A residential load calculation is the engineering study that proves your panel can carry what you're about to add. In Santa Clarita it isn't advice — for a Level 2 EV charger on service under 200A, it's what the permit is issued against.
A 100-amp panel with empty breaker slots looks like it has room. Empty slots are not spare capacity. What matters is calculated demand across everything already connected — and the only way to know it is to run the numbers.
For a Level 2 charging station on service under 200A, the City of Santa Clarita requires a residential load calculation performed to CEC Article 220 and signed by a qualified professional. Submit without it and plan check comes back before anyone schedules an install.
Guess low and you buy a panel upgrade you didn't need. Guess high and you load a service that can't carry it — nuisance trips, an overheated bus, and a charger that damages itself. Neither shows up until the money is spent.
We run the calculation to CEC Article 220 — the standard method the code actually specifies — against your real conditions: the general lighting and receptacle load for your square footage, the fixed appliances, the HVAC, the range and dryer, and the charging load you're adding. You get a signed calculation you can submit with your permit application, and a straight answer about what your service will carry. American Electric Co holds an active CSLB C-10 electrical contractor licence (#938027), which is one of the two credentials Santa Clarita accepts as the signer on a residential load calculation — the other being a licensed Electrical Engineer. If the number comes back short, we tell you what it would take to close the gap: a sub-panel, a service upgrade to 200A, or in some cases a load-management device that lets the charger yield to the rest of the house. If it comes back with room to spare, we say that too, and nobody sells you a panel.
What the City of Santa Clarita requires for a residential Level 2 EV charging station, taken from the Building & Safety EVCS requirements sheet for the 2022 California Electrical Code.
| Existing electrical service | Load calculation | What that means for you |
|---|---|---|
| Under 200A | Required to permit | Signed by a C-10 contractor or a licensed Electrical Engineer |
| 200A or greater | Not required | Still recommended — the threshold is a rule, not a verdict on your house |
Under 200A, the calculation must justify that the existing panel or sub-panel has adequate capacity for the added Level 2 load. Source: City of Santa Clarita Building & Safety, residential EVCS requirements under the 2022 CEC (read 2026-08-18). These requirements are specific to the City of Santa Clarita — homes in our Valley Glen territory permit through the City of Los Angeles (LADBS), whose requirements differ. Ask us and we'll confirm what applies at your address before you file anything.
We measure the conditioned floor area, open the panel, photograph the bus and the breaker schedule, and list every fixed appliance: HVAC, water heater, range, dryer, pool equipment, sub-panels. Nameplate ratings, not estimates.
We compute the general lighting and receptacle load from square footage, add the fixed appliance and motor loads with the demand factors CEC Article 220 specifies, and add the EV charging load at its continuous rating. The result is a calculated demand in amps against your actual service size.
You receive the calculation signed under CSLB C-10 licence #938027 — one of the two signer credentials the City of Santa Clarita accepts — formatted to submit with the EVCS permit application. If we're doing the installation, we file it with the rest of the package.
If the service carries the new load, we say so and nothing further is needed. If it doesn't, you get the options in plain terms — sub-panel, 200A service upgrade, or load management — with what each one solves and what it doesn't. You are under no obligation to have us do any of it.
Serving Santa Clarita, Valencia, Stevenson Ranch, Castaic, Newhall, and surrounding communities.
View Santa Clarita →Serving Valley Glen, North Hollywood, Van Nuys, Sherman Oaks, Burbank, and Northridge.
View Valley Glen →We'll walk your property, evaluate your system, and give you a clear, plain-English plan — with a fixed quote you can take to the bank.
