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EV Charger Panel Upgrades
A charger is the first continuous load most houses have ever carried. Most EV installs come down to one number: what the panel has left after everything else the house already runs.
EV Charger Panel Upgrades in O’Fallon and across St. Charles, St. Louis, Lincoln and Warren counties.
Clint Ehman does the work himself. Seventeen years in the trade, Infinity Electric since June 2022.
5.0 from 94 Google reviews · BBB A+ since 2022
What this work actually involves
If the service is tight, load management is an option that costs far less than a service upgrade and does the same job.
First the reading, then the explanation, then the repair scoped to what was actually found. If that turns out smaller than the job you called about, that is what you are charged for.
Work needing a permit gets one and work needing an inspection is left ready for it. There is no handoff between whoever quotes and whoever fixes, because they are the same person.
When people call about this
- A panel with no spare double-pole space
- A garage with no dedicated circuit
- Wanting a second charger
- A charger moved from an old house
Why people choose Clint for it
The diagnosis and the repair are the same person’s work, which is why the explanation you get is first-hand rather than relayed.
Five point zero from 94 Google reviews, A+ with the BBB since December 2022, and seventeen years in the trade behind it.
Where this is done
Out of O’Fallon across five jurisdictions: St. Charles County, St. Louis County, St. Louis City, and Lincoln and Warren counties. About fifty miles in any direction.
See the full service area, or the rest of our ev charging work.
What happens when you change cars
Connectors and charging rates change; the circuit does not. A properly sized 240 volt circuit with the right receptacle outlives several cars, and most of what changes is the unit on the wall.
That argues for a receptacle rather than a hardwired unit where the code and the charger allow it, because swapping a plug-in charger is a ten minute job and swapping a hardwired one is a service call.
Charging at home versus charging out
Public charging costs several times what home charging does, and the gap is the whole financial argument for an install. A household driving typical mileage recovers the cost of a Level 2 install faster than most people expect.
That calculation depends on your actual mileage rather than the car’s range, which is why the first question is how far you drive on a normal day.
The three answers before a service upgrade
Charging load is the most common reason a house suddenly looks short on capacity, and a service upgrade is only one of three honest answers. The other two are a smaller charger that still fills the car overnight, and load management that shares capacity with the range or dryer.
The load calculation decides which, and you see it. Both alternatives are code-compliant and both are cheaper than new service.
Panels: full, overloaded, or obsolete
Three different problems get called the same thing. A full panel has no space left but adequate service. An overloaded service cannot carry the house. An obsolete panel has a known defect or no available parts. Each has a different and very differently priced answer.
The load calculation and a look at the bus with the cover off decide which one you have. A sub-panel solves the first for a fraction of the third.
What the car actually needs from the house
A Level 2 charger is a continuous load, which means the circuit is sized at 125 percent of the charger’s draw rather than to its nameplate. A 48 amp charger therefore wants a 60 amp circuit, and that is the number that has to fit inside what the service already carries.
Where it does not fit, there are usually two honest answers before a service upgrade: a smaller charger that still fills the car overnight, or load management that lets the charger share capacity with the range or the dryer. Both are cheaper than new service and both are code-compliant. You get the load calculation either way.
“Clint came out installed me a large 200 amp panel put some new dedicated lines in my basement and garage he did great clean work all inspections passed he was thorough and knowledgeable. I will have him back out again.”
Jason Holtzman · Google review
How the visit goes
- The call
Which car, which charger, and where it parks. Those three answers decide most of the install before anyone visits.
- The measurement
A load calculation against the existing service, plus the run from the panel to the parking spot and what it passes through.
- The finding
Either the service carries it, or load management lets it share, or a service upgrade is genuinely needed. You hear which, with the number behind it.
- The work
Dedicated circuit sized for continuous duty, disconnect where the code and the inspector expect it, charger mounted so the cable reaches with slack, and a test charge before anyone leaves.
What the job includes
- Load calculation to confirm the service can carry the charger
- A dedicated circuit sized for continuous duty, on its own breaker
- Charger mounted where the cable reaches the car with slack to spare
- Disconnect where code and the inspector expect it
- Permit and inspection where required
- Conduit for a second charger while the wall is open, if you want it
What it does not
- Supplying the charger itself, unless you ask
- Utility rebate paperwork, though we will tell you what exists
- Charging network accounts and apps
Anything outside electrical, you will be told who to call rather than sold it. There is a gallery of finished jobs, and a form if that is easier than calling.
Related ev charging work
EV Charger Panel Upgrades across the metro
Where the house is changes what the work involves. What an inspector looks at first differs by address here, which shapes the job as much as the house does.
St. Charles County
Out here the panels are not old, they are full. Houses built through the 1990s and 2000s got services sized for the loads of their decade, and the loads have since changed.
St. Louis County
Dozens of municipalities, each with its own occupancy inspection and its own thresholds. Knowing which authority has the address matters as much as knowing the house.
St. Louis City
St. Louis City is century brick with shared walls and basement panels that have been added to five times. Code corrections and occupancy inspections are the common call.
Every municipality covered is listed on the service areas page.
Questions worth asking first.
Can my panel handle a charger?
Often yes. The load calculation checks what the house already runs against the service rating. Where it is tight, load management lets the charger share capacity instead of forcing an upgrade.
Level 1 or Level 2?
Level 1 plugs into a standard outlet and adds a few miles an hour, which suits short commutes. Level 2 needs its own circuit and fills a car overnight. The honest answer depends on your daily miles.
Do I need a 60 amp circuit for a 48 amp charger?
Yes. Charging is a continuous load, so the circuit is sized at 125 percent of the charger’s draw. That is also why dialing the charger back is often what keeps a house off a service upgrade.
Are you licensed and insured?
Licensed, bonded and insured, with workers compensation coverage, and accredited A+ with the BBB since 2022.
Where do you work?
Out of O’Fallon across St. Charles County, St. Louis County, St. Louis City, and Lincoln and Warren counties, roughly a fifty mile radius.
Talk to the person who will do the work.
No dispatcher, no salesman. Clint takes the call and Clint does the job. EV Charger Panel Upgrades in O’Fallon and across the metro.
Mon-Thu 8-5 · Fri 8-4 · Sat 10-3. Emergencies outside that are still worth the call, or message instead.