Cost, time and what's involved?
Electric vehicles
If you're installing an electric vehicle (EV) charger at your home, you may be wondering about the cost, time and steps involved. The good news is that the process is really straightforward. There's very little for you to do other than appointing an installer who will take care of the rest. This guide is designed to provide your installer with all the information they need to complete your installation.
If your installer is able to connect your EV charger, all they need to do is simply notify us of the installation within 28 days. However, in some cases, they may find that your electricity supply is not sufficient for the additional load and need us to upgrade to your electricity supply first.
If you're carrying out the installation at a multi-occupied building, such as a block of flats or industrial units, it's important to gain the building owner's permission before commencing any work.
Your installer will need to contact us on your behalf
Since you won't be able to do the installation work yourself, the first thing you need to do is choose an installer who will handle everything for you. If they need to notify us of your EV installation or require an upgrade to your electricity supply, they will need to contact us on your behalf. This will help us ensure that we receive all the correct information.
Choosing an installer
You don't have to worry about doing too much yourself, all you need to do is choose an installer, they will take care of the rest. Approved installers can be found by visiting the government website and entering your postcode.
Notifying us
Once an installer has been chosen, they will visit you to complete the necessary checks and assess whether they can directly install the charger. If they are able to complete the installation, they then have 28 days to notify us on your behalf using our Smart Connect portal.
In some situations they may need our help
If upgrades to your electricity supply are required, your installer can still use Smart Connect to notify us. One of our experts will then assess the requirements and provide them with a quotation for any work which we need to complete. Occasionally, we need to visit customers as part of the assessment.
Complete connecting your EV charger
If you're happy with the price we send your installer, we'll then book in the work. Once we're done, then they can connect your EV charger.
Cost and time
If installers are able to complete their work without needing to upgrade the electricity supply, there will be no costs for you to pay to us. However, if upgrades to your electricity supply are required, the cost and timing of each project can vary. This can depend on a number of factors including obtaining permission to work on private land or working in the public highway.
We're unable to provide an exact price or time frames online as they are determined on the specific work required. Therefore, it will be provided once we review your application and in some instances we may need to visit you first to provide an accurate quotation. Don't worry this will be arranged through your installer.
Frequently asked questions
We understand that you or your installer may have still have questions around installing electric vehicle chargers. To help, we've compiled a list of the most frequently asked questions from customers who have gone through their own installation process.
Notifying us
Installers can notify us of installations using our automated Smart Connect portal. If upgrades to the electricity supply are required, our dedicated teams will reach out to installers directly to discuss the details.
Only installers can notify us on behalf of customers. This will help us ensure that we receive all the correct information when notifying us of an installation.