Project snapshotEV chargingLaneway house

EV charger at a laneway house
no upgrade, no load manager

A 200 A service split into two 100 A meters, one for the main house and one for the laneway house. Two years of the laneway house's own meter data confirmed its 100 A could carry a 48 A charger outright.

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Tesla Wall Connector mounted beside a laneway house garage, Midtown Toronto — 48 A charger, no upgrade

2 x 100 A

Main house and laneway house meters

33 A

Laneway house's highest hour in two years

90 A

Calculated load with the charger

Load managers or upgrades needed

1The challenge

A new laneway house sharing the property's 200 A service with the main house, split at the meter into 100 A for each. A 60 A circuit had been run to the garage during the build. The question was whether the laneway house's own 100 A could carry a 48 A charger at full speed, without a load management device or a service upgrade.

2What we did

Two years of Toronto Hydro hourly data from the laneway house meter reviewed, 17,520 readings
Highest hour: 8.0 kW (33 A), seen once in two years. The average hour is about 2 A
Code check: 33 A x 1.25 = 42 A, plus the charger at its full 48 A = 90 A, within the laneway house's 100 A
Tesla Wall Connector mounted beside the garage and hardwired to the existing #6 copper circuit, set up in the app, with the ESA permit and inspection

3The result

A direct install at the full 48 A. No energy management system, no service upgrade, and the main house's 100 A left untouched. The engineering load assessment went in with the permit.

The load check

The numbers, by the Code method

Two years of the laneway house's hourly data, the 1.25 factor, then the charger added at its full rating.

Busiest hour on the meterLaneway house, once in two years

33 A

Calculated house loadPeak x 1.25

42 A

Plus a 48 A chargerAdded at its full rating

90 A

The laneway house service100 A of the property's 200 A

100 A

Planned at the build, confirmed on data. Running the charger circuit during construction made install day a simple connection, and the laneway house's own meter data showed no need for a load manager.

On site

EV charger at a laneway house

Load assessment first

Then the right install

Send your address and 12 months of Toronto Hydro data. We will confirm what your service can carry and send a fixed quote within 1 to 2 business days.

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Straight Answers

The kind we would give before you commit a dollar of capital. Tap a question.

Can a laneway house have its own EV charger?

Yes. When the laneway house has its own meter and panel, as here, the load check runs on that meter's data against its own service rating, and the main house is not affected.

How much data do I need for an EV charger load assessment?

Twelve months of hourly or 15-minute data from Toronto Hydro is the standard under ESA Bulletin 8-3-15. Two years, as here, gives even more confidence. You can download it from your Toronto Hydro account and send it with your address.

Should a new build or laneway house be pre-wired for an EV charger?

Yes. Running a 60 A circuit to the garage or parking spot during construction costs far less than opening finished walls later, and it turns install day into a simple connection.

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