You may already own an electric vehicle or maybe you are thinking about switching soon but the costs of installing a charge point at home can seem confusing. At EVC Solutions we like to make the process as simple as possible and that includes our pricing.

There are two elements to having a charger installed. The first is the charge point and the second is the installation on a wall somewhere on your property.

The cost of a charge point varies from around £500 to £1500 depending on which make and model you choose. See our video on choosing the right charge point for the various options.

Our standard installation process costs £450 (including VAT) and that includes;

• Up to 10 metres of cabling from your fusebox or meter to the charge point location
• We will drill through one wall if required
• And we will mount the charger on a wall close to where your car will be parked when charging

Grants are available for both residential and commercial installations that will cover a significant amount of the installation costs, and we can advise you on the latest grant information when you contact us.

We do fit most makes and models and will gladly recommend the best one to suit your needs. Again see our video on choosing the right charge point for the various options.

When deciding which wall you would like your charge point fitted to, there are a few factors to consider.

Firstly, and this might seem obvious but, where will your EV be parked when it is charging? If you park your car in your garage then it would make sense to have the charger installed there.

Secondly, where is the charging port on your vehicle? Some EVs have the charging port on the front, some have them to one side. Easy access from the charge point to the car is key.

Thirdly, the closer the charge point is to the fusebox, the cheaper it can be to install. If a house has had an extension it is possible that the fusebox is in the middle of the house which means that the cabling will have to travel further and increase expenses.

If you need your charger to be fitted externally you will want to consider whether to have an untethered option and a more aesthetically pleasing design option. For more about charger options see our video on choosing the right charge point.

Finally, you might have some concerns about the security of having the charge point on an outside wall. EV Chargers are lockable so they can only be used by authorised users and also have apps which remotely control the usage.

Owning an electric vehicle is a big change from the petrol or diesel powered cars that we’ve always driven and there is a change of mindset that comes with an evolution of technology.

The charge point is often down the priority list when switching to an EV but it’s worth taking some time to consider the options available to you as a driver or property owner.

There are safety and technical considerations, aesthetics and functionality, and even whether the charge point is recyclable.

Like most products, charge points come in various shapes, sizes and designs, from small and discreet boxes that can hide away unnoticed, to much bulkier options. Aesthetically, the choice is down to your personal preference but there are some important considerations.

Smaller boxes tend to have an untethered lead whilst the larger chargers can be either tethered or untethered. A tethered option is essentially a charge point with a lead permanently connected to it. An untethered charge point has a Type 2 socket in it that allows you to utilise the separate charge lead that comes with your car.

If your charge point has a tethered lead then you will want to wrap the lead around the charge point when it’s not being used like you would with a garden hose. With an untethered option you would probably keep the lead in your car so that you always have it available, like your spare tyre.

Typically, tethered charge points are more expensive but prices vary depending on makes and models.

It’s important to know where your charge point is going to be installed. This is something that we can discuss with you at an early stage in the process to give you time to choose the correct charge point. You can also see our video on where charge points should be installed.

When it comes to functionality, most charge points do pretty much the same thing, after all they just need to charge your car. All residential chargers are 32Amp 7.3Kw and so there is little, to no difference in charge times. Commercial chargers start at 22Kw and can increase depending on the infrastructure of the property.

Most chargers also come with a mobile app which allows control over charge times and duration, so you can charge during cheaper tariff times, and many also have solar compatibility so you can benefit from much cheaper ways of charging.

From a safety perspective EVC Solutions considers it very important that a charge point should have an integrated earthing system.

The current electrical regulations and standards require that the earthing protection present in the most UK properties is not used to earth protect EV charging installations as the other protection systems don’t function effectively if a particular fault occurs.

This means that specific provision for the safe installation of EV Chargers must be made and many chargers on the market do not have this built in to them as supplied.

EVC Solutions can provide guidance on which do and which do not have this protection fitted.

If your chosen charge point does not meet our recommendations there is additional equipment available to buy and install, which may bring the installation up to required standards, if correctly fitted, but this does add to the costs of installation.

As experienced installers we do recommend certain charge points but will consider fitting most boxes available on the market as long as they meet existing regulations.

If you are looking for a charger for a residential installation then there is only one option available as all dedicated home charge points are 7.3Kw as they are limited by the available power.

If however, you need an installation at a commercial property the options increase significantly.

Commercial charge points start at 22Kw and increase to 40, 50 and 100Kw plus depending on the power infrastructure available at the property.

The biggest consideration is how long a vehicle needs to charge for. Different buildings and businesses have a range of functions and the clientele using them have varied requirements.

An office worker who typically parks their car all day only needs a low powered charge as they have 7 or 8 hours to charge their vehicle.

A gym user may well be in the car park for 2-3 hours at a time and so a faster charge time would be preferable.

A supermarket car park will have drivers who are only there for 30 mins to an hour and so a fast charge time would be of greater benefit to them.

Considering what kind of building you have and what kind of usage it gets helps to determine the size of the chargers that will serve you best.

If you want to know more about anything to do with the process of installation and the costs involved please contact us via the website evcsolutions.co.uk or call 03300 904030 and be part of the future, today.

As you would imagine, fitting an Electric Vehicle charge point is not a one size fits all exercise. There are certain variables that need to be considered and technical information that needs to be gathered before we can accurately access and quote for an installation, and we need your help to do it!

The simplest and quickest way to gather the information we need is by conducting what we call a 7 Point Desktop Survey. This survey helps us identify the ease or complexity of an installation by means of photographs and information that you can supply. This allows us to make recommendations before we visit to install.

When you enquire about having an electric charge point installed the first thing we need to know is the Meter Point Administration Number or MPAN, so that we can gain permission from the Distribution Network Operator for the property to fit a charge point. The MPAN can be found on your electricity bill.

To get an idea of the property and installation details we ask the customer to supply us with a few photographs and a sketch.

The first three images are of the gas bonding, the water bonding and the isolator switch. You would normally be able to identify the bonding by a green and yellow cable coming from pipes very close to and around your gas metre and very close to and around your stop tap.

Some newer houses have plastic water pipes which do not require earth bonding.

We need to ensure that the bonding is correct because when we complete your installation we need to issue an electrical certificate BS7671 which is only possible with proof that the pipes are correctly bonded.

The isolator switch will be located very close to your metre and fuse board. It controls the incoming power from the road into your property. If you haven’t got an isolator switch then your local energy company or your local Distribution Network Operator will be able to fit one for you.

We then need a photo of your fuse board with the flap open, showing the incoming fuse and then an image from about 2 – 3 metres back showing the surroundings of the meter and the fuse board. They may be in slightly separate locations in that one is inside and one is on an outside wall but we need an image of both from a short distance.

The final images are of where you would ideally like the charge point to be positioned. We would need one close up image and one set back between 5-10 metres so that we can get an overall impression of the house and the charge point position in relation to it. When considering the charge point installation position think about where your electric vehicle will be parked. See our video on the best place to install your charger.

In the sketch we would like you to show us where the desired location of the charge point is in relation to the meter and the fuse board showing the potential route for the cabling. We are not looking for great detail, just a rough idea.

Please indicate if you live in a semi-detached house, a terraced house, or your house has been extended because your meter and fuse board may not be located on, or close to an outside wall.

Our aim is to get the cabling outside of the property as directly as possible and if a meter or fuse board is in the middle of the house it can create an extra complication which is helpful to know about before we arrive.

There seems like a lot to do so here’s a quick checklist:

1. Get an MPAN from your electricity bill
2. Take photos of gas bonding and water bonding
3. A photo of isolator switch
4. A photo of fuse board and meter
5. A photo of desired installation position
6. A photo of house
7.A sketch of house floor plan

Once we have this information from you we can create an accurate quote for installation and you can start choosing your charge point. See our video on choosing the right charge point for helpful information.

Do I really need an EV charger installed or can I just plug my car into a 3 pin socket on a wall at home?

When you get your electric vehicle you probably won’t have had a charge point installed yet, which is fine because you can charge your vehicle by plugging into a standard 13 amp socket like you would when charging your mobile. As a temporary measure this is not a problem but installing a dedicated EV charge point is the recommended solution, and that’s because EV chargers are quicker, safer and smarter.

A dedicated 7.3Kw charge point charges faster than a 3 pin plug which can only draw up to 3Kw at best. To give you an idea of what that means, it can take 13 hours to fully charge a Nissan Leaf from a plug socket but under 5 hours with a dedicated charge point.

Using a 3 pin plug can also raise some safety concerns as charging an EV draws a lot of electricity and a substandard extension lead could over-heat. A dedicated EV charger bypasses your 13Amp ring main and connects directly to your fusebox.

Not only are they quicker and safer but a smart charge point will also communicate with your electric vehicle, allowing you to take advantage of cheaper energy tariff times, charging your car when supply levels are high but demand is low. And you can also make use of the app control facilities.

Residential electric vehicle chargers need a minimum of 80Amps to work effectively. If you have a relatively new property then this is unlikely to be a problem but some older properties may need some extra work doing before we can begin installing.

The good news is that if you do need an increase, your power company should be able to help you for free.

Additionally, power intensive utilities such as a hot tub or a sauna, or an air source or ground source heat pump, can lower the power available to the EV charger and you should let us know if you have any large appliances like this as soon as possible as it may affect the installation process and price.

Owning an electric vehicle will be new to most of us and one the biggest concerns about driving an EV has been the worry about charge times and whether you might ‘run out of power’ during a journey.

There is really simple way to approximately work out how long it will take to charge your car by dividing the the size of your car battery by the power output of the charge point.

For example, a 40Kw battery divided by a residential 7.3Kw charge would take around 5 1/2 hours to fully charge from empty.

A 70Kw car battery divided by a commercial 60Kw charge would take just over an hour to fully charge from empty.

To give you an idea of car battery sizes, a Nissan Leaf has a 40Kw battery while a Tesla S Model has a 80Kw battery.

Additionally, motorway service stations typically have higher powered charge points that will fully charge a battery in minutes rather than hours.

Having an EV charge point installed at home or at work will help you stay in control of your journeys.

As more drivers switch to electric vehicles the need for EV Charge points at workplaces, supermarkets, sports grounds, private car parks and commercial facilities will soon be necessary.

As a business owner you are probably starting to think about how you will provide charging stations for your staff or customers.

Here are some questions that may be relevant to your business:

1. How big is your car park?

2. How many employees or customers do you have?

3. How big is your fleet of company vehicles?

4. How long are cars parked for? For example an office worker might park their car all day but a supermarket customer may be there for under an hour.

5. Should you have a wall mounted charger or pedestal mounted charging station? Is there even an available wall in which to mount the chargers?

And 6. Where is your incoming power situated? This will determine the most cost effective position for the chargers.

Answering these questions will help determine the next steps for your EV charge point installation.