Unfortunately your installation does not comply with BS7671. Regulation 722.531.3 requires that an RCD (Max 30mA) supplies a car charger and the RCD shall disconnect all live conductors. This includes the Neutral therefore the single-pole RCBOs should not be used for this application. The RCBO you have used is single pole and only disconnects the line (live) conductor. I'd recommend a fusebox or Lewden branded consumer unit as they both manufacture double-pole RCBOs. Even electricians get it wrong if they've not been suitably trained. I wouldn't recommend a DIY installation for anyone, find an electrician who has completed his City and Guilds 2919 and your more than likely to get the job done correctly!

I am only 23 seconds into this video but I want to say I love and appreciate the inclusion of Excel screenshots! Back to the video….

What an awesome vid Charlie. Thanks so much. I'm currently considering changing to an EV and this has really been useful to help me understand the infrastructure needs.

Had a charger fitted today but still useful to see this. Thanks for the info and keep the videos coming.

Really pleased you mentioned solar payback, I had the same feeling about the cost assumptions on the basic calculator but hadn’t yet done the hard maths.

Such a helpful video Charlie, there so little reliable info out there on EV chargers and you've really knocked it out of the park with such a comprehensive video. It covers so many things in 23 minutes that look me months to research and understand. A note on the upgrade of the main fuse - only some DNO's do it for free. Mine charge over £100 for upgrading to 100A :(

A very good informative video thank you for taking the time document your journey and sharing with us.

I installed the same smart heating controls and it is life changing. The oil savings are significant. Was going to write to them about it. Thanks 💪🏼

Charlie, thank you kindly for your transparency and first hand account of what you went through. Great info for everyone to think about for their own living situation!

Literally just in the process of buying a PHEV. Great video as always Charlie.

Great video. Answered a lot of questions I had about the install of a car charger.

That was very informative and well presented. Thank you

Your video has been an absolute massive help to me Charlie thants a million.👍

Brilliant video Charlie, very informative. Watched all of it even though we've had a charger installed already. Solar and battery storage next on the list.

I always LIKE before I even watch the video, as I know u put a lot of effort into each and every video. My favourite KZfaq channel!

Thank you for the information we have now made our minds up which way to go with our new car great 👍👨🏻‍🏭

Thanks for the good quality info.

Brilliant practical info as always. 👍

Great info Charlie. Excellent video.

Great video! great information i.e. realistic costs very useful thanks for making it

Very informative

Very interesting video, thank you for your always excellent content.

ALWAYS WONDERED HOW THIS WORKS , THANKS CHARLIE FOR THE VIDEO

Fantastic video Charlie - really didn't feel that long, lots of great, interesting and informative content. I think you might be similar to me in that I'm sensing we have a shared DY interest in electrical matters. As you alluded to in the video, electricals is probably the most taboo area for a DIYer given all the regs, "competent individual" qualification requirements and the sheer danger of getting it wrong (if it was a choice between cutting a length of timber at 901mm instead of 910mm and getting an electric shock, I know which balls-up I'd choose!). I've found myself consuming a lot of KZfaq electrical content recently and am doing more and more non-notifiable projects around the home. I just find it quite fascinating and like the maths that comes into play with formulae using volts, amps and cable core diameters, etc. Back to your video and I definitely don't envy you that cable run and you absolutely did the right thing by future proofing. The garden gym/workroom I built in lockdown at end of our garden is about 50m from the house consumer unit and I future proofed only in so far as using 16mm2 SWA rather than the 10mm2 which is all i currently need- but i did cheat a bit and cleat it along the bottom rail of our newly installed fence rather than burying. If i ever convert it into more of a living space (with water and wifi) then I'll no doubt be doing a lot of digging. In terms of EV, I'm on the same Octopus deal as you with that 0030-0430 special deal. But got an email from them recently with the new rates about to come in and they're eye watering. Wish they'd hurry up and install chargers at my office!

Thank you charlie, although i must be honest, i never had a clue what you were talking about, my electrician hubby found it very useful…..so thank you….please be safe as always from South Africa

Hello Charlie, stumbled upon your site and subscribed. As an installer myself i find this very interesting. What i actually think is that your video should be showed to everyone thinking of buy an ev. And be shown to every salesman selling the ev dream and walking away with the commission and the poor customer without a clue about ev charging. Something i sadly see all of the time. Its a very good vid, thank you for making it.

Great video. I had a similar situation to you but thankfully we installed the Indra last year way before our car arrived. We are going to get a shock as we fixed our octopus tariff back in July for 2 years and pay 15p per KWH during the day and 5p per kWh for the 4 hours off peak during the night. Must say they are a great charger and the support from Charged EV is brilliant. You also could have mentioned that Indra are based in this country and manufacture the chargers here too.

I got Indra installed. Few months ago and I Love it,the app is brilliant too

Maybe the problems explain why so many charge points around the country are out of action . Making this video proves you are a Hero anyway .Respect .

From Sydney Australia, a super video, all very similar down here, thanks

Great video as always, missed this one, but yes I have done many hand digs and they are killers. Hoping to get a ev soon :)

Great vid, and super useful as I'm about to get a car like yours

Wow. What a wealth of information.

Brilliant video Charlie, this points out to people how complicated an EV install can be and should be done completely by professionals or with the watchful eye of them. Especially that you got professionals in as well as the specialist EV installer and it still wasn’t perfect. Many will watch this and realise that perhaps they shouldn’t install a charger themselves as it’s certifiable.

Also had an Indra installed by ChargedEV. Had also a bit of a tricky setup so did the cable run myself, ChargedEV did a great job

If only you were my neighbour would learn alot and probably you would lend me your tools too 😜. Great video as always. 👌

Thanks for the shout out Charlie. A great video and plenty of great points for consumers to think about. Just one thing you might want to check is the RCBO feeding the EV charger. They should disconnect both line and neutral conductors - often called a single-pole plus switched neutral RCBO. This is a requirement in BS7671. Also with reference to Bulb - they are still operating. Gordon in our team has an ongoing battle to get a smart (dumb) meter removed and it's close to a resolution after 9 months.

I can relate to the problems you had digging that trench. I have been struggling through clay that is either like concrete or glue (depending on the weather) and I'm lucky if I make two feet a day...

Great video

Great video and style. Loved it. Interesting that on an earth rod TT System the sub consumer unit is often served with as earth resistances to ground like this are rarely good. Therefore in the main CU, it would be a 40Amp MCB. Two RDBO/RCD in series could mean problem tripping and a time delay RCBO/RCD would be installed a the main CU. Time delay being 500ms instead of 40ms trip. Picky I know but fact. Also the DNO can be asked to asses to make the supply a TNCS or PME. This is where the earth in bonded to the Neutral at the supply transformer and at the cut out. This is standard now. Neutral 'is' Earth

Wow that seems like such a hassle but at the same time I think electric charging is so cool. Some things are worth the fight lol. Great video as always! Keep up the great work!

Charlie, you're a legend

Charlie...you keep reading my mind :) Great video and one I'll be reviewing when I get my charge port installed. Keep doing what your doing, and all the best to you. Bl**dy great content:)

Digging that trench alone would have been 1000s . Fair play. Personally I probably would have found a way above ground in getting there but you have obviously saved lots of wasted metres by trenching the cable. 👍 Keep up the good work

Brilliant video ... very well researched, presented and edited. Some people buying EV's do all their research before buying, but many don't. For anyone considering an EV and wanting to home home charge this video will be invaluable, sure not everyone will have the 70 metre cable trench, but the way you have presented the content makes it easy to see all the other highly relevant content. I especially like how you focused on the main fuse rating, interacting with the DNO and the issue of looped supplies. It is essential people understand these matters up front and taking advice from a car dealer interested in closing a sale these are things that are glossed over. Also like the mention of the guys at efixx, another great YpuTube resource. You were also realistic enough to mention that with the current state of domestic energy market the possible savings from running an EV will be reduced. Competition in the energy market is broken so the only way people will be able to improve their situation is with their own solar and battery and it sounds like you are setting up to tell us all about that. Well Done.

OMG! I'm toying with this idea, look it up & it's U! I think U'v possibly dun every DIY job I'm ever thnkin of doing!!! 🤣

Could you use the armouring of the 2 core cable to export the earth from your house to the garage and not have to install new earth rod?

Oh dear, yet again 1.4 mm square, I think you really mean 1.4 square mm, there is a big difference. But the video is A1 I learnt lots from it as im about to choose a charger for our new E car, very helpful thank you.

What an epic video!

Very interesting and informative video. I think solar is very much worth it at this time, looking forward to ev's and fuel bills rising

Hey Charlie, really enjoy your videos. Thanks so much for the effort. I was looking on your Amazon shop and noticed that some of the prices are a lot higher than normal. I know the shop isn’t ‘your shop’ and you’re just linking to products but I wanted to flag the hike in price. Case in point is the paint scuttle newly £12 on Amazon and £5 at Toolstation. Just something to watch out for. Rich

The time delay on main switch rcd, that regulation has been out for years on a TT system then 30ma on each circuit.

Charlie… that hand dug channel!!! You need a medal. Starting to think solar is the way but wish the Government would help some how otherwise we’ll always be in this situation!

I don't think you mentioned it but did you do any utilities surveys before you did any digging?

Great Video. I don't think people appreciate the difficulty in having an EV charge point installed. I was dead lucky in my old house as my meter box was in an outside brick cupboard. My new house (new-build) the drive and garage are at the bottom of the garden. I had to pretty much beg the builder to add an additional circuit ready for my charger. One of the UKs biggest house builders and they claimed no one had ever asked for this! They need to wake up to the future or the government needs to hurry up the legislation forcing builders to install EV points as standard.

My polestar comes next Thursday 🤞

Had to get DNO to upgrade my fuse and Zappi has built in pen fault and RCD, so RCD in the additional CU used was only really protecting the cable. Tails were upgraded to 25mm when smart meter was installed. Meter inside house so space for additional CU not an issue. The best point is that you can get more use of your cheap EV rate (Bulb do a 4 hour EV rate) with a higher current charging option.

Could you consider creating a video on tools for detecting cables behind walls. Personally I have a house that has plenty of coaxial, telephone outlets but I have struggled to trace where they go.

Very interesting video with excellent commentary This is what has always concerned me with the introduction of EVs is the amount of infrastructure requirement to provide a vehicle charging point in a domestic dwelling situation. Sadly l strongly believe that EVs are only going to be for the chosen few. Keep up the great work and stay safe.

Nice video Charlie the only thing i would have done would have been is change cat5 for cat7👍👍🍺🍺

If your using 2 40a rcbo , would you not suffer with discrimination, ie which one would trip first

Talking of your Drayton Wiser system - any chance of a more detailed follow up? About to have one installed myself.

The 22KW chargering or 11 KW depends on the vehicle entirly. It is worth doing if you can of course for future planning. A house battery (10KWh+ ) makes a lot more sense than Solar. Even after the price rises due April 2022 the 7.5p a KWh over night ("ecconmy 7") to run the house and capture your excess Solar power makes a lot of financial sense.

Nice Charlie and welcome to the World of EV'S. I've been in Electric cars for 7yrs, ironically changing my home charging -- I live in a terrace so have to route cable over my neighbours front garden. Im going with EV ultra 6mm.3 core / data cat5 .( tuff sheath). my run is approx 15 metres .. im on smart metres from octopus. fixed for a year on the octopus Go ev tarriff -- 30 miles an hour -- x4 hrs plenty range.. remember never fill the battery full and leave it sitting there--fill it --use it--battery 20%---80% daily .. Good luck --gets some batteries -checkout "Fully Charged" Rob LLEWELLYN, CHEERS GRAHAM

Hi, are you now thinking of installing solar panels ? We are in the process of looking into atm 👍🏻👍🏻

Now you’ve had it a while what are your thoughts on the Indra, I am considering ordering one but I think they still haven’t updated the app with a button to turn it off while you are away which is a basic requirement as far as I’m concerned. Is the app good, has it been reliable? Thanks for all your Stella work.

Hi Charley Being now retired from electrical contracting I have taken a particular interest in the whole issue of EV charging. And to say it’s a minefield is probably an understatement , and definitely not helped by manufacturers playing fast and lose with the regulations saying you can charge for a 13 amp socket . Just look at the recorded fires that have been attributed to this practice . As regards just the earthing of a system , it seems to attract much debate . Resulting in some saying the whole installation should be separate from the incoming supply Earth via a earth rod / spike . The reason for this is that under certain fault conditions the actual body of the car can become live . You can see what I mean when I say it’s a controversial topic , I did notice your contractor had installed an earth spike so I would assume it was to mitigate this problem . Finally I would mention that installing 2core SWA is really seldom compliant , because the cross sectional aria of armer wire is not big enough for the earth loop reading . So would always use 3core , and in my day we would install a separate earth cable of say 16 mm to give a belt and braces approach . This is purely in regards to the garage supply , but I think you would agree the actual EV side is a total different ballgame . This new technology is still in its infancy so in fairness to electrical contractors this has been a steep learning curve. Which makes me glad to be on the sidelines now , Best wishes and kind regards as always 😀👍👍🤔

That's cool didn't know if you got the grant if you installed your self

OMG - What a job! For me, it would have had to be park the car and charger closer to the house - or MOVE - Jeesus, all that for a charger. Hat off to you...

Thanks for all your videos. Solar is the best thing you can do to reduce your carbon footprint especially if you have an EV. Install as much as you can given the space available. You have to have permission to install above 3.6 Kwp from the DNO and back in the days of the Feed in Tariff you were penalised if you had more than 4 Kwp so a standard install was 3.6 KWp indeed inverter manufacturers made a version for the UK market. if you have room for more then apply for permission which you may have to pay for. You may also have to wait for 4 weeks for the permission. Any extra you generate you will be paid for. Something like 5.5p per kwh but there is the likelihood of that going up in the future. Until recently I used to think that a battery is a waste of money. In the winter there is very little solar and so the battery doesn't really get charged much. In the summer solar keeps you supplied during the day and you don't consume much in the evening a few lights TV computer perhaps for a few hours and the battery doesn't discharge much. However with prices so high it might be worth it. If you can charge the battery overnight with cheap tariff electricity then it becomes more attractive.

Useful video - thank you. A few observations if I may: - the lack of a double pole RCD has already been identified but it should also be a type A or better (not type AC as this gives no protection against and may stop working in the presence of a DC fault current) - you mention a 100mA time delay RCD. This is normally what you would have to provide additional protection for the whole installation if it is TT (which yours is) and the earth loop impedance (Ze) is too high to trip MCBs or the overcurrent function of RCBOs. As a minimum your sparks should have measured Ze and recorded it on the installation certificate for the new circuits. - you do not recommend DIY installation, which is good. A charger must be on its own circuit, which means that the installation is notifiable under part P so unless the DIY installer had their work certified by LABC or an electrician who can certify third party work, they would be breaking the law. - supplier fuses can be problematic. The fuse carrier may say 100A but that is the carrier’s rated current; the fuse may be lower. Some DNOs are reluctant to go above 80A, 60A is also common and as low as 30A is possible. There is no way of telling without asking the DNO to pull the fuse. It should be obvious that no DIYer should cut any seal - you do not need the DNO for a meter or tails change. The supplier or their meter operator can cut and re-seal the main fuse.

Just like the WEF/UN it loved... Next step elec bill go skyhigh.

Rather than run an EV charging cable back to the house CU, which is disruptive, then what I intend to do is have a new external grade CU installed next to the current meter box, which I have plenty of space for. It minimises the cable run, and means there is zero effect on the house electrics (save the normal checks). There are weather-tight CUs available at a very reasonable price, and I suspect that it is cheaper than running a cable to many people's existing CU. I should at I have a detached garage. If your CU is in the garage already, then that might not be such an issue.

Hi I've just had my install done by evcharger easy 3meter at front of house but even so mine was free as I leased car via vanarama whom had an offer on of free charger and install.

I required a main fuse upgrade for my new Wallbox charger and it was not free of charge. Small works like this from Northern Power grid cost me £143 Inc VAT.

You hardly have money enough left to buy an electric bike hehehehe Well again great video, you covered it all and make people realise there is a bit more going on than laying a cable. But every other country has different regulations so always ask your local power distributer and *make sure you check with your insurance company incase of fire caused by electrical problems* . Glad the UK Electricity regulations are good, like her in Holland , cause i have seen outdoor electrical work in USA YT videos and I wonder why that country have not yet electrify itself. Now adding value to your house it a bit overdone IMO, nobody will choose your house over another one for this matter and since you live out and about in the country, the ownership of an electric car will still be less popular than a diesel or gas car cause of the range. But if you do own one this is a smart move to make, and well done too. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks for another interesting video Charlie, you are making me feel emasculated though! 😂 putting up a shelf doesn’t seem as impressive now. My wife is barred from ever watching your videos!

Well, that put me off LOl. Great guide and description of experience.

Couldn’t a registered installer wire in the charger direct to the meter box? Certainly my power company quoted on that basis without any interference with my consumer unit.

Interesting and some good 'heads up' points. At about minute 14, when you decided to 'save a bit of money', I could already see that this was going to run in to thousands, especially as you were having the CU's replaced. Was the time you spent 'saving' that money really worth your time? We've all done it though!!!! 🤣🤣🤣

With current electricity charges you could be quids in here set against petrol costs and save pence per year!

Surely just put another 2way consumer unit in, this chasing to and from the house unit is bonkers, Parfitt did that as well!

The same person came to my property but little did she know I already turned of the power when my ring camera notified me

useful, if scary. Thanks.

Another simple (NOT) hairbrain idea by Boris! Good video Charlie, great channel.

Bulb haven't gone bust just yet, they are, or were in special administration. I am with bulb, their EV tarrif is similar to octopus, until April at least.

I sense a video discussion on solar coming soon ...?

It is not the total voltage drop that melts your cable. It's the voltage drop per unit length multiplied by the current that matters. Yes, 100 metres of cable will have double the voltage drop at the same current than will 50 metres, but the heating effect is spread over twice the length, so the heating effect is just the same. Provided you keep within the cable current rating for its type and installation method, then the cable will not melt. Where voltage drop does come in is that, first of all, you are wasting power. If there's a 20V voltage drop with the the 30 amps of a typical 7 kW charger, than that's 600 watts out of that 7 kW being lost, which increases your cost. The second issue is that some devices will not work properly or efficiently if they drop below their rated minimum voltage. Hence there are rules about how much voltage loss is acceptable. Frankly, for high currents, the bigger the cross-sectional area, within reason, the better. If you are losing, say, 300 watts in resistive heating, then at current pricing that's approaching £1 an hour just heating the soil. If it's a 6 hour charge, then that's over £5. It doesn't take many lots of £5 a time to cover the extra cost of, say, 10mm^2 cable vs 6mm^2. It's actually quite easy to calculate. Just find out the length of your cable, find the tables of resistance per unit length for a given gauge and type of cable. The three most common cross-sectional areas of SWA are 4, 6 and 10 mm^2, which have a resistance of 4.61, 3.08 and 1.83 milli-ohms per metre respectively. Double that for the round-trip and it's 9.22, 6.16 and 3.33 milli-ohms per metre length of cable. Power loss is current squared * resistance, so for 30 amps, that's 8.3, 5.5 and 3.0 watts per metre respectively. If we assume a nominal 230V supply, then the voltage drop per metre of cable length will be 0.12%, 0.08% and 0.043% respectively. So what does this mean for, say, a 20 metre run? That means for 4, 6 and 10 mm^2 cable respectively, there will be losses of 166 (2.3%), 110 (1.6%) and 60 (0.9%) watts respectively. Basically, for ever 1,000 kWh delivered to the cable (say 3-4,000 miles of driving), then 23 kWh, 16 kWh and 9 kWh will be wasted heating the cable. Whether the cost of that 14 kWh difference is important or not will depend on how many kWh you expect to use and the tariff you pay. At a fairly standard 35p per kWh, then the difference between 4 & 10 mm^2 cable would be about £4.90 for that 1,000 kWh. Clearly the longer cable run, or the more miles travelled, the bigger the difference. I should also add that the alter will notice that the way I've done the calculation under-estimates the difference somewhat, but time is a bit short. I need to spreadsheet this properly. I should add that the voltage drop for each of those solutions of cable is 2.4%, 1.6% and 0.9%, all well within an acceptable range. If, however, it was 50 metres then it would be a different story. Also, another thing worth considering is if you ever intend to upgraded to 3 phase. If it is, then it might be worth installing 5, not 3 core SWA. It's vastly cheaper to install it in the first place than replace it later. Also, it is at least technically possible to run the two load carrying conductors in parallel, thereby halving the effective resistance as, in effect, it doubles the cross-sectional area. I don't know for sure if it's within the regulations, but I don't see why not.

We have 3x40A, it still takes ages to charge a car at 25kW.

I can categorically say Charlie, no one apart from you owns the space in your meter box, whatever is on your property belongs to you, regarding the meters - gas or electric - they are rented by the billing company (e-on, scottish power, British gas etc) they have their property on your property and are charging you the pleasure of it - its not illegal to have their meters removed and have your own meters fitted - providing its done by a qualified fitter, and your out of contract with them.

# Felicity Ace

You just haven’t got any selectivity or what use to be known as discrimination between the 30mA RCBO in the garage and the supply from the house that’s 30mA too, it should be a 100mA time delay unit so you don’t get nuisance tripping of the sub main supply when one of the 30mA RCBOs trips in the garage, or it doesn’t trip and the one in the house does first.

sod it Im sticking with diesel and the pushbike

Your a braver man than me Charlie. It's all the forward planning that I carnt deal with especially when you travel 5o mile and find the charging point not working 😕

Don't forget twinwall ducting in all available sizes is great for future proofing. Also moling is possible but often expensive and perhaps risky to get under driveways without digging etc

👍👍

The cost of charging EVs is now more then the cost to run a diesel . Has this been done on purpose in order for EVs to pay fuel duty

I'm wondering how many people you think would face what you described in the video? My EV charger was installed in approx 2 hours and cost £470 installed, 2 years ago.

My car: go to a gas station. Fill up. Done.

Great video but common mistake as they’re not charger’s but a charge point, charger and rectifiers are in vehicles