In recent years we have seen an increasing number of hybrid and electric vehicles in use on our roads.
The technology has become widely available, and it offers a greener and more economical way to drive. A car like this can be charged up at home, and in this article, we will look at this subject in more detail.
An electric car can be charged up at home with a regular three pin plug attached to an EVSE cable or via a wall mounted charging point. Many drivers prefer to use a home charging point because it provides a faster charging experience and it has some useful safety features.
Charging an electric car is a little like charging up your smartphone, you plug it in overnight and then top it up as required during the day. Even if you have a wall mounted home charging point, it’s a good idea to also have a three pin EVSE charging cable as a charging backup option.
When you charge an electric car at home, you will need a home charging point or a spare power outlet for the three pin EVSE cable installed near where you park your car at night.
The charging point is usually wall mounted, and it has weatherproof features so it can be installed on an external wall if necessary.
Our recommended electricians will be able to offer the best advice on placement and the right equipment to suit your needs.
An electric car should have either a type 1 or type 2 plug, and you need a charging point that is compatible with your electric vehicle.
A wall mounted home charging point will cost around £400 with an OLEV government grant. After the initial installation cost, you will only pay for the electricity needed to charge your vehicle.
An overnight electricity rate is typically 10p per kWh, and an electric car would use around 2p worth of electric per mile travelled. In real terms, an electric car driver could easily save up to £1,000 on their fuel bill each year compared to driving a diesel or petrol only car that costs approximately 15p per mile travelled.
It’s also worth noting that an electric or hybrid car could be exempt from road tax, benefit in kind tax (for company cars), and the London congestion charge.
The OLEV grant is a government grant for electric vehicles, and it’s sometimes known as the Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme (EVHS). This can provide a £500 discount off the cost of purchasing and installing an electric home charging point.
The grant is available for most electric and hybrid plug in cars, and you can claim up to two charging point for every household.
To qualify for the grant the eligible car must have been purchased from the 1st of October 2016 onwards, the charging point must be an OLEV approved model, and you must have off street parking for your car.
To claim the OLEV grant, you will need to answer some simple questions and display some relevant documentation. Our recommended electricians will help you with this, and the grant can be claimed on your behalf.
The electrician will also provide free advice about the options available to you, and the actual installation will usually take around three hours.
Then you will get a full demonstration of how the system works and any remaining questions that you may have will be answered. After the installation, you can enjoy greener and more economical driving by charging your electric car faster and more conveniently at your home.
If you’d like to speak with our recommended electrician in your area regarding installing a car charging point at your home, you can find an electrician closest to you here.
Efficient, friendly service.Would reccomend to anyone wanting Phil and his NextLevel Install company.
Julie Debnam
Jordan & Luke came to resolve a fault with our downstairs sockets that left us without power. Both were very knowledgeable, polite & efficient. Had my power back on within 30 mins. Would recommend & use again.
Steve Green
We feel really pleased to have found David - a really reliable electrician, able to find his way through electrical problems. He gives one great confidence!
C & A GILL
David and his staff were friendly, efficient and on point with my Ring installation. Fair pricing as well. I would highly recommend his services.
Christopher LoPinto
Chris arrived at the agreed time. He quickly took in the situation and traced the fault in our rambling wiring. I was delighted by his manner, approach, and efficiency. The cost was reasonable and he tidied up afterwards! I think we were very lucky to have found such an unpretentious genuine professional electrician.
John M
Lovely chap, would use Daniel again if needed but no plans to move plugs myself anytime soon!
Sharon
Asa quoted to take over some unfinished electrical work on a major house rebuild. His quotation was clear and covered all our requirements. He arrived on time with a colleague and was very good at problem solving and trying out different things to get to the bottom of issues. At times, this was quite tricky as he hadn't been involved in the initial electrical work. He even returned at 7pm on a Friday to check out why some lights were tripping. Very friendly and expertise combined. Stuck to his quotation and we will now be using him for all our future electrical requirements as well as recommending him to others.
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I found Martin a very pleasant and friendly young man. Thanks
Craig
Good customer service and reliable. Great and neat electrical work done in my garage. Good price. I will highly recommend David Farrar and his team. Thanks , Kwame.
Eric Kwame G
Okay first review so lets make this thorough: Leon had come over today to assess my flat and run an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) I as a consumer was really happy with: - His ability to quickly identify and flag some minor issues which needed adjusting. - His level of transparency and communication as he ran me through any changes that would occur (power cycling, what task he was moving onto as he progressed through his EICR) - Willingness to see a job through, he had gone to collect some parts to complete the task and had gone the extra mile to get it all resolved quickly. Brilliant level of customer service and overall great expertise in his role. Would highly recommend.
Sami Rashid
Very honest and efficient!
Richard
Turned up at the time we agreed and sorted the fault. Very professional. Thank you.
Eleanor
Very good service when I had a emergency. Gave very good advice. Would use again.
Susan
Fantastic service. Immediate response and arrived within the time given. Excellent knowledge and quickly found the fault.
Larraine
Excellent service, very professional and I can strongly recommend this company. The standard of work carried out was exceptional.
Twigs
Fantastic help and to the point both on the phone and in person. Arrived in the time we were given and explained the problem and solution simply but without being patronising. 10/10 for Paul the gent who came out to us.
Jo
Wow! responded immediately, electrician was here in no time, he explained the faults and fixed them right away, can actually say, "he saved our lives " as one switch was very very old and was heating up, potentially causing a fire. so big a thank you for making us safe, excellent service, excellent work carried out, would definitely recommend. THANK YOU
Rach
I was looking for a company to do an electrical survey of a property I am buying. I have nothing but praise for Paul and the work he has done. His estimation was clear. He was timely. He was very thorough in his survey of the property highlighting a number of things which need addressing which there is no way would have been identified otherwise. There are lots of companies out there on comparison sites but I would thoroughly recommend Paul from Electricians On Call.
Keith
I would recommended this company. Paul came to fit my new oven that needed to have a safety socket and new wires put behind it to make safe , spot on for time very quick and he knew his stuff and very polite, even got a free pen which was a nice touch ! many thanks for all your help
Jenny
Very professional, engineer arrived at time stated. Problem fixed in less than half an hour, therefore charged half hour rate, would have paid hourly rate with most other emergency call outs. Many thanks, would not hesitate to recommend!
Louis
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