Electric vehicle charging at home is now a standard infrastructure requirement in a prime London renovation. Understanding the charger types, smart charging capabilities, load management, DNO connection requirements, and planning constraints — particularly for properties with limited off-street parking — is essential for a specification that will serve the household for the next decade.
The shift to electric vehicles in the UK is accelerating: new petrol and diesel car sales end in 2035, and the majority of new premium vehicles sold today have a battery electric or plug-in hybrid variant. For a prime London renovation, providing domestic EV charging infrastructure is no longer optional — it is expected by any buyer or tenant who drives, and it is increasingly a requirement for planning permission on new residential development.
This guide covers the types of domestic EV charger, smart charging capabilities, electrical infrastructure requirements, DNO notification, planning constraints in London, and the installation requirements to be addressed during the renovation.
Types of EV Charger
Mode 2 (3-pin plug): A standard household socket with an in-cable control box (ICCB) providing basic safety protection. Charge rate: 2.3 kW (10A) to 3.6 kW (16A). Slow — an overnight charge from 20% to 80% on a 75 kWh battery takes 10–12 hours. Not a permanent solution; used for occasional charging or as an emergency backup. Requires no special installation beyond a correctly rated socket.
Mode 3 (dedicated EVSE — Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment): A dedicated wall-mounted or pedestal-mounted charger connected to a dedicated circuit. The standard for home EV charging. Two sub-categories:
- —*Single-phase (7 kW):* The most common domestic installation. Connected to a single-phase 32A circuit. Charges a 75 kWh battery from 20% to 80% in approximately 8 hours. Suitable for overnight charging; adequate for most households whose vehicles are plugged in for 8+ hours per night.
- —*Three-phase (11 kW or 22 kW):* Requires a three-phase electricity supply (available to some London properties, particularly those with a commercial heritage or in blocks with three-phase infrastructure). 22 kW charges a 75 kWh battery from 20% to 80% in approximately 3 hours. Many vehicle on-board chargers are limited to 7.4 kW single-phase or 11 kW three-phase regardless of charger capability — confirm the vehicle's AC charging limit before specifying a higher-rate charger.
Smart Charging
A smart charger communicates with the home energy management system, the electricity grid (via the supplier's smart tariff), and (where installed) the solar PV and battery system. Key smart charging capabilities:
Off-peak scheduled charging: The charger is set to charge only during off-peak electricity tariff periods (typically 00:30–07:30 on Octopus Go, Intelligent Octopus, and similar smart EV tariffs at 7–9p/kWh vs the standard 25–30p/kWh). For a household driving 10,000 miles/year with an average EV efficiency of 3.5 miles/kWh, scheduled off-peak charging saves approximately £500–£700/year compared to unscheduled on-peak charging.
V2H / V2G (Vehicle-to-Home / Vehicle-to-Grid): Bidirectional chargers allow the vehicle battery to discharge to the home or grid — the vehicle becomes a large (50–100 kWh) battery storage system. V2H-capable chargers require a compatible vehicle (currently Nissan Leaf, some Hyundai/Kia models, and the Nissan Ariya; more models are planned). Wallbox Quasar and Ohme Home Pro (with compatible vehicles) are the leading V2H-capable chargers in the UK residential market.
Solar integration: Smart chargers can be instructed to charge only when excess solar generation is available — effectively charging the vehicle for free from the solar array. This requires the charger to communicate with the solar inverter or energy management system (e.g., via Myenergi Zappi's CT clamp monitoring, or via the solar inverter's API).
Leading Smart Charger Brands
- —Ohme Home Pro: UK-based, strong smart tariff integration (direct integration with Octopus, British Gas, OVO), app-controlled, 7.4 kW. Good value for a smart charging-focused installation.
- —Myenergi Zappi: UK-based, the market leader for solar-integrated EV charging. CT clamp monitors household solar generation and diverts excess to the vehicle. 7.2 kW. Integrates with Myenergi Eddi (hot water diverter) and Libbi (battery).
- —Wallbox Pulsar Plus: Spanish, 7.4 kW single-phase, compact, Bluetooth and wifi, OCPP-compatible (open protocol, future-proof). The aesthetically cleanest charger available; often specified in prime London renovations where visual integration with the external facade matters.
- —Pod Point Solo 3: UK-based, widely installed, reliable, 7.2 kW. Less design-forward than Wallbox but trusted and well-serviced.
- —Hypervolt Home 3: UK-based, premium design, 7.4 kW, solar integration, strong app.
Electrical Infrastructure Requirements
Dedicated circuit: A 7 kW charger requires a dedicated 32A circuit from the consumer unit (fuse board), protected by a Type B or Type C MCB and an RCD (Type A minimum; Type B recommended for EV chargers due to DC fault current characteristics). Typical cable specification: 6 mm² twin and earth (for runs up to approximately 25 m); 10 mm² for longer runs.
Consumer unit capacity: Adding a 32A EV charger circuit to an existing consumer unit requires confirming that the incoming supply fuse (the main fuse, typically 60–100A for a London terrace) can accommodate the additional load. In a whole-house renovation where electrical first-fix is being carried out, specify a consumer unit with sufficient spare ways for EV charging.
Load management: Where multiple EVs or high-load appliances (heat pump, EV charger, electric hob, electric oven) operate simultaneously, the total demand may approach or exceed the incoming supply capacity. Dynamic load management (DLM) systems monitor the overall household load and automatically reduce the EV charger output when other high-load circuits are operating — ensuring the total demand never exceeds the supply capacity without requiring a supply upgrade.
Supply upgrade: If the incoming supply is insufficient (common in older London properties with a 60A or 80A main fuse), a supply upgrade from the Distribution Network Operator (DNO — UK Power Networks for most of London) may be required. A supply upgrade to 100A is typically straightforward (£500–£2,500 depending on the work required at the substation level); upgrades above 100A are more complex and expensive. The DNO upgrade must be arranged before the EV charger is commissioned.
DNO Notification
Under Engineering Recommendation G98 and G99, EV chargers above certain capacities require notification to or approval from the DNO:
- —G98 (notification): Single-phase chargers up to 3.68 kW (16A) — notification within 28 days of commissioning
- —G99 (application): Single-phase chargers above 3.68 kW (including standard 7 kW home chargers) — application and approval required before commissioning. Most DNOs process G99 applications for standard 7 kW home chargers within 45 days. MCS-accredited or OZEV-approved EV charger installers typically manage this process as part of the installation.
Planning Considerations in London
Off-street parking: An EV charger mounted on an external wall adjacent to off-street parking (garage, driveway, forecourt) is generally Permitted Development — no planning application required. In Conservation Areas and on Listed Buildings, the charger must not be visible from a highway (or, if visible, must comply with the appearance requirements of the relevant PD provision). A discreetly positioned charger on the side return wall or within a garage is typically acceptable without planning permission even in a Conservation Area.
On-street parking (no off-street provision): For London properties without off-street parking (the majority of terrace houses in prime London), the only home charging option is a kerbside charger — either a lamppost-mounted retrofit charger (provided by schemes such as ubitricity/bp pulse, operated by the local authority) or a pavement cable channel (a covered trench allowing a cable to run from the property to the kerbside, requiring a licence from the local highway authority). Kerbside charging is improving in prime London — RBKC and WCC have lamp post charger installation programmes — but remains less convenient than off-street charging.
OZEV Grant
The Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme (EVHS) grant was closed to residential homeowners in 2022 (it now applies only to flat and apartment owners, renters, and some other categories). At the time of writing (2026), residential homeowners in houses with off-street parking are not eligible for an OZEV grant for EV charger installation. Confirm the current grant position with an OZEV-approved installer at the time of specification — grant availability and eligibility criteria change.
Integration with Home Automation
EV chargers with open APIs (OCPP — Open Charge Point Protocol) integrate with home automation systems (Crestron, Control4, KNX, Home Assistant). Integration allows: - Charge scheduling from the main home control interface - Status monitoring (vehicle connected, charging, full) - Solar divert mode triggering from the home energy management system - Load management coordination with other high-load circuits
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