How to Prep Your Home for an EV

Interested in or just bought a new EV for your Leawood, KS home? Whether you’ve got a new Mercedes EQS or Mercedes EQE, you’ll need an electric vehicle home charger. You’ll be able to charge your new vehicle in your garage overnight while you sleep, and it’s the most cost-effective and convenient way to charge your electric car.

There are EV charging stations in the Kansas City area in case you’re out and about and need to charge. However, home charging is still the best. Find out how to prepare your home for an electric vehicle, and what electric vehicle charging batteries involve, with our handy guide.

1. Decide on an Electric Vehicle Home Charger Type 

Most electric vehicle home chargers utilize what engineers call Level 1 or Level 2 charging. These two types of electric vehicle charging stations are more well-known to EV users. Here’s more information on these two charging types:

• Level 1 EV charging usually takes a day or two to fully charge an electric car. This is the slowest type of charging available.
• Level 2 EV charging can last during the overnight hours while you sleep. In a pinch, you can top off your car with this type of electric vehicle charging. Batteries don’t heat up as much with Level 2 charging compared to DC Fast Charging at a public station, meaning the batteries will last longer because they don’t heat up as much. 

2. Ready Your Garage

If you haven’t cleaned out or organized your garage, now is the time to do that! Make sure that you get your garage ready for an EV before you take delivery! You may wish to clean out clutter first if your garage has been used as a storage space for a long time. You’ll need to figure out where to put the home charging box, typically on a wall. All of which can benefit when it’s time to power your electric vehicle charging batteries. 

3. Find Your Power Panel & Assess Consumption

The power panel in your home distributes electricity throughout the entire building. It should be rated for a maximum amount of current flow measured in Amperes. Most new homes come with a 100 Amp power panel, but there should be an amperage rating printed on your main circuit breaker.

Next, you’ll want to get a handle on how much electrical energy you consistently use in your house by performing a self-assessment of your electricity use before you install an electric vehicle charging station (or wall box) in your home. You do not want to overload your electric distribution panel. If your home won’t be able to handle the extra load, it may need more work to get more power.

4. Hire an Electrician

Next, hire an electrician. You can discuss any concerns you have about your power consumption and adding an electric vehicle charging station with that qualified professional. The electrician will install a dedicated 240-volt plug or add a hardwired circuit back to the power panel for your electric vehicle charging its batteries. 

Usually, this costs a few hundred dollars in labor, plus the costs of the wall box. But your costs could be up to $1,000 or $3,000 if it’s found that your power panel is not sufficient as-is and requires upgrading.

5. Buy Your Charger & Have it Installed

Mercedes-Benz highly recommends a ChargePoint Home Flex Level 2 charger. Once this home charging station comes in, have your qualified electrician install it. After that, you’ll be ready for years of convenient charging at home without having to rely on expensive gasoline.

Contact Mercedes-Benz of Kansas City South to Learn More About EVs!

Do you have additional questions or concerns about how to prepare your home for an electric vehicle? Contact us or call (816) 540-1026. We’re happy to help in any way we can! Meanwhile, look over our manager’s specials to see if you could save any money on your purchase.