Thinking of having an EV charger installed and I need some advice. Although I don't know for sure I suspect I have a 60amp main fuse and 16mm tails.There is nothing written on the Fuse so don't know for sure but my house was built in the 1970s and has never had any high powered equipment except a cooker so there is no reason to think it was ever upgraded.
As I understand it I can have a charger with a 60amp fuse but it will have to be restricted to 16kw which defeats most of the purpose. So really I need it upgraded to 80amp or 100amp. If I want to get the kit upgraded as I understand it there may be several stages:
1) Network Operator is responsible for upgrading the fuse and, if necessary, the cables running into the house
2) Electricity supplier is responsible for upgrading the meter tails and, if necessary, the meter
3) "A qualified electrician will also need to upgrade your consumer tails going into your fuse board and ensure that your fuse board can also cope with a bigger fuse." This is a quote from the UKPN website.
On the UKPN website is says:"Normally we try to upgrade to 100amps free of charge for most domestic properties, we’ll need to visit you (which is free of charge) to make sure." Which is nice. Shame I am not actually in their region.
My region,Western Power,says nothing on their site. I contacted them and they were a bit difficult at first saying I needed to get my installer to fill in all kinds of forms then they would do it. I pointed out that there would be no order and hence no installer until I knew what the score was with the power and what costs there might be at which point they grudgingly admitted "We do offer an upgrade to 80amp free of charge should it be required. Once an application is made, we will probably make a site visit to establish what type of equipment you have as some cut-out where the main fuse is situated may need to be changed to accommodate 80a."
So I guess the first step would be to get Western Power in to assess what needs to be done. especially if it's not going to cost.Given I have no electric showers or other high power gear except an oven is 80amp going to be enough. Some installers like Anderson specify 100 on their site?
I currently have a dumb meter. Trying to get it upgraded to an gen2 smart meter. Is it likely I can get the meter tails upgraded at the same time as that and thus avoid having to pay my supplier anything?(currently with Peoples Energy but willing to change). Peoples Energy are only just starting Gen2 smart meter rollout so no idea when I can get a Gen2 from them. Is it worth switching to someone else to get it installed quicker maybe?
There is no form of junction between my meter and the consumer unit (which is quite new) so assume stage 3 will not apply since presumably upgrading the meter tails will have to involve a new connection all the way to the consumer unit so nothing left for an electrician to do
Any advice or insights much appreciated.
As I understand it I can have a charger with a 60amp fuse but it will have to be restricted to 16kw which defeats most of the purpose. So really I need it upgraded to 80amp or 100amp. If I want to get the kit upgraded as I understand it there may be several stages:
1) Network Operator is responsible for upgrading the fuse and, if necessary, the cables running into the house
2) Electricity supplier is responsible for upgrading the meter tails and, if necessary, the meter
3) "A qualified electrician will also need to upgrade your consumer tails going into your fuse board and ensure that your fuse board can also cope with a bigger fuse." This is a quote from the UKPN website.
On the UKPN website is says:"Normally we try to upgrade to 100amps free of charge for most domestic properties, we’ll need to visit you (which is free of charge) to make sure." Which is nice. Shame I am not actually in their region.
My region,Western Power,says nothing on their site. I contacted them and they were a bit difficult at first saying I needed to get my installer to fill in all kinds of forms then they would do it. I pointed out that there would be no order and hence no installer until I knew what the score was with the power and what costs there might be at which point they grudgingly admitted "We do offer an upgrade to 80amp free of charge should it be required. Once an application is made, we will probably make a site visit to establish what type of equipment you have as some cut-out where the main fuse is situated may need to be changed to accommodate 80a."
So I guess the first step would be to get Western Power in to assess what needs to be done. especially if it's not going to cost.Given I have no electric showers or other high power gear except an oven is 80amp going to be enough. Some installers like Anderson specify 100 on their site?
I currently have a dumb meter. Trying to get it upgraded to an gen2 smart meter. Is it likely I can get the meter tails upgraded at the same time as that and thus avoid having to pay my supplier anything?(currently with Peoples Energy but willing to change). Peoples Energy are only just starting Gen2 smart meter rollout so no idea when I can get a Gen2 from them. Is it worth switching to someone else to get it installed quicker maybe?
There is no form of junction between my meter and the consumer unit (which is quite new) so assume stage 3 will not apply since presumably upgrading the meter tails will have to involve a new connection all the way to the consumer unit so nothing left for an electrician to do
Any advice or insights much appreciated.