Ok and just so I know what’s the difference between installing a Tesla home charger to a standard one? From what I understand you don’t get the grant if you go for the Tesla one? However does it charge quicker or have any other advantages?
All charge points rated for the same current will charge at the same rate. The main differences between a cheaper charge point (something like the ~£250 QUBEV one, for example) and a more expensive one, will be the range of features it offers in terms of control and whether it is eligible for the OLEV grant. The latter needs a charge point to comply with the OLEV definition of being "smart", and can then attract a subsidy of 75% of the total installed cost, up to a maximum of £500.
I suspect that some installers are inflating the price of installations so that they can collect the full £500 subsidy, as there's no good reason for some of the prices being as high as they are.
If you choose not to opt for a subsidised installation, then that's fine; none of my charge points were subsidised, and the most expensive one cost me around £200 in total, including the charge point and all the installation materials (they were all DIY installs).
Any electrician (has to be a member of a Part P cartel in England and Wales, but not in Scotland) can install a non-subsidised charge point. The cost depends mainly on the length of the cable run from the incoming supply, plus the ease with which a cable can be run, but in general it shouldn't take longer than about half a day, so around £100 to £150 labour (here electricians charge around £200 - £220/day).
The Tesla charge point has the advantage of including a button to open the charge port on the car, which is also able to terminate a charge and unlock the connector so it can be released. This can be a useful function - other EVs don't offer such functionality, and it can be a nuisance to try and stop a charge so that the connector can be unlocked (a particular issue with the BMW i3, I've found).
Non-Tesla charge points can offer a range of capabilities, from being pretty dumb, like the cheap QUBEV, which only allows selection of charge current and a manual switch to turn the thing on and off, through to smart units that allow charge times etc to be set using an app, will integrate with microgeneration systems to try and optimise self-generated electricity use when charging, etc. It depends very much what you need, or, perhaps, want.
I built in the option to select E7 off-peak only charging to mine, as well as variable charge rate and the ability to only charge the car when we're generating enough spare electricity from our solar panels. I wasn't interested in a web interface or being able to control the thing from an app, so just have to rotary selectors to choose the mode, plus a display that shows the charge current. power, voltage, energy used etc. In practice all I use most of the time is the light on the front to tell when the car is charging/preconditioning.
