- Type 2 EV chargers cost £499 to £999 for the hardware on average.
- Installation adds £350 to the total cost on average – so expect to pay £750 to £1,350 for the charger plus installation.
- You will pay between £899 and £1,299 with installation.
- You might qualify for the £350 OZEV grant if you are a landlord or the WCS grant if you are a business, which will save you money.
- Some car manufacturers offer home EV chargers at a reduced rate thanks to partnerships with charger brands. For example, Polestar works with Ohme to give UK customers the Ohme ePod from £925 and the Ohme Home Pro from £975 with a standard install.
- If you cover less than 60 miles per day, you can probably get by with a 3-pin charger and save yourself a load of money. Check out our best EV charging cables article.
EV charger installation costs £999 on average including hardware and installation for a Type 2 smart charger like the Ohme ePod or Pod Point Solo 3. Some EV charger installations cost as little as £699 with installation for something like the evec VEC01, while others cost more than £1,500 – but at that price point you’re looking at a very expensive brand. Note that £999 is the average price for a standard installation – meaning you have space in your consumer unit for the dedicated circuit, so all that’s needed is to make that circuit and connect everything up. Some car manufacturers have special offers and some energy suppliers do too – for instance, you can spread the cost over ten months with British Gas and the Hive charger.
How much it really costs to install an EV charger
The cost to install an EV charger depends on three factors:
1. The charger you choose
EV chargers range from around £300 to over £1,000 for a tethered Zappi. Brands like Pod Point, Ohme, and Hypervolt produce some of the best home chargers you can buy, but cheaper brands are available on Amazon like evec and VORPSRUNG.
2. Installation complexity
Standard EV charger installations create a circuit from your existing consumer unit to the charger – it usually includes up to 15 meters of cable, installed from your consumer unit to the device location, and up to 6m of plastic (PVC) trunking.
Standard EV charger installations also include the installation of a Mini Circuit Breaker (MCB) or Residual Current Breaker with Over-Current (RCBO).
On top of the charger unit and basic installation, you may need to pay extra for:
- Upgrading your home’s electrical system to handle the load (£150+). Note that if you only need a fuse upgrade, your DNO will do this for free.
- An isolator switch (£100-200). Only your energy supplier can fit one of these – it lets your electrician install your EV charger safely.
- Longer/specialty charging cables (£150-500).
- New driveway or lighting if charging outside (£300+)
- Replacing your consumer unit if your old one doesn’t have space for the new EV charger circuit. Expect to pay around £350.
3. Whether you qualify for any grants
If you are a homeowner, you qualify for no grants – you have to pay full price for the charger and hardware, save for any manufacturer offers.
If you are a renter and your landlord is happy to install an EV charger for you, they can access the OZEV grant for a £350 discount on smart charger installations.
If you are a business, the WCS (Workplace Charging Scheme) knocks £350 of installation with a limit of 40 installations per year.
Getting a home EV charger cheaper with a car purchase
Several car manufacturers offer charger deals for car purchases. Some are one-off costs but others like Vauxhall let you add the cost to your finance plan.
- Polestar offers the Ohme ePod from £925 and the Ohme Home Pro from £975 with a standard installation. This is for sales of new and used Polestar cars.
- Audi and Volkswagen recommend Ohme as their official charging partner, although they only say to contact your local dealership to source one. There’s no information on pricing.
- Mercedes has chosen Ohme as its official charger partner, with customers invited to contact Mercedes directly for exclusive prices.
- Peugeot recommends Pod Point chargers.
- Vauxhall recommends the Pod Point Solo 3, Ohme Home Pro, and Hive Alfen S-Line with British Gas. The latter costs £589 including installation or you can spread the cost by adding it to your monthly vehicle finance plan.
How much is an EV charger for landlords?
Landlords can claim a £350 discount on smart charger installations for rental property. Landlords can claim up to £350 per socket (so units that charge two vehicles qualify twice) up to a maximum of 200 applications per year.
Additionally, up to £30,000 can be claimed by apartment blocks, depending on the quantity of parking bays. 30 applications can be made per year, per building.
It means EV charger installation costs between £499 and £999 on average, or £350 less than homeowners have to pay. A popular charger for rental properties is the Pod Point Solo 3, coming in at around £599 with the OZEV grant.
How much is an EV charger for businesses?
Businesses qualify for the WCS (Workplace Charging Scheme), which contributes £350 towards the cost of every EV charger installation.
40 sockets can be installed per applicant, covering any business or organisation. However, an important limitation is the grant cannot be used for customer parking.
With the OZEV grant, expect to pay between £499 and £999 per charging point, the same as landlords. If your business is on 3-phase, then you might end up paying a bit more for a more powerful charger like a 22kW Pod Point Solo 3.
EV charger costs breakdown
EV charger costs are split into three parts:
- Charger hardware (everything the charger ships with) – 50% of the cost
- Electrician hardware (cabling, RCBO, drill bits, earth rod, etc.) – 15% of the cost
- Installation (labour) – 35% of the cost.
If a charger costs you £600, labour will cost you around £350. Add on electrician hardware (£80) and the price comes to £1,030.
Of course, this is just an example.
To put it another way, half the price of EV charger installation is labour and parts, and the other half is the charger itself.
Is it worth getting a home charger?
Even if you don’t qualify for a grant, at home, you can pay as little as 5p per kWh with an EV tariff, so charging at home will save you a lot of money.
Don’t worry about your energy bills either, because an electric car will only add around 5% to your monthly bills – peanuts compared to charging in public!
So, to answer the question, a home charger is definitely worth it if you have off-street parking – it’s good for your wallet and makes charging convenient.
Next steps
The next step is to look for an EV charger that matches what you want. Check out our EV charger reviews. Another good place to start is our charger rankings.
Once you’ve decided on a smart charger, visit the charger manufacturer’s website and book an installation through them. Alternatively, search for an approved installer of the brand on Google, Facebook and Instagram.
Remember – you can’t install an EV charger yourself unless you are an electrician. EV charger installation is notifiable work under Part P.
