The call comes just as you sit down with your tea. Your dad’s electric car is low on charge, the nearest public charger is a drive away, and it is already dark. He says he’ll manage. You aren’t so sure.
He lives in Salt Lake City and you don’t, which is why a charger at home starts to look sensible, and a local specialist offering EV charger installation Salt Lake City UT can explain what fitting one involves. This guide covers the groundwork you can do from where you are, and the parts that belong with a licensed electrician.
Start with what the car is for
Before anyone talks about wiring, find out what the car does in a normal week. Clinic appointments? The shops? A friend across town on Thursdays? The answers tell you how often it needs charging, and when, and who is left stuck if it isn’t ready.
Ask your dad what he finds hardest about charging now. Perhaps it’s the cold. Perhaps it’s the wait. Perhaps he lets the battery run low because he doesn’t want to ask anyone for help. You will learn more from that than from any list of features.
Then say out loud what you are hoping for: a car that is ready each morning, with no evening trips to a public charger. That is a calmer week for him, and for you.
When did you last have an hour to yourself? Sorting this out on a quiet Sunday call is far kinder to your stress than sorting it out at the end of a bad day.
Decide the plan on a calm day, not in a crisis.
Carer’s checklist
- A list of the regular journeys in a normal week
- What your dad finds hardest about charging at the moment
- Whether anyone else, such as a neighbour or a relative nearby, drives the car
- A call booked for a time when neither of you is rushing
Get the driveway, the path and the door in view
Ask your dad for photos, or put him on a video call and have him walk slowly from the parked car to the front door. You are looking for two things: where a charging cable would lie when the car is plugged in, and what the path is like when he walks it in the dark.
A cable across a path is a trip hazard for anyone who is a little unsteady. Where the charger goes, in relation to where the car’s charging port sits when it is parked, decides whether the cable crosses his way or hangs out of it. That is a question for the electrician, because it depends on the car and the space, but you can arrive at the conversation with the photos and the answer to “which way does he park?”
Winter evenings in Salt Lake City come early, and a path that is fine at noon can be a different matter at six. Look for steps, loose paving, ice and shadow. Is there a light at the door that comes on when he needs it, not when he remembers to switch it on? Is there room to open the car door fully while he gets out with his stick?
Keep the area around the charging point clear of clutter. Boxes and bags stacked against a garage wall are one more thing to step round, and they are easy to move on a visit.
Looking at the path is a small job, and it often lifts a worry you hadn’t realised you were carrying.
Carer’s checklist
- Photos of the driveway, the garage wall and the path to the door, taken in daylight and after dark
- A note of which way the car faces when parked, and where its charging port sits
- A route from car to door free of steps, loose cable and ice
- A light at the door that comes on without anyone having to remember it
Leave the electrical questions to a licensed electrician
A home charger is a powerful appliance that may run for hours at a stretch, and it has to be connected properly. That is not a job for a relative who is good with tools or a neighbour who knows a bit. Your job is to find the right professional and ask good questions.
Here is what a good electrician will generally look at. They will check whether the home’s electrical supply can carry a charger alongside everything else in the house, and whether the main panel is up to it. They will decide where the charger can be mounted, and whether it is suited to the weather if it is outside. They will explain how it is protected and how it is switched off. Sometimes the answer includes upgrading the panel, and sometimes it doesn’t, so ask them to explain why in plain words.
Ask the local building department whether a permit or an inspection applies, and ask who arranges it. Ask for the quote and the explanation in writing, too. You can read it later, when you’re not tired, and it gives you something to compare if you collect more than one.
Nobody expects you to understand the electrics. If a firm can’t explain a step in words you can follow, that tells you something useful.
Carer’s checklist
- Two or three written quotes, each saying what is included
- The electrician’s licence checked with the state licensing body
- A plain explanation of what they checked about the home’s electrical supply
- Who arranges any permit or inspection, and when
- Who to call if the charger stops working
Make the visit easy for your dad, and for you
The visit takes your dad out of his routine: a stranger in the garage, the power off for a while, questions to answer. If you can, be on the phone or a video call at the start, so that you hear the plan in the electrician’s words and he doesn’t have to relay it to you afterwards.
If your dad uses anything that depends on mains power, such as a stairlift or a medical device, tell the electrician beforehand, so the plan covers it. Ask them to say when the power will be off and for how long, and to give your dad a few minutes’ warning on the day.
If a friend or neighbour can be there, that helps. You are not asking them to supervise, only to be a friendly face who can put the kettle on.
Afterwards, write a one-page note for the fridge: where the charger is, what its lights mean, how to switch it off, and whom to call. Take a photo of the finished job and keep it in a folder with the quote, so the next decision starts from a record rather than from memory.
Carer’s checklist
- A visit booked for a time when you can be on the phone
- Anything in the house that needs mains power mentioned to the electrician beforehand
- A friend or neighbour there, if possible
- A one-page note on the fridge covering what the lights mean, how to switch off and whom to call
If you only do one thing this week
Ask your dad to send you three photos: the car parked, the wall beside it, and the path to his front door. That is all you need to start a sensible conversation with an electrician.
Then put the phone down and make yourself a proper cup of tea. You have taken the first step, and the rest can wait until the weekend.
