How do you charge an electric vehicle?
Everyone wants to save money. With energy costs rising, energy conservation is a logical place to look for cost savings. But, is an Electrical Vehicle (EV) the place to start? We will delve into the pros and cons.
The first thing you need to understand is that you don’t just come home after work and plug your car in to the outlet on your garage wall. An Electrical Contractor will be necessary to install a dedicated circuit from your electrical breaker panel to your garage or car port. Or, wherever you park your car. This can get quite expensive as some
in home charging stations require an up to 60 ampere circuit, similar to an electric range circuit.
Imagine leaving your electric range on for eight hours a day? Compare that to the cost of gasoline.
Then you will have to take into consideration if the electrical service on your home has the capacity for an addition circuit to support the charger. If not, an electrical service upgrade can cost thousands of dollars.
Apartment dwellers really should consider this as well. Where will you plug in when you get home?
An other consideration is the existing stress on our electrical grid. Many states are already suffering rolling blackouts in peak times. Most of this county (USA) depends on heat in the winter and air conditioning in the summer. Imagine when millions of vehicles get plugged in at 6:00 PM. Where is that power going to come from?
I won’t bring up the cost of EVs because this is all about the pros and cons of the electrical impact. I think we covered that.