electric car charging station

EV/Electric Car Charging Station Installation | Austin & Surrounding Areas

Looking to install an electric vehicle charging station in your home or business? Bryant Electric Service has installed numerous EV charging stations across Austin homes, condos, and retail businesses. Our company can install affordable Electric Vehicle Service Equipment (EVSE) without any hassle. We’re highly trusted by consumers in the area, and we’ve been approved by Austin Energy & their rebates program since the beginning.

In the next 10 years, electric vehicles (EVs) could represent at least 10% of all domestic transportation. With continuing breakthroughs in battery and capacitor technology, it is possible that we’ll see gas and diesel powered vehicles disappear completely. Install your electric vehicle charging station today and get ahead of the times.

Electric Vehicle Service Equipment (EVSE) Installation Process

To install electric car charging stations in your home or business, we need to determine that the location for the installation must be able to handle the extra electricity needed to charge the car.

That’s where Bryant Electric Service comes in. Our process involves:

  1. Surveying the existing electrical grid of your home or business
  2. Providing an estimate on possible services
  3. Improving and retrofitting your grid to prepare for your electric car
  4. Testing and synchronizing your electric vehicle to your EVSE
  5. Make sure all new electronics follow the code

Additionally, we will make sure that your EVSE is placed in the best possible area to ensure that you have a 15-25 foot cable that gives you enough room to run your charger.

When finalizing installation, check with your electrical utility company to see if they have special TOU (time of use) electricity rates for electric cars. If they do, you can save a lot of money by charging during hours where there’s not a lot of electric usage (typically 10:00 PM to 6:00 AM).

Types of EV/Electric Car Charging Stations

We recommend getting a 50-amp charging station when buying an EVSE. The charge times are faster and will help extend the range of your electric car or vehicle. This also helps future proof your EVSE when you get an electric car that charges faster than today’s models. However, there are different types of chargers you can use depending on what you need.

Level 1 Charging Station

Level 1 chargers are better known as “wall sockets,” (i.e. plugs in your own home) Technically, you can plug your car in at your home to recharge your vehicle. 1 hour of charge via Level 1 charging results in roughly 4.5 miles of drive time. To get a full charge, it would take around 22 hours of charging.

This is only recommended if you are doing local driving, as local driving could take as long as 9 hours just to hop around town.

Level 2 Charging Station

Level 2 chargers function via a 240V wall plug-in, similar to what your washer or dryer may run on. Once plugged into your car, level 2 chargers can supply up to 70 miles per hour of charging.

When needing to charge their vehicle, many owners of level 2 chargers unplug their dryer and plug in their charging station. It is strongly recommended to get a dedicated wall socket for your level 2 charging station. A dedicated socket minimizes alternating flows of electricity running through a single source, which lessens problems in your home.

While level 2 chargers are a bit pricier, several programs can help offset those initial purchase costs, including a possible 30% federal tax credit of up to $1,000 to help with installation. This can help you charge your electric cars faster in your own Austin home.

DC Fast Chargers

Also known as a Level 3 charger, DC fast chargers bypass an electric car’s onboard charger and get AC power to the battery through a special charging port.

Many DC fast chargers deliver an average maximum output of 50 kW. Instead of charging for 8 hours, a DC fast charger may take as little as 30 minutes.

At this moment, there is no one universal model of DC fast chargers.

The primary models of DC fast chargers are:

CHAdeMO Charging Stations

CHAdeMO is a brand of charging method introduced by a combination of Japanese companies made up of Nissan, Mitsubishi, Toyota, and others. CHAdeMO chargers are easily the most widely used in the United States as of 2016 and can provide up to 62.5 kW to an electric car or vehicle.

SAE Combo Charging System

Based off of Level 1 and 2 chargers, the SAE combo charging system (CCS) is the preferred charging solution for many U.S. and German car companies, such as BMW, General Motors, Ford, Volkswagen, and more. SAE Combo chargers are not as commonplace as CHAdeMO and offer a charge of no more than 50 kW.

Tesla Supercharging

This DC fast charger stands in a category all its own. The Tesla Supercharger outputs a maximum of 145 kW for each plug-in. This lets any Tesla charge up to 16 times faster than any other DC fast charger. The only caveat is that only other Tesla cars can use the Tesla Supercharger.

When a car battery is close to 0%, electricity will get into your car faster than getting a car’s charge from 99% to 100%. As the car “fills up” with electricity, the flow slows down, starting at around 50% of the charge. The flow almost crawls to a stop above 80%, which is why many public charging stations cut off electric cars at this point. Don’t worry; you just have to leave your car in your home charger a bit longer.

electric car plugged in at charging station

Office/Commercial Charging Station Installations
Encourage your office to use their Electric Vehicles by offering electric car charging stations at your office or retail business. The installation process is not too different but can offer a lot of conveniences for your staff and customers.

An added bonus of commercial charging stations is making them available to consumers and becoming a public charging station. Public charging stations can help increase customer traffic to whatever type of business you run.

Austin Energy Customer Rebates for EV Charging Systems

It’s best just to reach out to us to learn about current rebates available–rebates are constantly being added. Bryant Electric Service has installed many of these charging stations and has participated in Austin Energy’s Plug-in Partners Pilot Program since its inception. To encourage these efficient and clean modes of transportation, Austin Energy offers generous financial incentives for certain types of charging stations.

Are you in need of an EVSE?

Do you live in Austin and do you need an electric car charging station in your home? condo? business? Bryant Electric Service can help you install, troubleshoot, and upgrade your EVSE. We can also consult you on what your electric car needs so you get the most mileage for the least money.

Please contact Bryant Electric Service at 512-402-8587  or online for more details about electric vehicle charging stations for your home or business.