Level 2 is the middle tier of a three-tier naming system, and it is where essentially all home charging lives. The name describes the supply it runs on rather than any particular brand or feature, which is why two chargers with wildly different price tags are both Level 2.
The three levels
Level 1 is the cord that came with the car, plugged into an ordinary 120-volt household socket. It needs no installation and adds range slowly enough that it suits a short commute and not much else.
Level 2 runs on 240 volts, the same supply as an electric range or dryer, and adds several times the range per hour. Level 3 is DC fast charging, the roadside kind, which involves equipment that does not go in a house.
Why 240 volts changes so much
Power is voltage multiplied by current. Doubling the voltage doubles the power at the same current, and a Level 2 circuit also runs at a higher current than a wall socket, so the two multiply together.
That is the whole mechanism. There is nothing cleverer happening; it is simply a bigger supply.
Hardwired or plug-in
A plug-in unit connects to a dedicated 240-volt receptacle. A hardwired one is connected permanently to the circuit with no plug at all. Both are Level 2 and both need a dedicated circuit run from the panel.
The choice affects where it can be installed, whether it can be taken with you, and in some cases what current it can be set to. It is worth deciding before the circuit is run, because it changes what gets installed at the wall.
The panel is the real question
The charger is rarely the constraint. Whether your service has room for another large continuous load is, and that is a load calculation rather than a product decision. It is also why load management exists as an option.
How to spot it in your house
- A Level 2 charger is wired to a two-pole breaker in the panel, occupying two slots rather than one.
- A plug-in unit uses a large 240-volt receptacle, most commonly a NEMA 14-50, which looks nothing like a normal wall socket.
- If your charger plugs into an ordinary household outlet, it is Level 1 regardless of what the box said.
The next question
Level 1 vs Level 2 EV chargers — what's the difference?Related terms
- Load managementA device that watches how much power the house is using and throttles or pauses a big load, usually an EV charger, so the total never exceeds your service.
- Service sizeThe total amount of electricity your house can draw from the grid at once, measured in amps. Most Ontario homes are 100A or 200A.
- HardwiredConnected permanently into the building wiring rather than plugged into an outlet. Required for some chargers and for every smoke alarm on a modern circuit.