The Government is looking to phase out pure petrol and diesel cars by 2030 and phasing out the sale of hybrids by 2035 as part of its Net Zero environmental plan. Fuel prices are sky rocketing. It wasn’t that long ago (2008 according to speedlimit.org.uk) that the average cost when we went to the pumps topped £1 per litre. Now it is in some places over £2 per litre. Little wonder then that Electric Cars are becoming rather popular. One of the advantages of electric vehicles is that they can be charged at home and in this article, we will take a look at how to install an EV charger in your home and what you might need to consider.
Charger Type
The first thing to decide is what charger type you want. Most cars can be charged, albeit very slowly, by simply plugging the charger cable into a 3-pin socket at home so no dedicated charger is actually needed. Because the power delivered is very low, though, this can take around 20 hours to fully charge a car.
Installing a dedicated 7kw charger will speed this process up significantly (around 8-10 hours) but this will require significant installation work onto your consumer unit.
If you are lucky enough to have a 3-phase supply, then you can install a 22kw charger which will charge most cars in just a few hours.
Installing a dedicated charging point will allow a lot more functionality and you can even attach solar panels to the charger to reduce costs, use an app to specify when you want the charging to happen to take advantage of cheaper tariffs if you have them and also allow you to keep a careful eye on costs.
Tethered or Untethered
One decision you will need to make if you are looking at a dedicated charging point is whether you want a tethered or untethered unit. Tethered means that you have a charging cable permanently attached to the charging unit and untethered means that you will need to use the cable supplied by the car manufacturer which can be plugged in an unplugged as needed.
In terms of charger models, there is a huge selection from simple models which just charger your car to ones that can connect to apps over wifi. Here is an article from Expert reviews which highlights some excellent points to help you select the right EV charger for you.
Connection Types
Depending on the car you have the connector is likely to be either type 1, type 2, CHAdeMO or CCS. Tesla do have a modified type 2 charger for use on their supercharger network. Type 1 and CHAdeMo are not that common in Europe so we will not consider those in this article. Type 2 charger cables are pretty universal and are supplied with cars that can take a charger power level of up to 43kw. This is perfectly OK for all home chargers. The CCS charging cable is specifically for rapid chargers which deliver power of over 50kw and so would not be typically seen on a home EV charging unit.
Location
When considering your EV charger installation, you will want the charger to be as close to your consumer unit as possible. This avoids long runs of expensive armoured cable. However, you might well be restricted by the location of your drive or garage.
Grants
The EV ChargePoint grant provides a contribution of up to 75% of the cost to install an EV charger capped at £350. This grant, however, it is only open to those who live in rented accommodation or own a flat and have not applied for an EV grant previously.
Installation
A new EV charging unit needs to be installed by a registered electrician who will also have to supply you with a Part P certificate for the new installation. Make sure to do your research and opt for an electrician who has experience in car charger installs. It pays to shop around, as some quotes we received varied by hundreds of pounds! When you receive quotes try to make sure that your electrician uses the right size cable for the run length and RCD during the install. The thickness of the cable required will differ depending on the length of the cable and the power rating. If possible, ask them to provide the cable information in the quote so that you know you are comparing like for like.
Electric cars are only going to get more popular and with the Government phasing out petrol and diesel cars over the next decade or so, moving to an EV car is certainly a good decision. Having the flexibility of a charger at home is going to be a huge advantage.
