Guide, 4 min read
How to prepare for an EV charger installation
Most delays on installation day come from three things: blocked access to the consumer unit, no decision on where the unit goes, and permission that has not arrived.
Get a price
Where does it need to go? Two taps and a postcode gets you a price.
Before the survey
- Photograph your consumer unit with the cover on, so the make and the spare ways are visible
- Photograph your electricity meter and the main fuse next to it
- Note roughly how far your parking is from the consumer unit
- Decide whether the parking is definitely yours, shared, or on the public highway
- If you rent, or own a flat, start the permission conversation now
Permissions take the longest
If you rent, you need the landlord's written consent. If you own a flat, you need the freeholder or the managing agent. Either can take weeks, and neither can be hurried by the installer.
For a grant application the consent has to name the person giving it, name you, and give the address of the property. A verbal yes is not enough.
Listed buildings and conservation areas add a planning question on top. Worth resolving before you order a unit.
Decisions to make in advance
- Tethered or socketed
- Which wall the unit goes on, and roughly what height
- Whether the cable can be visible or needs trunking or burying
- Whether you are buying the unit or having it supplied
- Whether you are on, or moving to, a time-of-use EV tariff
On the day
Clear access to the consumer unit and to the wall where the unit is going. Move the car off the parking so the cable route is reachable. Expect the power to be off for a while.
If you bought the unit yourself, have it on site with everything that came in the box, including the instructions and any mounting plate.
Have your wifi password to hand. Almost every unit sold now is a smart charger and it will want to connect before it is commissioned.
Next step
Send us the postcode and we will tell you what your property needs.
Send the postcode and what the property is, and we will come back with the quote or the one question still outstanding.
Questions
EV charging questions on this
Will the power be off during the installation?
For part of it, yes, while the circuit is connected into the consumer unit and while the installation is tested. Expect an hour or so in total rather than the whole day.
Do I need to be at home?
Someone needs to give access and to be shown the unit at handover. It does not have to be you, as long as whoever is there can make decisions about where things go.
What if the installer finds a problem?
It should have been found at survey, which is what the survey is for. Where something genuinely emerges on the day, the work stops and you get told what it means before anything else happens.
Get a quote
Get an EV charger quote for your property
Seven quick questions. We reply with either a fixed price or the one thing we still need to know.
- No cost, and no obligation to book anything
- Your details are never sold on or passed around
- A fixed price for the work described, in writing
Would rather talk it through? Call 01246 952042.
