Installing an EV Charger at Home: What Actually Happens

The car is ordered, and now there is a question nobody covered at the dealership: how does it actually charge in your garage. The answer has less to do with the unit on the wall than with what is already in your meter box. The Australian Government's energy.gov.au puts around 80 per cent of all reported EV charging in Australia at home, so the home end is worth getting right.

Charging from a normal powerpoint is a real option

You do not have to install anything to start. Plugging into a standard 240 volt powerpoint is called Level 1 charging, or trickle charging, and energy.gov.au notes that any standard 240 volt powerpoint can be a Level 1 charger.

It is slow. The electricity flowing from a standard powerpoint is relatively low, a maximum of 2.4 kilowatts, and energy.gov.au says it can take up to 24 hours to fully charge an EV battery this way.

Slow is not the same as useless. The same guidance points out that the average Australian driver travels around 33 km a day, which will typically not use more than 10 per cent of an EV battery's capacity. If the car sits at home overnight and your driving is school runs and the shops, trickle charging may well keep up.

Two things worth knowing:

• energy.gov.au recommends plugging the EV charging cable directly into the powerpoint rather than using extension cords or power boards, as with any higher powered home appliance.
• It also advises seeking the advice of a licensed electrician to check whether you have a safe electrical set up at home for EV charging. Charging draws a steady load for hours, which is not what an ageing powerpoint on a shared circuit was built around.

What a dedicated charger actually buys you

A dedicated home charger is Level 2. According to energy.gov.au it supplies 7 to 22 kW, charges typically 3 to 10 times faster than a standard powerpoint, and adds between 30 and 80 km of driving range for each hour of charging.

Before you pay for the biggest unit on the shelf, check what the car can take. energy.gov.au notes that the Type 2 plug used for AC charging in Australia can provide up to 22 kW, however some EVs may only accept 11 kW AC. A charger rated above your car's onboard limit will not make it charge faster.

The other reason to go to Level 2 is control. Smart charging lets you set the car to charge when electricity is cheaper, or when rooftop solar is generating more than the house is using.

The install starts at the switchboard, not the driveway

This is the part that decides how big the job is. energy.gov.au states plainly that a home EV charger is directly connected to your home power supply and must be installed by a licensed electrician, and that this may require an upgrade to your switchboard and supply connection.

Energy Safe Victoria is blunt about the DIY question. Its guidance is never do your own electrical work, because it is illegal and can be deadly, and to engage a registered electrical contractor.

You can look, though, without touching anything. Open the meter box door and note whether every position on the board is already filled, whether you are looking at modern circuit breakers and safety switches or at ceramic rewirable fuses, and whether the box has physical room for another circuit. None of that is a diagnosis. It is what turns a vague quote request into a useful conversation.

Prescribed or non prescribed, and the certificate you should get

Energy Safe Victoria describes a Certificate of Electrical Safety as a legal document issued by a Registered Electrical Contractor or licensed electrician recording the electrical work they performed, required by the Electricity Safety Act 1998 and the Electricity Safety (General) Regulations 2019.

There are two types, and which one applies depends on how far the work reaches.

Prescribed work, which Energy Safe Victoria lists as including consumer mains cables, the main switchboard, the meter box and the main earthing system, must be inspected by an independent Licensed Electrical Inspector arranged by your contractor. It cannot be turned on or left turned on until it has been inspected, and the inspection should be completed within eight business days of the work being finished.

Non prescribed work covers powerpoints, lighting points, safety switches and circuit breakers, where the power can be switched off at the switchboard. No inspection is required, and Energy Safe Victoria says you must be given a copy of the certificate within 30 days.

So a charger added to a board that already has capacity is a different job from one that ends up touching the mains or the meter box. Ask which it will be before the work starts. Energy Safe Victoria also says to always ask to see a tradesperson's licence, and to contact Energy Safe if one is not shown or no certificate is issued.

What to do next

Check the car's manual for its AC charging limit, then look at the board without touching anything inside the meter box. Those two facts shape the whole job.

From there, have a licensed electrician assess the switchboard and the supply before you buy hardware. If trickle charging covers your driving for now, that is a legitimate answer too, and the existing setup is still worth a look.