A Quick Guide To Domestic EV Charging Installation

Come 2035, you won’t be able to purchase a new petrol or diesel car or van here in the UK, with vehicle manufacturers now mandated to sell growing numbers of electric-only makes and models from this year… with the aim being, of course, to encourage people to make greener choices where their vehicles are concerned in a bid to tackle climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

While transitioning to electric vehicles does form a key part of the plan to achieve net zero in this country, adoption does seem to be slow, with many obstacles to overcome before the move to more eco-friendly modes of transport become more commonplace.

Official government figures show that just three per cent of cars in 2023 were battery electric and just seven per cent were hybrid. Battery electric cars made up 16 per cent of car registrations last year, a rise of just one per cent compared to 2018.

One of the biggest barriers to EV adoption is access to reliable charging - and it’s not hard to see why! Of course drivers are worried about their cars running out of juice before they’ve reached their end destination. There’s nothing less fun than being stranded on the open road, after all.

However, there are now 60,000 EV charge points across the UK, representing a 50 per cent increase on April 2023 - and homeowners are also now increasingly having these charging stations installed on their properties, making it even easier to charge their cars and get out and about.

EV charging installation

EV chargers use a lot of power from the grid, so you need to notify your distribution network operator before the charging point can be installed. This typically takes up to ten days to approve.

Installation is relatively straightforward if you own your home and have off-street parking. If you live in rented accommodation or you don’t have an off-road parking space, it is still possible to have a charging point installed, but you may need permission from your landlord.

Charger type, location and cable length are all aspects you’ll need to consider (and these will all affect the final cost of installation).

In terms of actual charger, you should find that a 7kw product is appropriate for charging your car overnight, but if you have higher mileage needs or want to be able to charge the vehicle up more quickly, you can opt for a 22kw charger instead. 

This will mean that you need to upgrade your domestic power supply from single phase to three-phase, however, and this will increase the overall costs of the project.

As for location of the charger, it needs to be able to connect to the internet, so walk around your property to make sure that your preferred place has stable WiFi or mobile data signal.

It might seem like a bit of a nuisance, but EV charging stations pay for themselves in the long run, making it more convenient for you to charge your car - and cheaper to boot.

If you’d like to find out more, get in touch with electrical contractors Volt East today.