Service capacity, conduit run, mounting, signage, ADA, and more. The checklist our engineering team walks every site through — before a single PO goes out.
Most charger projects that go sideways do it before the equipment ships. The thing that catches people is rarely the chargers themselves — it's a service capacity miscalculation, an unfindable conduit run, an ADA setback nobody measured, or a permit office that needs a sealed drawing nobody knows is required. This is the checklist our engineering team walks every site through before we finalize a quote.
Use it as a self-audit, share it with your electrician, or send a completed copy to us with your project inquiry. Twelve items, in the order they tend to bite.
Pull the existing utility service rating — main breaker amperage, voltage, and phase. If you don't have it, the property's main panel labeling has it. The number on the panel is the legal capacity, not the “measured” capacity. Plan against the legal capacity.
The follow-up question: how much of that capacity is currently in use? An NEC load calculation (Article 220) gives you the answer. The remaining headroom — not the total panel rating — is what's available for chargers.
Walk the path from the utility transformer or service entrance to where you want the chargers. Note: distance, conduit pathway availability, whether you'll need to trench or use existing rights-of-way, and what's in the way (landscaping, parking lot striping, structural foundations).
Conduit runs longer than 100 feet start to add meaningful cost, both in copper and in voltage drop calculations. Runs longer than 250 feet usually warrant looking at a closer service tap.
For wall-mounted Level 2: confirm the wall is structurally adequate and the mounting height meets local code (typically 24–48 inches above grade for the receptacle). For pedestal-mounted: confirm the concrete pad location, depth, and whether existing concrete is adequate or needs new pour.
For DC fast: pad requirements are larger (typically 4'×6' minimum at 6″ depth) and the equipment cabinet needs ventilation clearance per the manufacturer spec. Confirm both early.
The Americans with Disabilities Act has specific requirements for accessible charger placement at sites open to the public. The key ones: at least one accessible space for sites with multiple chargers, 36-inch minimum reach to the connector and screen, accessible route from the parking space to the charger, and no protrusions above 27 inches that aren't detectable by cane.
Accessibility violations are the most common reason a charger installation gets red-tagged on inspection. Do this audit before you set the location, not after.
Confirm with the AHJ (Authority Having Jurisdiction — usually the local building department) what permits are required. The common set: electrical permit, building permit (for pedestal foundations or canopy structures), and sometimes a site plan review. Some jurisdictions require sealed drawings from a licensed professional engineer for DC fast installations.
Permitting timelines are wildly variable. Some jurisdictions turn around an electrical permit in 48 hours; others take 8 weeks. Get the realistic number for your specific AHJ before committing to an install date.
EV chargers have specific grounding requirements per NEC Article 625. Existing grounding electrode systems may or may not be adequate depending on age and condition. The electrician's pre-quote walk-through should confirm.
Networked chargers need either Ethernet, cellular (LTE or better), or Wi-Fi connectivity. Confirm:
Cellular is usually the most reliable option for outdoor commercial installations. Wi-Fi works but is more failure-prone.
Public-facing charger sites are expected to be safely lit at night. Existing parking lot lighting may or may not cover the charger location adequately. Where lighting is inadequate, plan for either an additional pole-mounted fixture or canopy lighting integrated with the charger.
Required signage varies by jurisdiction. Common requirements: ADA accessibility signage at accessible chargers, “EV charging only” pavement markings, and directional signage for sites where the chargers aren't obvious from the main approach. Some states require specific signage formats.
Concrete pad work and trenching can trigger stormwater permitting in some jurisdictions, particularly for sites larger than a certain disturbed area threshold. For most small commercial installations this isn't an issue, but for fleet depots or hub-scale projects it can be.
Beyond the service capacity question, confirm:
Make-ready programs in particular can cover six-figure costs for qualifying sites. Don't skip this step.
Confirm with your property insurance carrier that EV charger installations are covered — both the equipment and the liability associated with public access. Most policies cover this without modification, but a confirmation in writing avoids surprises if there's ever a claim.
For a small Level 2 install at a single-family or small commercial site, you can probably walk the list yourself with an electrician in 30 minutes. For a multi-port commercial site, it's worth a structured site assessment with a licensed EV charging installer. For DC fast, the assessment should be done by someone with prior DC fast project experience — the failure modes are different and more expensive.
If you want our engineering team to do the assessment for you, we offer that as part of pre-sale work for projects over a certain scale — send the site address and project scope and we'll come back with what we find.
For projects over a certain scale, we'll do the full 12-point assessment as part of pre-sale work. Send the site address and project scope, and we'll come back with what we find.