EV charging · 5 min read
EV charger installation in Southampton: a homeowner's guide
Supply capacity, charger types, solar diversion and the electrical work behind a tidy home EV charger installation in Southampton and across Hampshire.
Start with the supply, not the charger
The most common reason a home charger installation costs more than expected is the consumer unit. Older boards frequently have no spare way, no RCD protection suitable for an EV circuit, or insufficient headroom once the charger's load is added.
That assessment should happen at survey. We are an NICEIC Approved Contractor, so if an upgrade is needed we quote it and do it ourselves rather than sending you to a third party.
Which charger
For most single-phase homes the practical choice is a 7 kW unit, which will fully charge a typical battery overnight. 3.6 kW is worth considering where the supply is constrained or annual mileage is low.
- Tethered — cable permanently attached, convenient, slightly less flexible.
- Untethered — you supply the cable, tidier when not in use, works with any vehicle.
- Solar-diverting smart chargers such as myenergi zappi — charge preferentially from surplus solar generation rather than grid import. We are a myenergi approved installer.
Charging on your own solar
If you have or are planning solar PV, this is the highest-value thing you can do with the surplus. Exported electricity earns a low rate; the same unit put into the car displaces petrol at a far higher effective value.
Because we install solar PV, battery storage and EV chargers, we can design the three together and quote them as one system rather than three.
What a good installation looks like
Cable runs planned rather than improvised, correct protective device at the board, proper earthing arrangement for the installation type, labelling, and a certificate issued on the day. Anything less and you will find out about it at your next EICR.
Questions we get asked
Do you need to upgrade my fuse board?
Sometimes. We assess it during the survey and tell you before you commit. If it is needed we carry out the work ourselves as an NICEIC Approved Contractor.
Can I have the charger and solar quoted together?
Yes, and we would recommend it — designing them together avoids paying twice for the same electrical work.
Want this checked against your own property?
A survey costs nothing and turns general advice into specific numbers. We are Gas Safe, NICEIC and MCS accredited (NIC601962), so whichever direction the answer points, the same team can do the work.
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Tell us about your property and we will come back with a written, itemised quotation — not a phone estimate.