EV Charger Installation Bay Area

[BruceLLLLL]

I just got my model Y and would like to know what's the best options for an EV charger? Since the rebate expired in 2022, NEMA14-50 seems to be the best low-budget option?

Last week got some quotes about installing NEMA14-50, they said my panel is old and needs a new breaker plus a ten feet wire, which makes the total cost(material + labor) from 750 to 1000. I wonder if this is overpriced in the bay area(San Jose) and do I need to apply for a permit from the city?

Thanks in advance!

 

[ink124]

I just got my model Y and would like to know what's the best options for an EV charger? Since the rebate expired in 2022, NEMA14-50 seems to be the best low-budget option?

Last week got some quotes about installing NEMA14-50, they said my panel is old and needs a new breaker plus a ten feet wire, which makes the total cost(material + labor) from 750 to 1000. I wonder if this is overpriced in the bay area(San Jose) and do I need to apply for a permit from the city?

Thanks in advance!

I'm in San Jose too and only have 100 amp (overhead) service to my home. The numerous quotes I've gotten from licensed electricians has been $4,000+ to upgrade my service to 200 amps and install a NEMA 14-50. That's more than I wanted to spend, so I ended up buying a splitter to share the dryer with. It's on a 30 amp breaker and plenty for what I need.

 

[BobHinden]

Last week got some quotes about installing NEMA14-50, they said my panel is old and needs a new breaker plus a ten feet wire, which makes the total cost(material + labor) from 750 to 1000. I wonder if this is overpriced in the bay area(San Jose) and do I need to apply for a permit from the city?

Thanks in advance!

I had a Tesla wall connector installed about four years ago. It was a longer run than yours and required conduit. I would have been very happy if it was only $1K.

 

[Gibb]

That price is about right for the bay area. We had a 100amp panel and didn’t want to wait for the time or the costs to upgrade our panel and had the electrician run a dedicated 14-30 amp circuit about 10-12 feet to the garage wall. How many miles are you driving every day? The 30amp circuit provides about 21-22miles per hour of charge so one night we can charge about 150-170 miles if we ever drove that much in a day.

 

[pepperoni]

I’m in Santa Clara. I just paid $600 for a 14-50 outlet, four foot run from a 100 amp panel. No permit.

 

[BruceLLLLL]

I'm in San Jose too and only have 100 amp (overhead) service to my home. The numerous quotes I've gotten from licensed electricians has been $4,000+ to upgrade my service to 200 amps and install a NEMA 14-50. That's more than I wanted to spend, so I ended up buying a splitter to share the dryer with. It's on a 30 amp breaker and plenty for what I need.

One of my friends has exactly the same solution. Seems to be a good backup plan.

 

[BruceLLLLL]

I had a Tesla wall connector installed about four years ago. It was a longer run than yours and required conduit. I would have been very happy if it was only $1K.

which part costs the most? panel upgrade?

 

[BruceLLLLL]

That price is about right for the bay area. We had a 100amp panel and didn’t want to wait for the time or the costs to upgrade our panel and had the electrician run a dedicated 14-30 amp circuit about 10-12 feet to the garage wall. How many miles are you driving every day? The 30amp circuit provides about 21-22miles per hour of charge so one night we can charge about 150-170 miles if we ever drove that much in a day.

That's far more than enough for me. Good point, all the youtubers recommend 14-50, maybe I don't need that much.

 

[BruceLLLLL]

I’m in Santa Clara. I just paid $600 for a 14-50 outlet, four foot run from a 100 amp panel. No permit.

100 amp works okay? Some of the electricians said I need to upgrade to 200.

 

[pepperoni]

100 amp works okay? Some of the electricians said I need to upgrade to 200.

It depends what you have running on it. I had two quotes, and both electricians were fine with the 100 amp panel.

 

[Rocky_H]

100 amp works okay? Some of the electricians said I need to upgrade to 200.

That's probably because people ask the wrong question:

If you start off with, "I need a 50A circuit." Then there may not be enough capacity, and you are going to get responses that say you need to upgrade the main electrical service to 200A.

But if you start off with, "Do a load calculation for my service. How much capacity do I have available for a new circuit?" Then you may get a decent answer where a 30 or 40A circuit may fit within what you have, without needing the service upgrade.

 

[ink124]

One of my friends has exactly the same solution. Seems to be a good backup plan.

Yup, works exactly as needed and was much cheaper than even if I had someone just install a 50amp breaker with a 14-50 outlet. Quotes to do even that without a permit was about $1000.

 

[Albertsv]

That is about right in the Bay Area. I paid $3k for a 100A run from main panel to sub-panel and an additional $800 to install 2 chargers.

 

[kelpcar]

That's far more than enough for me. Good point, all the youtubers recommend 14-50, maybe I don't need that much.

for people in newer builds, 50A isn't "that big" of a deal. 200A service is normal. But most of the homes in the Bay Area are a bit more...vintage. My prior house had 60A service and a fusebox. My current home still has fuses for upstairs. So what would be a fairly simple and cheap upgrade for homes built in the past 30 or 40 years is much more involved.

I found a way to cheat it (or believe so, waiting for the install). When I installed solar last year, I got an inverter (Solar Edge) with expansion module options for EV and battery storage, and the inverter itself is connected to the main box on a 40A line. So if my understanding is correct, I can draw up to 32A from main power, plus whatever the solar is outputting during day time, up to 9.6KW. Though for my needs, even 32A would do just fine. I'm limping along with the 1.4A for now.

Cost for the EV charger will be $800 installed, before any rebate. Also getting one more panel installed on the roof. I initially built it out to provide 5KWh/day for an EV, or more likely a PHEV, and this will get me another 1.5. Should meet my 6-8k/year needs. This does mean locating the inverter in the garage, and then having to run a connection to the main, which for me was at the back of the home.

 

[BruceLLLLL]

Ended up with an installation of NEMA 14-50 outlet, 32A 240V without a permit without an extra wire fee(installed right beside the panel). The total cost is 500.

The charging is efficient and stable, I am very happy with the work.

 

[schen72]

I just got a quote today for almost exactly $1000 for a dedicated 50A circuit in my garage. The panel is right outside the garage wall, so it wouldn't need to travel far. I have 125A service to the house. The PG&E lines are buried in my neighborhood, and if I ever wanted to upgrade my service, there would be street trenching involved. Realistically it's too expensive and no one will be doing that.

Unless you're in new construction, your service is not going to be enough to charge the car, run the electric dryer, and run the central a/c all at once. You'll have to do your own load management and make sure not to run all these things at once. In San Jose, if you get a permit, the city will require you to have a "load management" device in your panel that will ensure the EV charger won't run unless there is enough excess power to spare. But it is $$$ to have this device installed, and just the permitting is another $1k with the city.

I'm very likely going to move forward with the quote (no permit) and also get the Tesla wall connector, mostly just for the convenience.

 

[MYP_bay]

bay area :
tesla recommended contractor /premit.
My case: no need to upgrade panel. install NEMA 50A ~$750