Will Installing an EV Charging Station Increase My Home Equity?

The popularity of fully electric and hybrid vehicles in the U.S. is continuing to skyrocket, and EVs now make up more than 6% of all cars on the road. If you’re one of the many people that has made the switch to an EV, then you may be considering whether it is worth it to have a charging station installed at your home. One of the most common questions we get asked about EV chargers is whether they will add to a home’s value. Here is a full overview of how EV chargers can improve your home’s equity and other things you need to know about them.

Boost Your Home’s Value and Appeal With an EV Charger

If you own an EV, installing a charging station at your home is incredibly convenient and also a good way to boost your home’s value and potentially make it more appealing to some prospective buyers should you ever decide to sell. While installing an EV charging station may not increase your home’s value as some other projects, it should still add to your home equity by at least what you spent on the project.

One study performed in the UK showed that homes with an EV charging station were worth approximately 13% on average compared to similar homes without a charging station. This number is likely to be slightly lower in the U.S. considering that there are fewer EV owners. Nonetheless, most real estate experts agree that homes with an EV charger are generally more valuable and also more appealing to some people—especially millennials and other younger people.

Millennials currently make up around 36% of all home buyers, and this number is set to continue to increase quite a bit over the coming years. Millennials also own more EVs than any other age group, and these two factors combine definitely show how upgrading to an EV can make your home more appealing and increase the chances of you getting a higher offer whenever you decide to sell.

The fact that the number of EVs on the road continues to grow by a huge amount every year also means that having an EV charging station at your home will continue to make it more and more appealing. This is why many experts consider installing an EV charging station as a way of “future-proofing” your home similar to upgrading your house with home automation technology.

How Home EV Charging Compares to Using Public Charging Stations

One of the biggest benefits of having a home EV charging station is that it allows you to save quite a bit of money compared to constantly having to pay to charge at a public station. While public Level 3 DC fast-charge stations will charge your vehicle much more quickly, they can also be quite costly and will offset some of the savings you receive by driving an EV.

The average electricity rate in Georgia and South Carolina is around $0.14 to $0.15 per kilowatt-hour (kWh). Compare this to public charging stations that often charge anywhere from $0.25 to $0.50 per kWh, and you will quickly realize just how much you can save by having an EV charging station installed at your home.

Level 1 vs. Level 2 EV Charging

You don’t technically need to install an EV charging station to charge your vehicle at home. EVs in the U.S. typically come standard with both a Level 1 and Level 2 charging cord. The Level 1 charger allows you to plug your vehicle into any normal 120-volt outlet. The issue with Level 1 charging is that it is extremely slow. Depending on your vehicle’s battery capacity, it will usually take around 40 to 50 hours to charge your battery from empty to full. This means that using a Level 1 charger is really only sufficient for situations when you know you will only ever need to drive a short distance each day.

Level 2 chargers run off of a 240-volt circuit and can charge your vehicle far more quickly. In most cases, it will only take you around 8 hours or so to fully charge your vehicle with a Level 2 charging station. Installing a Level 2 station at your home isn’t all that expensive and provides you with the convenience of being able to fully charge your vehicle every night.

When installing a type 2 charging station, it is first necessary to run a dedicated 240-volt circuit to your garage or outside your house if there isn’t already one available. The charging station is then hard-wired into the circuit, and then you’re ready to go.

Level 3 or DC fast-charge stations are by far the quickest method of charging an EV. With a Level 3 charger, your battery can typically receive a full charge in under an hour. Unfortunately, Level 3 stations cannot be installed in homes or most other buildings as the typical electrical system is not set up to provide the necessary power for a Level 3 station. This means that your only choices for charging at home are to deal with the extreme slowness of Level 1 charging or pay to upgrade your home with a Level 2 station.

How Much Does It Cost to Install an EV Charging Station?

The average cost for a home Level 2 EV charging station in the U.S. typically ranges somewhere between $1,000 and $2,500, and this cost includes both installation and the charger itself. You can usually expect to pay somewhere around $350 to $1,000 for an electrician to install the charging station, and the specific cost depends on how much work is required and how difficult the job is.

The cost will always be lower if you already have a free 240-volt circuit that runs to your garage or where your charger will be installed. If the electrician needs to run an additional circuit, then you will obviously need to pay more. One factor that can add quite a bit to the overall cost is if there is no available space inside your electrical panel for the new circuit. In this case, you will either need to upgrade to a larger panel or have a sub-panel installed.

Where Is the Best Location to Install a Home EV Charger?

Inside your garage and outside the home near your driveway are always the best options when choosing where to have your EV charger installed. If you have room to park in the garage, having the charger installed inside of it is definitely your best option. In fact, we would still recommend installing the charger in the garage if possible even if you park in the driveway as you can always run the charging cord out to your vehicle.

EV chargers are designed to be completely waterproof and resistant to the elements. Still, the fact is that a charging station installed inside protected from the weather will generally always last for longer than one that is installed outside.

Another reason that the garage is the best place is that it ensures you can charge your vehicle inside during the winter. Colder temperatures have a huge effect on charging rates as EV batteries always charge the fastest when the temperature is somewhere around 60 to 80 degrees. While cold is obviously not as big of an issue in the southern U.S., this issue is still worth keeping in mind when deciding where to have your charge installed.

If you’re considering a home EV charging station, the team at Arc Angel Electric is ready to help. We install and service a wide range of different EV chargers from companies like Tesla, Siemens, Schneider, APC, GE, and ClipperCreek, and we are proud to be a Tesla Recommended Electrician. We also install whole-home generators, surge protectors, and home automation equipment and specialize in all types of residential and commercial electrical services. With locations in Cummings, Greensboro, Mount Pleasant, and Bluffton, we serve customers throughout Georgia and South Carolina. To learn more about EV charger installation or any of our other services, give us a call today.

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