NEMA 14-50 Installation in Canada

[Scott_K]

I live in Ottawa and I’m looking into getting a NEMA 14-50 outlet installed in my garage. Does anyone have any idea how much this tends to cost? I can’t seem to find any recent posts with Canadian quotes.

Also: does anyone in the Ottawa area have any recommendations for a good electrician?

Thanks for your advice.

 

[ytwytw]

If your power panel in garage, then it costs you less than 500

If in basement and require to fish wire, start from 1000 and up depends on the complexity of the job

If just install the outlet on an existing wire. Should cost no more than 100

Also keep in mind, Ontario can rebate you 50% of the installation up to 500, and get Tesla wall charger and gov can rebate on it too with half of the cost

 

[Doug_G]

Ballpark $1000. Get the wall charger and the 50% rebate applies to all. In. My experience the wall charger is more durable than the NEMA plug.

 

[Webeevdrivers]

300 Bucks including labour and parts. Panel was about 8 feet away though.

 

[Scott_K]

Thanks for the quick reply @ytwytw. I currently have the panel in the garage (right rear) with a standard double 5-15 outlet right beside it.

Also keep in mind, Ontario can rebate you 50% of the installation up to 500, and get Tesla wall charger and gov can rebate on it too with half of the cost

Does the government incentive cover installation for the NEMA 15-40 outlet alone (i.e. if not purchased along with the wall charger)? They definitely cover the wall charger, but I can’t figure out if they’ll give 50% on installation of a 240V outlet alone.

 

[ytwytw]

Thanks for the quick reply @ytwytw. I currently have the panel in the garage (right rear) with a standard double 5-15 outlet right beside it.



Does the government incentive cover installation for the NEMA 15-40 outlet alone (i.e. if not purchased along with the wall charger)? They definitely cover the wall charger, but I can’t figure out if they’ll give 50% on installation of a 240V outlet alone.

No

 

[Scott_K]

I ended up going with a NEMA 14-50 instead of the HPWC because even with the 50% rebate from the Ontario EV Charging incentive it would have cost me way more money (would have needed to upgrade service and panel to 200A). The 32A charging on the 14-50 is more than enough for my daily needs.

Went with Watson Electrical after getting a few quotes. Was very happy with their service, would recommend them to anyone.

Cost was $775 including inspection and HST (a little more expensive than average because I wanted it on the opposite side of the garage from the panel because I park nose first).

 

[hingisfan]

I ended up going with a NEMA 14-50 instead of the HPWC because even with the 50% rebate from the Ontario EV Charging incentive it would have cost me way more money (would have needed to upgrade service and panel to 200A). The 32A charging on the 14-50 is more than enough for my daily needs.

Went with Watson Electrical after getting a few quotes. Was very happy with their service, would recommend them to anyone.

Cost was $775 including inspection and HST (a little more expensive than average because I wanted it on the opposite side of the garage from the panel because I park nose first).

You could have setup a hpwc to run at 32 amps too.

 

[Phillip L]

It is a little thing but being able to push the button on the HPWC and have the charge port open as you approach the car is handy. Of course, if you leave the evse hooked up all the time, that is a mute point, but I like to have the evse in the car always, just in case.

 

[Vawlkus]

*sigh*

Mute = no sound
Moot = not meaningful

 

[Scott_K]

It is a little thing but being able to push the button on the HPWC and have the charge port open as you approach the car is handy.

This is not a feature exclusive to the HPWC. There is a button on the UMC to press that automatically opens the car charge port as I approach as well.

 

[Scott_K]

You could have setup a hpwc to run at 32 amps too.

Sure I could have, but the question is why would I do that? I have the high amperage charger in my car, so had I paid to install a HPWC I would charge at 72A to max out my charging speed.

Like I said in my post, the reason I went for the NEMA 14-50 (which maxes out at 32A available for charging in Canada) is that it would have been way more expensive for me (in both parts and labor) to install a HPWC (especially since I would have needed to upgrade my service and panel to 200A). Would have been at least 400% more money for limited real world benefit for my needs (whether I recharge 20% battery overnight at 32A or 72A doesn’t matter).

 

[CadillacJack]

FYI - if you're in the US sometime, pop by a service center and grab a 14-50 adapter there - then you can run at 40A.

This assumes of course you wired the plug for 40A and used the right breaker. I'm no electrician, but a short run of 6/3 and a breaker at 50A I think it what's needed for 40A (my father's an electrician and did mine).

 

[Scott_K]

FYI - if you're in the US sometime, pop by a service center and grab a 14-50 adapter there - then you can run at 40A.

I wouldn’t necessarily recommend doing that (I definitely won’t be in my house anyway).

Tesla only recommends charging at 40A (even when on a 50A breaker). Only 32A of that can actually be delivered to your car because of the 80% rule (which is imposed on all continuous loads for safety reasons in the Rule 8-104[5] of the Canadian Electrical Code).

Continuous Circuit Loading, Rule 8-104 | IAEI Magazine

Using an American adapter to charge at the full 40A (essentially circumventing the Canadian Electrical Code’s 80% rule on continuous loads) could land you in trouble if there ever was a fire (insurance likely wouldn’t cover it if they found out you broke electrical code).

 

[hingisfan]

Sure I could have, but the question is why would I do that? I have the high amperage charger in my car, so had I paid to install a HPWC I would charge at 72A to max out my charging speed.

Like I said in my post, the reason I went for the NEMA 14-50 (which maxes out at 32A available for charging in Canada) is that it would have been way more expensive for me (in both parts and labor) to install a HPWC (especially since I would have needed to upgrade my service and panel to 200A). Would have been at least 400% more money for limited real world benefit for my needs (whether I recharge 20% battery overnight at 32A or 72A doesn’t matter).

Cause an extra couple hundred bucks is pretty cheap for a 2nd charger. And then u keep the Umc in the trunk all the time just in case. You would have got 50%off the hpwc.

 

[Scott_K]

Cause an extra couple hundred bucks is pretty cheap for a 2nd charger. And then u keep the Umc in the trunk all the time just in case. You would have got 50%off the hpwc.

Your math doesn’t check out

This is what you’re suggesting I should have done:
- Upgrade service and panel to 200A so I can support a HPWC (quoted between $3500 and $4000 by three separate electricians) -> $3500 (minimum) - $500 rebate (Ontario government will rebate up to $500 for installation) = $3000
- $715.29 - 50% gov rebate = $357.65

SUM TOTAL: $3357.65 (minimum based on three quotes)

This is what I did:
- Install NEMA 14-50 outlet and plug my UMC into it -> $775 (no govt rebate)
- Buy a second “Gen 2” UMC for $300 USD when I was down in the states (as you said to “have just in case”...although I haven’t pulled it out once yet) -> about $400 CAD

SUM TOTAL: $1175

So by your logic I would have paid an extra $2000+ for nothing except for a (very nice looking) wall charger (that can’t be easily moved if I ever do) and increased charging speeds that have absolutely real world impact for me given that my car is plugged in for at least 10 hours per day, enough to give me at least 370 km of range every night.

For me I’d rather spend that $2,000 on pretty much anything else.

 

[hingisfan]

Your math doesn’t check out

This is what you’re suggesting I should have done:
- Upgrade service and panel to 200A so I can support a HPWC (quoted between $3500 and $4000 by three separate electricians) -> $3500 (minimum) - $500 rebate (Ontario government will rebate up to $500 for installation) = $3000
- $715.29 - 50% gov rebate = $357.65

SUM TOTAL: $3357.65 (minimum based on three quotes)

This is what I did:
- Install NEMA 14-50 outlet and plug my UMC into it -> $775 (no govt rebate)
- Buy a second “Gen 2” UMC for $300 USD when I was down in the states (as you said to “have just in case”...although I haven’t pulled it out once yet) -> about $400 CAD

SUM TOTAL: $1175

So by your logic I would have paid an extra $2000+ for nothing except for a (very nice looking) wall charger (that can’t be easily moved if I ever do) and increased charging speeds that have absolutely real world impact for me given that my car is plugged in for at least 10 hours per day, enough to give me at least 370 km of range every night.

For me I’d rather spend that $2,000 on pretty much anything else.

No, I was just saying you could have bought the hpwc at half price, set it up to run at 32 amps, then keep UMC in trunk. Extra cost would have been about 300, plus you would have gotten half the install cost back, so it actually would have been 500 cheaper, as you wouldnt have had to buy a 2nd umc

 

[Scott_K]

No, I was just saying you could have bought the hpwc at half price, set it up to run at 32 amps, then keep UMC in trunk. Extra cost would have been about 300, plus you would have gotten half the install cost back, so it actually would have been 500 cheaper, as you wouldnt have had to buy a 2nd umc

Ah gotcha. You’re right, I could have done that for about the same price (after the rebate) as what I ended up doing (since I bought another UMC anyway).

A major factor for me was that I know I’m moving to a different place in less than 6 months, and this way I get to take both UMCs with me (whereas I would have left the HPWC behind when I sold this place, as I would had to pay an electrician again to take it out).

 

[X.l.r.8]

Does anyone know if you have to have the HPWC installed for the rebate as I'm renovating my house (down to the studs) and have already run 6 gauge into my garage (I have a lot of equipment with my lathe and mill and welder) and in anticipation of getting a used roadster so would be happy to fit the charger myself. At present I have a 14-50 ready with 8/3 cabling but feel swapping it out with a HPWC would be a much better option.

 

[Scott_K]

Does anyone know if you have to have the HPWC installed for the rebate as I'm renovating my house (down to the studs) and have already run 6 gauge into my garage (I have a lot of equipment with my lathe and mill and welder) and in anticipation of getting a used roadster so would be happy to fit the charger myself. At present I have a 14-50 ready with 8/3 cabling but feel swapping it out with a HPWC would be a much better option.

Yep, you are still eligible for the rebate for 50% of the cost of the HPWC if you install it yourself. You will however still have to get an ESA inspection and provide the certificate to the Ontario Government to quality for the rebate (although they will also reimburse you for 50% of the inspection cost). I do not think they will reimburse you for any other installation costs however unless it is done by a licensed electrician.