How Long Does EV Charger Installation Take in Fort Myers? | CoHarbor Electric

Homeowner out in Estero asked us this on the phone before we’d even scheduled a visit — she had a delivery date for her new EV, three weeks out, and wanted to know if that was enough runway to have a charger ready and waiting. Reasonable question, and one we get a lot. The honest answer is “usually, yes, but it depends on a few things that aren’t obvious until we actually see your panel,” which isn’t the crisp answer people want to hear, but it’s the accurate one.

So let’s actually walk through what the real timeline looks like, start to finish, instead of a single number that may or may not apply to your situation.

Step One: The Assessment and Load Calculation

Before anything gets scheduled for installation, we need to look at your panel and run an actual load calculation under NEC Article 220, with Article 625 governing the EV equipment specifically. This is usually a same-visit assessment — we’re there for maybe 30 to 45 minutes checking your panel’s rated capacity, what else is already drawing off it, and how far the charging location sits from the panel. For most Fort Myers homes, this happens within a few days of the initial call, sometimes the same week depending on our schedule.

If your panel’s got clear capacity and a reasonably short run to the garage, this step confirms you’re good to go. If it’s tight, or if there’s a question about whether a panel upgrade’s needed first, this is where that gets sorted out before anything else moves forward.

Step Two: The Permit

This is the part that surprises people most, because it’s the step you don’t see happening. Every EV charger circuit needs a permit through Lee County, and permit review timing varies — sometimes a matter of days, sometimes closer to two weeks depending on the county’s current volume. We submit the application as soon as the load calculation and scope are finalized, and we’re upfront that this step is somewhat out of our hands once it’s filed. It’s not something we can rush, and anyone who tells you otherwise isn’t being straight with you.

Step Three: The Install Itself

The actual installation day is usually the fastest part of the whole process. For a straightforward job — panel with available capacity, charger location reasonably close to the panel — we’re typically done in four to six hours. That covers running the dedicated circuit, mounting the charger, making the connections, and testing under load before we leave.

Longer wire runs change that math. A charger mounted on a detached garage or across a larger property near Iona or out toward Alva, where the distance from panel to charging location is considerably longer than a standard attached garage, adds material and labor time — sometimes stretching the install itself to a full day, particularly if conduit needs to be run outdoors along an exterior wall or underground.

If a Panel Upgrade’s Needed First

This is where the three-week window that Estero homeowner was working with gets tighter. If the load calculation shows your existing panel can’t support the added circuit, a panel upgrade has to happen first, and that’s its own separate project with its own permit and its own FPL coordination for the service disconnect and reconnect. Realistically, that adds one to two weeks to the overall timeline on top of the EV-specific steps, since it’s sequential — the panel upgrade has to be inspected and finalized before the EV circuit installation moves forward on top of it.

Step Four: The Inspection

Once the circuit’s installed, Lee County needs to inspect and sign off before the install is considered complete and code-compliant. Scheduling an inspection typically takes anywhere from a few days to just over a week depending on the county’s current inspector availability. We coordinate this scheduling as part of the job, but it’s worth knowing this is another step that depends partly on county timing rather than purely on our crew’s availability.

Putting the Full Timeline Together

For a straightforward Fort Myers EV charger install with adequate panel capacity — assessment, permit, install, and inspection — realistic total timeline runs somewhere between two and four weeks from first call to final sign-off. That’s not us in your home for weeks; it’s the calendar time across scheduling, permit review, and inspection availability, with the actual hands-on work representing a single day or less of that window.

If a panel upgrade’s part of the picture, plan closer to four to six weeks total, simply because that’s a second sequential project layered underneath the EV work.

What Can Push the Timeline Longer

A few things we see stretch this out beyond the typical range:

• Permit review backlog during busier periods for Lee County
• A panel upgrade discovered necessary partway through the assessment
• Longer wire runs on larger properties or detached garages
• Storm season scheduling pressure, when service call volume across Southwest Florida climbs and installation calendars fill up faster than usual
• Older homes where the service entrance itself needs attention before new load gets added

None of these are reasons to panic if they come up. They’re just realistic factors worth knowing about upfront rather than being surprised by three weeks into a four-week plan.

Planning Ahead Makes the Biggest Difference

If you know an EV’s coming — whether it’s a delivery date, a lease starting, or just a decision you’ve made — the single best thing you can do is get the assessment scheduled as early as possible. That Estero homeowner’s three-week window worked out fine because her panel had capacity and the run to her garage was short. A homeowner in the same situation with a panel that needs upgrading first would’ve been cutting it close with the same timeline, simply because of how the steps stack sequentially.

Ready to Get Your Fort Myers EV Charger Installation Scheduled?

If you’ve got an EV on the way, or you’re just tired of guessing how long this is actually going to take, Coharbor Electric is a licensed and insured electrical contractor serving Fort Myers homeowners from Estero to Iona and beyond. We’ll get your assessment scheduled quickly, give you a realistic timeline based on what your panel and property actually need, and handle the Lee County permit and inspection process from start to finish. Reach out and we’ll map out exactly what your installation looks like, calendar and all.