Installing a home EV charge point

A tethered charger has its cable permanently attached, so you just unhook it and plug in. An untethered charger has a socket; you use the cable that came with the car, which suits households with more than one car or those who expect to change cars. Tethered units are quicker to use every day; untethered ones look tidier on a front wall.

Most home chargers in Britain run from a single-phase supply and deliver around 7kW, enough to fill a typical car overnight. Every charger sold for home use in Great Britain must meet the smart charge point regulations, so the real differences lie in the app, tariff integration, solar features, build quality and how the charger handles load management. Check that the model works with the tariff you intend to use.

Source: planningportal.co.uk

The charger should sit where the cable reaches the car's charging port without stretching across a path or door. The installer then plans the route from your consumer unit: through walls, along the outside, through a garage or under a drive. A long run or a route through finished rooms or under paving is what makes one installation cost far more than another.

Outdoor charge points need protection against a rare but dangerous fault on the supply network that can make the car body live. Many UK homes have a supply type where this matters, and the wiring regulations set out how to deal with it. Installers use a charger with built-in detection, a separate protective device or, occasionally, an earth electrode. The quote should say which method is used.

A 7kW charger running for hours is a large load on top of an electric shower, oven or heat pump. The installer looks at the rating of your main fuse, the size of the supply cable and what else runs at the same time. Load management, where the charger measures the household demand and slows down when it rises, often avoids an upgrade.

The network operator has to be told about the charge point. Depending on your supply and the charger, the installer either fits it and notifies the operator within 28 days, or applies first and waits for approval. If the operator needs to upgrade the main fuse or cable, that is arranged with it and can take time. As the owner, you should make sure the notification has been made.

The new circuit is notifiable electrical work in England and Wales. An electrician registered with a competent person scheme self-certifies it; you then receive the electrical installation certificate and, later, a Building Regulations compliance certificate.

Source: gov.uk · planningportal.co.uk

If you own and live in a flat, or rent any home, and have private off-street parking, the government's chargepoint grant can reduce the price. You apply to OZEV, and the charger must not be installed before OZEV confirms eligibility. The installer must be OZEV-authorised and the charger an eligible model. Renters need written permission from the landlord, and flat owners from the freeholder or managing agent. Owner-occupiers of houses cannot apply.

• photos of the meter, the main fuse and the consumer unit with its cover on
• the planned parking position and where the car's charging port is
• the distance and route from the consumer unit to the charger position
• other large loads: electric shower, heat pump, solar panels or battery
• for grant jobs: tenancy or leasehold details and the landlord's or freeholder's consent
• the tariff or app you want to use

Enter the details, confirm your phone number with a text code and your email with a link. Charger installers in your area see the job without your name or contact details. One of them can buy it, and it then comes off the list. The installer pays Offrano; you are not charged.

Before the installer gets your details, we email you its name, address and phone number. We cannot promise that an installer buys every request; after 21 days without a buyer it is withdrawn. Offrano checks registration as a business, not the quality of work, so check the electrician's competent person scheme registration and, for grant jobs, OZEV authorisation.