A Level 2 home charger is the single largest load most households ever add. It draws as much as an electric range, runs for hours at a stretch, and it goes on a panel that was sized decades before anyone in Victoria owned an EV. So the honest answer to "do I need a panel upgrade?" is: sometimes, and the only way to know is a load calculation.
What a Level 2 charger actually draws
Most home chargers run on a 240-volt circuit between 32 and 48 amps. The breaker feeding it has to be rated above the continuous load, which is why a 40-amp charger usually sits on a 50-amp breaker. On a 100-amp panel that is a third to half of the whole service, before the dryer, range, water heater or heat pump turn on.
How an electrician checks capacity
The Canadian Electrical Code has a demand calculation for dwellings. It adds up the house's square footage, the fixed appliances and the big loads, applies demand factors, and compares the result to the service size. We run it on every EV charger quote because it is the difference between "install the charger" and "install a bigger service and then the charger".
- A 200-amp service in a typical house almost always has room.
- A 100-amp service with gas heat and a gas range often has room for a 32-amp charger.
- A 100-amp service with electric baseboards, an electric range and a hot tub usually does not.
Options short of a full upgrade
If the numbers are tight, there are two routes before replacing the service. A load management device watches the whole panel and throttles the charger when other loads are on, which lets a bigger charger live on a smaller service. Or you install a lower-amperage charger: a 16 or 24-amp unit still adds 100 to 150 km of range overnight, which covers most commutes.
When the upgrade is the right call
If the panel is full, uses obsolete breakers, or the house has other big loads coming (a suite, a heat pump, a second EV), upgrading the service to 200 amps is the cleaner answer. It is also the moment to fix an older panel that would fail an inspection anyway. We quote both routes and let you choose.
New homes in BC
Since 2024, BC's building code requires new homes to be EV-ready, so new builds we wire already have the capacity and the conduit in place. For an existing Greater Victoria home, book a free assessment and we will tell you which case you are in.