What's Safe and Legal When EV Charging on the Street?

Getting by without a garage or driveway is possible but not always easy.

Sami Haj-Assaad | 

Dec 3, 2024 | 3 min read

Hyundai

It can take several hours to recharge an EV battery, and doing so on the street can be problematic. Here's what you need to know about charging on the street.

Running an Extension Cord Isn't a Good Idea

A dangerous approach to charging a street-parked EV is to run an extension cord from your home to the car on the street, using it to extend your Level 1 charging cable, but this method is not recommended.

For starters, using a long extension cord with an electric charger isn't recommended by automakers, as extension cables aren't usually rated to carry the high electrical loads used by an EV charger for several hours at a time. Using an extension cord can lead to overheating cables, damaged chargers, and a risk of getting shocked. Not all extension cables are weatherproof and could be damaged in the rain or snow.

Even if you invest in an extension cord rated for high electrical loads and outdoor use, your charging speed may still be limited to Level 1, which can take several days to fully recharge an EV.

Long Charger Cables Are an Option

Rather than rely on an extension cable, you could use a charger with a long cable. Chargers with cables up to 25 feet are available, which might be enough to reach a street-parked car from your house.

A Level 2 charger installed on the exterior of your home would provide faster charging speeds. However, 25 feet is the maximum the National Electrical Code allows. Anything beyond that won't be up to code.

Keep Pedestrian Safety in Mind

If you plan to run a charging cable across a sidewalk, you will want to make sure that's legal to do where you live and make sure it's not a hazard to pedestrians. You might live in an area — such as Washington, D.C., and Seattle — that is more accommodating and allows cables to run over the sidewalk as long as there is a highly visible ramp over them. Such cables are limited to Level 1 charging.

Some Cities Offer Street Chargers

Some cities such as Seattle, San Francisco, and Los Angeles have programs to install curbside chargers, which may be affixed to lamp posts. San Francisco even has an application for community members to fill out to request a curbside charger.

The last resort for those without a dedicated place to charge their EVs is to rely on public chargers. The good news is that public chargers can be really fast; some Level 3 units can provide up to 350 kW, resulting in quick recharge times. The downside is that public charging is not uniform, with different charging services requiring different apps and offering different pricing.

If you have to rely exclusively on public charging, your annual running costs may rival a gas-powered vehicle's fuel bill.

Sami Haj-Assaad

Sami loves writing about cars and diving into their high-tech, innovative, and exciting features. He's been an automotive journalist since 2012, having written feature stories, reviews, and performing on camera for AutoGuide, Driving.ca, TechSpot, AutoTrader.ca, NUVO Magazine, and Car and Driver. He's won a number of awards from the Automotive Journalists Association of Canada, including Journalist of the Year in 2020. You can hear him weekly as one of the hosts of the Unnamed Automotive Podcast.