ChargePoint Hardwired Next to the Panel in Camas, WA (44 Minutes)

Forty-four minutes on site. That’s how long an EV charger install takes when the panel has room and the charger goes on the wall right next to it. We’re posting this one from Camas, Washington because nothing went wrong.

What makes an install cheap

Every EV charger quote comes down to three questions. This house had the easy answer to all three:

1. Does the panel have room? Yes. There was an open space for a two-pole breaker and enough service for the load.
2. How far is the charger from the panel? A few feet, on the same wall.
3. Does the run go through anything? No attic, no crawl space, no finished wall, no trench.

Change any one of those and the price goes up. A charger on the far garage wall means conduit across the ceiling. A full panel means a subpanel or a service upgrade. A detached garage means a trench.

That’s why EV charger installation quotes can be so different for what looks like the same job.

Hardwired, not plugged in

We hardwired the ChargePoint instead of putting it on a 14-50 outlet.

Hardwiring is the better choice when the charger’s staying put:

• No outlet to wear out. A 14-50 carrying 40 amps for hours at a time is one of the most common things to fail in a home EV setup, and a cheap one will burn up eventually.
• More charging speed on chargers that support it, because you’re not limited by the outlet’s rating.
• It can go outside without extra weatherproofing for an outlet.

The downside is you can’t unplug it and take it with you. If it’s on the garage wall of a house you plan to stay in, that’s not much of a downside.

Why the flex is short

There’s a short piece of flexible conduit between the panel and the charger instead of a rigid pipe.

That’s on purpose. With flex, the charger can come off the wall or get replaced without redoing the conduit. It also takes care of the small offset between the panel knockout and the charger’s opening, so we don’t have to fabricate a fitting.

Buying an EV and hoping your install is the easy kind? Call 360-828-7143 or send us a photo of your panel, and we’ll tell you which of the three questions might cost you.