A Level 2 EV charger is one of the larger continuous loads you can add to a home. Before we install one, we run a load calculation — not a guess — to confirm your service can support it without nuisance trips or an overloaded panel.
Continuous load, not peak
A car charger pulls its rated current for hours at a time. The code treats that as a continuous load, which means the circuit is sized to 125% of the charger's rated current. A 48A charger, for example, wants a 60A circuit.
100A vs 200A service
On a 200A service there's usually plenty of headroom. On a 100A service it depends on what else is running — electric range, dryer, AC, water heater. Sometimes the answer is a smaller charger or load management; sometimes it's a panel upgrade.
That's the whole point of calculating first: you find out before the wire goes in, not after.
Thinking about a charger? See our EV charger installation page or call or text 513-813-7988.