How invasive is it to install electric car charge point?
Discussion
Not sure what 'invasive' means but they connect to your fuse box. If there isn't space you'll have to have a secondary mini one to connect the charger to that. Then cabling to the charger location. In very simple terms that's it.
Garages in 99% situations are not wired for such a high demand as all they were required to do was power some lights and a few sockets.
They do not connect to any existing wiring circuits, all are on a brand new circuit which is best as they use up to a third of the total power to your house.
Garages in 99% situations are not wired for such a high demand as all they were required to do was power some lights and a few sockets.
They do not connect to any existing wiring circuits, all are on a brand new circuit which is best as they use up to a third of the total power to your house.
FlossyThePig said:
A feature of my electricity supply was discovered when I had a solar panels installed. I have a three phase supply to the house with only one phase used.
So when I do replace my car with an EV do I start to use all three phases?
You won’t have to, but it does mean you could have a 22kw charger which would be quite unusual in a residential property. It’s the cost of getting a 3 phase supply installed which normally puts people off this idea in a domestic property. Would be nice quick charging at home. So when I do replace my car with an EV do I start to use all three phases?
Paul_M3 said:
You won’t have to, but it does mean you could have a 22kw charger which would be quite unusual in a residential property. It’s the cost of getting a 3 phase supply installed which normally puts people off this idea in a domestic property. Would be nice quick charging at home.
I have 3 phase supply in both my Swiss and French houses, but as most EVs are limited to a 11kW AC charge rate (via their onboard chargers including my Telsa M3), the Swiss 16A charge point is just 58% faster at 11kW than usual domestic 32A single phase at 7kW. If you are usually just charging up overnight then this makes no practical difference in real-world usage.I've not even bothered to install a charge point at our French place (despite it having a chunky 18kVA agricultural supply) as a standard 3 pin plug in the barn suffices for overnight topping up at a leisurely but adequate 3kW. If we are travelling further afield in France there are superchargers along the autoroute network if necessary.
Paul_M3 said:
You won’t have to, but it does mean you could have a 22kw charger which would be quite unusual in a residential property. It’s the cost of getting a 3 phase supply installed which normally puts people off this idea in a domestic property. Would be nice quick charging at home.
I have it and tbh it's mostly unnecessary. If you can charge your day-to-day overnight (10h?) you're golden.
I can charge 60km/h, I regularly (B.Corona) do 300km in a day, which I can charge in 5h. So half the charging speed would even be fine for me.
I know multiple people who have been granny charging for years. If you only do 100 km/day (60 miles), depending on the car a granny charger can basically do that overnight.
633Squadron said:
Considering next car to be electric - but currently renting.
To install the charging point...
Can they tap into the existing ring main?
Or does is it need it's own wiring to the consumer unit?
Or... something else?
Thank you
I had mine installed on the outside wall with the consumer unit (100A) almost directly on the inside of the same wall, thinking he'd just drill through the wall.To install the charging point...
Can they tap into the existing ring main?
Or does is it need it's own wiring to the consumer unit?
Or... something else?
Thank you
Instead he ran a hefty cable back to the meter box on the outside of the house and installed a dedicated circuit breaker there.
Not sure what difference this makes other than the fact that I can't securely isolate the charger - anyone with a meter key could open the box and turn it back on. Not that I expect to find strangers charging their cars on my driveway.
Re renting - I sought the landlord's approval. I'll probably just leave it there when I move out rather than get it ripped out so I've done the owner a favour. It was free with the car anyway.
theboss said:
633Squadron said:
Considering next car to be electric - but currently renting.
To install the charging point...
Can they tap into the existing ring main?
Or does is it need it's own wiring to the consumer unit?
Or... something else?
Thank you
I had mine installed on the outside wall with the consumer unit (100A) almost directly on the inside of the same wall, thinking he'd just drill through the wall.To install the charging point...
Can they tap into the existing ring main?
Or does is it need it's own wiring to the consumer unit?
Or... something else?
Thank you
Instead he ran a hefty cable back to the meter box on the outside of the house and installed a dedicated circuit breaker there.
Not sure what difference this makes other than the fact that I can't securely isolate the charger - anyone with a meter key could open the box and turn it back on. Not that I expect to find strangers charging their cars on my driveway.
Re renting - I sought the landlord's approval. I'll probably just leave it there when I move out rather than get it ripped out so I've done the owner a favour. It was free with the car anyway.
Gassing Station | EV and Alternative Fuels | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff