Best time to install a car charger?

We are planning major work on our home’s electrical system. We also plan to get an electric car, but not right now; we still have a little life left in our Prius.

Are car chargers generic? Can we get a charger installed now during our major update before deciding which car we will buy, or is it better to wait?

At least get some wiring to the garage. Personally, I’d have them add a subpanel into the garage (60-100A if you’ve got the capacity). If you really want to be done with everything, have them install a Tesla Universal charger.

The primary expense and hassle is in the wiring. Get the wiring done to the potential charger location. Then putting the charger in will be an easy job when the time comes.

If you are planning to get work done on your home’s electrical system, the cost of running cable to your garage is minimal. If the work includes increasing the number of circuits on the electrical panel, by all means, put in a breaker (40A, 50A?) for a healthy level 2 charge capability. If the work and budget are more modest, at minimum, just get the cable run into the garage; you can get breakers that will share EV charging with the clothes dryer circuit.

Do it now. Consider a Tesla Universal Wall Connector as it has both types of connection to the car. No matter what car you get, you will be able to charge it. https://shop.tesla.com/product/universal-wall-connector

@Thomas
Just run the wires to a box. Or if you’re doing a major renovation, run a new 100A subpanel to the garage if your panel isn’t there.

Personally, I’d get the cabling done at the same time and ensure that a 32A circuit is spare on the CU. You don’t necessarily have to get the EVSE (chargepoint) yet; the cable could just be made safe and tucked away ready (details vary). Be aware that regulations are changing, and EVSEs with O-PEN devices will stop being permitted. This isn’t a bad move as your whole house can benefit when one is installed as part of the main setup.

We bought our first EV about six weeks ago. (We also own two Prius cars.)

In our case—no commutes—we simply do L1 charging from the 120V wall plug in the garage. I did do a 650-mile drive with the car after purchase, and that went fine as well.

So, consider your usage and you may not need an L2 chargepoint.

@Maria
Consider that L1 has higher charging losses (which you pay, too). It’s not much, but over the years it adds up.

Pull the cables out to where you want the charger and wait to get the charger until you have the car on the way.

This also depends on where you are. If in the EU, you can get a charger now, but if you are in the US, it is still a mess depending on what car you get.

@sorphia
I mean, not really? If you get a NACS charger, you’re good for some cars right now and all new cars in the future. If you find a great deal on a J1772 charger, you’re good for most existing cars except Tesla, and if you need NACS, there are adapters that make it easy. And of course, the Tesla Universal Wall Connector has both. If you buy a Nissan Leaf, I guess you’re out of luck, but maybe there are CHAdeMO to J1772 adapters?

@zendaya
I’m just used to never seeing any NACS chargers and trying to avoid non-grid connected superchargers.

They’re generic enough. The Tesla Universal Wall Connector can support both plugs in use right now.

I just had an EVSE/charger installed, and I don’t have an EV. I found such a good deal on a Wallbox charger that I had to take it and hired an electrician to run a new 240 circuit to it. Now it’s ready when I am.

You can always get a Tesla Universal Wall Connector. You will be able to charge any vehicle except for a CHAdeMO one.

You don’t need the EV charger yet, just the appropriately sized 240V outlet near where you would install one in the future.

Chargers come in two main flavors: Tesla or basically everything else. You can get a Tesla charger that does both Teslas and non-Teslas, but if I were in your shoes, I would just have them pull wire and terminate it in the box for a 60A 220V circuit, and leave space in the panel for a 220V breaker, with wires disconnected and capped in the panel. If your panel won’t support 60 amps of load, drop down to a 50 or a 40.

Whenever you go EV, it’ll be a trivial task to connect the wires in the panel and mount/connect the charger. I wouldn’t say an average homeowner should DIY it, but a slightly above-average one should be able to manage it.

I wouldn’t buy the charger today because every couple of years, a new one with a better app comes out for less money than the previous “best.”

The cabling is probably the most important part; the physical charging points don’t seem to last huge amounts of time, from what several electricians have told me.

In Europe, you can buy a charger (EVSE) and be confident that it will work with any plug-in vehicle you may get in the future. In North America, this is unfortunately not yet the case. Regardless of where you are, I think it is better to wait with the EVSE itself, but to do the relevant preparations for running power to it whenever it makes sense to do it together with other work.