Cost of Charger Installation by Electrician

[ARK]

My electrician, originally at $500 to install a 40amp panel, five feet of wiring, and a NEMA 14-50 outlet has gone up to $750 to hardwire my EVSE on a 60amp panel installation with that five feet of wiring. But this new price is inclusive of the cost of getting permits, which I think are $150, if not lower, but my electrician insists is $200.

The only reason I am getting the permits for this is because my city’s utility offers a $500 rebate for installation of an EVSE, but the paperwork for that rebate requires you to show that your installation was properly permitted.

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[cjljr41]

Paid $89 for the electrician to show up and tell me it would cost $1999. This is for a 14-50 240v outlet to run about 20 ft along the outside of the house.

I won’t be calling them back.

Similar experience here. Paid $70 to get a quote of $1,400. Told him "no thanks". He called me back an hour later and said he made a mistake and that the cost was $1,200. Gave him a second "no thanks".

 

[Maquis]

Paid $89 for the electrician to show up and tell me it would cost $1999. This is for a 14-50 240v outlet to run about 20 ft along the outside of the house.

I won’t be calling them back.

That guy deserves a nice online review from you!

 

[macgyver60]

I paid $800 for a 50 amp breaker with 50 feet of 6 gauge wire and the Nema 6-50 outlet. Our local utility reimbursed $500 of the charge purchase and install though so overall not bad for metro NY.

 

[TheVirtualTim]

Paid $89 for the electrician to show up and tell me it would cost $1999. This is for a 14-50 240v outlet to run about 20 ft along the outside of the house.

I won’t be calling them back.

What is the amperage of the charger you want? Does your existing meter and service panel have enough excess capacity to handle it?

I'm wondering if the price included upgrades to existing equipment. Otherwise ... yeah ... thank you for playing our little game. Johnny please call the next contestant.

 

[TheSeg]

To add a datapoint: I live in Alameda, CA and convinced the landlord to pay for the install. I only paid for the EVSC (which Alameda Municipal Power gave me $800 for).

The circuit breaker had enough to provide 40amps, so the work was going from the box, under the crawlspace, and to the side of the house. Roughly 30ft from breaker to EVSC.

By: TEC Electric
Quote: (Free)
Parts/Labor: $820
City Permit: $354.75
Total: $1,174.75

This is before the 30% tax break from the IRS, which made the costs to my landlord $822.32.

 

[MrRossKeys]

What is the amperage of the charger you want? Does your existing meter and service panel have enough excess capacity to handle it?

I'm wondering if the price included upgrades to existing equipment. Otherwise ... yeah ... thank you for playing our little game. Johnny please call the next contestant.

For those wondering, two contractors show up to do the inspection. I take them to the panel. They ask me to show them where I will park my car. They spend a few minutes explaining to me how I should park my car (in the driveway) so that the cable run can reach. They asked about the EVSE I would use, and they tried to convince me to purchase a permanent install instead of an outlet.

I ask them to go back to the panel and explain the amp, voltage, and other details for the install. We walk back over, they look at the panel for all of 3 seconds and then explain that there is space in the breaker box for their circuit. They never implicitly stated what amperage. I told them I wanted 240v 14-50 and they interrupted me in mid-sentence to say that they had lots of experience and that it was all possible.

Now, I should explain that I called these guys because they were recommended. I’d consider this company the Mercedes Benz of companies... this was not your one-man-crew-electrician, so I totally expected some overhead cost for the size of their operation...

Ok, with that said, now comes the fun part. The main guy opens a notebook with fancy printed graphics, prices, and advertising for their company. He pulls up a page with pricing. He points at the top price on the page and says, “this is where your install falls.” It was $1999. He asked if I was ready to schedule the work for Monday.

There was never any mention of what parts or labor would cost. There was no mention of how long the distance run would cost or what I could do to bring the cost down. There was no relation between the quote and my actual situation. I even asked if the run was longer would it cost more and he said it was included in the price. Sounds like even a 2ft run would have cost $1999.

Oh well. I need another recommendation lol.

 

[ARK]

For those wondering, two contractors show up to do the inspection. I take them to the panel. They ask me to show them where I will park my car. They spend a few minutes explaining to me how I should park my car (in the driveway) so that the cable run can reach. They asked about the EVSE I would use, and they tried to convince me to purchase a permanent install instead of an outlet.

I ask them to go back to the panel and explain the amp, voltage, and other details for the install. We walk back over, they look at the panel for all of 3 seconds and then explain that there is space in the breaker box for their circuit. They never implicitly stated what amperage. I told them I wanted 240v 14-50 and they interrupted me in mid-sentence to say that they had lots of experience and that it was all possible.

Now, I should explain that I called these guys because they were recommended. I’d consider this company the Mercedes Benz of companies... this was not your one-man-crew-electrician, so I totally expected some overhead cost for the size of their operation...

Ok, with that said, now comes the fun part. The main guy opens a notebook with fancy printed graphics, prices, and advertising for their company. He pulls up a page with pricing. He points at the top price on the page and says, “this is where your install falls.” It was $1999. He asked if I was ready to schedule the work for Monday.

There was never any mention of what parts or labor would cost. There was no mention of how long the distance run would cost or what I could do to bring the cost down. There was no relation between the quote and my actual situation. I even asked if the run was longer would it cost more and he said it was included in the price. Sounds like even a 2ft run would have cost $1999.

Oh well. I need another recommendation lol.

From what everyone has posted, this seems like the sort of thing a one-man-crew-electrician should be able to handle pretty easily assuming you don’t have some sort of gnarly electrical circumstance that has to be dealt with.

 

[dbsb3233]

Ok, with that said, now comes the fun part. The main guy opens a notebook with fancy printed graphics, prices, and advertising for their company. He pulls up a page with pricing. He points at the top price on the page and says, “this is where your install falls.” It was $1999. He asked if I was ready to schedule the work for Monday.

Sometimes I think it might be better to go with a smaller electrician that isn't advertising "EV Charger Installations". Might even be better if they think we're installing a welder instead.

I just have this feeling that for some of them, "EV Charger" translates to (1) rich guy, (2) 30% tax break, (3) schmuck that knows nothing about electrical work. Thus (4) We can double the price by calling it an "EV Charger" install.

 

[ARK]

Sometimes I think it might be better to go with a smaller electrician that isn't advertising "EV Charger Installations". Might even be better if they think we're installing a welder instead.

I just have this feeling that for some of them, "EV Charger" translates to (1) rich guy, (2) 30% tax break, (3) schmuck that knows nothing about electrical work. Thus (4) We can double the price by calling it an "EV Charger" install.

The electrician I will be using for my install happened to be at my house a few weeks ago for something unrelated. When I asked him to give me a quote for the EVSE install, we walked over to the garage and he considered what would need to be done. Before he gave me a price, he asked me, so, what are you getting - Tesla, BMW?

I told him Ford and left it at that, perfectly content with the impression I created.

 

[StrWhtMME]

Sometimes I think it might be better to go with a smaller electrician that isn't advertising "EV Charger Installations". Might even be better if they think we're installing a welder instead.

I just have this feeling that for some of them, "EV Charger" translates to (1) rich guy, (2) 30% tax break, (3) schmuck that knows nothing about electrical work. Thus (4) We can double the price by calling it an "EV Charger" install.

FYI: If you're going to use the Ford Connected Station, it is 48 amps, and will add 30mi per hour vs 30amps which will get you 21mi per hour. The Ford Charge Station is Hardwired, not just a plug. Currently I have a Siemens 30amp, going to switch to Ford unit. Off peak charge .07 per kw.

 

[dbsb3233]

FYI: If you're going to use the Ford Connected Station, it is 48 amps, and will add 30mi per hour vs 30amps which will get you 21mi per hour. The Ford Charge Station is Hardwired, not just a plug. Currently I have a Siemens 30amp, going to switch to Ford unit. Off peak charge .07 per kw.

I went with a 50A 14-50 for the 40A Grizzl-E. Even that's more power than I'll really need for an overnight charge, but at just $399 before the 30% tax credit, it was an easy choice.

 

[silvercurves-1]

I was curious if it was a good idea to have my electrician run another 240V line while doing my first line for NEMA 14 50 plug. I won't have him install that line but just have it ready in case I need two 240V plug in the future. I am not sure if this is a lot more money since they need to run a second metal conduit or is that not necessary?

Thanks

 

[ARK]

I was curious if it was a good idea to have my electrician run another 240V line while doing my first line for NEMA 14 50 plug. I won't have him install that line but just have it ready in case I need two 240V plug in the future. I am not sure if this is a lot more money since they need to run a second metal conduit or is that not necessary?

Thanks

I think it also depends on whether your panel can handle a second charger on it, but would let someone more knowledgeable respond about that.

But aside from potentially adding another NEMA 14-50 plug, there are also dual car chargers out there, for example the HCS-D40 from Clipper Creek. Another avenue to consider depending on your parking situation, mainly, if you have a two car garage and can place the dual car charger in the center of the wall between the two cars.

 

[dbsb3233]

I think it also depends on whether your panel can handle a second charger on it, but would let someone more knowledgeable respond about that.

But aside from potentially adding another NEMA 14-50 plug, there are also dual car chargers out there, for example the HCS-D40 from Clipper Creek. Another avenue to consider depending on your parking situation, mainly, if you have a two car garage and can place the dual car charger in the center of the wall between the two cars.

Yep. For most people, 240A 40A (or even 32A) is overkill for keeping one BEV charged every night. A 40A charger is 9.6 kW. Subtract ~10% charging loss and that's 8.6. 8 hours of that = ~69 kWh (~200 miles). That's usually enough to cover multiple days for most people.

Simply alternating days would be simple for 2 BEVs. Or using a 2-nozzle charger like the one you noted (and surely there will be others coming out soon). There's also splitter boxes available too that turn one 14-50 outlet into two with smart switching between them.

I would probably opt for a 2-nozzle charger eventually, than can run both concurrently at half power. That way both vehicles can be preconditioned concurrently if needed.

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