Dedicated home electric vehicle chargers are becoming increasingly popular alongside the rise of electric vehicles. Therefore, it’s no surprise that people are starting to fret about whether someone could “steal” their electric vehicle charger, whether it be their cable or their energy.
However, in short, it is highly unlikely that anyone will steal your electric vehicle charger or use it without your permission, especially with a smart charger.
Keep reading to find out why.
First of all, the possibility of someone pulling up on your property, plugging in, and charging on your property (bear in mind that home EV charging on average can take up to 7 hours for a full charge) and then leaving without you, or a neighbour knowing, is ridiculously slim. It’s also a lot of effort, and in terms of monetary value, the intruder will realistically only be stealing a couple of pence worth of electricity. Another element that needs to be considered is how many people have electric vehicles. Whilst the amount of people transitioning to electric is on the rise, petrol and diesel cars are still predominant in the market. However, it’s only human nature to worry about potential theft, and no matter how small, it is not ideal.
However, if your electric vehicle charger is smart, you have no reason to worry!
Let’s get into how you can prevent unwanted use with your smart EV charger:
Charge scheduling has many benefits; not only is it more convenient, but it can also help save you money by charging when the demand for the electricity grid is low. But did you know it can help protect your EV charger from unwanted charger use? Set your EV to only charge during specific hours, and nobody will be able to use your charger outside of your designated hours, i.e. create a schedule for late evenings when you are home, so nobody will be able to use your charger throughout the day.
It’s common for smart electric vehicle chargers to come with certain theft deterrent features.
Here are just a few:
Easee One – With just the click of a button, you get to decide whether you would like a tethered or non-tethered EV charging unit with the Easee One. Acting as a universal charger, you can permanently lock your socketed cable into place with cable lock, giving it the look and feel of a tethered EV charger. Just keep it in the ‘Always Locked’ state, whereby the cable is locked into the unit until changed on the App. Or, if you prefer to keep your Easee charging robot untethered, you can still remotely lock and easily unlock your charge from the app to ensure no unauthorised use.
MyEnergi Zappi – Keep your Zappi secure using its built-in PIN code system. Simply input your five-digit pin to lock and unlock your EV charger.
Most socketed (untethered) electric vehicle chargers come with protective smart features, as mentioned before; however, if you want to get into the nitty-gritty of cable theft, tethered units are usually more secure than socketed units. This comes down to how tethered chargers come with the cable permanently attached to the unit, making it essentially impossible to remove and, therefore, unstealable. Whereas socketed, if not locked in place, can be removed from the unit.
However, as mentioned before, most socketed units come with security features. For example, your cable will be locked into place with the Easee One and its cable lock/unlock, imitating a tethered unit and offering the same protection as it will be irremovable. If your electric vehicle charger doesn’t have these features and is socketed, you can always remove your cable and keep it elsewhere. Whether it be in your car boot or garage, you won’t have to worry about cable theft as it will be hidden from view.
If you are thinking about getting an EV home charger installed, please get in touch with us for helpful and unbiased advice. We install nationwide with quick installation times. You can browse our exciting range of dedicated EV home charge points here. Or, if you still don’t know where to start and prefer to speak to someone directly, call us on 03333 44 96 99 or fill out the contact form below. Our expert customer service team are always happy to help.
For more information and our latest updates, make sure you’re following us on social media. You can find us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
Enter your information below, and one of our expert advisors will be in touch shortly.
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.
