Image

If you are looking to install a new electric vehicle (EV) charger at home, Hawkesworth is here to help.
Our dedicated EV team will help you through the home charger installation process from start to finish.
We’ll help you with your grant application and which EV charging point is suitable for your needs, as well as install your brand-new charger quickly and efficiently.
Find out more about EV home charge installers with our leaflet
Depending on your circumstances and the type of property you live in/own, you may be eligible for a grant to partially or fully pay for your EV home charger installer.
We'll work with you to help determine how much you are eligible to claim for your charging point.
Find out more about the grants available and eligibility criteria
"I was really pleased with the job that your engineer did. I was able to carry on working as normal from home and he left everything very neat and tidy. A really good job."
Get in touch with our team today to find out more about installing an electric vehicle charging point at your home.
You can use a standard 3-pin cable to charge your car, but it’s not ideal.
Firstly, 3-pin cables charge your car really slowly. It can take over 13 hours to fully charge your car – not good if you need to be somewhere in a hurry!
Secondly, 3-pin cables aren’t very safe. Not only is the charging cable a trip hazard but sockets aren’t intended for them. This can increase the risk of overloading your electrical installation.
You need to have off-street parking to claim an EVHS grant but if you only have on-street parking there are still many options.
If you have multiple cars you can install multiple charging points. However, the reality is that you won’t necessarily need one charging point for every EV you own. You don’t need to charge vehicles every day, and some people may charge their vehicles at work or at public charging points.
As a general rule, you do not need to get planning permission as EV charging points are considered to be ‘permitted developments’.
However, if you live in a listed building, close to a highway or your charging point is over a certain height or size, then you will need to get permission. If you install your charge point and don’t get permission beforehand, your council may tell you to take the charging point down.
If in doubt, check with your local council’s planning team
It depends on your home setup. Charging points are okay to be installed outside as they are waterproof and weather resistant.
EV charging cables are not very long, so you will want your charging unit to be close to where your electric vehicle is parked.
Most customers choose to have their charging point installed on the wall next to their driveway. Your installer will be able to advise the best place for your car charging place to go.
It depends on the type of home you live in, where you want your charging point installed and what type of electric charging point you want.
For example, if your off-road parking is not next to your home, you may need groundworks to connect your charger to your distribution board. This will mean it takes longer for installation to take place.
Yes. Different charge points have different sockets - these are known as Type 1 (with five pins) and Type 2 (with seven pins).
Electric cars come with their own cables. This means if the EV and charge point don't have compatible cables, you can swap the cables over.
Yes, but you need to get permission from your landlord first.
If you rent a freehold property and the freeholder is different to the landlord, you will need to get permission from them too.
You can. An accredited installer will be able to uninstall and reinstall your charging point if you want to bring it with you.
If you are renting your property, check with your landlord first. They may want you to leave the electric car charger in place for the next tenant.
Bear in mind that you can only claim your EVHS vouchers once. If you have two charge points installed at one property and move home, you will not be able to claim again.
The Government is currently looking to pass legislation so that all new-build homes come with charging points as standard. This means if you move house in the future, there may already be a charge point in place.
Technically you can, but we wouldn’t recommend it.
Installing an EV charge point is a tricky process. You need to wire it up to your distribution board and make sure the installation is safe. Using a qualified electrical engineer will give you peace of mind that your charging point will be installed correctly.
Bear in mind that you won't be able to take advantage of the EVHS grant if you install the charge point yourself - it must be done by an OLEV/OZEV approved installer.
Yes. The majority of car chargers can be used by any vehicle so you can let friends, family and neighbours use your charging point if you like.
If you want to keep your electric car charger locked down so you’re the only one who can use it, you can install a charging point with a key or a radio frequency identification (RFID) card.
It’s not a legal requirement to maintain your electric car charger, but you should check it regularly to make sure it is working as it should.
Give it a quick once-over every time you use it to make sure the charging cable and charging box are not damaged.
A Clean Air Zone, or CAZ for short, is a geographical area where action is being taken to reduce emissions.
Vehicles that do not meet emission standards have to pay a charge to drive in the area.
If the vehicle owner does not pay the charge, they will have to pay a fine.
Bath, Birmingham and Portsmouth currently have CAZ in place, with parts of Central London being part of an Ultra Low Emission Zone, or ULEZ. Many more cities are considering bringing in Clean Air Zones in the next few years.
Electric vehicles are exempt from charges meaning that if you are looking to change your vehicle in the next few years, an EV could save you money.