Having an electric car charger in a garage can be a convenient way to charge your electric vehicle at home. And with the growing number of battery electric cars in the UK – 1,000,000 to date – ensuring EV charging infrastructure is in place is a necessity. However, installing an EV charger in a garage can be complicated and expensive, especially if the garage is detached.
With this in mind, there are some factors to consider before choosing to install an EV charger in a garage. Keep reading to learn the pros and cons of installing an EV charger in a garage, how much it costs to install an electric vehicle garage charger, and how to make your final decision.
In short, yes, you can have an EV charger installed in your garage – it’s perfectly possible, not to mention safe. But it requires more thought. Garage EV charger installations tend to be more complex compared to installing a home EV charger elsewhere, such as a driveway. However it depends on your properties set-up.
Because garage EV charger installations are usually more complex, they require more work. Installing an electric car charger in a garage may therefore lead to a higher cost of installation – especially if you would like your EV charger installed in your detached garage.
Now that we have confirmed that you can successfully have an EV charger installed in a garage, we will take you through the pros and cons of doing so. At the end of the day, it’s a personal choice as to whether you have a home EV charger installed in your garage as there are a number of important factors to consider beforehand.
1. Convenience: If you park your electric car in a garage, having your home EV charger installed as close as possible makes logical sense. No longer will you have to visit busy, expensive public charging stations or resort to threading a 3-pin plug charging port EV charger cable under your garage door. Maximum convenience is ensured with a garage home charger as it’s ready for you as soon as you park up.
2. Weather protection: Your home EV charger – and, more importantly, you – are protected from the elements in a garage, making charging your car easier and more comfortable, especially in winter weather or downpours. This is especially the case if you have a socketed EV charger, as it will take time to connect the charging cable to the charger and your EV. That said, EV owners don’t need to worry about weather conditions damaging chargers. A properly installed EV charger will be IP55 as a minimum, which means adverse weather, such as heavy rain or snow, will not damage your charger if it’s installed outside and is safe to use during these conditions – no matter if your EV charger is outside or in a garage.
3. Security: Your electric vehicle and charger are generally more secure in a locked garage, reducing the risk of theft, vandalism, or tampering as it is safely tucked away from prying eyes. Try not to worry about EV charger theft, though. Alternative ways are available to protect your EV charging station and cable from theft.
4. Increased property value: Installing an electric car charger in your garage can increase the resale value of your home, as it appeals to potential buyers with electric vehicles.
1. Upfront cost: Installing an EV charger inside your garage can be expensive, especially if your garage does not have the correct electrical infrastructure, such as a pre-existing consumer unit that can handle the power of your chosen EV (such as 7kW, 11kW or 22kW).
2. Garage access and permissions: If your garage is a shared space, such as if you live in a flat or apartment, it’s likely you will need to acquire permission to be able to have an EV charger in your garage. If you live in a listed building, planning permission will be needed too.
Not only are there pros and cons to be considered when installing an EV charger in a garage, but a number of external factors need to be considered before going ahead with a home garage electric car charger to see if it’s worthwhile for you. Let’s get into them:
Legally, there must be a connection between your electric car charger, an app and your EV – usually in the form of Wi-Fi or 4G – for the smart functionality to work.
When considering installing an electric car charger in your garage, it’s crucial to assess how strong and stable your chosen connection form is. For example, if you are interested in a Wi-Fi-enabled home charger, but the Wi-Fi connection does not reach the garage from the router in the house, it’s not a good location for your smart charger, as it will disrupt charging sessions and the consistency of smart features, meaning you could miss out on cheaper and greener EV charging sessions.
A way around this is choosing an alternative connection from a different type of charger. For example, if your Wi-Fi connection isn’t strong enough but there is a viable mobile data connection, you could opt for a home EV charger that operates as such. The Easee One or Ohme Home Pro are notable mentions for EV chargers that use 4G mobile data.
Have a think about where to put the electric car charger in your garage. Is your garage large enough to have an electric car charger installed and use it comfortably?
If your garage is too small, it may not be the right fit to install an EV charger in your garage, as there will not be enough room to manoeuvre, especially if you are plugging and unplugging a charging cable.
On the other hand, if it is too large, you will have to find the best location for your charger in the garage. For example, one that compliments the position of your EV and the route for the cabling. You never know, you may need a longer charging cable to reach your electric car.
Additionally, there is a difference in cost between attached garages and detached garages. With attached garages, it’s easier to drill through walls or find an alternative cable route from the consumer unit in the house, which results in a cheaper installation for you.
On the other hand, if want an EV charger in a detached garage in the UK, the installation will be more complex. The cable route may be longer (the route of the cabling from the consumer unit to the charger location), especially if the distance from your garage and house is significant. The longer the cable route, the higher the installation cost.
As mentioned before, if your garage does not already have an existing consumer unit or if the electricity supply of the pre-existing consumer unit is not large enough, installing your EV charger in the garage will require more work. A new supply to the garage for the EV charger is needed in these scenarios.
With this, the installation cost would increase dramatically because of the extensive works needed. The cable may have to run underground or overhead, and the cable run will likely be over 15m (over the 10m included in the standard installation, which is typically more than enough for most electric car charger installations at home).
Depending on your garage’s configuration, the installation may require running a new consumer unit, which can be complex and costly. The cost can also vary depending on the distance from your consumer unit to the charger location.
Garage electric car charger installations are typically more expensive than a standard installation on your driveway – especially if it is a detached garage. If you are searching for the most cost-effective EV charging solution, you may have to consider installing the home charger elsewhere, such as in your driveway.
That said, a home EV charger can help decrease your charging costs, which means despite the high initial investment, you could save money in the long term. For instance, home EV chargers offering tariff integration sync with your electricity tariff, allowing you to charge at the cheapest prices available to you. Such chargers with this feature include the Ohme Home Pro and Ohme ePod – which can save you up to £600 a year with its smart tariff integration feature.
To have a safe, compliant electric vehicle charger installation in your garage, you need to ensure that you choose an experienced, accredited and authorised engineer to install your EV charger – otherwise, errors and issues could incur, resulting in faulty and/or non-compliant installations. Cable runs, grounding, and more need to be undertaken by a qualified professional – do not attempt to install a garage EV charger yourself.
While technically you can run an EV charger cable underneath a garage door, you shouldn’t. Cables are a significant hazard for others to trip over; the garage door could get stuck, and most importantly, the charging cable could be damaged if squashed.
Ideally, you do not want to leave your garage door open for security reasons, either.
The best place to install an EV charger in a garage is close to your electric car, in addition to being as close to the incoming supply of the property as possible. By positioning the charger this way, it will result in cheaper installation and increased accessibility for you.
Giving an exact price is difficult when discussing installing an electric car charging point in your garage because each property is different, which means the complexity of the installation changes. That said, installing an EV charger in an attached garage is easier than a detached garage – with some attached garage installations falling within standard installation packages.
If you are debating whether to install an EV charger inside or outside garage, and the negatives mentioned outweigh the positives for you, it’s best to consider relocating the charger outside rather than in a garage.
To add an EV charger in garage will likely be more costly and complex than other locations, but it depends on your property type. That said, if convenience is your main priority you should go ahead with the electric car garage charger installation. On the other hand, if your garage is located quite a distance away from your house and are concerned about price, opt for a different charger location, such as on your driveway, as it will likely be cheaper.
Charge an electric car with a dedicated EV charger and it will save you money with advanced smart features, such as charge scheduling. Whether you are interested in a garage EV charger or a standard installation, you can expect cheaper, greener and more convenient charging sessions. Contact us today to find your perfect home charging point match at 03333 44 96 99 – we are open seven days a week, including bank holidays.
At We Power Your Car, we handle the entire installation process on your behalf, from helping you choose the type of charger to post-installation support. Whether you have on-street parking or off-street parking, or interested in a garage EV charger installation, we have solutions for all your EV charging requirements.
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This type of electric charger has it's own cable to charge your car.
This type of electric charger requires a seperate cable to charge your car.
Spread over a 60 month period.
Tenants and homeowners are eligible for finance.
You decide the amount of months.
Minimum of £1000.
We will contact you to process the credit application. Approval is subject to application, financial circumstances and borrowing history. 13.9% APR representative. T&Cs apply.
Your order is not confirmed until your application has been approved.
We lay SWA cable laid at 600mm deep, with a protective cable warning tape laid 150mm above the cable. These are laid on a sand or sifted sand soil bed then backfilled.
We position overhead cables at a minimum height of 3.5m and are run along a catenary wire. The cable run should not be accessible to vehicles.
Standard Installation
Our instant price is fixed if it falls within our standard installation package plus any additions that you have selected (extra cabling for example). This package covers the majority of homes in the UK. Before we undertake your installation we will carry out a digital survey to check that nothing has been missed. After reviewing the survey results some additional work may be required in order to complete your installation safely and to the required standards. If this is the case, we will contact you well before the installation date and advise the cost of any required work. You can then continue with your installation, or alternatively we will refund you in full if you do not want to proceed.
Included in our standard installation is :
• Fitting of a single phase charge point to a brick or plaster wall or other suitable permanent structure
• Up to 10 metres of cable, run and neatly clipped to the wall between the electricity supply meter / distribution board and the charge point.
• Routing of the cable through a drilled hole in a wall up to 500mm (20 inches) thick if this is needed.
• The fitting and testing of electrical connections and protections required for the charge point.
• An additional three way consumer unit, if required
• Installation of a Type A RCBO in an RCBO enclosure
• Up to 3 metres of plastic trunking to conceal interior wiring.
• An O-pen earth protection device if the charge point requires it. (This is NOT an earth rod)
• Up to 4 hours of labour from your installer to complete the work.
• Electrical testing of the whole installation.
• Handover and setup of the charge point and any app that may be needed.
Not included in our standard installation (additional work) :
• Where the installation requires additional cabling over and above the amount you have told us about.
• Upgrade/replacement of the main incoming supply fuse where the local DNO (eg Northern Powergrid) would need to attend site.
• If the charge point is to be mounted on a post/pedestal rather than an existing wall and where you have not selected a post as an extra cost option in your order.
• Installation of a charge point to a three phase supply.
• Where gas and water mains bonding (earthing) is not in place at your property. If this is not in place, additional work would be required before installation of the charge point.
• Any groundwork that has not been selected during the order process.
A Surge Protection Device is not included in our standard installation.
What else you need to know :
• On the day of installation, please ensure that the area around your consumer unit (fuse box), incoming electricity supply meter and proposed charge point location (including where the cable is expected to be run) is clear and free of obstructions.
• We will need your WiFi password as part of the installation process in order to connect your charge point to the internet. Please have this available for the installer. Details will not be kept.
• The charge point must be on your own designated off road parking.
• The charger will be fixed in line with current guidelines at a height where it cannot be hit by a vehicle.
• Our installers are not able to enter loft spaces; lift floorboards or flooring; take apart any furniture of work above a height of 2m. If you anticipate that any of this may be required, then please contact us and we can discuss in more detail and provide you with a quotation.
• Should there be extreme weather conditions our installers may not be able to continue with you installation if it is not safe to do so (for example flooding). They will always do their best to complete the work where they can.
If you have any questions then please contact our customer service team who will be happy to help. Please also read our terms and conditions.
