What you need to know before buying a charging station

Faced with the proliferation of increasingly affordable vehicles with good autonomy and the price of gasoline which continues to rise, the acquisition of an electric vehicle has never been so attractive. This approach must, however, include a rather fundamental questioning about its recharge. Overview of things to know before purchasing a residential charging station.

Choose according to your vehicle

“We are not going to recommend the same terminal to a customer who has a Nissan Leaf or a Ford F-150 Lightning,” Nicolas Dufour-Grégoire, master electrician and president of Thémis Électrique, immediately tells us. “You have to understand that the residential terminal only acts as a socket,” he explains. Most of the work therefore falls to the charger integrated into the vehicle which controls the charging power, which can, among other things, vary depending on the charge level of the battery as well as the outside temperature.

For comparison, the integrated charger of a Nissan Leaf is limited to a power of 6.6 kW, while that of a Ford F-150 Lightning can climb to 19.2 kW. Certainly, the energy demand of the two vehicles is extremely different due to their consumption and the size of their battery, but this greatly influences the amperage – the intensity of the electrical current – ​​necessary deployed by the terminal. The Leaf can therefore make do with a 30 A terminal while the F-150 requires a significantly higher amperage to ensure good charging time, an essential variable for many, believes Mr. Dufour-Grégoire: “The customer will ask me first about the loading speed, he wonders about the benefits. »

Thus, Ford dealers offer an 80 A terminal with the purchase of an F-150 Lightning to reduce the time required to store energy. However, if the eight hours of waiting that the manufacturer promises to ensure full energy at this terminal are very attractive, they can require a very high installation cost, a bitter surprise if you have not done your homework. homework.

Beyond the terminal

When installing a residential terminal, many variables can influence the price of the installation, which must be done by a certified electrician. “The wiring that is used is often one of the largest wiring in a house,” says Mr. Dufour-Grégoire. Depending on the location of the home’s electrical panel, the length of the wire can increase costs significantly. The electrician may also have to make holes in some walls and ceilings to pass this wire, so a finishing budget must be planned in some cases.

But, even before passing this wire, you have to question the charge available on the electrical panel. “If the house has gas heating, we sometimes have to change the entire panel, because it is often 100 A,” explains the electrician, something that can add several thousand dollars to the bill. We must therefore carry out a “load calculation” before even installing the terminal, taking into account the existing electricity demand of the house. “If the client has a swimming pool or spa, the panel can quickly be maximized,” says Mr. Dufour-Grégoire.

If the calculation meets the Code, the electrician can go ahead and install an additional breaker on the panel to accommodate the terminal. Some more powerful terminals, including that of the F-150 Lightning, will require the addition of a toggle switch, something that has been made mandatory since the revision of the Canadian Electrical Code in 2018.

If you live in a condo, it may be necessary to add a load control device between the terminal and the electrical panel. “It will control the load based on your electricity use,” explains Mr. Dufour-Grégoire, which avoids the risk of overloading the panel. That said, a problem looms on the horizon as electric vehicles become popular, he warns.

Plan on an average budget of $4,000 just for installing the terminal.

Essential features… or not

Given the growing supply of residential terminals, it is wise to consider how you will use them. It’s an average $1,000 item, after all. “It’s definitely worth shopping around for your terminal,” advises Mr. Dufour-Grégoire. Depending on where it will be placed, it could be advantageous to purchase a terminal allowing it to be monitored using an application. This will prevent electricity theft, a phenomenon that has been observed among some of the electrician’s customers. Such functionality also allows you to schedule charging sessions.

No need to get a terminal with too high amperage if your vehicle cannot benefit from it due to its integrated charger with too limited power. On the other hand, if you plan to keep this vehicle not too long and buy a newer one in the near future, it may be advantageous to pay a little more to have a greater amperage capacity.

Mr. Dufour-Grégoire specifies installing “many terminals offered by dealers”, which are therefore integrated into the financing of the vehicle. A good way to ensure your acquisition, but you will obviously pay interest over a long period.

This means that the purchase of an electric vehicle must be planned down to the smallest detail.