Safe installation of an electric vehicle charge point at home

Times are tough right now with spiralling costs of energy and food, and everyone wants to save a bit of money. 

However, when having an EV charger installed at home or at work, please ensure you use a fully qualified Electric Vehicle Charge Point engineer. Better still, choose an OZEV approved installer as they will have been properly vetted and audited and will be up to date with the latest charge point regulations.  

Up until March 2022, the EV industry was heavily regulated but since the withdrawal of the HomeCharge grant, a worrying number of charge point installations are being ‘done on the cheap’ by people who are not adequately qualified for this type of electrical work.  Electric vehicle chargers are high power electrical items that if incorrectly installed can be potentially dangerous.
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Within the last week we have received several calls from customers we didn't install for whose chargers are not working properly and they have been unable to get in touch with whoever installed. We will always try to help where we can, but it is a false economy to pay for an installation then pay another company for a call out to rectify issues which could have been avoided if the install was done correctly the first time and now the warranty is invalid or non-existent.

Here are just a few of the issues we have found which are cause for concern:

- Incorrect cable used for the charger’s voltage.

- No load management applied so your property’s electricity supply could be compromised if you use too many appliances whilst charging.

- Incorrect type RCDs/RCBOs. 

- Spurring off a ring main and piggy backing which is not within regs and can be dangerous.

- Reverse polarity which increases the risk of electrocution.

- Units not being commissioned therefore the manufacturer’s warranty isn't valid.

When choosing an EV charge point installer, it is important to remember the following: 

Ensure they are members of a governing body such as NICEIC or Napit as they will have been inspected annually to ensue competency. 

Make sure they commission your new charge point with the manufacturer to trigger the parts and labour warranty otherwise if anything goes wrong, you will have no comeback and will pay hefty call out charges and will need to pay for parts. 

You should be offered the option of including a surge protection device as part of the installation, this new regulation came into effect at the end of September.

They should be able to explain the charge point app and provide a demo of the charger and the app. If they are unable to do this, it could mean they have not completed the manufacturer training.

Electricity in the wrong hands can be dangerous or even fatal. Please stay safe.