Home Charging Installation

[nashvillelucid]

I have been getting quotes for a home charging setup and they are all over the place. I’ve received quotes of $1100, $2000, and $3000 for the installation of a nema 50a outlet. , Another is charging 3k for the outlet and the whole home surge protector.

I didn’t even know what a whole home surge protector was until this quote. How do I differentiate the quotes? I have a feeling there is a qualitative difference in equipment, but I don’t know what to ask. Anyone happen to know how I can tell what is a good price for quality vs a bad price for bad equipment?

 

[Bill AGT]

Those are high prices for a 50 amp plug. What size breaker will you use and will your panel / service handle that much? I paid less than that to have a hardwired 80 amp charger (100 amp breaker) installed INCLUDING a 50 amp plug last month.
Another thought - if your service can handle it, why not put an 80 amp charger in? The Lucid is one of few cars that can take 80 amp AC. It will charge at 75 to 80 miles per hour of charge.
Do you have a charger in mind?

 

[Allnatt]

Those are high prices for a 50 amp plug. What size breaker will you use and will your panel / service handle that much? I paid less than that to have a hardwired 80 amp charger (100 amp breaker) installed INCLUDING a 50 amp plug last month.
Another thought - if your service can handle it, why not put an 80 amp charger in? The Lucid is one of few cars that can take 80 amp AC. It will charge at 75 to 80 miles per hour of charge.
Do you have a charger in mind?

If you are installing a Tesla charger I think 60 amps is all it can handle so you'd only be adding cost to go higher, unless your charger is going to be a significant distance from the main panel. The variation in estimates to some extent comes down to distance and amperage. If they have to up gauge from 8 gauge wire to 6 or even 4 because of amperage and voltage drop it can easily double your cost of materials. Companies quote you one thing but then show up and actually measure the distance and suddenly your $1000 quote becomes $2000 out the door. I've had 3 installations in 3 separate houses, all done to code, and each was ball park of $2000.

 

[maractwin]

What's a reasonable price depends on how far the garage is from your main breaker panel, and whether that panel has enough capacity to add another 50 amp (or 80 amp) circuit. When we had our garage wired, we had to upgrade the service to the house from 100amp to 200amp, then run buried conduit to our detached garage, all of which cost over $6,000.

Can you post a photo of your main breaker panel? That will answer some questions.

 

[thepolock]

Your price could be high or low, depending upon a lot of factors. If you do indeed need an upgrade to the panel (100amp to 200amp). however, there are two factors that will quickly add to the cost. If you want charging station instead of a receptical and two how far from the panel you need to run the wire from. I would suggest a charging station such as Lucid's or Chargepoint, or other. if you continually plug/unplug into the 240v receptical the prongs will tend to loosen and lead to early replacement. It also may provide timers to charge off hours for lower power costs and could easily cost more than 500$. 4 or 6 gauge wire is very expensive at the moment (and only going higher) and a hundred foot of that cable could easily exceed $500 (if you bought it Home Depot, more if your electrician provides it). Add in your labor costs and you can readily be at neat 2000$.

I had about a 50 foot run to my chargepoint charger from the panel, swapped to a couple of full size breakers to half size and a new 60amp breaker. Charger, wire, breakers,and labor ran me about 1300$. I live in Arizona.

You are correct to shop around, but don't play games. Your safety and life could depend upon the quality of your products and electrician.

 

[nashvillelucid]

Welcome to the depths of my attic. Im thinking it’s 200, since the main principal says 200 on it. I’m going to explore getting an 80amp plug.

My house is older and almost no older homes in Nashville have garages. So it will be an outdoor nema plug, so one outdoor rated. It will basically go out the wall through the same area that connects our generator to our home. And then down the wall one story. I’m thinking that work of going down the side of the house may be causing the price to push higher.

I will ask the electrician about an 80amp. I don’t know about the brand of outlet? I don’t want an actual charging station since I’m nervous the standard will change in a few years and I will have to switch to a NACS at that point.

 

[DeaneG]

Welcome to the depths of my attic. Im thinking it’s 200, since the main principal says 200 on it. I’m going to explore getting an 80amp plug.

My house is older and almost no older homes in Nashville have garages. So it will be an outdoor nema plug, so one outdoor rated. It will basically go out the wall through the same area that connects our generator to our home. And then down the wall one story. I’m thinking that work of going down the side of the house may be causing the price to push higher.

I will ask the electrician about an 80amp. I don’t know about the brand of outlet? I don’t want an actual charging station since I’m nervous the standard will change in a few years and I will have to switch to a NACS at that point.

The largest receptacle you can install at a residence is 50 amps.
I'd strongly recommend hard-wiring a dedicated charging station on a 60-amp or greater circuit. It'll be safer, faster, and not significantly more expensive. You can buy an outdoor-rated charging station whose J1772 cable can be swapped out later to a NACS type (e.g. Chargepoint Home Flex Hardwired), or a NACS charging station with a built-in J1772 adapter (Tesla Universal Wall connector).

 

[nashvillelucid]

The largest receptacle you can install at a residence is 50 amps.
I'd strongly recommend hard-wiring a dedicated charging station on a 60-amp or greater circuit. It'll be safer, faster, and not significantly more expensive. You can buy an outdoor-rated charging station whose J1772 cable can be swapped out later to a NACS type (e.g. Chargepoint Home Flex Hardwired), or a NACS charging station with a built-in J1772 adapter (Tesla Universal Wall connector

Ok I am looking at the Chargepoint Home Flex. I need to order before my electrician comes. How do I know if I need the 14-50 or the 6-50?

 

[DeaneG]

Ok I am looking at the Chargepoint Home Flex. I need to order before my electrician comes. How do I know if I need the 14-50 or the 6-50?

The "Hardwired" version will get you a 48 amp max charge rate on a 60-amp circuit breaker, and better safety. This is what ChargePoint recommends for outdoor use.
The 14-50 and 6-50 versions are both 40-amp plug-in types (50-amp circuit).

https://store.chargepoint.com/product/home-flex-hardwired

 

[nashvillelucid]

Ok I’m going with the pure hardwired station. I also love that I can use their electricians network to get it installed. Thanks everyone for the help and walking me through this. Cheers!

 

[DeaneG]

If you do decide on a 60-amp hardwired circuit rather than the 50-amp plug type, it would be good to let your electrician know well in advance of the visit, so he'll arrive with the correct gauge wire and the right conduit. The ChargePoint Home Flex's conduit entry is through the bottom, where the plug cord enters on plug-in versions.