Last Updated on 31 October 2022.
We’ll all be driving electric in less than 10 years. FACT.
If you’ve already got an electric car and you’re wondering how you go about getting charging points installed (whether that’s at home or for your workplace) OR you’re thinking about getting an electric or hybrid car, read on…
It’s part of the Government’s “green industrial revolution” to tackle climate change, with the race now in full swing globally to reduce carbon emissions, pioneer renewables and completely transform our way of living.
Of course, the car manufacturing industry still has work to do in encouraging electric vehicles within the mainstream market, largely because of the price points of electric and hybrid cars.
However, there are predictions that we’ll see a price parity with Internal Combustion Engines (ICEs)/petrol and diesel vehicles sooner than we think.
Below, we’ve covered a range of different topics and answered a number of popular questions to give you a comprehensive guide to electric vehicle charging so you can transition safely and confidently.
What this article covers:
What’s the big fuss about 2030?
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has pledged to phase out the sales of new petrol and diesel cars/vans by 2030 as part of the UK’s 2050 target for net-zero carbon emissions.
Some hybrid cars will still be allowed until 2035, but depending on how fast we approach this target, and how fast car companies adapt to these changes, we could see this goalpost changed.
What are The Electric Vehicle (Smart Charge Points) Regulations 2021?
There were found to be twice as many plug-in vehicles on our roads in June 2021 compared to the end of 2019.
And with fuel prices continuing to rise, more people are fast-tracking their transition to electric.
So, with demand increasing, the Government’s had to step in to ensure that our national grid can cater to it.
This ruling was signed into law on 15th December 2021, and came into force on 30th June 2022.
It sets out the minimum standards for all home and workplace chargepoints installed in the United Kingdom (excluding Northern Ireland). Before this, those rules had only applied to chargepoints funded by OZEV grants.
The regulations include the fact that chargepoints must be smart, i.e. have a data connection, so that the charger’s usage can be measured and even controlled (delayed or slowed – to deal with periods of high grid demands).
Chargepoints will also be pre-configured to avoid charging during peak hours to help lighten the load on the grid, however this can be overridden by choosing not to accept factory settings with regards to charging times.
These regulations, however, don’t presently apply to public chargepoints.
Further changes will include security and privacy requirements at the end of 2022, which will mean all data sent by chargepoints will need to be encrypted to help protect information in the event/prevent the occurrence of cyber attacks.
The Department of Transport is said to do another phase of investigation on the relevance and application of regulations by the end of 2025; something tells us that at the rate things are changing in this industry, it’ll definitely be before then!
What OZEV grants are available to help me fund my EV charging point installation?
The Government’s Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV) department, for example, had the Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme (EVHS), however this ended in March 2022.
The Workplace Charging Scheme –
The Workplace Charging Scheme (WCS), however, is still open and offers up to 75% of the total cost of an EV chargepoint (capped at £350 per socket and up to a maximum of 40 sockets). This is available for businesses, charities and public sector organisations.
You can apply online for the Workplace Charging Scheme; you’ll receive a voucher code to provide your OZEV-approved installer who can submit this using your code following the installation (as they need to submit evidence of when and where the installation happened.
Click here for information about all current Government grants.
The EV Chargepoint Grant for Landlords –
Similar to the Workplace Charging Scheme, this grant instead replaces the Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme to offer residential and commercial landlords, as well as social housing providers, funding to install electric car charging points in rental and leasehold premises.
This includes single-unit residential properties, such as houses, as well as multi-unit residential properties, such as apartment blocks, and commercially let premises with dedicated parking for staff/fleet use. (Although, note that holiday rental homes are excluded from this grant.)
The fund, which is being rolled out across the UK, is set to fully kick-start in summer 2022.
The Government is encouraging that before applying, landlords check:
- Their preferred chargepoint is on the OZEV approved chargepoint model list.
- Whether upgrades are needed to the electrical supply and contact their Distributed Network Operator (DNO) should this need to be done.
- Work out how the management of usage and maintenance will work, and who will be responsible for it going forward.
- Any accessibility considerations which will need to cater to any EV owners/residents with mobility needs.
(Don’t worry, we’ll run through these with you, too when you reach out to us.)
Click here for full eligibility criteria and information on the grant via the Government website.
And click here to access the registration form for landlords.
Will there be enough charging points for us all?
Of course, with electric cars, there needs to be easy and unlimited access to electric car charging points, be it at home and at our workplace, not to mention car parks, motorway services and all-new ‘charging stations’ instead of the petrol stations we’re used to.
According to Zap-Map, there were 32,312 charging points across the UK in just under 20,000 locations at the end of May 2022.
That’s a 32% increase since May 2021, and it’s not slowing down.
According to The Eco Experts, there are actually 3,600 more electric charging locations than petrol stations!
And these figures don’t include a number of chargepoints installed at home or at workplace locations, which is thought to be in the region of 400,000!
Greater London, not surprisingly, is in the lead with the most EV charging points, but with Gridserve creating fast-charging hubs in areas such as Braintree in Essex, it won’t be too long before we see these in every major city.
There’s still a lot of work to be done but there’s a big argument for saying that we’ll find EV charging availability far better than with petrol stations, simply because eventually most driveways, car parks and premises (be it domestic or commercial) will have EV charging available.
We won’t be able to go 100 yards without passing at least a dozen chargers!
What is a granny lead and why is it useless?
A ‘granny lead’ is an industry term for the ICCB cable (that’s ‘In-Cable Control Box’ to you and me). Which is usually supplied with your new car as your charging mechanism cable.
We’ve had so many people ask us this question, expecting these leads to be how they charge their car for the long-term.
Unfortunately, this advice and guidance should be offered by car dealerships, but unfortunately there is still a huge gap in education offered to individuals who are buying or who have already bought electric and hybrid vehicles.
These granny leads are very slow to charge, and can take up to 30-40 hours on their average 2.3kWh charge.
So, what’s the point of them, you might ask?
They’re a fall-back to get you out of trouble.
About an hour on a granny lead will give you roughly 10 miles (depending on the make).
What’s the difference between AC and DC charging?
AC stands for ‘Alternating Current’ and DC stands for ‘Direct Current’.
If you’re plugging in from a connection to the grid, it’s AC. However, the battery built into your electric vehicle needs power stored as DC. So, your car will then have a converter built in to convert that AC into DC.
You do this every time you also charge things like your smartphone or Bluetooth device, but the converter lives in the plug.
The easiest way to think about this is thinking about where that conversion takes place: is it inside or outside the car? For AC, it happens inside the car, for DC it happens in the charger itself.
AC chargers will be your typical domestic and commercial chargers, whilst DC chargers are the big, fast chargers you’ll usually see at service stations.
Domestic premises usually have single-phase supply whilst commercial premises usually have three-phase supply. The difference here is referring to the distribution of the load. A three-phase supply better accommodates higher loads and is more efficient as it can transmit three times as much power as a single-phase supply whilst only needing one extra wire.
So, if your installer (i.e. us) sees a three-phase supply then we usually take a sigh of relief (at least until we take a look at your distribution board to see how much of that is being used up) compared to seeing a single-phase, which typically means an upgrade is needed.
Of course, in a perfect world then everyone would have super-fast DC charging, but just like broadband, it took a long time before fibre became mainstream, so we’re sure to see this evolve.
What’s the best EV charger on the market?
Now, that’s a bit of a cheeky question. And it’s such an evolving market with more innovation coming to the fore, as well as upgrades from established names, that it wouldn’t be fair to pick just one manufacturer.
There are, of course, manufacturers which we know as installers are either good or bad in terms of support or flexibility, but have great products, or vice versa.
And as installers approved by and working with these manufacturers, we get a good feel of how service excels or falls short before the customer does. The main thing here is that we do our brief and consultation properly to find the solution that’s the right fit, so the criteria of ‘best’ is likely to change with each person’s needs.
What we can say to hop off the fence here is that there are certain chargers on the market we won’t install, simply because we know the quality of the product and its longevity don’t fit the futureproof solution we’re dedicated to offering.
Here are the EV chargers we’re aware of/have installed for our customers, and are available from our suppliers for us to install at your home or business:
- Andersen (a premium level manufacturer, favoured largely by Porsche owners, with a variety of high-end aesthetic finishes, including a timber or metal cover)
- Easee (fantastic for implementing EV charging on a wide-scale, which is also more compact in design and competitive in price
- EV Box (favoured by businesses for its software, which allows for tracking and tailoring electricity usage)
- GARO (an electrical supplier with a good reputation who have created their own EV chargers for home and business)
- iCS (stands for ‘Intelligent Charging Systems’ and is similar to EV Box in terms of data reporting on their software)
- My Energi/Zappi (the go-to for domestic installations as commercial isn’t really their market)
- Ohme (possibly the most compact home charger we’ve seen, but also has business applications too)
- Pod Point (a mammoth in the EV charging market, usually seen in commercial settings, but arguably not the most favoured in terms of aesthetics)
- Project EV (great for either domestic or commercial applications which has already integrated features other manufacturers haven’t mastered, such as integrated earthing)
- Wall Box (favoured mostly in domestic settings for their compact, neat design, app and competitive price range)
How do I know which EV charger is best for me?
Once we understand what you’re looking for and your budget, we can propose the best and most suitable EV charging manufacturer for you.
What’s also important to note is that certain manufacturers only operate with Closed Protocol software (software only really matters for commercial premises where you’ll want to measure, control and/or monetise your electricity usage).
Closed Protocol means that you can only use the software which is readily built in to that specific manufacturer’s charging head.
Open Protocol, by contrast, means you can use one manufacturer for your charger and another one for your software; there are companies which are software-only and do not have EV charging points as physical products, as there is a growing market for software with usability and control features being prime Unique Selling Points.
We would always recommend doing a little independent research on this (ideally before you even purchase your electric vehicle(s).
There’s the allure of a new car, but not enough knowledge and information on how to maintain it.
Researching gives you that time and preparation so you’re not making rash decisions to just get a charger fitted, which could turn out to be a false economy (but don’t worry, when you trust us, we’ll make sure this won’t happen!).
I’ve been told my electrical supply isn’t good enough – can I still install an EV charger?
If the main fuse is not adequately sized then you will need your Distributed Network Operator (DNO) to attend and upgrade the fuse (we can help with this).
It’s also important to check if your system is protected against PEN faults. A PEN fault can lead to a loss of earth, which could mean that YOU become the earth when touching the metal body of the vehicle, which can have detrimental consequences.
Solutions to this can be to change the earthing system, install a new distribution board with a separate earthing system for the chargers only, or install a device that will monitor for PEN faults and disconnect the power should it happen.
The easiest answer to not having enough room on your existing distribution board is getting an additional board or upgrading. (Most premises could do with this anyway with electrical systems which are 30+ years old!)
If you’ve not had an EICR or Fixed Wire Test carried out to give us more information about the condition and capacity of your electrics then this should be Step 1 before you proceed with the idea of an EV charging point being installed at your premises.
How much does it cost to install an EV charging point?
This largely depends on the quality of the charger you opt for, any special features (e.g. integrating with your accounting system if you’re charging out for electricity usage) and also the quality of your provider.
Using quality kit with a naff provider is a false economy and vice versa is as well (although you’ll find with us, we do not install certain brands simply because of their lack of efficacy and/or longevity so don’t choose to promote or encourage their use).
You’ll also need to make sure that your distribution board can cater for your new EV charging point and won’t short or create a safety hazard due to the electricity drawn from charging.
There are other factors which impact the cost of your EV charging point, such as the distance between your fuse box and your parking spot or driveway, so your neighbour’s charging point installation could easily be less or more than yours depending on how the building layout is.
Of course, the kind of car you have or want could also mean you may need a charger capable of a faster charge or have a stronger electrical capacity.
Using a reputable installer will take into account all bespoke requirements and adapt to the specifications of your home or premises.
That’s why a site survey is so important. If you’re getting a price without one, it’s likely it’s not 100% accurate.
Click here to leave an enquiry with us so we can get a price together for you.
To give you a rough idea, the minimum for a quality installation, including an EICR in order to test the integrity of your current electrics, is £1,200+VAT domestically and £1,800 commercially (for a single chargepoint).
Don’t be taken aback about your installation costs. All the right components, labour and expertise that goes into electric vehicle installations is important, so look at it as an investment in your safety, your car battery’s longevity and your future joining the electric revolution!
How long does it take to install an EV charger?
It can take as little as a couple of hours to install your EV charger.
Your EV charger will be fixed to a solid wall or other robust structure; where there isn’t a wall space then we can use heavy-duty poles to bear the weight of the charger standing off the ground.
As fire, security and electrical system installers, we are dedicated to making sure our EV charging installations are tidy and neat, as well as safe and compliant with regulations.
Of course, if you need ground works done (for example if you’re getting your charger’s pole inserted into the ground) or an electrical supply/distribution board upgrade, you’ll need to get all of that sorted before you install your EV charging point.
We’ll keep you in the loop of all of this, the requirements and ETAs as we can do an all-encompassing service for you to ensure a safe and future-proofed installation.
The best way to ensure a smooth and fast installation is to have a site survey beforehand so the positioning and logistics of the job can be assessed and planned effectively.
We also allow time for training, be it with the use of the charging point itself and/or with the software system (if implemented), to ensure users feel confident in using their charging points straight away.
How much will it cost me to charge my electric car?
This is bound to change, even by the time I finish the article, as energy prices are so volatile right now, as are petrol and diesel prices.
At the time of writing, it costs on average around 9p per mile to charge a fully electric car. With the average petrol car costing around 22p per mile, that makes Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicles more than twice as expensive.
At 9p per mile that would mean it’d cost about £18 for a full charge if you take the average range of an electric vehicle at 204 miles.
The Eco Experts have a great calculator on their website which says that for someone who drives around 100 miles a week and charges at home, they’d save about £709.96 over a year. Compare this to someone who charges at their workplace instead of at home, the annual savings would currently sit at £1,256.84.
How long will my electric/hybrid vehicle take to charge?
There’s no definitive timeframe as this depends on your car manufacturer as well as the number of kilowatts that your EV charger can draw (for example, a standard domestic 7.4kWh will draw less than a 22kWh).
A domestic charger of about 7kW would take around eight hours to charge from empty to full on a typical electric car (60kWh battery) – hence why a lot of people charge their cars overnight.
On a typical 7.4kWh charger (which is seen at home, but also in some free car parks, such as Tesco) you could expect to get around 30 miles per hour.
An 11-22kWh charger should give you about 60 miles per hour (this level of kWh should really only be seen in commercial settings where there is a three-phase supply). If you’re not sure what we mean by this, we’ll explain it when we speak to you!
Your 50kWh rapid chargers, often seen in petrol stations offer around 100 miles in 35 minutes.
Then there are the mammoth 360kWh chargers (not that many in this country just yet, and most electric cars still need to be optimised to take that level of charge) which can give a full charge in just 15 minutes.
Factors which affect charging speed include:
- Size of battery, as the bigger the vehicle’s battery capacity then the longer it’ll take to charge
- Empty versus full, i.e. how much you’ve got to charge (some cars, such as Tesla, recommend/program charging to only go up to 70% rather than charging to full capacity for optimum battery functionality and longevity)
- The charging rate of your chargepoint, as mentioned above, as a lower 7.4kWh will undoubtedly take longer, but you may want to consider that a longer charge is suitable if you’re only charging to full once a week and happy to do this overnight
- External factors, such as the weather, as colder temperatures can mean less miles are added within the same timeframe as during the summertime
If you’re just about to embark on your electric car journey, you may want to look into the charging capabilities of the car you’re getting, if time is, of course, of the essence for you and you tend to clock up a lot of miles.
Can’t I just use public charging stations to charge my car?
Of course, there’s nothing stopping you! The only potential issues here relate to inconvenience and cost.
There are some charging stations, for example, at supermarket car parks, which are free, however they are often slower to charge. Plus, these incentives will only last for so long until electric vehicle ownership becomes more mainstream and not charging for it becomes unsustainable.
Public charging stations often have subscription-based charging and/or charge a one-off set-up on top, meaning you’ll be juggling lots of apps and probably paying more through the nose than you intended to. Not to mention, the anxiety that comes with not knowing where your next charge will be and if you’ll be guaranteed a spot at your go-to charging station.
BP Pulse (formerly ‘Polar’) costs £7.85 per month / £94.20 per year for their subscription, and then you have access to their (presently 7,000) charging stations across the UK which charge at a rate of around £0.55 per kWh).
What are some mainstream mistruths about electric vehicles?
Here are two popular ones which we hear pretty often:
- Electric car batteries are counter-productive for climate change as they just end up in landfill.
No! (Although, what individual companies do with the batteries isn’t fully within anyone’s control – but I would hazard a guess there would be environmental disposal regulations in place as time goes on).
The batteries in electric cars tend to have long warranties and lives, generally. As the manufacturing side of things continues to explore more innovative paths, we are bound to see the lives of these batteries exceed the expected 100,000-150,000 we’re seeing on the market presently.
Even once a battery’s seen better days and no longer fit for use in cars, it won’t – or at least, shouldn’t need to – end up in a landfill site. It can be recycled or used as, for example, an energy storage unit. So, this argument is rendered moot.
- EVs are slower than Internal Combustion Engine vehicles.
I recently took a ride in our Project Manager Scott’s Volkswagen ID.3, which can achieve 0-60mph in 6.6 seconds. It felt faster than that, and thought I’d have to claim whiplash!
Unlike ICEs which work by building up the gears (even when it’s automatic, this process still happens), with an electric car, there’s no build-up needed – it’s just gone! Their accelerating power, for example in our Founding Director Paul’s Tesla, means that there’s next to no competition when you’re sitting at the lights next to your petrol-fuelled neighbour.
Total myth, the speed’s pretty mind-blowing – although I wouldn’t recommend going over the limit! Drive safely, everyone!!
What’s the difference between ‘tethered’ and ‘untethered’ car chargers?
It’d be easier to say ‘cable’ or ‘no cable’, really!
‘Tethered’ essentially means there’s a cable attached to the box that you plug your into your car, but ‘untethered’ means you’re plugging in to your car and the charger itself.
Untethered chargers tend to be more popular to avoid idle cables which can be a hazard, but also because of the wider compatibility with cars and charging cables.
You’ll need your own charging cable for this (i.e. the granny lead).
Untethered is the preferred when it comes to aesthetics and being hazard-free.
Tethered, on the other hand, is seen as more convenient as you don’t have to find your cable to start charging up. You’ll likely see more of these in public charging stations.
What are the benefits of installing EV chargepoints at my workplace?
There are a number of reasons to install EV charging points at your commercial premises:
As well as saving your business money and claiming capital allowances to help offset some of your tax, there are grants available to help you save up to £350 per point (see the Workplace Charging Scheme mentioned further up in this article), to help with the cost of this installation.
Plus, you’re both future-proofing your business and positioning yourself in a way that will improve your reputation with visitors and customers as eco-friendly.
One of our very first customers for EV charging was an hotelier who wanted to cater to their customers who were owners of electric vehicles, but also to put their hotel and restaurant on the map when people searched for local charging points. When customers would turn up, they could enjoy a nice cup of tea and the grounds, to promote their hotel!
Then there’s the ability to earn money back from the electricity usage, which means you’re offsetting the cost by implementing this savvy technique.
The benefits on a commercial basis are endless, so if you’re umm-ing and ahhh-ing about this decision, why not do some investigating to see what’s involved to help you make that decision (or at least be better informed for when you are ready!)?
Can I use solar technology to charge my electric car?
Solar energy and technology has been around for some time offering an energy and money-saving solutions. Pair that with electric car charging, which does the same, and you’re likely to reap even more rewards!
If you already have solar panels, then connecting this up is easy (for us!), we just need to be briefed and survey what’s there to make sure we’re making the correct allocations.
If you’re planning on charging mostly during the day, you can charge directly from your solar PV system, but if you plan on doing this more at night then you’ll need a solar battery storage system in order to preserve the energy it retrieves during the day to apply during the night.
We aren’t seeing dedicated solar panel car chargers just yet, so the go-to right now is installing a charging unit and a PV inverter unit, which then converts that solar energy into electricity.
If you’ve not yet got solar panels, but are considering getting them installed for the purpose of helping charge your electric vehicle(s), then we can help (you’ll need to bear in mind that you need more panels for a larger battery vehicle) for a seamless EV charging installation experience.
Do I need planning permission to install EV chargers?
Generally speaking, no. If your building is a listed building, then you’ll need ‘listed building consent’, and the same goes for conservation areas.
Domestically, if it’s on your property then you’re fine. Commercially, just make sure if you’re building is leased that you’ve cleared this with your landlord – it’ll likely be your landlord who gets this implemented for you anyway.
Do EV chargers need maintenance or servicing?
Yes. Even though EV chargers (for the most part) are designed to be weathered, they are still electrical devices that need inspecting and servicing to help keep it functioning correctly, identify any damage or resolve faults, and also ensure its longevity.
Good chargers can cost a fair bit, so it’s not something you want to have to redo every few years because you’ve not taken good care of it.
Depending on your manufacturer, maintenance/servicing/an annual health check is required to uphold the warranty should this ever need to be relied upon.
EV Box, for example, offers a three-year warranty but needs evidence of an annual health check.
The maintenance service looks at:
- Age, damage or wear-and-tear of component parts
- Cleaning inside and around the EV charging device for particulate matter which can erode the equipment
- Ensuring the electrical integrity of the installation, looking for any faults or potential problems
- Offering on-hand support should you need it (either remotely or via a call-out)
It’s important to ask your provider what their maintenance plan involves, which is another indicator that you’ve got a quality installer whose aim isn’t just to bung something on the wall and walk away.
What rate should I charge my electricity usage at for EV charging on my business premises?
The average domestic electricity rate in the UK is £0.28 per kWh, whilst with public charging stations you’ll see this more around the £0.40 per kWh mark (although this is subject to change with the fluctuating and rising energy prices).
If you’ve got software which can allow you to set the rate for your employees (for deducting off their salary), customers or visitors (for paying via an RFID/debit card) then you might be scratching your head as to how much you can or should charge for.
We recommend looking at your bill/contacting your electricity provider to see what your current electricity rate is and then either doubling it or multiplying it by 1.5 so that you can start to make a profit on this. Eventually this will evolve and you’ll be able to see the pennies coming in, instead of the pennies going out like on your smart meter!
You may like to (for customers and visitors) offer an incentive such as free EV charging for the first 15 or 30 minutes before charging for usage commences.
There’s so many options here, and the great thing is, it’s tailorable.
Can I install my EV charging point myself?
Yes – if you’re an experienced and certified electrician.
There are, however, EV chargers coming to the market (e.g. the Easee charger) which are simple enough to install yourself, and certainly encouraged once you’ve had the initial wiring infrastructure set up by someone who knows what they’re doing and have the certificates to prove it.
This is where a lot of people make the mistake of trusting a “friend who knows electrics” or a cheap deal that gets the job (seemingly) done.
Ask yourself: if it’s cheap, why is that?
It’s important to remember that just because someone is an electrician doesn’t mean they’re experienced in installing EV chargers. That’s like asking a cardiologist to do brain surgery – would you trust it? I mean, they’re not a neurologist but they’re still a doctor, no?
Final liability on the efficacy and safety of ANY electrical installation lies with you, not the person who fitted it – although they do have something to answer for as well.
For instance, Rachel Maclean MP (Transport Secretary) issued in August 2021 a letter to all authorised installers to notify them of audits being carried out to identify deficient installations.
“The results of the audits indicate that the requirements of the grant schemes and in particular Building Regulations, BS 7671 (The IET Wiring Regulations) and the IET code of practice for EV chargepoint installations are not being met in a number of installations…
This includes installations going ahead when there are issues with the existing distribution equipment or supply equipment, and examples of poor wiring during installation…
The Government takes the safety of the public of the public extremely seriously. If necessary, we will remove companies and individuals found to be performing unsafe installations from our schemes and inform their electrical associations of our decision.”
Another important reason to get it done by a professional is because this can void warranties depending on the charging point you opt for, which you will want to avoid.
What’s more is if you get your charger installed by a professional, you’ll also get a certificate of installation following this which demonstrates your due diligence of a legitimate installation. Should something go wrong and you don’t have this then it could mean you wouldn’t be able to claim on your warranty/insurance if you needed to.
On a similar note, if an issue arises with your vehicle’s battery and you need your manufacturer to fix this, you may be asked to provide your EV charging certificate to provide that it is indeed the car and not the charger which isn’t functioning properly.
Did you also know that a poor (or good) installation can impact the resale value of your property?
Yep – if you’re selling your property, it’s likely surveys will cover off the integrity of the installation you had commissioned. Conversely, by having one in the first place puts you at an advantage right now where not many people have them, but also by having it done right with the written certification to prove it, puts you in good stead.
There are SO many reasons not to do it yourself, with safety and being risk-averse being the centre of the message here.
That charging point is going to live on your property for some time and will draw from your electricity so you’ll want to make sure it’s done right.
It’s also important to remember that hazardous/unsafe installations are a threat to public health, whether that’s installed on a domestic or commercial premises.
UK Power Networks, the Distribution Network Operator (DNO) for the East and South East of England, and London, is known to do spot checks to ensure that charging points aren’t being installed with the avoidance of power upgrades where they are needed.
There should be load limiters in place so that if the charging pulls more than the fuse rating allowance then it will shut off, but this should be checked and implemented by an actual electrician, as well as other factors such as earthing.
When you trust an NICEIC accredited installer, you are covered by the NICEIC Platinum Promise, which means that if a contractor under this scheme falls short of quality for an installation that turns out to be non-compliant, or they stop trading, then the NICEIC (National Inspection Council for Electrical Installation Contracting) will step in to help.
What’s the lead time on installing my EV charging point?
From your approval to installation, our lead time is presently four weeks.
We can survey within the same week of your enquiry, so there’s no delay on getting your bespoke proposal all ready and finalised, and we can order up equipment to be with us within the same week as well due to our fantastic supplier partnerships.
Our lead time is based on our diaries to book in the installations, so the more advance notice, the better!
How do I choose my installer?
As mentioned above, it is first and foremost incredibly important to make sure your installer is a qualified electrician with experience installing EV charging units.
Then you’ll want to look at the overall service they’re providing. A great installer will offer a seamless end-to-end service and a service package, which includes a handover with training, remote support, and/or even an annual check for your charging point.
You’ll also want to consider the long-term goal for your electric transition. It might be that you’ve only got the budget for just the one charging point right now but long-term you’ll want a whole host of them, or perhaps you have a hybrid car right now but want to go fully electric later on so you’ll want a more sophisticated charger capable of a faster charge…
A smart installer will ask you your plans and create the solution that fits you now and in the future.
For example, we do an extensive consultation for anyone who reaches out to us to make sure whoever and whatever they choose is chosen based on an informed and educated decision.
And it’s not just about future-proofing, but also working out the logistics of a successful installation. Aesthetics are important as it’s going to be sitting on the front of your home or workplace, after all!
A great installer should look at things like:
- The current rating of your cut-out fuse(s)
- The earthing arrangement of your electrical system
- Is there space available in your existing distribution boards?
- What the best cable route is
- What type of charger(s) would best suit your needs
- Where you would like you’re the charger(s) located
- Is there a recent Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) available to view?
At WFP, we’ve been installing electronic systems pertaining to life safety and security, including fire alarms and security systems, you can be sure we’ve got this.
Plus, because repairing and servicing, as well as installing, is our bread and butter, and has been for nearly 20 years – you won’t be let down on service and aftercare.
Click here to learn more about EV charging point installations, and how we take care of it for you – from start to finish! We can even help with your EV charging point station/parking space painting!
Why not reach out for a FREE 30-minute consultation to decide how you can take your business to a greener, smarter and more cost-effective level?
Our team are here to help on 01277 724 653!
(And please help us spread the word about energy and cost savings by converting to LED lighting by sharing this post on social media using the buttons below!)
