Level 2 home charging
EV charger installation, permitted and done once.
County Line Electric installs Level 2 electric vehicle chargers in Conejo Valley homes: a load calculation first, so the panel can carry it, then a permitted, inspected circuit sized for the charger you bought and the one you will buy next.
Call (805) 499-0823. CA Lic. #949580.
The honest version
The charger is the easy part. The panel is the question.
A Level 2 charger is a 240 volt circuit, usually 40 to 60 amps, from the panel to the garage. On a house with a modern 200 amp service and room in the panel, it is a straightforward permitted job. On a house with an older or fully loaded panel, or one that already carries a pool, air conditioning and an electric range, the charger can push the service past its rating, and the right answer is a load calculation before anything is quoted. Sometimes that means a load management device. Sometimes it means a panel or service upgrade. County Line tells you which before you buy the charger.
County Line installs the charger you choose, hardwired or on a receptacle, and sizes the circuit for the charger and the car you are likely to own next, not just the one in the driveway today.
How it runs
Four steps.
- 01
Panel and load check
A look at the service, the panel and the existing loads. The estimate states whether the house can take the charger as is.
- 02
Permit
EV charger circuits are permitted work in every city County Line serves. County Line pulls it.
- 03
Install
The circuit, the charger location that works for the car and the garage, surge protection where it makes sense.
- 04
Inspection
The inspector signs it off. You get the permit record for the house file and for the utility rebate if you apply for one.
- 30 yrsIn the electrical tradeJeff Tucker has run County Line Electric in the Conejo Valley since the 1990s.
- #949580California contractor licenseLicensed, bonded and insured. Check it on the CSLB site any time.
- 24 hrsGenerator estimatesA written standby generator estimate within a day of the site visit.
- $600Twice-yearly generator serviceBoth visits, for the year. Jeff's comparison: the large installers quote the same service at about $1,000.
EV charging questions
Does County Line Electric install EV chargers?
Yes. County Line Electric installs Level 2 electric vehicle chargers in homes in Thousand Oaks, Newbury Park, Westlake Village, Agoura Hills, Oak Park, Calabasas and the surrounding Conejo Valley, with a permit and inspection, after checking that the panel can carry the load.
Do I need a permit to install an EV charger in California?
Yes. A dedicated 240 volt circuit for an EV charger is permitted electrical work and is inspected. County Line pulls the permit as part of the job.
Will my panel need an upgrade for an EV charger?
Sometimes. A 200 amp service with room in the panel usually takes a 40 or 50 amp charger circuit without changes. A 100 amp service, an older panel or a house already carrying air conditioning, a pool and electric cooking may need a load management device or a service upgrade. County Line does the load calculation first and tells you.
Does County Line install EV chargers in new construction?
Yes, and it is far cheaper there. On every custom home County Line wires, the EV circuits and conduit go in at rough-in so the garage is ready for one or two chargers from day one.
More EV questions
Can County Line install a charger in a detached garage or at the end of a driveway?
Yes. A detached garage needs a feeder from the main panel, usually a trench and conduit, and sometimes a small subpanel there. County Line prices the run from the actual distance and the ground conditions, and says plainly when a long run makes a different charger location the better answer.
What about charging two cars?
Two chargers on two circuits if the panel can carry it, or two chargers that share one circuit with load management if it cannot. The load calculation decides. On new construction County Line runs conduit for two from the start.
Does County Line install chargers in Malibu, the Palisades or the Westside?
On houses it is already wiring or servicing, yes. As a standalone job, County Line keeps EV charger installation close to its Newbury Park office, in the Conejo Valley and Calabasas, where a short job is worth the drive.
The hardware
Hardwired or plug-in, 40 amps or 60.
A Level 2 charger either plugs into a 240 volt receptacle or is hardwired to its own circuit. Hardwired is cleaner, allows a higher current and is what most manufacturers recommend for a permanent installation; a receptacle makes sense when the charger may move with the car. The circuit is sized to the charger's maximum draw plus the code's 25 percent margin, so a 48 amp charger needs a 60 amp circuit, and County Line runs the conductor size and the breaker to match rather than reusing a dryer circuit.
Two cars means two chargers or one charger with load sharing, and the panel has to be able to carry it. The load calculation says which.
Rebates
Utility incentives, and what they require.
Southern California Edison and other California utilities have offered rebates for home charger installation and for the panel work that sometimes goes with it. Programs change, so County Line does not quote a rebate amount; it gives you the permit record and the itemized invoice the applications ask for and points you to the current SCE electric vehicle page for what is on offer this year.
Official references
Where the facts on this page come from.
County Line links to the authorities rather than restating them. Rules change; these pages are current.
- City of Thousand Oaks: where the permit comes from inside the city
- CSLB license check: license #949580
Next step
Send the panel photo if you have one.
City, the charger you have or want, and a photo of the panel if it is easy. The office calls back with the next step.
Or call (805) 499-0823. Monday to Friday, 8 to 4.