‘Switching to an electric car took months – make sure you know what you’re in for’

When my elderly petrol car was towed off for scrap, I didn’t expect switching to an electric car would be so much hassle.

The Government may have pushed back the ban on selling new diesel and petrol cars from 2030 to 2035, but we wanted to go electric right away.

As a fundraiser for Suffolk Wildlife Trust, my husband, Josh, is keen on the environmental benefits of low-emission electric vehicles. As a personal finance journalist, I appreciate the lower running costs.

Our situation seemed ideal. We were looking for a small second car, which I could use for short journeys. I therefore wouldn’t face “range anxiety”, worrying about the battery running out when driving to the station for work trips, heading to the supermarket or chauffeuring our children – Finn, aged 15, and 13-year-old George.

Living in Hadleigh, Suffolk in a detached house with a drive, we seemed perfectly placed to install an electric vehicle (EV) charger and avoid the time, trouble and expense of public charge points.

Finding a second-hand electric car was relatively easy: my husband went for a one-year-old Renault Zoe GT Line R135 for £15,000; it has a 52 kWh battery and an official range of 239 miles.

The rest of the process? Not so much.

The problems emerged when we got an electrician to quote for installing an EV charger.

Thinking it would be a straightforward request, we were surprised when he sucked his teeth and explained that before he could proceed, our electricity supplier would need to fit larger “tails” (cables) from our meter, and an isolator switch, and then UK Power Networks could put in a larger main fuse.

But first, he said we should check with the council if we needed listed building consent (LBC) to install an EV wall box, as we live in a Grade II* listed house.

These checks and changes were all free, but each took weeks to process. If you’re considering getting an EV chargepoint fitted at your home, here’s what you need to know.

Contacting the council

It took a fortnight to hear back from the heritage officer at our local council, after I emailed about installing an EV charger.

I attached photos to emphasise the discreet size and positioning of the charger, and minimal impact on the fabric of the building (one hole through a wall for a wire, a few screws for the charging box).

Thankfully, she was satisfied that the works would not require formal LBC, provided the wire hole was drilled through the mortar rather than the bricks themselves.

Anyone else in a listed building should take note of the official line about LBC and EV chargers from Historic England, as it could affect your plans.

It says: “It will depend on where owners are planning to fix the charging point and whether it will affect the special interest of the listed building. The local council conservation officer should be able to advise.

“If fixed to the listed building, LBC is likely to be required, but the installation of EV chargers will generally be acceptable, especially if located in discreet places (where such a practical option exists) and if sufficient care is taken with the location of service runs.”

Fitting a smart meter

To get an EV energy tariff, you must have a smart meter fitted – if you don’t have one already.

In our case, the other good news was that (after months on a waiting list) our electricity supplier, Octopus Energy, was already booked to come round two weeks later to upgrade our meter to a smart meter.

I rang Octopus Energy and confirmed they could make the necessary changes to include an EV energy tariff at the same time – otherwise we’d have had to wait for another appointment.

Upgrading the fuse

Meanwhile, I registered with UK Power Networks’ Smart Portal to book a fuse upgrade from 60 amps to 100 amps, which is required for an EV charger.

I was baffled by the questions I was asked, such as whether our electricity supply comes from overhead or overground, whether it is linked or looped to our neighbours’ property, and which service cable type and rating we had.

In the end, I waited until the smart meter installer came round and asked him, which delayed the process even further.

Once I had the answers ready, I submitted the application – which included glamorous photos of the fuse board in our cellar.

It took a week for UK Power Networks to come round for a site visit, and then another month before the engineers could change the fuse.

Choosing a charger

Picking a charger that’s suitable for your property and your vehicle is another baffling experience.

The electricians recommended one type, saying it was easy to fit and easy to use.

However, neither the charger they suggested nor our car were compatible with the Intelligent Octopus Go electricity tariff we wanted to use, and one of them needed to be. Since we’d already bought the car, we had to find an alternative charger.

After much research, we went for an Ohme ePod, as its wall box is smaller and less noticeable, and it’s compatible with the tariff. This charges 7.5p/kWh during the six hours from 11.30pm to 5.30am, compared to 31.01p/kWh the rest of the time.

Finally getting charger installed

After several weeks and a lot of bureaucracy, we were ready to get the EV charger fitted.

Our quotes, including VAT and £500-odd for the charger itself, ranged from an online quote for £1,078 from Octopus Energy, up to £1,737 from an electrician who actually visited the house.

We ended up paying a local electrician £1,479, and they had to send their smallest employee to fit the wire through the crawl space under our house.

We didn’t qualify for a government EV chargepoint grant worth up to £350 as we don’t live in a flat or rent our home, so had to foot the full bill ourselves.

Was it worth the time, and expense?

Getting an EV charger installed cost us a whole chunk of change. But if we hadn’t done it, charging our electric car elsewhere would be much slower, or more expensive.

If we just connected our car to an ordinary three pin plug and chucked the lead out of a window, it would take 32 hours to fully charge the 52kW battery, according to the AutoTrader calculator. Using our 7.4kW charge point at home is more than three times faster.

There’s also the option of public charge points, which save time, but cost more.

Compared to the 7.5p/kWh we pay for charging our car overnight, our nearest public charger, a 22kW Plug-N-Go version, costs 39p/kW plus a 50p connection fee, while the 60kW GeniePoint charger at our local supermarket costs 79p/kW.

Assuming we rev up our Renault Zoe with the equivalent of a single battery charge every week, we should only pay about £203 a year at home, compared to £1,080 or £2,136 at the nearest public chargers.

We should therefore cover the cost of installing a wall box in less than two years.

In practice, if you want to preserve your car’s battery life, the AA recommends not letting the battery drain below 25pc or charging it above 75pc, which is more convenient when you have your own EV charger.

As EVs become increasingly popular, having an EV charging point already up and running can be a huge plus if you decide to move in future.

Installing an EV charging point can add around £2,000 to £3,000 to the value of your property, according to Jonathan Rolande at the National Association of Property Buyers.