Level 2 charging: what drives the price
The charger itself is a small share of the job. The cost swings with the distance from your electrical panel to where you park, whether the panel has room for a 40–60 amp breaker, and whether the run goes through finished walls or an exterior trench.
Older Denver bungalows and 1950s ranches often have 100-amp service, which can’t always take a large new load. A load calculation tells us whether you need a panel upgrade, a load-management device, or just a smaller breaker. We do that check before quoting.
Charging on Xcel time-of-use
On Xcel’s time-of-use rates, the 5–9 pm weekday window costs about 2.7 times off-peak. Plugging in when you get home from work is the most expensive time to charge. Every charger we install can be scheduled to start after 9 pm, which is often the easiest EV savings there is.
Xcel has offered rebates toward home EV wiring for customers who enroll in a managed-charging program — reported at up to $1,300, or more for income-qualified households (as of September 2026; verify current terms). Some cities add their own; Golden, for example, has Level 2 rebates open for multifamily properties and income-qualified single-family homes.
Bidirectional charging: your car as a home battery
A typical EV battery holds several times the energy of a single home battery. With a bidirectional DC charger and the right transfer equipment, that energy can run your house through an outage — the kind of multi-day wildfire shutoff Xcel used in December 2025 and March 2026.
It only works with vehicles that support bidirectional output through the specific charger, and the list is still short. Before quoting, we confirm your exact make, model and year against the manufacturer’s compatibility. If your car doesn’t qualify, a stationary battery may be the better buy.
FAQ
Questions we hear
Is there still a federal tax credit for home EV chargers?
No. The §30C credit ended for chargers placed in service after June 30, 2026. Utility and city rebates are where remaining help comes from; check current terms with your utility.
Do I need a panel upgrade to install a Level 2 charger?
Not always. Many homes can handle a 40-amp charger without an upgrade, and load-management devices can avoid one on tighter panels. We run a load calculation before quoting.
Can my EV really power my house during a shutoff?
If your vehicle supports bidirectional DC output and we install the matching charger and transfer equipment, yes. How long it lasts depends on the car’s battery size, how full it is, and what you run.
Should I charge my EV with solar?
If you have solar with kWh-for-kWh net metering, it doesn’t matter much when you charge — the credits bank either way. In Fort Collins, Longmont or on the new Colorado Springs structure, daytime charging from your own panels can be worth more than exporting.