the option of choosing between a Level 1 charger or Level 2 charger. Here are the differences between those two types of chargers:
- With Level 1 charging, you can usually expect it to take about a full day or even days to bring your vehicle to a full battery.
- Level 2 charging is faster than Level 1 and can usually bring your vehicle to a full battery in a matter of hours. For reference, most drivers can get around 60-200 miles of range in around 20-30 minutes.
2. Organize Your Garage
Organizing your garage and rearranging anything will make it easier for you to store your EV. If you’re having your EV delivered to your garage, then you want to be sure to clean your garage and make it easier for the vehicle to be delivered. If you’ve been using your garage as storage, then it might be a good idea to move some things out to make way for your new vehicle.
3. Assess Your Power Consumption
Your home power panel distributes electricity throughout the entire building, and it should be rated for the maximum amount of current flow, which is measured in Amperage for Amps. Many new homes come with the 100-amp power panel, but you can find the amp rating printed on your main circuit breaker. Once you find the power panel, you’ll want to get an idea of how much electricity you’re averaging in your home before you install an EV charging station. This way, you won’t overload your electric distribution panel while charging your EV.
4. Hire a Professional Electrician
Once you have an idea of what kind of charging station you would like to use, the next step is to hire a professional electrician. This way, you can ask any additional questions you have about the charging station and how it will affect your electricity usage. Usually, this service can cost around $200, but it can sometimes go up to $1,000 or $3,000 if your power panel is not deemed sufficient and needs significant upgrades. For any other questions about installation fees, reach out to our finance team at West Metro Buick GMC.
5. Buy & Install Your EV Charger
All that’s left to do is buy the EV charging station of your choice and have it installed by a professional electrician. Hopefully, you now have a better idea of what goes into preparing your home for an EV. For any additional questions, reach out to anyone on our team. Otherwise, feel free to visit our website or make the drive to us from St Cloud to explore our new inventory and find an EV that will look great in your garage.
Find an EV in Monticello
Now that you know how to prepare your home for an EV, swing by our dealership to find an EV that will be a perfect fit for your garage. Contact us to get the process started.