An EV charger is a dedicated new circuit with specific earthing and protection requirements, so it is notifiable work. The first step is not choosing a charger — it is assessing whether your existing supply can take one. Main fuse rating, consumer unit capacity, the earthing arrangement and the cable route all have to be established before anything is specified.
- The supply assessment comes before the charger choice. It can change the answer entirely.
- Earthing arrangement matters: some properties need specific protection for outdoor charging.
- Load management can make a charger possible where the supply looks marginal.
- No off-street parking means no home charger — trailing a cable across a pavement is not an option.
Start with the supply, not the charger
Most people begin by choosing a charger. The right first step is finding out what your property can actually support, because that sometimes changes the answer.
A typical domestic charger draws a substantial continuous load for hours at a time. That is quite unlike a kettle or a shower, which draw heavily in short bursts. Sustained load is what makes the supply assessment necessary.
Four things get established before anything is specified:
- Main fuse rating. Many properties have 100A, but plenty of older ones have 60A or 80A. The existing maximum demand of the house is calculated and the charger added to it.
- Consumer unit capacity. Is there a spare way, and is the board suitable to take the required protective device?
- Earthing arrangement. How the property is earthed determines what protection the charger installation needs.
- The cable route. Distance from board to parking position, and what it has to pass through, drives both cost and feasibility.
The earthing question
This is the technical point that most affects what gets installed, and it is worth understanding in outline.
Charging a vehicle outdoors creates a situation the regulations treat carefully: a person can be in contact with the vehicle and with the ground at the same time. On certain supply earthing arrangements, a fault on the supply network could in principle make exposed metalwork live, and outdoors there is no equipotential zone to limit the consequences.
The regulations therefore require particular measures. Historically that often meant installing an earth rod at the property to provide a separate earth for the charging equipment. More commonly now, chargers incorporate built-in protection that monitors for this condition and disconnects, which avoids the need for a rod.
What this means practically: the earthing arrangement at your property influences which chargers are suitable and whether additional work is needed. It is one of the things an installer must establish, and a quote produced without knowing it is incomplete.
What the installation involves
- Survey: supply assessment, earthing arrangement, board capacity, cable route, mounting position.
- Specify the charger and the protection to suit what was found.
- Run a dedicated circuit from the consumer unit — armoured cable where it is run outside or buried, at the correct depth or otherwise protected.
- Install the protective device, which has specific requirements for EV circuits.
- Mount and commission the charger, including any app or network setup.
- Test the circuit and issue the Electrical Installation Certificate.
- Notify Building Control, since this is notifiable work under Part P.
- Demonstrate it — how to start and stop a charge, what the indicators mean, and how to isolate it.
A straightforward installation is usually a day. Where the supply needs upgrading or the cable route is difficult, it becomes a longer job with another party involved.
When it is not straightforward
| Situation | The issue | Usual route |
|---|---|---|
| Small main fuse | Existing demand plus charger exceeds capacity | Load management, or a supply upgrade via the network operator |
| No spare way in the board | Nowhere to connect the new circuit | Board upgrade, or a separate enclosure |
| Long cable run | Volt drop and cable cost over distance | Larger cable; sometimes a different position |
| Parking across a pavement | Trailing a cable over public footway | Not permissible; look at on-street options |
| Flat or shared parking | No dedicated supply to the bay | Needs freeholder and often a shared scheme |
| Listed or conservation area | External fixture and cable visibility | Check before ordering; siting may be constrained |
| Detached garage with existing supply | Existing sub-circuit may be inadequate | Often needs its own dedicated run |
Load management is the one that most often rescues a marginal supply. The charger monitors total household demand and reduces its own draw when the house is using a lot, so the main fuse is never exceeded. It means slower charging at peak times rather than no charger.
Choosing the charger itself
Once the supply is understood, the charger choice is mostly about features rather than feasibility.
- Tethered or untethered. Tethered has the cable attached — convenient, but you are committed to that connector type and the cable has to live somewhere. Untethered takes any cable and is tidier.
- Smart functionality. Scheduling to charge on a cheaper overnight tariff is where the running-cost saving actually comes from, so this matters more than it first appears.
- Solar integration, if you have panels, so surplus generation goes to the car rather than the grid.
- Load management, essential on a marginal supply and useful insurance generally.
- Physical siting. Where the car parks, which side the charging port is on, cable reach, and whether the unit is exposed to weather or vehicle impact.
- Connectivity. Many smart chargers depend on wifi or mobile signal. Check the signal at the mounting position, not at the back door.
Grants and schemes
Government support for home charge points has changed repeatedly, and eligibility has narrowed over the years — at various points it has been limited to flats, rental properties, or households without off-street parking.
We are not going to state current eligibility here, because schemes change faster than an article does and getting it wrong would cost you money. Check the position directly through the Government's own electric vehicle chargepoint grant information before budgeting on it.
What is worth knowing is that grant-funded installations generally require an approved installer and specific equipment, so if a grant is part of your plan, establish that before choosing either.
What it costs
These are the electrical figures published across this site:
| Job | Typical Coventry guide price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Typical job | £233–£473 | Sockets, lighting, faults |
| Electrician, hourly | £45–£90/hr | Certified, Part P |
| Consumer unit upgrade | £450–£700 | RCD protection |
| EICR (3-bed) | £150–£300 | Safety certificate |
An EV charger installation is a dedicated circuit plus the charger itself. Where a board upgrade or a supply increase is needed, those are separate items — which is exactly why the survey comes before the quote.
We assess the supply, the board and the earthing before quoting, so you find out early if anything needs doing first.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a special circuit for an EV charger?
Yes. A charger needs its own dedicated circuit from the consumer unit with protection specific to EV charging, and it is notifiable work under Part P. It cannot be spurred off an existing circuit or run from an outdoor socket, because the load is sustained for hours rather than drawn in short bursts.
Can my house supply handle a charger?
Usually, but it has to be checked rather than assumed. The assessment looks at your main fuse rating, the existing maximum demand of the property and the charger load. Where it is marginal, load management is often the answer — the charger reduces its draw when the house is busy, so you charge more slowly at peak times rather than not at all.
Do I need an earth rod for an EV charger?
It depends on the earthing arrangement at your property and the charger specified. Historically a separate earth rod was often installed; many modern chargers include built-in protection that monitors for the relevant fault condition and disconnects, which avoids the need for one. The installer establishes which applies at survey.
Can I have a charger without off-street parking?
Not a conventional home charger, no. Running a cable across a public footway creates a trip hazard and is not permissible, and cable gullies require local authority involvement where they are available at all. The realistic options are workplace charging, public rapid charging, or any on-street schemes your council operates.
How long does installation take?
A straightforward installation is usually a day: survey already done, dedicated circuit run, charger mounted, tested, commissioned and certificated. It takes longer where the cable route is difficult, where the consumer unit needs upgrading first, or where the supply itself needs increasing, which involves the network operator.
Is there still a grant for home chargers?
Support has existed in various forms and eligibility has narrowed over time, at points being limited to flats, rental properties or households without off-street parking. Check the current position through the Government's own chargepoint grant information rather than relying on an article, and note that grant-funded work usually requires an approved installer and specific equipment.
Supply first, charger second
We assess the main fuse, the board, the earthing arrangement and the cable route before recommending anything, so there are no surprises on installation day.