Charging Your Vehicle
Imagine never stopping at a gas station again, and instead, have an unlimited supply of fuel available at home or wherever you normally park. For many electric car drivers, this is a reality. All-electric cars never need gas, and for short trips, plug-in hybrids might use no gas.
Electric car charging is simple, cost-effective and convenient, particularly when you are plugged in at home—filling up your car even while you’re asleep. How long it takes to charge depends on the charging equipment and the size of the car’s battery and its available charging capacity.
Although electric car drivers primarily charge at home, workplace and public chargers are increasingly available in communities nationwide.
There are three convenient ways to charge your electric car.
I can charge at home any time I want, and it is quiet and drives beautifully!
It’s so quiet and quick. I wake up everyday with a full charge, ready to go.
No need to gas up weekly! After work I just come home and plug my car in.
See how easy it is to charge? Now compare electric cars and find out more about range.
Charging Basics
You can charge your electric car using standard 120 volt(V) home outlets (Level 1), 208-240V outlets like those used by your dryer (Level 2), or dedicated 480V public fast chargers (DC Fast Charging). The time it takes to charge using each of these three options depends on your drive and the size of the battery. Charging speed is also determined by the size of the vehicle’s on-board charger and the power lever of the charging equipment.
Level 1
Level 1 charging uses a standard 120-volt plug. Today, new electric cars come with portable charging equipment to allow you to plug in to any 120-volt outlet. Typically, the average daily commute of 40 miles can be easily replenished overnight with a Level 1 charger.
Level 2
In most cases Level 2 charging requires charging equipment to be purchased and installed. The typical Level 2 charger can replenish the same 40 mile average daily commute in less than 2 hours.
DC Fast Charging
DC fast chargers can provide 10 to 20 miles of range per minute.
DC Fast Charging is for public charging stations only and not for home use.
Most fully electric cars are equipped for DC Fast Charging today, but always be aware of your car’s charging connector before you try to plug in. You will either have a Tesla connector that can be used at a Tesla Supercharger, an SAE Combo connector or a Chademo connector.
Want to learn more on Fast Charging?
Check out this Quick Guide to Fast Charging by ChargePoint.
Level 1 and Level 2 Charging Options
Level 1: Electric cars come standard with a 120-volt Level 1 portable charger. Yes, these chargers can be plugged into a simple household outlet, and don’t require any special installation. Pretty cool, right?
Level 2: Drivers can also pursue a higher-powered Level 2 unit for sale and installation in their home. Shop Level 2 chargers and learn about incentives using our Home Charging Advisor. Learn more about home charging with our FAQs.
Tesla’s electric cars come with a plug-in 120/240-volt Level 1/2 charger. These require a 240-volt outlet, which most owners need to have professionally installed.
In general, most electric car drivers want the assurance and convenience of a quicker charge and eventually install the 240-volt, Level 2 charging ability in their home.
Home Charging Advisor
Find chargers and apply for incentives for charging your EV at home.
See how easy it is to charge? Now compare electric cars and find out more about range.
Workplace Charging
If charging at home is not an option or if you need to “top off” during the day for an extra errand, workplace charging is another convenient location to charge your car. Many employers are installing charging for their employees, so check with your company to see if this is an option for you.
If your employer has not implemented workplace charging yet, you can advocate that workplace charging is a good move. You can also provide them resources to help them consider the benefits.
Public Charging
Never fear! There are so many great charging station locators and mobile apps that help you find public charging stations when and where you need it. You can now expect public charging stations in public parking lots at the mall, the grocery store, movie theaters, community centers, arenas, hotels and airports.
Many are free or are offered at affordable prices, usually much less than the cost of gasoline.
You can search by charging speed and even by the station location you are interested, if it is available or currently in use.
Be sure to check with the car manufacturer and electric car driving manual for charging options that are right for your electric car. You may also need a subscription to charge with some of these networks, so plan ahead and do your research before going on that long road trip.
If you are a city or county looking to install public chargers in your area, check out the permitting video and resources to learn more about how you can increase charging in your area.
Do EV chargers need surge protection?
Surge protection devices in the past have been entirely optional in electric vehicle charger installations. However, due to new regulations, the question – do EV chargers need surge protection – is a bit more complicated than it seems.
But don’t worry – we are going to explain everything you need to know about EV chargers and surge protection.
What is a surge protection device? (SPD)
Surge Protection Devices (SPD) are installed to protect electrical devices and appliances from power surges (sometimes referred to as transient overvoltages, if you want to get technical).
In relation to electric vehicle chargers, SPDs are typically fitted in your home’s fuse box/consumer unit at the time of installation to protect charging stations from damage.
What is a power surge?
An electrical power surge, in simple terms, is when there is a significant increase in voltage that exceeds the standard 230-volt flow. The duration is only a few seconds, but as a result, electrical equipment can be damaged or, in rare cases, destroyed if an SPD is not fitted.
Lightning strikes, faulty wiring and an electrical overload, are a few examples of what can trigger electrical power surges.
Do you need surge protection?
From 27th September 2022, the new 18th Edition Amendment 2 of the Wiring Regulations came into effect. With these new regulations, all new electrical circuits must have Surge Protection Devices (SPDs) fitted. Since EV charger installations include installing a new circuit, you do need surge protection according to the new regulations.
However, the new regulations also state that customers can choose to opt out of having an SPD (surge protection device) if they wish to do so, meaning the overall decision is down to you as the customer.
Should you have a surge protector for EV charging?
At We Power Your Car, we recommend that a Surge Protection Device is installed at the time of your home electric car charger installation. As EV chargers are typically installed outside (although they can be installed inside – for example, in garages), they are more susceptible to lightning strikes. And unfortunately, with the ever-changing English weather, there is a risk that lightning could strike and cause a power surge.
If damage occurs from an electrical surge, the cost to replace or repair the damaged charging equipment is significantly higher than the small cost of an SPD. And when you compare it against the price of your home EV charger, it’s only a fraction of the price.
That being said, most electric vehicle chargers installed before the first of September haven’t had an SPD installed, and we have yet to be made aware of any issues due to surges. Therefore, some might say they are not essential when it comes to home electric vehicle chargers.
Overall, we would say it’s always better to be safe than sorry, and by investing in an SPD, you know you will be protected from any unwanted electrical issues arising.
Does opting out of an SPD affect my EV charger warranty?
The majority of electric vehicle charger manufacturers will honour the warranty, whether SPDs are fitted or not.
However, it’s important to note that manufacturers and installation companies (such as ourselves) cannot take responsibility for any damage or failure caused by power surges if you decide against an SPD.
Are you looking for a home EV charger and a surge protection device?
At We Power Your Car, we offer a wide range of home EV chargers and nationwide EV charger installation. If you are wanting surge protection to cover your home EV charger from power surges, we can install one at the time of your installation for only a small cost.
Struggling to make your decision? Speak to someone directly at 03333 44 96 99 – our expert customer service team are always happy to help. Alternatively, fill in the contact form below.
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Want to learn more about electric vehicle charging? Browse our blogs here.
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We Power Your Car Ltd is a company registered in England and Wales (Co. Reg. 12273463). Registered Office: Airedale House, Wagon Lane, Bingley, West Yorkshire, BD16 1WA.
We Power Your Car Ltd, Company Registration 12273463 of Airedale House, Wagon Lane, Bingley, West Yorkshire, BD16 1WA is an Introducer Appointed Representative of Shermin Finance Limited FRN 727594. Company registration 01276121. Registered office Devon House, 1 Chorley New Road, Bolton, BL1 4QR. Shermin Finance Limited act as a credit broker not a lender.
Tethered charger
This type of electric charger has it’s own cable to charge your car.
Socketed charger
This type of electric charger requires a seperate cable to charge your car.
Spread over a 60 month period.
Tenants and homeowners are eligible for finance.
You decide the amount of months.
We will contact you to process the credit application. Approval is subject to application, financial circumstances and borrowing history. 13.9% APR representative. TCs apply.
Your order is not confirmed until your application has been approved.
Underground cable
We lay SWA cable laid at 600mm deep, with a protective cable warning tape laid 150mm above the cable. These are laid on a sand or sifted sand soil bed then backfilled.
Overhead cable
We position overhead cables at a minimum height of 3.5m and are run along a catenary wire. The cable run should not be accessible to vehicles.
Standard Installation Our instant price is fixed if it falls within our standard installation package plus any additions that you have selected (extra cabling for example). This package covers the majority of homes in the UK. Before we undertake your installation we will carry out a digital survey to check that nothing has been missed. After reviewing the survey results some additional work may be required in order to complete your installation safely and to the required standards. If this is the case, we will contact you well before the installation date and advise the cost of any required work. You can then continue with your installation, or alternatively we will refund you in full if you do not want to proceed.
Included in our standard installation is : Fitting of a single phase charge point to a brick or plaster wall or other suitable permanent structure Up to 10 metres of cable, run and neatly clipped to the wall between the electricity supply meter / distribution board and the charge point. Routing of the cable through a drilled hole in a wall up to 500mm (20 inches) thick if this is needed. The fitting and testing of electrical connections and protections required for the charge point. An additional three way consumer unit, if required Installation of a Type A RCBO in an RCBO enclosure Up to 3 metres of plastic trunking to conceal interior wiring. An O-pen earth protection device if the charge point requires it. (This is NOT an earth rod) Up to 4 hours of labour from your installer to complete the work. Electrical testing of the whole installation. Handover and setup of the charge point and any app that may be needed.
Not included in our standard installation (additional work) : Where the installation requires additional cabling over and above the amount you have told us about. Upgrade/replacement of the main incoming supply fuse where the local DNO (eg Northern Powergrid) would need to attend site. If the charge point is to be mounted on a post/pedestal rather than an existing wall and where you have not selected a post as an extra cost option in your order. Installation of a charge point to a three phase supply. Where gas and water mains bonding (earthing) is not in place at your property. If this is not in place, additional work would be required before installation of the charge point. Any groundwork that has not been selected during the order process.
A Surge Protection Device is not included in our standard installation.
What else you need to know : On the day of installation, please ensure that the area around your consumer unit (fuse box), incoming electricity supply meter and proposed charge point location (including where the cable is expected to be run) is clear and free of obstructions. We will need your Wi-Fi password as part of the installation process in order to connect your charge point to the internet. Please have this available for the installer. Details will not be kept. The charge point must be on your own designated off road parking. The charger will be fixed in line with current guidelines at a height where it cannot be hit by a vehicle. Our installers are not able to enter loft spaces; lift floorboards or flooring; take apart any furniture of work above a height of 2m. If you anticipate that any of this may be required, then please contact us and we can discuss in more detail and provide you with a quotation. Should there be extreme weather conditions our installers may not be able to continue with you installation if it is not safe to do so (for example flooding). They will always do their best to complete the work where they can.
If you have any questions then please contact our customer service team who will be happy to help. Please also read our terms and conditions.
Electric Vehicle EV Charger
About: Did Physics for my undergraduate, absolutely love building things particularly electronics projects About fotherby »
I built my own 7.2kW EV charger and fitted it inside a Zappi enclosure. The 2 aims were simplicity and safety. This article documents the build. I wrote the Arduino software for it and all design files, software and part lists are available on the GitHub page.
Motivation
It costs about £900 in the UK to have an EV charger installed by an electrician. This motivated me to question whether I could build my own. On researching the topic further I found an open source charger (the EVSE) with good documentation. This gave me the confidence to build my own.
Disclaimer
A word about safety. I’m not an electrician. I’m not allowed to make alterations to my consumer unit. I will have to remove the charger when I leave my house. I’m sure there are countless people that would condemn what I have done here and I can understand why. Building your own outdoor charger which switches 240V 32A could be dangerous if not done right. I have learnt about earthing systems, PEN faults, RCDs, cable current capacities etc. I think I have educated myself enough to have built an adequately safe system. Nevertheless, I welcome constructive criticism and discussion.
Introduction
EV chargers use a simple “pilot” signal to detect when they are plugged into a car and to tell the car how much current it is allowed to draw from the charger. They don’t modify the mains at all, they just switch it on/off to the car via some relays. In addition to this they also incorporate the functionality of an RCD. But to be honest, that’s about it!
I managed to buy a second hand “showroom” Zappi charger. It came without any of the electronics inside but it gave me an enclosure, cable and plug to work with. I paid £120 inclusive of postage.
I bought 5 metres of 6mm² SWA cable to run from my consumer unit to my desired charger location. I added a 50A MCB into my consumer unit on the non-RCD side and routed the SWA cable using cleats and stainless steel screws.
The SWA cable enters the Zappi enclosure through an outdoor water resistant gland. The live and neutral pass together through a current transformer before attaching to the PCB.
Ground Current Detection
One of the most important safety mechanisms to include is a ground current detection system. The chassis of the car is grounded via the earth wire through the charging plug. The earth supply comes from the consumer unit (we have TN-C-S supply).
There is quite a bit of theory behind grounding systems. John Ward has some instructional YouTube videos on the topic which I have watched. He discusses the problem of PEN faults etc. It’s worth spending the time educating yourself about earthing if you are doing any electrical work.
Although unlikely, it is possible for a fault to occur such that a live wire contacts the car chassis. Perhaps it’s pulled loose inside the car somewhere and is touching the chassis or perhaps a wet connector is bridging a path to the chassis.
Either way the live will source current into the chassis which will drain straight to ground (In a TN-C-S supply the ground and neutral conductors are bonded at the consumer unit). The amount of current will depend on the resistance of the faulty bridge. (water is unlikely to allow many amps to flow). Given the chassis is well earthed, it shouldn’t rise up in voltage enough to present a shock hazard to someone that touches it.
Nevertheless, this is a fault situation that should be detected and dealt with. If some water is bridging the live to the chassis perhaps a couple of amps will flow (not enough to trip the 50A MCB for the charger) but enough to cause localised heating and further damage.
So we need to measure current flowing to ground (should be zero in normal operation). If this is more than 20 mA we want to isolate the car by opening the relays. The reason RCDs typically trip at 5-30mA is because this amount of current for a couple hundred milliseconds doesn’t cause permanent injury to humans. I like the wikipedia article on electrical injury.
AC-1: imperceptible, AC-2: perceptible but no muscle reaction, AC-3: muscle contraction with reversible effects, AC-4: possible irreversible effects, AC-4.1: up to 5% probability of ventricular fibrillation, AC-4.2: 5–50% probability of fibrillation, AC-4.3: over 50% probability of fibrillation
The way to measure current to earth is simple. We employ a current transformer measuring the common mode current of the live and neutral wires. All current should be differential (all current flowing out of the live wire should go through the load and return back through the neutral). If there is a fault and some current does not return then it must be going to earth. This is a common mode current and we want to be measuring this!
Schematic
The electronics are necessary for:
- Generating the DC voltages for the arduino, op-amps, relays etc
- Mounting of the 40A 250V L N relays that switch power to the charging plug
- Generating the /- 12V 1kHz PWM signal for the pilot
- Amplifying and rectifying the current transformer’s signal prior to the Arduino’s ADC
Power Supplies
I used a RAC10-15DK/277 AC/DC power module. This generates /- 15 V rails. Adjustable positive/negative linear voltage regulators (LM317 LM337) produce /- 12V rails. I was aware the op-amps outputs might not be able to swing all the way to their supply rails so I wanted some flexibility by using adjustable voltage regulators.
The regulators need a minimum load of about 5 mA to maintain regulation. Therefore R3 R17 provide a small load for them. The regulators are operating uncomfortably close to their dropout voltages. According to the datasheet the dropout at 20 mA load is about 1.6 V at 0℃ which allows us to up our op-amp rails to about 13.4 V if necessary.
Due to the chip/stock shortages at present, I bought a Pro-Mini module which conveniently housed an Atmega328P Arduino with a 5V regulator. Beware though, this onboard regulator has a max input voltage of 10V so I dropped the regulated 12V using a 4.3V zener diode before supplying it to the RAW input of the Pro-Mini.
Pilot Generation
All communication with the car is done through a single wire referenced to earth called the pilot signal. Read here and here for descriptions on how this signal works. In a nutshell, depending on whether the car is connected/ready to charge etc, the car places different resistances on the pilot signal. This causes changes in the voltage of the pilot signal.
An LM358 Op-Amp takes a 0-5V PWM signal from the Arduino and converts it into a /-12V signal to form the pilot. Easy.
We use a voltage divider network to condition the pilot voltage before feeding it into an ADC channel for measurement. A 13.6 V 600W bidirectional TVS just ensures no whacky voltages are ever experienced on the pilot wire.
Relay operation
I initially thought I ought to share the load on the SMPS between its 2 power rails. So one relay would be powered by the ve rail and the other by the.ve rail. However doing this added a couple of extra parts to the design and slightly increased the overall complexity. For the sake of simplicity I kept both relays powered from the ve supply rail and this has ended up working absolutely fine.
The T9VV1K15-12S relay specifications report a coil holding voltage of only 4.7V. This can conserve a lot of power. You can see from the schematic, we charge 100uF capacitors from the 15V rail through 1W 47R resistors (R13 R14). When the relays are activated they initially but briefly get 15V. But the steady state voltage decays to about 9V. I should have gone for 68R or even 100R resistors for even more power conservation.
The BC337 transistors get about 2 mA of base current through the 2.2K resistors. This is adequate to sufficiently switch the transistors.
Current transformer
A current transformer is analogous to a voltage transformer. We put 1 turn on the transformer primary by passing the live and neutral once through the ferrite core. On the secondary we have many turns. 100s of turns. A current on the primary is therefore induced onto the secondary albeit at a magnitude proportional to the turns ratio. If we have a 20mA current on the primary and a 1:400 turns ratio we’ll have a 50uA secondary current.
Just like a voltage transformer doesn’t like to be short circuited. A current transformer doesn’t like to be open circuited. The best method to measure the secondary current is to use a transimpedance amplifier.
U2 is the OP07 low-offset op-amp. The V terminal is grounded and in this configuration the output will swing around to always keep V- at the same voltage as V (ie. 0 V). Imagine if the current transformer forces 50 uA towards the V- terminal of U2. The op-amp will reduce its output voltage to.5 V so that the 50 uA is entirely pulled through R2 (V = I x R = 50uA x 100K). Hence the V- terminal is kept at exactly 0 V. So you can see in this configuration that currents from the transformer are converted into voltages at the output of the op-amp. C1 just helps to reduce the gain at high frequencies and act as a low pass filter. D1 and D2 stop any voltage excursions beyond about 0.7 V should the transimpedance amplifier get saturated.
We probably didn’t need the low-offset features of the OP07. C2 removes any DC bias anyway. U3B is configured to act as a further amplifier stage and precision rectifier. The 4.3 V zener diodes used clip the output to a ~4 V maximum as well. R12 and C3 add a final low pass filter before going to the ADC channel.
All in all, AC currents from the ground fault current transformer are converted into voltages, amplified, rectified, limited and filtered before being passed to the Arduino ADC for measurement. This circuitry worked and made sense to me so I went with it. But you could probably simplify it further.
PCB Design
I used KiCad to design the PCB. I have settled on KiCad because it is open source and you can do multi-layer PCBs if you need to. SnapEDA is key for importing PCB footprints for parts. There is not much to say about the PCB design. I kept a 4mm clearance around high voltage traces. I ordered the PCBs from PCBway who get them back to you in about 1 week!
Assembly
I soldered up the PCB with the parts I got from Mouser. I realised I got one op-amp’s pins flipped wrong on my design so you can see an ugly little botch to fix that! I also didn’t realise the Pro-Mini’s regulator can’t handle 10 V so I burnt one out whilst adjusting the supply rail voltages. Lucky I had bought a pack of 3 Pro-Minis… I added a zener diode after this mistake to drop the voltage down before feeding it to the Pro-Mini. I have corrected these problems on the schematic and PCB on github and called the PCB V2.0.
Software
I’m no software whizz. Hopefully the code is commented well enough to make sense. Find it on the GitHub repository.
There is a self test coil on the current transformer. The software performs a self test by putting a 50Hz 5 mA square wave through the 5-Turn test coil. This essentially simulates a 25 mA ground fault. We time how long it takes for the fault to be detected. If the fault is detected within 100 ms the test is passed.
Testing
I took some thermal images of the device under load. The relay resistors are dissipating 900mW (They’re 1W rated) which gets them to about 70 Celsius above ambient. The wiring and terminal blocks is fine with nothing hotter than 15 Celsius above ambient.
The embedded videos demonstrate the device working. The RCD test video is done by connecting a 10K resistor (24 mA ground fault current) from live to ground. It causes the device to immediately interrupt the charging process and trip out. Good result!
Out of interest, I measured the voltage across the relay coil when actuating. The blue trace is the coil voltage and the red trace the switched AC output. It seems to take about 5 ms to actuate the relay. The contacts obviously bounce a little bit after coming together.
Likewise the release of the relay seems to take about 10 ms.
The pilot voltages are exactly as they are supposed to be. The SAE_J1772 specifications do allow /- 0.5V from the 12V, and /- 1V on the 9V, 6V and 3V levels so we’re comfortable.
This trace shows what happens when a car is detected. The 12V DC pilot is pulled down by the car’s 2.74K resistor. After a 200ms hiatus, the software switches to “State B” and starts the 1kHz PWM.
Here’s the pilot when the car is charging12V to 6V. The software is measuring the voltages at the centres of the low and high regions.
It was important to test the ground fault detection circuit. I tested it to trip at 6 mA. Here’s a trace to show the speed of a trip when a 22K resistor is connected to earth across the 240V live resulting in an 11 mA current. The detection time is 12 ms (start of the AC waveform to the rising edge of the blue waveform. Hence with the 10 ms relay release time the power will be cut in 22 ms. That’s within the EV charger national specifications.
Conclusion
I’m delighted with the end result. It doesn’t have an LCD screen but my car tells me how fast it’s charging and allows me to configure charging times etc. I don’t need any Smart functionality. I have a Smart meter so I know how much electricity I’m using etc too.
Total cost? Well about £200. Plus several days of hard thinking, soldering and coding. Good fun though. Let me know what you think. Perhaps I should call it the Jappi. James’ Zappi.
Step 7: Post Publication Updates
This project was featured on Hackaday. There are quite a few (mostly negative) Комментарии и мнения владельцев about this project commenting on the safety of this implementation. This is a summary as of 2/5/2022 of the feedback.
1) The soldered connections on the PCB are inadequate – Ok, I agree with this. A 40A terminal block would be much better. I should have done that. Is there any appreciable risk of those solder joints melting before the 50A MCB trips? I took some thermal image pics of the system operating with a 30A and there are no hot spots in the solder/wiring/connections. The flimsier looking terminal block actually came with the Zappi enclosure so it implies the terminal blocks are appropriately rated.
2) Bad choice of relays – according to the datasheet, the relays used in this project are for EV chargers and can handle 250V 40A. EV cars soft start/stop their charging so the relays don’t have to connect/interrupt under load unless due to a fault condition. If you look at teardowns of some commercial chargers (eg. Zappi) you’ll find separate LN single pole relays just like I have used. But, I agree having a dual gang relay so the LN are mechanically linked does sound better. I have measured the power factor of the car charging (albeit when charging from a 13A socket) using a plug-in power meter and it reports a power factor of 0.95. So I think the car does present a resistive load. Logically, car manufacturers must have to ensure their onboard SMPS chargers have good power factor else the extra currents would cause problems in domestic setups, I agree.
3) Unsafe to use an Arduino (ATMEGA328P). I think you technically need special authorisation from atmel to use this chip for automotive or safety critical applications. I like the suggestion of incorporating a watchdog timer to guard against hanging. I’ll add that. And I like the suggestion [steaky] of having to regularly toggle a pin purposefully to maintain engagement of the relay so they’d open by default during an error. Is that actually done in commercial chargers? It’s not done by the EVSE. If an unexpected reset occurred the relays would open in this implementation.
4) Should be a type B RCD – I think this is the main point from everyone. That the RCD functionality is inadequate. I essentially copied the EVSE RCD design, which I thought was a acceptable approach. What do people think of the EVSE RCD? The requirement for EV chargers to have a Type B RCDs is a relatively new regulation brought into play in the last few years. This forum discusses the change prior to the standard being introduced. Type B RCDs can detect DC ground fault currents (not such an easy thing to do), this is a good article explaining how everything about them and how they work. They’re far less common than AC ground faults!
How safe is adequately safe? 5 years ago the Type A RCD incorporated in this project would have been deemed adequate. Currently I’m ok going with the safety standards of 5 years ago. I did this project because it was fun and cost effective for me. I’m trying to address the main safety points here, after which you encounter rarer and rarer eventualities that require some extremely unlikely situations to occur. People say my house is going to burn down. I think that’s a bit melodramatic. For starters the unit is mounted outside. Will it void my car warranty? I don’t think so because the AC power isn’t altered by the charger. Will the ATMEGA328P crash just at the wrong moment? It’s very unlikely, the code is very simple, embedded microprocessors have proven themselves very reliable to me. In summary, things to improve:
1) Terminal blocks on the PCB
4) Add Type B RCD Functionality
5) Could add Smart functionality. eg Power draw sensing, Wi-Fi etc)
Charger installation frequently asked questions
When exploring your own home or workplace car charger there are a lot of frequently asked questions you may have. We have compiled a list of the most frequently asked questions and answers below. If you have any other questions please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us, one of our friendly team will be happy to assist you
What’s the difference between a tethered and un-tethered charger?
Tethered means it has a permanent cable attached to the EV box that you plug into your car, while un-tethered has no permanent cable attached and is designed to be used with a separate cable which plugs into your car at one end and the box at the other, this is usually provided by the car manufacturer.
How long does it take to carry out EV installation?
Installation of the EV charger, generally takes half a day depending on the dwelling, cable routes and type of charger we are installing.
The appointment would be either a morning or an afternoon booking, with the allowance for up to 4 hours.
What’s involved in the installation process?
The majority of EV Charge points we install only take a couple of hours with minimal disruptions. Prior to the works starting we will discuss the options to install the new cabling and EV position.
What’s the difference between a 7kW and 22kW EV charger?
A 7kW charger is normally better suited to most homes in the UK, as they usually have a single phase 230v supply from the DNO.
A 22kW EV charger needs to connect to a three-phase electricity supply from the DNO. This option would be supporting the commercial sector.
We will take care of this from the online site survey.
Will I still have power during the EV installation works?
During the EV installation you should expect some disruption to the power and Wi-Fi connections. This is due to the isolation of power we have to make whilst working on your distribution equipment to ensure the safe connection of new EV circuit and final testing/commissioning requirements.
Installation requirements
Prior to the works starting we will need some photos of your consumer unit, incoming supply, meter and desired position of the EV charging point. This will allow us to determine how we are going to carry out the installation and whether it will be within the standard cost. Most properties fall well within our standard installation requirements.
To qualify for our standard installation and pricing your installation needs to:
- Have a maximum cable run of 10 metres from your consumer unit to your charge point (most installations fall well within this distance. An additional cost will incur per extra metre installed will be needed to be added to the standard quotation.
- Your consumer unit must have a spare way to enable an additional circuit to be added. If your existing consumer unit or fuse board is not compliant for the addition of the EV Charger circuit, we may need to install a new 2 way ‘Mini EV Consumer Unit’. An additional cost will incur for this service.
- Your cable will be installed surface mounted, clipped direct to walls.
- If your earth bonding to your main gas, oil or water services or undersized then these will need to be upgraded for the installation to comply with current regulations. An additional cost will incur for running bonding cables.
- Any ground works that are necessary, will fall out of our standard installation, and will require a separate quotation.
- Your property must have a satisfactory earthing arrangement that complies with current 18th edition regulations.
- Your charging point needs to be fixed to either your main property or to a fixed post which will be charged at an additional cost from the standard installation basis.