Sponsored

Ford Power Promise

Maquis

Well-known member
First Name
Dave
Joined
May 20, 2021
Threads
9
Messages
4,142
Reaction score
5,469
Location
Illinois
Vehicles
2021 Mach-E E4-X; 2023 Lightning Lariat ER
My issue is I don't have any space in my panel for the breaker so I need to have a sub-panel installed. The price of the install was about what I expected but the permits were $700 and they refused to tell me what that $700 was going to. For all I know it's $40 to have the inspection but they are charging me more. I asked multiple times and they just wouldn't be straight with me. I have a friend that is an electrician so if he is too busy to do it he will know someone who can.
It sounds like they are marking up the permit cost by a factor of 10.
Sponsored

 

chl

Well-known member
First Name
CHRIS
Joined
Dec 16, 2022
Threads
7
Messages
2,216
Reaction score
1,363
Location
alexandria virginia
Vehicles
2023 F-150 LIGHTNING, 2012 Nissan Leaf, 2015 Toyota Prius, 2000 HD 883 Sportster
Occupation
Patent Atty / Electrical Engineer
I’ve actually th

Apparently the one being sent is the pro charger which is the 1300$


Dealer didn’t have any so I had to wait for it to be sent. My install will be straight forward. In garage about 6 ft from panel. I hope I have a smooth experience with them
The hardware install is routine. The set up software was was gave me a headache.

Just be sure the electricians read the install manual - the torques are critical on the wire terminal lugs. Also if the conduit is not install correctly, there could be problem (if outdoors install). Someone had rain water fill theirs when the electricians did not put the conduit in properly (from the side).

The FCSP will charge under the control of the Lightning menu without going through the setup software, just plug it in and set the times etc.

The setup allows you to add the FCSP to FordPass which can be marginally useful IMO.

I eventually DID get it added to FordPass when there was an update to the FCSP software and firmware, but I waited for that for almost a year.

Other people had no issues.

There are plenty of threads about the setup issues, resetting the FCSP, etc.
 

chl

Well-known member
First Name
CHRIS
Joined
Dec 16, 2022
Threads
7
Messages
2,216
Reaction score
1,363
Location
alexandria virginia
Vehicles
2023 F-150 LIGHTNING, 2012 Nissan Leaf, 2015 Toyota Prius, 2000 HD 883 Sportster
Occupation
Patent Atty / Electrical Engineer
It sounds like they are marking up the permit cost by a factor of 10.
That's a high permit charge, but they have to send some to get it, wait in line etc. so it can take hours in my experience depending. Now many permit systems are on-line applications so much faster and less person-hours.
 

chl

Well-known member
First Name
CHRIS
Joined
Dec 16, 2022
Threads
7
Messages
2,216
Reaction score
1,363
Location
alexandria virginia
Vehicles
2023 F-150 LIGHTNING, 2012 Nissan Leaf, 2015 Toyota Prius, 2000 HD 883 Sportster
Occupation
Patent Atty / Electrical Engineer
My issue is I don't have any space in my panel for the breaker so I need to have a sub-panel installed. The price of the install was about what I expected but the permits were $700 and they refused to tell me what that $700 was going to. For all I know it's $40 to have the inspection but they are charging me more. I asked multiple times and they just wouldn't be straight with me. I have a friend that is an electrician so if he is too busy to do it he will know someone who can.
Call the local permit authority and ask - county city or whatever.

Anybody can get the permit in most places - I got mine for several electrical upgrades.

One of the permits I had to get was because the electrician didn't bother to get one! The install was in 1998 - then in 2020, someone had an issue with out backyard sheds and called the county, they came out and said oh, there's no permit for the electrical install on record! So I had to go get a permit, pay the fee for permit, pay the fee for the inspection, etc. Took several hours at the permit office doing the paperwork. OMG, but at least it passed inspection.
 

chl

Well-known member
First Name
CHRIS
Joined
Dec 16, 2022
Threads
7
Messages
2,216
Reaction score
1,363
Location
alexandria virginia
Vehicles
2023 F-150 LIGHTNING, 2012 Nissan Leaf, 2015 Toyota Prius, 2000 HD 883 Sportster
Occupation
Patent Atty / Electrical Engineer
My issue is I don't have any space in my panel for the breaker so I need to have a sub-panel installed. The price of the install was about what I expected but the permits were $700 and they refused to tell me what that $700 was going to. For all I know it's $40 to have the inspection but they are charging me more. I asked multiple times and they just wouldn't be straight with me. I have a friend that is an electrician so if he is too busy to do it he will know someone who can.
I'd recommend you consider upgrading the service panel if it's not too expensive.

You may want the extra space in the future. I did that before I got my first EV in 2011 (a 2012 Nissan Leaf) because I needed the space and the old 100A panel was not enough - upgraded to a 200A.

Now folks have 400A panels installed in new houses.
 

Sponsored

chl

Well-known member
First Name
CHRIS
Joined
Dec 16, 2022
Threads
7
Messages
2,216
Reaction score
1,363
Location
alexandria virginia
Vehicles
2023 F-150 LIGHTNING, 2012 Nissan Leaf, 2015 Toyota Prius, 2000 HD 883 Sportster
Occupation
Patent Atty / Electrical Engineer
My issue is I don't have any space in my panel for the breaker so I need to have a sub-panel installed. The price of the install was about what I expected but the permits were $700 and they refused to tell me what that $700 was going to. For all I know it's $40 to have the inspection but they are charging me more. I asked multiple times and they just wouldn't be straight with me. I have a friend that is an electrician so if he is too busy to do it he will know someone who can.
Yes any competent electrician who can read, or even an experienced DIYer, could do the install.
Knowledge and experience help.

But it is mostly 'grunt work' running conduit etc. I used flexible conduit because I had a 75 run through my attic from garage to the back of my house where the service panel was.
 

Oafboy182

Member
First Name
Justin
Joined
May 9, 2025
Threads
0
Messages
12
Reaction score
14
Vehicles
2025 Lighting Flash
Mine panel is actually only a few years old. When we had our solar installed the 40yr old panel had to be replaced. Unfortunately I didn't think about it at the time to have them give me some extra space in there. I'll definitely ask about an upgrade though whenever I get around to having the charger installed.
 
  • Like
Reactions: chl

chl

Well-known member
First Name
CHRIS
Joined
Dec 16, 2022
Threads
7
Messages
2,216
Reaction score
1,363
Location
alexandria virginia
Vehicles
2023 F-150 LIGHTNING, 2012 Nissan Leaf, 2015 Toyota Prius, 2000 HD 883 Sportster
Occupation
Patent Atty / Electrical Engineer
To see what's it's all about see this:
 

Oafboy182

Member
First Name
Justin
Joined
May 9, 2025
Threads
0
Messages
12
Reaction score
14
Vehicles
2025 Lighting Flash
I've thought about doing the install myself. It's not hard and I can install it inside my garage right next to the panel. I would just swap out my dryer breaker for the charger. I use the dryer plug now to charge the truck unfortunately it's on the back wall of the garage so I have a long cord running through my garage. But it gets the job done.
 
  • Like
Reactions: chl

Sponsored

RickLightning

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 17, 2022
Threads
100
Messages
6,393
Reaction score
8,636
Location
SE MI
Vehicles
'22 Lightning ER Lariat,'22 Mach-E Premium 4X
Permit costs can be obtained quite easily. My Township is online. Electrical starts at $30, $50 for the inspection. $10 for an outlet including EV outlets. $90 it seems.
 

molsonmatt

Well-known member
First Name
Matthew
Joined
Jun 3, 2025
Threads
10
Messages
79
Reaction score
91
Vehicles
2024 Lightning Lariat
My dealer gave me the charger when I bought the truck. It only took a few days to get an email from Qmerit about the install. Unfortunately it's still not installed because Qmerit and the installer, a local solar installer, would not be straight with me on the quote they gave me. My install isn't standard, which I knew it wouldn't be, so it's not free. They refused to give me a detailed quote on all the pricing especially the permitting fees. They would just give me generic answers without ever telling me how much each thing cost. They gave me a total for the permits and another for the install but wouldn't give a price breakdown so I could confirm things were adding up properly. I will probably be reporting Qmerit to the BBB.
Check with your electric company. Mine reimburses for installation costs. So my installation with qmerit was not standard and costs an extra $600 that I paid out of pocket. When I signed up for the rebate and discounted off peak charge programs with my electric company, they reimbursed me That $600 as a credit on my monthly bill.
 
  • Like
Reactions: chl

chl

Well-known member
First Name
CHRIS
Joined
Dec 16, 2022
Threads
7
Messages
2,216
Reaction score
1,363
Location
alexandria virginia
Vehicles
2023 F-150 LIGHTNING, 2012 Nissan Leaf, 2015 Toyota Prius, 2000 HD 883 Sportster
Occupation
Patent Atty / Electrical Engineer
I've thought about doing the install myself. It's not hard and I can install it inside my garage right next to the panel. I would just swap out my dryer breaker for the charger. I use the dryer plug now to charge the truck unfortunately it's on the back wall of the garage so I have a long cord running through my garage. But it gets the job done.
Yes that's ideal, I had a long run of flexible conduit to run so not so much fun up in the attic in the summer!

All you'd probably need is the inspection, required these days for hard wired EVSE's in most locations.

If you stay at 40A charging amperage you could have a 50A circuit plug in set-up maybe, though Ford does not recommend that with the FCSP according to the install manual, the code allows that.
The only wrinkle is the NEC wants you to have a GFCI outlet if it's a plug in EVSE set-up now.

In the long run hard wiring is better anyway.
 

chl

Well-known member
First Name
CHRIS
Joined
Dec 16, 2022
Threads
7
Messages
2,216
Reaction score
1,363
Location
alexandria virginia
Vehicles
2023 F-150 LIGHTNING, 2012 Nissan Leaf, 2015 Toyota Prius, 2000 HD 883 Sportster
Occupation
Patent Atty / Electrical Engineer
Check with your electric company. Mine reimburses for installation costs. So my installation with qmerit was not standard and costs an extra $600 that I paid out of pocket. When I signed up for the rebate and discounted off peak charge programs with my electric company, they reimbursed me That $600 as a credit on my monthly bill.
Yes. Our electric company now has a program where if you use one of their recommended EVSEs that allows for them to control it so that you don't use it during peak demand they give you a discount on your electric bill.

The EVSE and the install is also subject to a federal tax credit if you live in certain areas, if they don't take it away retroactively in their Big Billionaires Bill pending in Congress that is.
 
OP
OP

Dezarah

Active member
First Name
Dezarah
Joined
Jun 23, 2025
Threads
6
Messages
35
Reaction score
46
Vehicles
2025 Ford F-150 Lightning Flash
Most people get a call from Qmerit within a couple weeks. Qmerit then selects a local contractor to give you a quote and do the work. The timing on that part can vary widely depending on the contractor. I’ve heard of folks getting it installed right away, others have waited a month or more.
Yes. Our electric company now has a program where if you use one of their recommended EVSEs that allows for them to control it so that you don't use it during peak demand they give you a discount on your electric bill.

The EVSE and the install is also subject to a federal tax credit if you live in certain areas, if they don't take it away retroactively in their Big Billionaires Bill pending in Congress that is.
im hoping mine is smooth. My charger is going to be installed on the same side as the electrical panel about 10 feet away.
Sponsored

 
  • Like
Reactions: chl
 







Top