Alternatives to Installing a Wall-Mounted EV Charger

Solutions
Written By Ben Whitaker

If you’re one of the many people, who have recently bought an electric vehicle, or are in the process of seeing if making the switch is right for you and your family, one of the first considerations is to figure out how you’re going to charge your EV at home.

The most convenient and popular way is to purchase and install a wall-mounted EV charger. However, doing so can be quite expensive for some households, especially if you’ve just invested in an electric car.

In this guide, we’ll take you through some of the safer and cheaper alternatives to installing a wall-mounted EV charger.

Discrete PME and PNE fault protection devices

When you plug an EV charging cable into your home supply and run it across the public pavement you need a ‘Protective Earth Neutral’ (PEN) fault protection device. 

PEN fault protection devices are required because there is a risk that the voltage on the charger cable earth wire from a home without a local earth spike could be dangerously different from the local earth voltage as experienced through metal railings, lamp posts or electrical devices connected to other power supplies. 

A normal domestic circuit breaker doesn’t protect against that risk as they only disconnect the live and neutral, but PEN fault protection devices detect more categories of fault and disconnect all three conductors including the earth wire in a fault situation to keep you and the general public safe.

Because of this "simultaneous contact” risk, the terms and conditions of fitting and using a cross-pavement EV cable channel, like our own, require all cables to come from a power supply with a PEN fault protection device.

It’s also necessary for the Kerbo Charge channel to be a minimum of 2.5m from electrical street furniture with a metal casing (e.g. a lamppost), as further detailed in this OZEV guidance.

Sadly, current legislation still requires homes without off-street parking to make a full planning permission application in order to fit a modern EV charger that includes PEN protection, but thankfully there is a safe and cheaper solution.

Without requiring any planning permission, an external mains socket can be fitted that is protected by a discrete PEN fault protection device either in your consumer fuse box or fitted inside a separate consumer unit, enabling the safe use of either a standard 3-pin mains 3.6kW 13A charger, or an even faster 7.4kW 32A “Commando Socket” charger.

Estimated costs for PEN fault protection, socket and fitting

The average expected cost for PEN fault protection, socket and fitting is between £240 and £370. This doesn’t include the cost of a charger as many cars include a 13A 3-pin charger device already.

You do also need a qualified local electrician to fit the PEN fault protection device and outdoor socket, but this should still be cheaper than fitting a wall-mounted EV charger.

Below you can see a breakdown using example products, but your electrician may help to pick alternatives:

If you don’t already have a 13A charger supplied with the vehicle, below are some example products and costs:

Additional security option

EVs lock the charging cable into their vehicle socket during charging to prevent them being unplugged or stolen while the car is left unattended, but when the charging cable is not plugged into the car there is a chance of it being taken away if you leave it outside.

If you don’t want to bring the charger indoors or leave it in your car, then there is the option to add an anchor loop to your wall and then use a large padlock to secure the charging cable. For example:

Master Lock Black Steel Ground & wall anchor - £30.75

FAQs

Can I still use smart variable rate off-peak tariffs, like Intelligent Octopus Go?

Yes, you simply use your energy provider’s app (e.g. Octopus) to control the charging of your car. You often have to use these apps anyway to control your charging, and that App interacts directly with the car via the vehicle manufacturer and doesn’t need to control the charger. Check for compatibility between your car and energy provider for support.

What are the fire risks of 3-pin EV chargers?

There have been reports of 13A 3-pin sockets overheating and in some cases catching fire when used long term for charging EVs.

These issues are not happening because of an inherent safety problem with 3-pin 13A chargers, but because any underlying faults in the wiring of the 13A socket will become more dangerous when used at high loads like this for long periods.

Because of these risks it is important that old wiring and old or cheap sockets that have not been recently checked by an electrician for their suitability for EV charging should not be used long term. Getting a dedicated spur and brand new high quality socket that the electrician knows is suitable to be used for EV charging are good ways to make this safe.

Some examples of issues that can cause overheating and fires (not exhaustive):

  • Cables not screwed-in firmly to the screw terminals inside the socket.

  • Old cables with copper surface corrosion or dirt inside the screw terminals.

  • Old cables inside the walls with broken/brittle conductors.

  • Loose plug pin holders inside the 13A socket (these grip the plug pins when they slide in - if any are loose/old/broken/bent you can get a fire).

  • User-replaced 13A plug on the charging cable (you should always have the sealed rubber plug originally supplied integrated with the charging cable, not a separate user-replaceable plug).

  • Unsafe wiring of spur connection to outdoor socket.

  • Plug that has bent pins (even if the pin has been bent straight again afterwards this is now dangerous).

  • Extension lead not fully unwound, so it cannot cool itself properly and may cause inductive heating.

Are there building regulations for installing an outside socket?

Any electrical work carried out on your property is subject to Part P building regulations. This means that the work should be carried out to a suitable standard. You do not have to apply for building regulations or have a site visit if you use an installer who is able to self-certify that their work is up to standard.

There should be no extra cost for this certification. It should all be included in the cost that your installer charges you.

Do you need planning permission for an outside socket?

No, you do not need to seek planning permission to install an outside socket.

Do you need planning permission for a cable channel/gully?

Even though the Kerbo Charge channel does not normally need planning permission outside of conservation areas, it does require written permission from the relevant Highways Authority for any adopted highway/pavement or written permission from the owner/freeholder of the pavement on private land and private housing estates. 

Is this different when it comes to private land?

In terms of private land, we have been successful in getting permission from a number of housing associations and private estate managers in the past, and the best thing to do is to write to the estate management company.

To maintain compliance with electrical safety regulations any channel should be placed a minimum of 2.5m away from any other powered infrastructure that is connected to a different power supply, such as power lines, lampposts or telecommunication cabinets that are not covered in insulation.

If you’d like to find out more about Kerbo Charge’s cable gully solution, enter your postcode to see if our services are available where you live, or get in touch with any questions.

PLEASE NOTE: This article is not intended as electrical safety advice - you should always seek advice from a qualified electrician.

Ben Whitaker
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