Adding a Car Charger, a Heat Pump and an Induction Range

Start with a load calculation

An electrician adds up the square footage, the fixed appliances, the heating and cooling and the new loads, applies the demand factors in the code, and gets a number in amps. That number says whether your existing service can carry the plan.

It is a short piece of work and it is the difference between a plan and a guess. Ask for it in writing before you buy equipment.

Three ways to make room without a bigger service

Load management, where a device watches total draw and pauses the car charger when the range and the dryer are both going. A charger set to a lower amp limit, which still fills a car overnight. And a smart panel that sheds chosen circuits when the house gets close to the limit.

Any of the three can be cheaper than a service upgrade, especially where the utility has to change the drop or the meter has to move.

Sequence matters

If a panel upgrade is coming anyway, do it first and land everything else on the new panel. If it is not, do the work that opens walls first so the wiring for later projects can be roughed in at the same time.

Tell the electrician the whole plan on the first visit even if the budget is two years long. A good one wires today for what you said is coming.

Rebates and rates

Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and Southern California Edison both run programs on chargers, heat pumps and panel work, and the rules change often enough that today is the only reliable time to check them.

Ask about a time of use rate plan at the same time. Moving car charging and a heat pump water heater to overnight hours changes the bill more than most equipment choices do.