EV Charger Installation in Richmond
A charger at home, on a circuit that can actually carry it.
Golden Leaf install every level, and their own page is unusually clear about the difference: Level 1 is the 120V adapter that comes with the car and takes over eight hours for a full charge; Level 2 is 240V, anywhere from 3kW to 20kW, and a full charge in three to eight hours; Level 3 is the 480V DC fast charger. For a house, Level 2 is almost always the answer, and almost all of the cost sits in the run between the panel and where the car parks — plus whether the panel has the capacity to carry it once everything else in the house is counted.
- Price
- $900–$2,500 installed, most Level 2 jobs
- Google rating
- 4.8
- Service in
- English
I needed help on two different occasions for small electrical repair jobs. I am so happy with both results. Chris is professional, knowledgeable, pleasant, and was able to diagnose and fix both issues quickly. As a senior living on my own I felt extremely confident that the job would be estimated fairly and done professionally. After my initial contact with the company one of my jobs was done on the same day I called in. I also want to mention that I really appreciate that this company will do smaller jobs. From my first call to Golden Leaf to the completion of the job it was a great experience and I was kept in the loop from start to finish. Oh…..and a great seniors discount!!!
What to check, and what to ask
General guidance for homeowners, not specific to your system — worth knowing before you book anyone, including us.
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The install starts at the panel, not at the parking spot
What decides the job is spare capacity in your service and the run from the panel to where the car sits. Two identical chargers in two identical garages are not the same job.
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A full panel does not automatically mean a service upgrade
Load management equipment lets a charger share existing capacity rather than adding to it, and many chargers can also be set to draw less current. Ask whether either was considered before an upgrade is quoted.
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A charger circuit is a dedicated circuit
It gets its own breaker, sized for continuous use, and it does not share with anything else. No extension cords and no power bars, including for the 120V cord that came with the car.
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Permit first, and keep the paperwork
An EV charger circuit is permitted electrical work in BC, done by a licensed contractor. Strata and rebate paperwork both tend to ask for it later, so keep the permit and the invoice together.
Try these first
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1. Read the main breaker rating and photograph the panel
Read the number on the large breaker at the top, with the cover closed, and photograph the label inside the door. Almost every quote starts from those two things.
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2. Count the empty slots, without opening anything
Look at the front of the panel and count the blank positions. Full is not a refusal, but it changes the options, and it is better known before someone drives out.
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3. Measure from the panel to where the car parks
Walk it with a tape and note what the run would cross — a finished wall, a garage ceiling, an outside corner, a driveway. The route is most of the price difference between two quotes.
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4. Find the charger's installation requirements
The manual or the manufacturer's page states the circuit the unit needs, and whether its current can be set lower. Have that page open when you call.
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5. If you are in a strata, ask them before you book
Charger installs in shared parking usually need written approval and sometimes a building-wide plan. Starting there saves booking a visit that cannot proceed.
Before you call
- What actually decides the price of an EV charger install?
- Two things, and neither is the charger. The first is the distance and route from the panel to where the car parks — a charger on the other side of the garage wall from the panel is a fundamentally different job from one that needs a run across the house or out to a detached garage. The second is whether the panel has capacity left once the rest of the house is counted. Anyone who quotes this over the phone without asking both questions is guessing.
- Do I need a 240V charger, or will the plug that came with the car do?
- It depends entirely on your daily distance. Golden Leaf's own page is blunt about the Level 1 adapter that ships with the car: it gives you around 1kW, similar to a trickle charger, takes over eight hours for a full charge, and is not the optimal solution. If you drive a normal commute and can leave the car overnight, it can be enough. If you cannot, Level 2 at 240V is the one worth wiring for.
- Can you install a charger a manufacturer sent me?
- Yes. Golden Leaf's page covers everything from a new receptacle to a supercharger, and installing a customer-supplied unit is routine. It is worth having the circuit and the panel capacity confirmed before the unit arrives rather than after, because that is the part that decides whether it can go where you want it.
- Is there still a rebate for home charger installation?
- For the charger itself, yes — BC Hydro currently rebates 50% of the cost up to $350 for single-family homes, row homes and duplexes. Two things are worth knowing before you count on it. Tesla hardware has been excluded since March 2026. And the charger rebate is a completely different program from the CleanBC rebate for buying the car, which has been paused since March 2026 — the two get conflated constantly online, including by companies quoting a rebate figure that is not the current one. Check BC Hydro's own page rather than anyone else's summary, this one included.
Tell Chris what's going on
604-568-1899Chris will call you back on the number you left.
- Hours
- Weekdays 7:30AM–5PM. 24/7 emergency line.