How Much Does It Cost To Install An Electric Car Charger At Home?

How Much Does Installing An EV Car Charging Station At Home Cost?

Some people are naturally worried about making the switch to electric cars and getting rid of their old diesel or petrol vehicles (eventually). As things are, electric cars are still very expensive, even when you factor in government grants. With those grants shrinking in recent months, it’s now harder to know how much support one can really get when buying an EV.

Besides the cost of buying the EV itself, there’s also the cost of purchasing and installing your home EV charger. How much does it cost to install an electric car charger at home? That’s one of the core questions we’ll be answering in this article.

Electric Car Charging Points Cost

The cost of your charging unit will depend on many factors, including brand, power output, smart features, weatherproofing and durability, etc. Budget models that are a relatively simple “plug and play” style with no fancy added features start at £250-300 before adding installation fees. The power output of such a unit could be as low as 3 or 4 kW, thus only adding 12-20 miles per hour of charging.

To get a more sophisticated model with a stronger output and more innovative features you inevitably have to spend more, from £500 to £800 to be more precise. These wall boxes typically feature LED displays showing power output and/or Wi-Fi function with a paired smartphone or tablet app. Using the app, you can have total control over charging times, so you can set your car to only charge during off-peak electricity hours. This means you could plug your car in when you get home, but it won’t start charging until a pre-set time, say midnight. It will come on automatically when the time comes.

The most advanced chargers can even go over £1,000, especially those with a 22 kW output for those homes and buildings where that kind of power rating can be accepted. Please note that these costs are all pre-installation costs, IE just the cost of the unit and the power cable. There are, broadly speaking, 2 types of charging station you might buy: tethered and socket-only. The former is convenient because it comes with a charging cable and plug all attached as one to the charging station. The latter allows you to make use of your own charging cable, perhaps the one issued by the OEM.

Most vehicles benefit from a tethered charging station because they are geared for greater power output. Those who are driving plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), on the other hand, with a much smaller battery capacity, needn’t shell out so much money for a more powerful unit and can plug in their factory-issued cable to the charging point for easy charging.

EV Charger Installation Cost

Next we come to the cost of installation. At this point you’ve already shelled out several hundred pounds in order to purchase your unit. You’ve now got to get it installed. The easiest way to go about this is to use a service for which the cost includes both the charging box and the process of installation. This will typically range from £500 to £1,500 depending on the provider, the type of charger, and some other conditions related to installation, e.g., if an installation is complex and takes longer to finish, it might cost more.

Some good news is that the way the process works means you certainly won’t get surprised with an unexpected bill. The total cost will be discussed with you in a quote from the engineers after they have made their initial visit and inspection of your proposed installation location. During that initial visit, an engineer will do the following things:

  • Take measurements
  • Check where your fuse box is located
  • Verify that your location is at least 2.5m from “sim touches” – metal objects connected to mains power supply, and this includes public street lamps
  • Give you a quotation based on a confirmed and agreed-upon installation location

So, quite early on in the process you should already be aware of the EV Charger installation costs involved. They should also let you know any potential for additional costs that might be added on, but there shouldn’t be anything significant. Possible additions include:

  • Added security features – especially for outdoor installation – £100-1000 depending on what, security light (£100), new gates for the driveway (£750), secure housing for charging station (£300) and so on.
  • New fuse box – if you want a level 2 charger (greater power output) you may need an overhaul of your fuse box £350
  • Additional charging cable – £150-500

If you have purchased a charging station already and just need the pure installation service, then the cost can range from £200-500. Most of the cost is in materials, which if there are more materials needed could raise your installation costs to north of £600-700, but that would be a lot for pure installation.

EV Charger Installation Cost - Is It Worth It?

To conclude, it’s a good idea to ask if all these costs are worth it. In our view, it’s definitely worth the investment to install a home charger in the UK. You empower yourself to always charge your car at home, which isn’t just convenient but also cheaper.

If you think you can save money by not installing a home charger and using public chargers instead, you’re wrong. A public charger on average costs 30p per kW of energy. A home charger, on the other hand, is about 14p per kW. You can therefore cut your charging costs in half, and that means the charger pays for itself over time.

Car Manufacturers We Supply and Fit EV Chargers For