Will Your New House Be Electric Car Ready?
Currently in Australia, there are just over 4000 electric cars on the roads.
They currently make up 0.1% of new car sales.
Having recently visited China I think that those numbers are going to change as I was amazed at the amount of electric cars and scooters I saw on the roads.
How much power is needed to charge an electric car?
Smaller electric cars have a battery with a capacity of 16 to 24 kWhours battery.
Larger cars such as the Tesla Model S have batteries in the 60 to 85 kWh battery.
Being ready for an electric car
Electric cars typically come with two charging options – slow and fast.
The slow charge option is the most commonly used as you will no doubt plug in at work or at home.
With a small car like a Nissan Leaf you can fully charge the car overnight at a rate of 2.5KW.
That means a simple 15amp socket in the garage will be adequate.
At the most it should cost a few hundred dollars.
If you think you might want a Tesla, or want to fully charge a small car in an hour or two you will need a special circuit and perhaps a 40 amp supply.
That could double the power supply to your house. . . . so you need to talk to your builder and their electrician at an early stage of your build.
The cost of a special charger and upgraded circuits could add $2,000 – $4,000 to your build costs,