Is My Home Ready for an EV Charger?

Home EV charging is straightforward for most properties, but a few key things need to line up. A responsible installer checks these before quoting a fixed price.

1. Your main fuse rating

Most UK homes have a 60A, 80A or 100A main fuse. A 7kW charger draws around 32A. If you already have a shower, hob and heat pump on the same supply, we may need to fit a load-management device that throttles the charger when the rest of the house is drawing heavily.

2. Your earthing arrangement

TN-S, TN-C-S (PME) or TT — each has slightly different requirements for outdoor EV chargers. Modern chargers include PEN-fault detection or we install a dedicated earth rod. This is a safety-critical step and not optional.

3. Cable route from consumer unit to parking

A neat, protected cable route matters. We prefer to run cable through walls and lofts, then armoured cable outside if needed. Long runs (over 15m) need thicker cable to stay within voltage-drop limits.

4. Where the charger goes

Mount height, tethered or untethered, weather exposure and how your car actually parks all matter. We plan this on the site survey so cable reach and access work every time.

5. Smart features you'll actually use

App control, solar diversion, off-peak tariffs (Octopus Intelligent, EON Next Drive) and load balancing across two cars are worth the small extra cost if you'll use them. If you won't, a simple reliable unit is a better choice.

Book a free EV charger survey and we'll answer all of these on your driveway.