Your complete guide to electric car home charge point installation from Mer
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Whether you’re considering purchasing an electric car or are already an owner, how you will stay charged up and on the road will be a key element in your everyday routine.
One of the most cost-effective and convenient ways to charge is to install an electric car charger at home.
This guide will help you to understand why a home charger could be the perfect solution for you.
Electric cars can be charged at home using a standard household plug, but this can be incredibly slow and, depending on the car, can take up to 43 hours to reach full capacity.
7kW chargers are most common for a home electric car charger, as domestic properties generally have single-phase power. With a standard (7kW) home charger you can charge an electric car in around 5-8 hours.
Using an approved home EV charge point is not only quicker than using a domestic socket, but it’s also much safer. The Mer home charger is weatherproof, waterproof, built to last, and can be installed safely either indoors or outdoors.
With intelligent sensors and temperature monitoring, the charger is protected from overheating, keeping your home safe.
One of the most common pros of EV drivers who have an electric car charger at home is the amount of money they save on ‘refuelling’ their vehicle. On average, drivers who only charge at home can spend as little as £450-£550 annually on charging their car.
Many green energy providers such as Octopus Energy, offer off-peak EV tariffs allowing you to charge throughout the night for a much cheaper rate, such as 12p per kW. Using a smart charging app with the Mer home charger, you can schedule your vehicle to charge at set times to take advantage of the off-peak rates.
| Vehicle | Battery Size | Charge Time (100%) | Cost of Full Charge | Real World Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hyundai Ioniq | 38kWh | 5 hours 26 min | £12.92 | 165 miles |
| Nissan e-NV200 | 40kWh | 5 hours 43 min | £13.60 | 130 miles |
| Kia E-Niro | 64kWh | 9 hours 9 min | £21.76 | 235 miles |
| Mercedes EQC | 80kWh | 11 hours 43 min | £27.20 | 230 miles |
| Tesla Model S | 100kWh | 14 hours 17 min | £34.00 | 315 miles |
We partner with Easee to offer the latest in intelligent, powerful charge points for the home. The home charging solution provided by Mer is compatible with all current EVs on the market.
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Before any installation can take place, a qualified electrician or home charge expert will need to determine whether it’s possible to have an electric car charger installed at your home.
This is usually done by a remote survey: once you purchase your home charging unit you will be sent a link via text message with instructions to complete your remote survey. You will be asked several qualifying questions.
If you have any questions you can speak to one of our team at 03300 562 562 or email [email protected]
In order to install a home car charging point, you need to ensure that the charger will be located reasonably close to where your electric vehicle will be parked to enable the charging cable to reach (around 5-10 metres). It’s also preferable that you have off-street parking such as a driveway or garage.
In order to allow for safe use and accessibility, the charge point also needs to be installed at a height that is no lower than 0.5m, and no higher than 1.5m from the ground.
We will ask you to complete a remote survey and send images of your property in order to determine whether a home install is possible. At this stage, our experts will also be able to establish whether your home charge point installation will be a standard or non-standard installation.
Due to the demand on your electricity supply from a home car charger, it’s important that your main supply fuse, cabling and sockets are sufficient to handle the additional energy drawn. If the power supply is overloaded, the installation could cause a fire if safety measures are inadequate.
It’s unlikely that many home EV charge point installations will require planning permission. However, there are some cases where planning permission may be necessary if the property is:
Every charge point installation provider will have different processes and timescales.
With Mer, the overall process can take anywhere from a few days up to two weeks. Once you purchase a home car charging point, we’ll automatically send you a survey via text message to find out more about your property, so that we can be prepared for the installation. As soon as you return this to us, we’ll give you a call and arrange a date for your installation to take place.
Every installation is different, but on average, a standard install with Mer takes between 2-3 hours.
The only preparation that would be required is to ensure that the necessary areas (meter cupboard, charger location etc) have clear access.
It’s also important to note that your home’s power will be switched off for around 1 hour.
There should be minimal mess created from your home charger installation.
All your charge point equipment will arrive neatly packaged in one box.
There may be a small amount of debris from creating your cable route, but once the installation is complete the engineer will ensure that any mess made will be cleaned up and removed from the property.
Yes. You can continue to go about your usual evening routine while your EV is on charge. The power from your home will be suitably distributed across all appliances.
Our home charge experts have written a handy blog to guide you through the whole process.
The cost of installing a home car charging point varies depending on who you choose as your provider. You can purchase an Easee home charger, plus installation from Mer for £1145 – the price includes our aftercare service and 3-year warranty.
The UK government offers an Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme (EVHS), also known as the OZEV grant, to help towards the cost of purchasing and installing a home car charging point. With the grant, you can claim up to £350 off the overall price.
You can check if you are eligible for the grant if you are:
Yes. With Mer’s home car charging point you can be confident that you are covered with our 3-year warranty.
Warranty covers:
If you decide to move home, you may wish to take your home charger with you. In this instance, a Mer engineer would be sent to your property to remove the charger only (cabling will remain) at a cost of £195.
The removed charge point will then be replaced with a small covering to allow for the new occupants to fix a new charging unit.
If you wanted to then reinstall the charger at a new property, you would be required to pay in full for a new installation.
In many cases, it may be best to leave the home car charging point behind as this can add value to the property and save you money in the long run.
No. The warranty will still be valid if you choose to take your home charger to a new property within your warranty period.
At Mer, we specialise in home charging solutions for businesses looking to support their employees with charging their electric vehicles at home.
Want to find out more? Visit our EV home charging for business page.
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