How long does an EV charger installation take?
It’s the question we get asked more than any other on the phone. Somebody books an electric car, the delivery date lands in their inbox, and suddenly they’re scrambling to work out whether the charger will be on the wall in time. The short answer is, for most homes, the actual fitting takes between three and four hours on the day. The longer answer is a bit more interesting, because the day itself is only a small part of the timeline.
At Dawsons Electrical we install a fair number of home and commercial units across Milton Keynes, Northampton and Bedford, so what follows is based on what we actually see at the kerb, not what the brochure promises.
A realistic timeline from order to first charge
From the moment you ring us, the whole process usually takes between five and ten working days. We can fit most chargers within ten days of order, subject to availability, sometimes faster if the diary lines up. The ten day window assumes the hardware is in stock with our suppliers, your property doesn’t need a supply upgrade, and we’ve got an engineer free in your area on a date that works for you. During busy periods, especially after a new model launch or around the end of a tax year for company car drivers, lead times can stretch a little. We’ll always give you a realistic date when you book, not an optimistic one.
Here’s roughly how the time breaks down.
The first day or two is the survey. We need a few photos of your fuseboard, the proposed charger location, and the route the cable will need to take. Some installs we can sign off remotely, others need a quick visit. After that comes the DNO notification, which is the bit nobody talks about. Your distribution network operator needs to know a new load is being added to the property. For most homes that’s a courtesy notification, it doesn’t hold things up. For homes already running close to capacity, it can mean a short wait.
Then the unit gets ordered, we book the slot, we turn up. The fit itself usually takes a morning or an afternoon.
How long does the EV charger installation take on the day?
This is the bit you actually care about. A standard 7kW home unit on a typical UK semi takes about three to four hours, start to finish.
That covers running the cable from the consumer unit out to wherever the charger is going, fitting the unit, adding any extra protection like a Type A RCD or an isolator if needed, commissioning the charger, connecting it to your home Wi-Fi if it’s a smart unit, and tidying up. We test the install before we leave, hand over the paperwork, and walk you through the app.
Some jobs are quicker. A neat installation where the consumer unit is in the garage and the charger is going on the same wall can be done in about two hours. Some jobs take longer. If the cable has to go up through a loft, across a ceiling and down through a hallway, you’re looking at most of the day. If we need to put a duct under a paved driveway, longer still.
What can make a straightforward EV charger installation take longer
A handful of things slow us down, and being honest about them up front saves everyone time.
First, the distance between your fuseboard and where you want the charger. The shorter the cable run, the simpler the job. A garage installation right next to the consumer unit is the dream. A first floor flat with the meter cupboard at the front and the parking bay at the back is the opposite of the dream.
Second, the state of your consumer unit. If you’ve got an older split load board with no spare way, we may need to add a separate enclosure, or in some cases recommend an upgrade. We won’t talk you into a new fuseboard if you don’t need one, but we won’t shoehorn a charger onto something that’s seen better days either.
Third, the supply. Some properties only have a 60 or 80 amp main fuse and limited headroom. Load management built into modern chargers handles this neatly in most cases, but where it doesn’t, a supply upgrade through your DNO is needed first. That’s the only thing that can push the timeline out by weeks rather than days, and it’s outside our control.
Fourth, weather. We will work in the rain when we have to, but core drilling through a wall in horizontal sleet is grim for everyone. We tend to rebook if it’s that bad, with your permission.
Home install versus commercial install
Home installs are predictable. Commercial sites are not.
A multi bay charger array at a commercial unit can involve groundworks, ducting under car parks, three phase supplies, back office software, and signage. We treat those projects in phases. Survey and design, supply liaison, civils where needed, installation, then commissioning. A small workplace install with two or three units might be done in a week. A larger forecourt project can run for months. If you’d like specifics for your site, our EV charger installation for business team can walk you through it.
For domestic customers, our EV charger for home page covers the standard 7kW options we fit most often.
A bit of useful data we’ve noticed
Out of the last hundred or so home installs we’ve done, the average job came in at around three hours fifteen minutes on the day. About one in five took longer than four hours, almost always due to awkward cable routing. A handful went over six hours because the consumer unit needed work that the original survey hadn’t flagged. We’ve started taking more photos during the survey for that reason, it saves the customer a second day off work.
We’ve also noticed people massively overestimate how long the disruption will be. The power’s only off for the bit of the day when we’re working in the consumer unit, usually 30 to 45 minutes. The rest of the time the kettle still works.
Picking a good installer matters more than the brand of charger
This part doesn’t get said enough. The hardware market is mature now. A Zappi, an Ohme, a Wallbox, a Hypervolt, they’re all decent units. What actually determines whether your install is a clean job that lasts ten years, or a problem you call someone back to look at every winter, is the person who fitted it.
OZEV approval, NICEIC accreditation, City and Guilds training, work signed off to BS 7671 and Part P, these aren’t sales badges, they’re how you tell a proper installer from somebody who watched a video. We hold all of them. The Office for Low Emission Vehicles approval also matters if you ever need to claim against the workplace charging scheme or any future grant.
Ready to book in?
If you want a straight answer on lead time for your specific property, give us a ring and we’ll talk it through. Milton Keynes on 01908 822771, Bedford on 01234 434921, or Northampton on 01604 269624. You can also drop us a note via the Dawsons Electrical contact page or have a read of the full EV charger installations service page.
And if you’re sorting other electrical work at the same time, say a consumer unit upgrade or an EICR for a rental property, mention it when you book. We can usually combine the visits and save you a separate day off work.