Before a charge point goes on the wall, we look hard at the box that will feed it. Around Shepton Mallet we still come across older fuse boards, boards where only part of the house is RCD-protected and leftover Economy 7 arrangements with two units side by side. A car charger is a long, heavy load, so the board and the supply are where every job here starts.
A kettle takes a lot of current for a couple of minutes. A 7.4kW car charger draws roughly 32 amps, and it can do that for several hours overnight. That kind of steady demand shows up loose terminals, tired switchgear and a supply that is already close to its limit in a way normal household use never does.
So the charger needs its own circuit and its own protective device, fed from a board that has room for it and the right protection on it. When the existing board is not up to that, the sensible answer is to sort the board out within the same job rather than bolt a new circuit onto an old problem.
You do not need to take any covers off. Just open the cupboard and look.
A clear photo of the board and the meter, sent when you first get in touch, lets us tell you early whether board work is likely to be part of the price.
Every installation is priced individually. The price depends on the charger you choose, the cable run, and whether the fuse board and supply can take the new circuit or need a board change or an inspection first. Where a board change and a charger are done together, you get one fixed written price for both after the survey, charger and all.
We fit RCBO boards only. Every board has a main switch and a Type A RCBO on each circuit, in a metal enclosure, with Type 2 surge protection, AFDD on bedroom socket circuits and new 25mm² flexible meter tails. A fault on one circuit then switches off that circuit and nothing else, which matters when a car is charging overnight and the freezer is on the same board.
The charger circuit gets its own Type A RCBO, either in the new board or in a dedicated outdoor enclosure next to the charger where the route makes that sensible. The board is tested, certified on an Electrical Installation Certificate and notified under Part P. For the full story on boards, see consumer unit replacement in Shepton Mallet.
Even a brand-new board sits behind a main fuse in the supply company's cut-out, and that fuse sets how much the whole house can draw. An electric shower, an electric oven and a car charger running together can get close to it.
Where the survey shows that risk, we fit load management. A CT clamp goes around the meter tails and measures what the house is using; the charger reads that figure and eases off when the house is busy, then picks back up when demand drops. The car still fills overnight and the main fuse is never pushed past what it is rated for.
Earthing is checked at the same visit. Some properties need an earth electrode for the charge point, and we will tell you if yours does. We also notify the distribution network operator (DNO) about the charger for you.
None of these were charger jobs on their own, but each is the kind of board we sometimes find when a customer asks for a charge point, and what we did about it.
Out towards Pilton along the A361, or Doulting to the east, the same checks apply, with longer runs more likely.
If there is no recent report on the house, our EICR in Shepton Mallet page explains the inspection. Business and fleet charging is covered on commercial EV charging in Shepton Mallet, and everything else we do around the town is on our Shepton Mallet page.
Leave your details and a line about the job. We will ring you back to talk it through and arrange a survey or a written price.
Sometimes. If the board has a spare way, proper RCD protection and is in good order, the new charger circuit can come from it with its own Type A RCBO. If it is an older plastic board, has no space or only protects part of the house, we will recommend replacing it as part of the same job, and show you that price separately so you can see where the money goes.
It is worth sorting out. In Shepton Mallet we recently combined exactly that kind of arrangement, two old consumer units and a bolt-on RCD box, into one metal RCBO board with surge protection and new tails. It makes room for a charger circuit and leaves the house with one tidy, fully protected board.
It should not, if the supply has been assessed properly. We look at what the house already draws at survey. Where the margin is tight we fit load management, a CT clamp on the meter tails that lets the charger slow down while the shower or oven is on, then speed up again afterwards.
For a charger connected to a board that is staying, the power is only off for part of the visit while the new circuit is connected. If the board is being replaced at the same time, expect it to be off for most of the day. We agree the timing with you beforehand so freezers and working from home can be planned around it.
It depends on the charger you choose, the cable run and the size of the new RCBO board. We price the board change and the charger together, so after the survey you get one fixed, written figure covering everything, charger included, with VAT at 20% shown on its own line.
Priced by the job, not by the hour. A written, fixed price after a survey, NAPIT certification on every notifiable job.
07889 334849