Electric car home charger Sarnia ON
Before we dive into the nitty-gritty of electrical requirements of electric vehicles, let’s look at a rough overview of this revolutionary mode of transportation that’s popped up in the past decade or so. Contrary to popular belief, the first EV wasn’t invented by Tesla, although they did help bring it onto the world mainstream stage. The first crude electric car was actually first developed in the early 19th century. Of course, things were refined decades after that, but the initial concept was there.
Fast forward to today, and we have popular car brands adding EVs to their roster of available vehicles. Tesla first comes to mind for a lot of consumers, but you also have Ford, Kia, Chevy, BMW and others joining the EV bandwagon, including hybrid models and fully electric vehicles. For the purpose of this post, we’ll focus exclusively on EVs. So what’s the big deal about EVs anyway? If you compare pricing, you’re looking to pay at least 50% to 100% more than a standard gas-fueled car, and that includes the models priced at the lower end. |
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For starters, one of the number one reasons many consumers opt for an EV despite its higher price tag is its environmental friendliness. It’s quite obvious that the lack of fuel emissions makes a big difference in the car’s environmental footprint. Tacking onto that benefit is that since EVs don’t run on fuel, you don’t have to make trips to the pump anymore. That in itself lowers the maintenance requirements. And speaking of maintenance, since the internal components are simpler than a standard fuel-based car, you won’t have to visit your auto mechanic nearly as often. No need to top up on fluids, no oil changes, none of the typical list of services required to maintain a car.
So electric vehicles can’t be perfect, right? What are the disadvantages? Well, for starters, we’ve already mentioned the upfront price is significantly higher than a standard car (although some of it is offset by the lower maintenance costs). Then you have to deal with the fact that there aren’t nearly as many public EV charging stations as there are gas stations. So if you’re looking at taking a long road trip, you might have to plan your route well ahead. As EVs become more popular, however, charging stations are popping up in more public locations including workplaces, so this may become a moot point in a few years or so.
In regards to home charging, if you have the standard 120V wall outlet in your garage, that would not be sufficient for your fully electric vehicle (it should be fine for a hybrid model, but not a fully EV). If your goal, like most EV owners, is to have the car fully charged overnight, you’ll want to upgrade to a 240V socket (similar to dishwashers, washers and dryers). In that case, you’ll need the assistance of a qualified and licensed electrical contracting company like Electrician Sarnia to perform a proper EV charging station installation in your garage. Give us a call today to get your electric vehicle charge station hooked up.
So electric vehicles can’t be perfect, right? What are the disadvantages? Well, for starters, we’ve already mentioned the upfront price is significantly higher than a standard car (although some of it is offset by the lower maintenance costs). Then you have to deal with the fact that there aren’t nearly as many public EV charging stations as there are gas stations. So if you’re looking at taking a long road trip, you might have to plan your route well ahead. As EVs become more popular, however, charging stations are popping up in more public locations including workplaces, so this may become a moot point in a few years or so.
In regards to home charging, if you have the standard 120V wall outlet in your garage, that would not be sufficient for your fully electric vehicle (it should be fine for a hybrid model, but not a fully EV). If your goal, like most EV owners, is to have the car fully charged overnight, you’ll want to upgrade to a 240V socket (similar to dishwashers, washers and dryers). In that case, you’ll need the assistance of a qualified and licensed electrical contracting company like Electrician Sarnia to perform a proper EV charging station installation in your garage. Give us a call today to get your electric vehicle charge station hooked up.
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