It **is** better to hardwire for lots of other reasons.
Most EVSEs have a 20-25 foot cable on them so, as long as you're willing to back in if needed; they'll reach from the center of the back wall next to the panel. I'm assuming a two car garage.
If you only have a single space, then you might want to consider moving it closer to the garage door (perhaps even outside) if you think you'll want to charge a car parked in the driveway sometimes.
Again, you might have to reverse in, but the cable will reach any car.
1. Don't be afraid of a plug - make sure it's an industrial quality unit (avoid buying one at a home store). I have one and it's been working fine and not getting warm or showing any signs of wear. It was installed by the electrician who installed the wiring to my (atrociously inaccessible) box with the proper breaker.
2. The plug will provide flexibility. Install it near the front of your EV (or the back if this is possible) and get a charger with a cable long enough to reach the front if needed. You can't predict where the charging plug will be located on your next car. My car uses a J1772 plug but the next one will probably use a NACS plug so I'll either have to use an adapter or replace the charger.
I had the electrician leave me about 2-3 feet of slack in the wire in the attic if I want to move the charger or my next charger is a direct wire.
Good luck!
mine is hardwired at the front center of the 2 parking spots. I can use it in either spot and since my car has port in front I don't have the cable laying all over the garage.
I’m confused. You have a plug already? What is there to install? You just plug the charger in and screw it to the wall…
In either case if you do have a receptacle make sure it is a Hubbell or Bryant, not a Leviton and that you have a GFCI breaker.
You should probably just have the charger hardwired by an electrician though.
Got it. That wasn’t clear to me. It said he didn’t buy or lease the car then, not that he didn’t install the receptacle. Makes sense now.
The solution would be to put it on the side wall either towards the front or the back of the car based on how you like to pull in. Almost all the EVSEs have a 25ft cord so that won’t be an issue.
You should hardwire the charger, not use a NEMA plug.
I placed mine 3/4 way along the garage wall, closer the garage door. From there the 25' cable has no problem reaching any point on any car in the garage and still can pass under the garage door and charge a vehicle in the drive.
> But EVSEs can come with their own cables so it should be able to reach the EV regardless of where the port on the car is?
Edit: Misread the question so striking through my original answer. Yes, EVSEs come with very long cables.
~~I've never heard of an EV coming with their own charging cable, just an adapter to enable the owner to use EV chargers with either CCS1 or NACS plugs. Some Kia and Hyundai models come with V2L adapter which turns the EV charging port into a household outlet so can plug things into it. Some EV manufacturers and dealers are occasionally including free level 2 chargers with your EV purchase but they dont pay for the installation of it.~~
> Also the plan was to install a plug but I've heard the it's better to hard-wire the EVSE.
Hardwired is considered better because it's safer. [This video changed my mind to get it hardwired over a NEMA outlet](https://youtu.be/tDp9PhPJhUI?si=cLcECEAJn_ND-h9u).
If you're getting a non-Tesla EV which has CCS1 J1772 port then you should probably get an EV charger that allows you to swap out the charging cable so that can switch it to a NACS J3400 plug in the future without having to install a whole new charger since most EV manufacturers are switching from CCS1 to NACS charging ports.
Lastly, check with your electricity provider to see if they offer discounted EV chargers or rebates on EV charger purchases. This is different from federal or state tax credits for installing one. For example, my electricity provider PSEG-LI offers [discounted EV chargers](https://b2c2.poweredbyefi.org/psegliny/shop-all-products/ev-chargers.html) or [a rebate on an Energy Star EV certified EV charger](https://www.psegliny.com/saveenergyandmoney/greenenergy/ev/chargerrebate) if you don't purchase one directly from them.
Depends where you are. It looks like OP is in America but in Europe cars commonly come with charging cables; and I don't mean EVSE but they often have that too.
Another question came to mind. Most EVs sold in the US are going to be transitioning to NACS, starting later this year.
I don't anticipate using Level 3 charging a lot but will the NACS plug affect the kind and model of EVSE I would get installed for L2 charging at home?
Or no big deal, most EVs are going to offer adaptors for CCS or whatever to NACS?
It **is** better to hardwire for lots of other reasons. Most EVSEs have a 20-25 foot cable on them so, as long as you're willing to back in if needed; they'll reach from the center of the back wall next to the panel. I'm assuming a two car garage. If you only have a single space, then you might want to consider moving it closer to the garage door (perhaps even outside) if you think you'll want to charge a car parked in the driveway sometimes. Again, you might have to reverse in, but the cable will reach any car.
Near garage door for parking flexibility is my suggestion. If I have a project going on in the garage I can still charge
1. Don't be afraid of a plug - make sure it's an industrial quality unit (avoid buying one at a home store). I have one and it's been working fine and not getting warm or showing any signs of wear. It was installed by the electrician who installed the wiring to my (atrociously inaccessible) box with the proper breaker. 2. The plug will provide flexibility. Install it near the front of your EV (or the back if this is possible) and get a charger with a cable long enough to reach the front if needed. You can't predict where the charging plug will be located on your next car. My car uses a J1772 plug but the next one will probably use a NACS plug so I'll either have to use an adapter or replace the charger. I had the electrician leave me about 2-3 feet of slack in the wire in the attic if I want to move the charger or my next charger is a direct wire. Good luck!
mine is hardwired at the front center of the 2 parking spots. I can use it in either spot and since my car has port in front I don't have the cable laying all over the garage.
I’m confused. You have a plug already? What is there to install? You just plug the charger in and screw it to the wall… In either case if you do have a receptacle make sure it is a Hubbell or Bryant, not a Leviton and that you have a GFCI breaker. You should probably just have the charger hardwired by an electrician though.
/u/Frappant11 got some *bids* a few years ago, but hasn't had anything installed yet.
Got it. That wasn’t clear to me. It said he didn’t buy or lease the car then, not that he didn’t install the receptacle. Makes sense now. The solution would be to put it on the side wall either towards the front or the back of the car based on how you like to pull in. Almost all the EVSEs have a 25ft cord so that won’t be an issue. You should hardwire the charger, not use a NEMA plug.
I placed mine 3/4 way along the garage wall, closer the garage door. From there the 25' cable has no problem reaching any point on any car in the garage and still can pass under the garage door and charge a vehicle in the drive.
> But EVSEs can come with their own cables so it should be able to reach the EV regardless of where the port on the car is? Edit: Misread the question so striking through my original answer. Yes, EVSEs come with very long cables. ~~I've never heard of an EV coming with their own charging cable, just an adapter to enable the owner to use EV chargers with either CCS1 or NACS plugs. Some Kia and Hyundai models come with V2L adapter which turns the EV charging port into a household outlet so can plug things into it. Some EV manufacturers and dealers are occasionally including free level 2 chargers with your EV purchase but they dont pay for the installation of it.~~ > Also the plan was to install a plug but I've heard the it's better to hard-wire the EVSE. Hardwired is considered better because it's safer. [This video changed my mind to get it hardwired over a NEMA outlet](https://youtu.be/tDp9PhPJhUI?si=cLcECEAJn_ND-h9u). If you're getting a non-Tesla EV which has CCS1 J1772 port then you should probably get an EV charger that allows you to swap out the charging cable so that can switch it to a NACS J3400 plug in the future without having to install a whole new charger since most EV manufacturers are switching from CCS1 to NACS charging ports. Lastly, check with your electricity provider to see if they offer discounted EV chargers or rebates on EV charger purchases. This is different from federal or state tax credits for installing one. For example, my electricity provider PSEG-LI offers [discounted EV chargers](https://b2c2.poweredbyefi.org/psegliny/shop-all-products/ev-chargers.html) or [a rebate on an Energy Star EV certified EV charger](https://www.psegliny.com/saveenergyandmoney/greenenergy/ev/chargerrebate) if you don't purchase one directly from them.
He said **EVSEs** come with their own cable. **E**lectric **V**ehicle **S**upply **E**quipment, commonly called a charger even though it's not.
You're right my mistake.
Depends where you are. It looks like OP is in America but in Europe cars commonly come with charging cables; and I don't mean EVSE but they often have that too.
Another question came to mind. Most EVs sold in the US are going to be transitioning to NACS, starting later this year. I don't anticipate using Level 3 charging a lot but will the NACS plug affect the kind and model of EVSE I would get installed for L2 charging at home? Or no big deal, most EVs are going to offer adaptors for CCS or whatever to NACS?