October 22, 2022
Most people install their charger in their garage or outside near their parking location. Place it where you can easily reach the charge port on your vehicle with the charging cable. These are typically 20-25 feet long. Consider where the port is located on your vehicle and if you’ll need to park any differently. If you’re installing a smart charger, make sure that charger will be in range of your home WiFi.
National Electric Code (NEC 625) requires the EV charger to be mounted between 36" and 48" from the ground. For safety, it should be mounted out of the vehicle line of travel (i.e. to the side vs. directly in front of or behind the vehicle) or protected from physical damage. There should also be at least 30" width, 36" depth, and 78" height of clearance around the mounting or outlet location for working space.
To safely install your charger, an electrician will place a new circuit breaker in your closest electrical panel and run wiring from the panel to the EV charger or outlet location. The length and complexity of the wire run (e.g. if the wire must run through an attic or crawlspace) will impact installation costs, with shorter and less complex wire runs being less expensive.
If you're still deciding what charger to get, check out the Treehouse EV charger guide.
We've put together a few helpful resources to prepare you for installation day.
Installing more than one GFCI on the same circuit can result in nuisance tripping. For this reason, we recommend installing a hardwired charger.
Federal Pacific Electric (FPE) and Zinsco panels have design flaws that can cause their breakers to fail, creating a safety hazard.