Most Frequently Asked Questions

Electric vehicles function by plugging into a charge point and taking electricity from the Grid.

The car will store the electricity in the car’s onboard rechargeable battery which will power an electric motor, turning the wheels.

As long as you have off-street parking, you can charge your electric car at home by having a dedicated home charger installed.

This is usually the most convenient place to charge, particularly when you can plug in overnight on low tariffs.

This is dependent on the type of car you have, its battery capacity and what sort of charging system you’re using.

The charger’s speed will depend on how many kilowatts (KW) it can provide and how many your car can accept.

Your car on a 7KW charger can charge anywhere between 10-30 miles per hour.

Most EVs and EV chargers in the UK are compatible. But for non-rapid charging, you will usually have to supply your own cable, which comes with and is stored inside the vehicle.

For non-rapid charging, EVs available in the UK will either have the above Type 1 inlet socket or Type 2 (most recognised) inlet socket.

To fully charge an electric car at home costs around 5 pounds. To charge an EV to 80% at a public rapid charger it costs around £7-£10.

Naturally this varies depending on the location, tariff, energy cost, battery capacity, charging speed and charge level, however, we can say for certain that charging an EV far undercuts fuel costs for a petrol or diesel vehicle.

All plug-in hybrid vehicles come standard with a Level 1 charging cord that you can use with a standard household electrical outlet.

For faster charging, you'll want to use a Level 2 or Level 3 charger. The nice thing about plug-in hybrids is that they easily charge overnight using a typical 120-volt wall socket.

Answer coming soon.

Type 1 is a 5-pin plug design that secures to your car with a latch to keep your charger in place.

Type 2 is a 7-pin plug design that secures to your car with a locking pin.

Type 2 is the most common and is a universal socket that you can charge any type of EV from.

Both Type 1 & 2 are single-phase chargers that use alternating current (AC) supply which is the most common supply in domestic homes.

Type 2 sockets can also carry direct current (DC) which is used to carry high power during a rapid charge, which is the type often found in public charging points.

There are 3 levels of charging - 1, 2 and 3.

Not to be confused with charger types 1 and 2.

Level 1 charging or ‘trickle charge’ uses standard 120v electrical circuits and deliver 1.4kW of power per hour and about 4 miles Range Per Hour (RPH).

Level 2 chargers use 240v electrical circuits (the most common in the UK) and deliver 3.7kW to 17.2kW of power per hour on an alternating current (AC) supply and add about 25 miles Range Per Hour (RPH)

Level 3 is direct current (DC) supply and use ultra high-power on a 480v circuits for rapid charging. These supply up to 140kW per hour and are the type found in public charging points and charge at a rate of 3 to 20 piles per minute.

You can use any EV Charger with a Type 2 cable with your Tesla. Tesla does their own at a cost called the 3rd Gen Tesla Wall Connector.

The sleek design is probably its best feature, however, the problem with Tesla chargers are that they are not OZEV approved chargers so grants will not be accessible and they do not have Type A/PEN Fault protection inbuilt like many of the other EV chargers on the market, making the install more costly due to having to install a MATT-E Box or earth rod for earth protection.

A tethered charger means the cable is supplied with the EV charge unit that remains attached to the charger to plug in at your convenience.

An untethered unit means there is no cable with the charger and you use the lead supplied with your EV.

Yes as long as the EV Charger is fixed to a permanent structure and we can get a power supply safely to your EV charger.

EV Chargers need to be installed by a qualified and approved electrician which all voltco engineers are.

If you have the qualifications to install an EV charger then it is possible to do it yourself, if not then leave it to the the experts.

A standard install costs £350 inc VAT. You’ll then need to add on the cost of EV Charger unit and materials on top.

If you are not sure if you will qualify for a standard install then you can book a free online consultation with us.

Install of your EV charger to a suitable permanent structure.

Up to 10M of 6mm Cable clipped direct between your distribution board & EV Charger.

A cable run through a single wall up to 500mm in thickness.

Commission, test & certification upon completion.

If you don’t meet the standard installation criteria an additional cost may be required. Call or book a free consultation with our Approved Electrician so we can better understand your requirements and provide you with a no-obligation quote.

Visit the contact us page to book a consultation.

If we are not satisfied that we have all the information we need to be able to provide an accurate quote then we will arrange to come and visit your property.

Contact us at hello@voltco.uk or call us on 0330 043 0462

Typically we can get you booked in within 2 to 3 weeks of agreeing to the quotation.

If you are lucky enough to have a 3 Phase power supply then you have the option to install the 22KW EV Chargers, giving you faster-charging speeds of up to 30 miles per hour faster.

Yes they are perfectly safe to have on the side of the house as long as the charger has been installed by an approved electrician and it has been installed with the necessary earthing arrangements.

Depending on the age of your electrical installation will depend on how we can install your EV Charger.

If the electrics are too old or you don’t have a spare way in your consumer unit then we can install a single way board for our dedicated circuit and certify that only.

If your consumer unit is in need of an upgrade we can complete a consumer unit change also at an additional cost and then install your EV Charger via the new consumer unit.

Alternatively, if the installation is 35 years or over and in need of a full rewire we can supply you with additional costs.

A standard install will take roughly 4 hours but additional works may take longer if there is any variation from a standard install.

Please see what includes a standard install in the FAQ above.

The Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV) Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme (EVHS) is a grant that reduces the cost of buying and installing a home charger by £350, however, the grant came to an end for most domestic installs on the 31st March 2022.

From 1st April 2022, the EVHS is no longer open to homeowners (including people with mortgages) who live in single-unit properties such as bungalows and detached, semi-detached or terraced housing.

The scheme is still open to homeowners who live in flats and people in rental accommodation (flats and single-use properties).

If you are eligible for a grant we will take care of the claim and all the paperwork for you.

Yes as long as there is a permanent structure we can install your EV Charger onto.

Annual charger safety test and service including cleaning the charger unit and cables.

Updates to charger firmware during the annual visit if required.

Unlimited call outs to charger fault issues.

Maximum 24 hour response time to any EV charger fault callout.

Maintenance test certificate issued on all works.

People who own or rent flats may still be eligible for the Office for Zero-Emission Vehicles (OZEV) Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme (EVHS) grant that reduces the cost of buying and installing a home charger by £350.

If you are eligible for a grant we will take care of the claim and all the paperwork for you.

Consultations are usually done online via WhatsApp video call or a Zoom call.

This allows us to look at your property and also inspect your distribution board to ensure it meets the required safety standards.

If you prefer, details can be discussed over the phone or via email and any images we may require can be sent to us electronically.

We can book a free site survey to come and inspect your site and to provide a detailed quote.

You may also be eligible for up to £14,000 of funding via the OZEV Workplace Charging Scheme.

Visit our Workplace page to book a site survey.