Choosing an EV charger for your home
Most home chargers do the same core job at the same 7kW, so the decision is rarely about charging speed. It is about the cable, the tariff, where the unit goes and whether your supply can support it without load management.
Tethered or untethered
A tethered unit has the cable permanently attached. It is quicker day to day, because you park, plug in and walk away, and there is no cable to carry. The trade-off is that the cable type is fixed, and a five metre tether can look untidy on a front elevation.
An untethered unit has a socket, and you use your own cable. It is neater, it suits a shared driveway or a street-facing wall better, and it copes with a future car that uses a different connector. The trade-off is fetching and coiling a cable every time, which sounds trivial until it is raining in February.
- Tethered: fastest routine, fixed cable type and length
- Untethered: tidier, more flexible, needs cable storage
- Cable length matters more than people expect, so measure from the wall to the car's port
Speed, supply and load management
A standard single-phase home charger delivers 7kW, which adds roughly 25 to 30 miles of range an hour and fills most cars overnight comfortably. 22kW needs a three-phase supply, which very few South Wales homes have.
The real question is whether your existing supply can take 7kW alongside a shower, an oven and an immersion heater. Where it cannot, a load managing unit or a CT clamp arrangement reduces the charge rate automatically when the house draws heavily, rather than tripping the main fuse. We check the supply, the main fuse rating and the earthing arrangement before recommending anything.
Smart features worth paying for
Scheduled charging is the one that pays for itself, because overnight EV tariffs are dramatically cheaper than standard rates and the saving compounds every week. Solar integration is worth it if you already have panels and want surplus generation diverted to the car.
App reliability and the manufacturer's warranty terms matter more than the feature list. A charger is an outdoor appliance living through Welsh winters, and support after year two is worth more than a slightly nicer interface.
What the install involves
A typical install is half a day. We run a dedicated circuit from the consumer unit with the correct protection, fit the unit at a sensible height with the cable route planned so it is not draped across a doorway, verify the earthing arrangement, test and certify the work, and notify it as required.
The two things that add time are a long or awkward cable route, for example through a garage or around the back of a terrace, and a consumer unit with no spare way or inadequate protection, which needs sorting first.
Common questions
Is tethered or untethered better?
Tethered for convenience on a private driveway, untethered for tidiness, flexibility and shared or street-facing parking. Neither charges faster than the other.
Do I need a 22kW charger?
Almost certainly not at home. 22kW requires a three-phase supply, which very few houses have, and 7kW fills most cars overnight.
What if my consumer unit has no spare space?
We assess that before quoting. Sometimes a separate enclosure is the right answer, sometimes a consumer unit upgrade is, and we price it in writing either way.
Can it be installed if I have no driveway?
Charging must not create a trip hazard across a public footway, so on-street parking usually rules out a domestic wall unit. We will tell you honestly rather than take the booking.
Do you certify and notify the installation?
Yes. As a NICEIC Domestic Installer we test, certify and notify the work as required, and you get the paperwork.