If you have never had an EV charger fitted before, it is natural to want to know what actually happens, and how much disruption to expect. As NAPIT registered electricians who install chargers across Watford and Hertfordshire every week, here is the full process, step by step, so there are no surprises.

1. Initial enquiry

Most enquiries start with either a phone call or our online quote form. If you use the form, we will ask for a few photos of your electrical setup (see our guide to what photos we need), which lets us give you an accurate, fixed-price quote without necessarily needing a site visit first.

2. Site assessment

Whether remote from your photos or in person, we assess:

• Your consumer unit’s condition, capacity, and available spare ways
• The likely cable route from consumer unit to your parking position
• Your earthing arrangement, PME supplies sometimes require an additional earth electrode
• Your parking position and preferred charger mounting location

This step determines the real cost of your installation, since cable run length, consumer unit condition, and earthing all affect the final price. See our cost guide for typical figures.

3. Quote provided

You will receive an itemised, fixed-price quote. We do not do vague estimates that change on the day, what we quote is what you pay, barring anything genuinely unforeseen that we would always discuss with you first.

4. Charger selection

If you are not sure which charger suits your home, we will talk you through the options honestly. Our comparison guide covers the four brands we install most, Zappi, Easee, Ohme, and Hypervolt, each with a different strength depending on whether you have solar panels, multiple EVs, or a specific smart tariff.

5. Grant application

If you are eligible for the government EV chargepoint grant, we handle the application for you as part of the booking, there is no separate paperwork for you to deal with.

6. Installation day scheduled

Typical time from quote to installation is one to two weeks, depending on our schedule and whether any preparatory work like a consumer unit upgrade is needed first.

7. What happens on the day

A standard installation takes between two and four hours. Where a consumer unit upgrade is also required, we would allow a full day. Here is what you will see us do:

• Pre-installation checks: final confirmation of consumer unit capacity, isolation, and safety before any work begins
• Cable installation: running the dedicated cable from your consumer unit to the charger position, through the most practical and least disruptive route
• Charger mounting: wall-mounted for most properties, post-mounted where needed
• Electrical connection: a dedicated circuit with appropriate RCD protection and correct earthing
• Testing and commissioning: insulation testing, polarity checks, and earth loop impedance testing to confirm everything is safe and correctly installed
• App setup and demonstration: connecting the charger to your Wi-Fi and showing you how to use it, scheduling, and any smart features before we leave

8. Certification

Once everything is tested, we issue the relevant electrical installation certificate and handle Part P Building Regulations compliance on your behalf.

9. Aftercare

If anything comes up after installation, a question about the app, a setting you want changed, you can always get back in touch. As a family-run team, you are dealing directly with the people who did the work, not a call centre.

Do you need to be home?

Yes, for access and so we can run through the app and charger features with you directly before we leave.

What is the disruption really like?

Minimal for most households. We clean up as we go, and your parking space is back to normal use by the end of the day. Where cable routing runs through a garage or under a driveway, we will always explain the plan clearly at the quote stage so there are no surprises.

A real installation, start to finish

We recently installed a Zappi for a homeowner in St Albans with an existing 4.8kW solar PV system. The site assessment identified a straightforward cable route from the consumer unit through the garage wall, no consumer unit upgrade was needed, and the whole job, from cable run to CT clamp fitting, testing, and app demonstration, was completed in under four hours. They were charging their car the same evening, with the eco-mode set up to prioritise their solar generation during the day and top up on their overnight tariff in winter.

Frequently Asked Questions