YES! Upgrading the electrical service to a detached house is an expensive undertaking. It involves completely replacing the wires that bring the electricity from the street to your home, and also completely replacing your entire electrical panel, at a minimum. Depending on the age and condition of other electrical components (wiring, receptacles and switches, etc.), further work may also be required — often pushing costs well over $10,000.
While there are other reasons to consider this upgrade, doing it only so an EV charging solution can be installed, adds a LOT of money to the overall cost of purchasing an EV and home EV charging solution.
Fortunately, there IS a much less expensive option. Energy management solutions can automatically divert and direct power in such a way, that everything remains safe while still using an older electrical service with limited capacity.
In some cases, a smart EV charging solution can monitor overall load on your home’s electrical system, and adjust charger output to maintain safe conditions. For example, you can turn charging down or off while you are cooking dinner or running your clothes dryer, then turn it up after you have gone to bed when other loads are off. In other cases, a simple switch lets you choose between using your clothes dryer or charging your EV.
In any case, we understand the challenges, and we have the solutions. Usually, energy management can be integrated into your complete EV charging solution, for less than 1/3 the price of a complete electrical service upgrade. After all, isn’t one of the reasons you decided to purchase an EV, to save money?
Contact us today to get any additional questions answered and to let us help you select the right EV charging solution, for your home or public access space.