Yes, you can install solar panels and an EV charger at the same time in Chino or Corona

The short answer is yes. If you plan the electrical, permitting, and scheduling details before anyone touches your roof, a single qualified company can design, permit, and install both systems under one coordinated project in Chino or Corona, CA.

This guide walks you through that process from first phone call to final handoff. Follow these steps and you reduce the risk of delays, rework, and the frustration of managing two separate contractors who don’t talk to each other.

End result: Solar panels and a Level 2 EV charger installed on your property, inspections passed, systems tested, and both operating together reliably.

Who this is for: Southern California homeowners in Chino, Corona, or nearby who are planning residential solar and want to add home EV charging in the same project.

Prerequisites: A basic familiarity with your current electrical panel (even just knowing where it is and what the main breaker says), your utility account details, and a willingness to share photos or walk through a site assessment.

Typical timeline: Site survey and design lead time varies by company. Once permits are approved, installation usually spans one to two days for a combined project, followed by the inspection and utility process. Plan for a few weeks from signed contract to energization, though your installer should be able to give you a specific schedule.

Step 1: Confirm the company can handle the full scope

Not every solar company installs EV chargers, and not every EV charger installer knows solar permitting. Before you go any further, ask directly:

1. Ask whether solar system design and Level 2 EV charger electrical installation can be packaged as a single project.
2. Confirm who submits each permit, who schedules inspections, and who manages any engineering revisions. The answer should be one point of contact, not “you’ll need to coordinate with our electrical subcontractor.”
3. Request local installation experience. Ask if the company has completed solar and EV charger installation together in Chino or Corona specifically. Most reputable local installers can share project summaries or photos (with addresses withheld).

A company operating with its own in-house design, permitting, and installation team is far better positioned to keep these two scopes on one schedule. HomeLink Solar, for example, runs its design and field crews in-house with no subcontracted fieldwork, which matters when you need one engineering package approved rather than two separate submissions moving through different offices at different speeds.

Step 2: Collect the information your installer needs before the site survey

The site survey goes faster and produces a more accurate design when you gather this before the appointment.

1. Electrical panel details: Open the panel cover and note the main breaker amperage (typically printed on the breaker itself, often 100A, 150A, or 200A), the panel brand and model if visible, and the number of open breaker slots.
2. Utility account: Know your utility provider (Southern California Edison for most Chino and Corona addresses) and whether you’re on a time-of-use (TOU) rate. TOU rates affect when it makes the most financial sense to charge your EV.
3. Your EV charging behavior: How many miles do you drive on a typical day? Do you want to charge overnight or during the day? How many vehicles will need charging? This shapes both the charger amperage and how the solar system production is modeled.
4. Photos: Take a photo of the open panel with breaker labels visible, the wall or location where you want the charger mounted, and a rough shot showing the path from the panel to that location. These three photos alone save significant time at the design stage.

Step 3: Align the EV charger load with the solar system design

A Level 2 EV charger typically draws between 16 and 48 amps depending on the unit, which is a meaningful electrical load. Sizing your solar system without accounting for that load means your production estimates may not reflect your actual consumption.

1. Tell your installer the charger amperage you want. Most residential Level 2 chargers run on a 40-amp or 50-amp dedicated circuit. That load belongs in the solar system sizing calculation.
2. Ask whether a panel upgrade is needed. Electrical capacity planning is the most common gating item on combined solar and EV charger projects. If your current panel is 100 amps and you’re adding solar and a 50-amp EV circuit, a panel upgrade is likely required before or alongside the installation. Get that conversation documented up front.
3. Ask about load management. Load management systems can monitor total electrical demand and automatically reduce charger output when other high-draw appliances (HVAC, dryer, oven) are running simultaneously. This prevents the panel from exceeding its rated capacity. Without it, your charger may trip breakers or behave unpredictably under heavy home load.
4. Confirm hardwired vs. plug-in. A hardwired charger requires a dedicated circuit and conduit run; a plug-in EVSE needs a NEMA 14-50 outlet on a dedicated circuit. Both approaches have similar electrical requirements, but the inspector will want to see different finish work. Your installer should note which approach is included in the permit scope.

If you’re also planning to add battery storage, tell your installer now. Solar battery and EV charging together require careful inverter and load configuration, and that’s much easier to plan at the design stage than to retrofit.

Step 4: Choose the charger and finalize the mounting location

1. Charger type: For home use, Level 2 (240V) is the standard choice. It delivers enough power to fully charge most EVs overnight. Smart or Wi-Fi-enabled chargers let you schedule charging to off-peak hours, which has real bill-savings value if you’re on SCE’s TOU-D-Prime or similar rate.
2. Mounting location: The most practical mounting spot is typically the garage wall nearest to your electrical panel. The shortest, most direct conduit path between the panel and the charger reduces material cost, labor time, and the chance of routing conflicts with other systems. Avoid locations where a future landscape project, driveway expansion, or solar equipment might interfere with conduit access.
3. Weatherproofing and conduit: If any portion of the conduit run is exterior, confirm the installer is using weatherproof conduit fittings and that the charger enclosure is rated for outdoor use. Ask specifically what breaker size will be installed for the charger circuit.

Step 5: Coordinate the permitting and inspection sequence

This is where combined projects can either run smoothly or grind to a halt. Permits and inspections for solar and electrical work don’t always move at the same pace, but they can be coordinated.

1. Ask whether the solar permit package and the EV charger electrical permit can be submitted together or on a shared timeline. Many cities in San Bernardino and Riverside counties accept combined packages, though requirements vary.
2. Request a written inspection checklist. At minimum, expect a rough-in electrical inspection (before walls or conduit are closed), a final electrical inspection, and the solar-specific inspections required by your jurisdiction and utility. Your installer should be able to list these out for you in writing.
3. Get a written installation sequence that clearly shows what work is done before permit approval, what is done after, and what events trigger rescheduling. A good installer documents this before the first day of work.

When the solar and EV charger scope is submitted as one coordinated engineering package rather than two separate applications, inspection scheduling tends to consolidate as well, which means fewer half-days taken off work waiting for inspectors.

Step 6: Verify electrical readiness before installation day

Two or three days before the scheduled install, confirm the following with your installer:

1. Panel upgrade status: If a panel upgrade was recommended, confirm it is included in the permit package and scheduled as part of the same project, not as a separate future task.
2. Conduit path confirmation: Walk the proposed conduit route yourself and flag any obstacles (finished drywall, landscape features, or existing conduit) that weren’t visible during the site visit. A shared trench plan for exterior conduit runs (where solar wiring and the EV charger circuit may run in parallel) keeps the yard work to a single mobilization.
3. Access: Confirm the panel area is fully accessible, the garage or charger mounting wall is clear, and roof access isn’t blocked by HVAC equipment or overhanging trees. One access problem on install day can cascade into a rescheduled inspection.

Step 7: What to expect on installation day

A well-coordinated team working on solar and EV charger installation together should be completing these tasks concurrently or in a logical sequence:

1. Solar work: Roof mounting, racking, panel placement, and conduit/wiring runs from the array to the inverter and then to the main panel. Verify that conduit is labeled and organized at the panel before the crew leaves.
2. EV charger electrical work: Dedicated circuit installation from the panel to the charger location, conduit installation, charger mounting, and connection. Ask to see clean, labeled work at the panel before the crew leaves.
3. Panel integration: Both the solar system and the EV charger circuit should be correctly mapped to the panel. If a subpanel was added, confirm all circuits are labeled and the load management device (if applicable) is wired and configured.

Inspect the work before the crew packs up. Look for exposed wire ends, unlabeled breakers, or conduit that isn’t secured at proper intervals. These are the items inspectors flag, and catching them the same day avoids a return visit.

Step 8: Commission and test both systems before closeout

Commissioning is not optional. This is the step most homeowners skip, and it’s the reason some projects end with a charger that’s wired but not confirmed working.

1. EV charger test: Plug in or connect your vehicle. Confirm the charger starts a session, that the breaker holds, and that charging stops cleanly when the session ends. If you have a smart charger, verify the app connects, shows live power draw, and lets you set a charging schedule.
2. Solar monitoring: Confirm the inverter is energized and production is visible in the expected monitoring platform (SolarEdge, Enphase, or the manufacturer’s app). You should see real-time production data, not just a green light on the inverter.
3. Smart charger settings: Set maximum current according to your circuit size, configure your preferred charging schedule (for most TOU rate customers, off-peak overnight charging is the most cost-effective default), and add your user account to the charger platform before the installer leaves.

If anything doesn’t work at this stage, the crew is still on-site. Don’t let the team leave without a verified, functional system.

Step 9: Collect all paperwork and review warranty coverage

Before you consider the project closed:

1. Collect documentation: Final inspection sign-offs, permit closure confirmations, and any utility interconnection documents your installer provides. Store these digitally.
2. Review warranty terms: Ask specifically about the solar panel performance warranty, workmanship warranty (covering installation defects), and the charger manufacturer’s warranty. Understand the process for filing a claim under each.
3. Get “what to do if” instructions: What should you do if the charger shows a fault code? Who do you call if solar monitoring goes offline? What indicates a production problem vs. a monitoring glitch? A good installer provides this in writing.

Common reasons solar and EV charger projects slip

Most delays trace back to a small set of avoidable problems:

• Panel capacity underestimated at the design stage. A late-discovered need for a panel upgrade pushes the permit revision and the inspection schedule. Solve this in Step 2 and Step 3.
• Charger location chosen without walking the conduit path. A location that looks convenient on a sketch sometimes requires routing conduit through finished walls or around obstacles. Walk it physically before the design is finalized.
• Solar and EV charger permits submitted as separate, uncoordinated packages. Two permit applications moving at different speeds through the same building department create inspection scheduling conflicts. One combined engineering package is consistently faster.
• Load management not addressed in the design. Without it, the charger may draw more current than the panel can support during peak home usage, tripping breakers or triggering GFCI faults. Confirm this is in the scope before installation day.
• No commissioning checklist at closeout. Projects that end with “it should be working” instead of a verified test run leave homeowners troubleshooting alone.

Copy this checklist and send it to your installer before signing

Use these questions as a pre-contract filter. Any company that can’t answer them clearly isn’t ready to manage a combined project:

• Can you provide a single design package and project schedule covering both the solar system and the EV charger?
• What electrical upgrades (panel upgrade, subpanel, load management) are included or recommended, and are they in the contract scope?
• Which permits will you submit, and what inspections should I expect before the project is officially closed?
• How will you confirm that the EV charger and solar production monitoring are both functioning correctly before your crew leaves?
• Who is my named point of contact from design through final handoff?

If you’re evaluating Chino CA solar and EV charger options or looking for a Corona CA solar EV charger installer, HomeLink Solar handles exactly this scope as a single in-house project. Its team covers design, permitting, electrical work, and installation without subcontracted crews, which means one schedule, one point of contact, and a commissioning process that doesn’t get handed off between parties.

The process works when the planning is done right. Follow these steps before you sign, and the installation itself becomes straightforward.

HomeLink Solar Install Crews at working