How to charge your new electric car at home — and how much you might pay

• To get the most out of your electric car, you'll want to charge it at home, and likely overnight.
• Home charging can take only a few hours and is healthier for your battery than fast charging.
• This article is part of "Getting Ready for Electric," a series of guides and practical advice for buying your next EV.

Filling up a car with gas is second nature for nearly anyone with a driver's license. But charging an electric vehicle? For many, that's a brand-new world.

Going electric introduces a whole new element of car ownership: charging. We spoke with experts at the automotive marketplace Cars.com and the charger installer Qmerit to demystify the process and learn best practices.

What are the benefits of charging at home?

If you have a fast-charging station nearby or a plug available at your workplace, you may be able to get by without charging at home. But Jenni Newman, editor in chief of Cars.com and an EV owner herself, argued that charging at home makes EV ownership convenient and worthwhile.

"Home charging is what makes it easy and efficient to own an EV," Newman said. "That's the bottom line."

With the right kind of at-home charger, owners can recharge their cars in a matter of hours. They can plug them in overnight, for example, and wake up with 250 or 300 miles of driving range. This slower charging is also healthier for your car's battery over the long term — and depending on your utility rates, it could be much cheaper.

EnergySage estimates that charging an EV costs about $0.05 per mile of range added, though that depends on things like location, electricity rates, and the type of EV charger used. DC fast chargers, like Superchargers, can cost up to $0.60 per kWh, depending on congestion. At home, kWh prices tend to be much lower, depending on your local utility and how it sources energy production.

How do I get set up to charge at home?

Most electric cars come with a Level 1 charging cord. This cord plugs into a standard 110-volt alternating-current household outlet and slowly adds a few miles of driving range an hour. But Newman said sluggish charging speeds may be tough to live with on a daily basis, even if you can plug in for a full night.

Level 2 charging, which she recommends, uses a higher-voltage connection to add more range per hour. These plugs can be found at public charging stations, and homeowners can install them in a garage or driveway. Some EVs also come with these chargers in addition to a Level 1 plug.

Level 2 chargers can be plugged into a 240-volt socket — like what you may use for an appliance like a dryer — or hardwired into a home's electrical panel. Either way, Newman recommends consulting an electrician who specializes in charger installations to get a handle on the expected costs and work involved.

How much does it cost to set up my home for charging?

The cost of a home-charging setup varies widely. If you already have a 240-volt outlet in a convenient spot, you may be able to simply buy a charger and plug it in. Level 2 chargers can cost $250 to $750.

Otherwise, you could need more extensive — and expensive — work. Ken Sapp, a senior vice president at Qmerit, said most of its jobs cost $1,600 or less, including permits but excluding the cost of the charger itself. Sapp added that projects involve tapping into an existing 240-volt circuit (or adding one) and installing the charger or a dedicated outlet in a convenient location, like the wall of a garage.

The farther your electrical panel is from where you'd like to plug in, the pricier installation will be, Sapp said. (Ideally your panel is on the same wall as your charger, but if wiring needs to be routed up from a basement, for example, things get trickier.) Moreover, Sapp said, some homes may need to upgrade their electrical panel to handle the extra load from charging, which could increase costs by thousands of dollars.

When Cars.com installed home chargers for six of its car reviewers in 2022, the costs varied widely. One installation totaled about $1,700. Another required a service upgrade and trenching to route a circuit across a yard to a detached garage, costing nearly $7,000.

To make everything a bit easier on your wallet, you can take advantage of a federal tax credit that covers 30% of charger-installation costs up to $1,000. Utilities commonly offer rebates or special electricity rates for EV owners, too.

When it comes to choosing a charger, Sapp says it's a "safe bet" to go with a model recommended by your car's manufacturer. Newman says the right charger depends on what your home can handle and what's best for your specific vehicle. An experienced electrician can help make that decision.

"We don't have to be experts in everything," she said. "It's OK to rely on a knowledgeable electrician to help you navigate this side of things."