There are two types of home EV chargers: Level 1 and Level 2.

Level 1

As you might guess, Level 1 is the slower of the two. Level 1 chargers are convenient, running off a standard 110/120 V three-prong outlet like you probably have in your garage. But they can only draw a maximum of 1.2 kW and add 3 to 5 miles of range per hour (RPH). If you drive a PHEV, Level 1 might be enough for you to charge fully overnight, depending on the size of your PHEV’s battery. But if you have a full BEV, Level 1 charging probably isn’t too practical given that it could take a couple days to get a full charge.

Level 2

That’s where Level 2 comes in. Depending on your vehicle, Level 2 chargers can replenish your battery with anywhere from 12 to 61 miles per hour of charging. That’s from 3.3 kW up to 15.4 kW of power, a higher rate that's enough juice to charge most BEVs in around five hours or less. Level 2 chargers can either plug into a 240 V utility outlet (NEMA 14-50 or 6-50) or be hardwired into your electrical panel.

Hardwired chargers require an electrician to install. And if you don’t already have a 240 V outlet, we strongly recommend an electrician to install that, too. Both options require you to have an open circuit (or circuits) on your main electrical panel capable of handling the amount of electricity required to charge at Level 2.

For instance, the lowest rate—3.3 kW—requires an open 20 A circuit charging at 16 A. (There’s an 80% rule for circuits and chargers: take the amount of amperage for the circuit—let’s say 40 A—and multiply by .8 to get 80%. That’s the maximum amount of power the charger can draw from the circuit. In this case, it would charge at 32 A on a 40 A circuit, and deliver between 20 to 25 miles of range per hour.) Enphase’s fastest residential charger, the Enphase IQ 80 EV Charger, charges at 64 A and requires 80 A of open circuits to work to its full capacity, delivering up to 61 miles of RPH.

Enphase has a full range of Level 2 chargers, starting with the Enphase IQ 40 EV Charger that charges at 7.7 kW and provides up to 30 miles of RPH, getting progressively faster with the Enphase IQ 50 EV Charger and Enphase IQ 60 EV Charger, all the way up to the aforementioned Enphase IQ 80 EV Charger.

Though they can be added at any time, the ideal time to get an Enphase IQ EV Charger is when you have the rest of your Enphase Energy System installed. Your certified Enphase installer can assess your electricity use and design your system to accommodate your full electricity needs and habits—including EV charging—as well as electricity rate plans and more. Then, they can ensure your Enphase IQ EV Charger is properly installed and integrated with the rest of your Enphase system.

If you’re adding an Enphase IQ EV Charger after your system is installed, here are some tips to get it connected and configured.

First, make sure Bluetooth is enabled and your Wi-Fi is active on your phone. Then make sure your EV charger is powered up and not plugged into your vehicle. Open the Enphase App, tap Menu at the bottom right, and then tap Add Devices. Tap IQ EV Charger and then follow the prompts on the screen.

Once that’s done, you can customize your charger settings and set up charging preferences so your vehicle charges at the optimal times; overnight, for instance, when your utility rates are lowest, or during the day when your solar output is highest so you can charge all or part with clean sunshine. Just be sure to remove or adjust restrictions on your vehicle's app and only schedule using the Enphase App.

You can also easily monitor and control your charging sessions from the Enphase App, remotely starting and stopping them whenever you want.

The main question here is, should you charge during a grid outage?

Ideally, you'll have the Storm Guard feature enabled on your Enphase App—that way, if the National Weather Service issues a severe weather alert, along with topping off your home’s backup batteries if you have them, you can have your EV charge in full or in part ahead of the storm.

But if you find that your EV battery is depleted while your power is out, it’s best to wait until your solar panels are producing at peak and you can balance your home needs with adding miles to your EV. You likely don’t want to deplete your backup batteries to charge your car if your power will be out overnight.