Unless you’re an electrician, don’t do it yourself. Under Building Regs, charging points need a new dedicated circuit and only an electrician can create one safely.
However, you can do some of the remedial work (more on this below).
With the £350 OZEV grant ending for homeowners on 31 March 2022, homeowners now stand to pay £350 more for an EV charging point.
In your quest to save a few bob, you might be thinking about installing a charger yourself.
The idea is tempting, what with professional installation making up 30% to 50% of the cost of a home charging point.
So, can you install your own EV charging point?
If you are a registered electrician, the answer is yes, but you already know that!
If you are not a registered electrician, the answer is yes and no.
Yes in the sense you can do a few remedial things yourself, and no in the sense that you need an electrician for other things.
What can you do? You can drill holes, run the cable, and fix your charging point in place.
What can’t you do? You can’t connect it up to your consumer unit, make a circuit, or carry out electrical work that is dangerous.
The most important thing you need to know is EV charging points need a dedicated circuit running from the consumer unit, and new circuits are notifiable under Part P of the Building Regulations. So circuits need approval.
Related: Can I get 3-phase power at home?
A registered electrician will self-certify their work, so you do not need to notify a building control body.
Under the 18th Edition and notifiable works under Part P of the Building Regs, home chargers must follow certain rules and one of these is sign off on a new circuit. Sign off is a way to assure the safety of the installation.
A home charger also requires that an RCD (Max 30mA) supplies it, and the RCD needs to disconnect all live conductors.
If all that sounds alien to you, don’t try to fly the ship!
Remember – failing to comply with Part P of the building regulations is a criminal offence!
Whichever route you go down, you should definitely get advice from an electrician that is specific to your installation.
An electrician will survey your consumer unit and electricals, to determine whether you need a sub consumer unit and what type of circuit is best. They will also specify the correct cable and provide a quote.
Can I install a charger myself and have an electrician sign it off?
Electricians are unlikely to sign off your work without being involved in the project from the beginning. This is a matter of livelihood. If something goes wrong, the electrician is culpable, so they only like to sign off their own work.
However, an electrician can provide advice to help you perform some work safely. In any case, it is easier and safer to just hire an electrician.
