Installing a Home EV Charging Station

• Ensure the charging cable is long enough to reach your vehicle, but also doesn’t cause an obstruction or trip hazard. Even if you have a driveway, there are still potential hazards for people who need to walk on it.
• You can decide whether to make the charge point obvious or hidden. There are two different types of charging you can have: tethered or untethered, which both have their own benefits. Tethered means that the charging cable is already attached to the wall box and ready to go, whilst untethered means you need to provide your own cable.
• You’ll need to find out where the charging point is on your car - whether that’s the front, side or towards the back. This will determine where your home charging point can go.
• You’ll need to install the charging point near a router so that you can access smart tools, such as remote charging and off-peak tariffs.
• You’ll need to decide how fast you want your charger to be - a cheaper charger will offer you a rate of 3.6kW, which will charge your car in 24 hours. If you opt for a 7kW charger, this will charge your car at a rate of 22 miles of range per hour. A 22kW charger is much faster but for the majority of EV owners, this won’t be suitable.

How do I get a charging point installed?

Most manufacturers offer discounted or even free installation of your home charger if you buy or lease an EV. It'll be installed by a fully qualified technician onto a wall of your choice. The process may require you to turn power off during the connection phase and may require some extra cabling depending on your current set-up.

If you own a driveway, then getting a charging point installed is very straightforward. If you park on the street or live in rented accommodation then installation would depend on individual circumstances. Living in rented accommodation means you will need to ask the permission of the landlord to get the charger installed.