Although commonly referred to as an EV charger the home charge points provided by Nemac-EV and other installers do not charge the vehicle. They provide an AC power supply to the vehicle.  The vehicle itself converts to DC and charges up the battery.

• There are many benefits to a dedicated EV charge point.
• The standard 3 pin plug adaptor that comes with the vehicle will limit the charge rate of your car. These slow speeds can be a real inconvenience.
• The charging time for Electric Vehicles with a standard 2.3kW 3 pin plug can take upwards of 20 hours for a full charge which can lead to the socket overheating.
• A dedicated 7kW wall box is capable of charging most Electric Vehicles overnight (Use our handy vehicle checker to see how long it will take to charge your car).
• The convenience of a home EV Charge Point means you aren’t reliant on service station or supermarket chargers and can wake up to up to a fully charged vehicle.
• Most electric vehicles can be set to heat or cool the interior ready for you to get in so it can be nice and cool on a hot day or nice and warm without any ice on the windscreen on a cold winter morning. This function would normally eat into your battery life and therefore range but if it is connected to the EV charge point this is not a problem.
• There are dedicated energy tariffs aimed at EV owners. The cost per mile can be significantly lower than using a third party provider.
• A home EV Charge Point is an investment, with the automotive industry moving to all electric it will set you up for the future of motoring in the UK.
• A government grant through the OZEV schemes may be available towards the cost of the installation

Government grants are available to encourage the connection of electric vehicle charging points by making a taxpayer contribution to the installation costs.

The administration of the grants scheme is undertaken by OZEV, the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles.

Up until the 31^{st of} March 2022, grants of up to £350 were available for all homeowners as well as businesses and workplaces.

From the 01^{st of} April 2022 an OZEV Grant is no longer available to most owner -occupiers.  So, if you own a house, or bungalow you are no longer eligible.

You can still claim a grant if you own or rent a flat or live in any other rental accommodation. The workplace scheme continues unaffected.

The OZEV retargeting of funds and some additional finance will open-up the availability of grants to new sectors during 2022.

Please see our OZEV Grant Page for more information.

The government are endorsing the use of smart charge points that can be accessed through mobile apps and have made it a requirement to get an OZEV Grant. Smart charge points have added benefits such as allowing you to schedule charging times for when electricity is off-peak and at its cheapest, helping you to save money.

Government legislation being introduced in June 2022 will require all charge points to be smart.

We have a handy checker to see which charge points compatible with your vehicle and the approximate charge time, click here to check and compare which charger is right for you.

There are many factors to consider such as the aesthetics, the length of the cable, the location and available space. Additionally, you can begin the consultation process and we can help you decide.

Tethered and untethered describes whether the cable from the EV wall box to your car is fixed to the wall box itself or is detachable.

Choosing the right one for you comes down to personal preference. Tethered charge points allow you to park up and start charging, no need to find your cable as it’s already there. However, they do lock you into cable length and the connector type. Whilst untethered allow for the flexibility of choosing between the two without an adapter.

Most tethered charge points have a 5 metre lead with some manufacturers offering a longer version which is generally no longer than 7.5 metres.

Cables for untethered units can be purchased in much longer lengths (up to 50 metres).

If you intend to charge your vehicle using public charge points then you will need your own cable. This may come with the car.

In our experience, most customers prefer a tethered unit just for the convenience.

Choosing the right lead for your car is dependent on many factors, such as where your charge point is installed and where that is in relation to the port on your car. Here at Nemac-EV we’ll assist you in the consultation process to choose the right length for your needs.

When choosing the length of the lead you should bear in mind that the lead will usually rest on the floor when in use. So, in our experience, a 5-metre lead really has an affective length of around 4 metres. A 7.5 metre only 6.5m and so on. For peace of mind, it’s advisable to go for a longer lead than you think you will need. It will also give you more parking options.

We operate out of the West Midlands but cover a wide area, use our post code checker to find out if we can help you charge into the future.

Type 1 and Type 2 are two standards of car charging sockets, Type 1 connectors have a five-pin plug whilst Type 2 connectors have a seven-pin plug. To check which Type your vehicle has why not use checker and see which chargers are compatible with your vehicle.

The vast majority of vehicles have a Type 2 connection including all new vehicles sold currently in the UK.  There is however some older vehicles that are Type 1.

For your safety and others, the charge point must be located in an area designated for off street parking to stop cables crossing public footpaths.

The charge point has to be fitted at a height where it can’t be hit by a vehicle and if it has a display then that can be easily read.

The location selected should avoid trailing leads that could be a trip hazard or be caught by another vehicle.

Your DNO or District Network Operator must be notified of all EV charge points installed on their network.  The DNO is responsible for all cabling and infrastructure up to your electric meter.   After that the meter and home electrical installation are the responsibility of the Energy Supplier and homeowner.

In most instances the DNO must be notified in advance of the installation and approval granted before the work commences.  It is a requirement of the OZEV grant that DNO approval has been given and the grant will be refused if either proof of approval or proof of exemption is missing from the grant application.

DNO approval is very important but rarely mentioned on other websites.  The DNO has up to 2 weeks to assess the application.  At Nemac-EV we find that if the customer orders the charge point that we recommend then most applications are granted well within the 2 week time frame.

There can however be significant delays in gaining approval when the DNO assess an application and realise that some improvements to their infrastructure are required.  Whilst most of these improvements do not incur any cost to the homeowner, the delay involved can create significant inconvenience if their new car is delivered and they don’t have a home charge point.

So our message is “don’t leave it until the last minute”.  Order your EV charge point with plenty of time to spare.

As soon as you place an order with us, Nemac-EV will make your DNO application. However, we have no control over what happens next, so we recommend that you order early to avoid disappointment.

All of the charge points offered by Nemac-EV are “smart” and are eligible for OZEV Grants.

A smart charge point can be controlled by your smart phone or tablet by using apps.  This will enable you to do many handy things such as:

• View your charge status
• Schedule your charge to take advantage of cheap tariffs
• View your charging history
• See your energy usage and cost per mile

In order for all these features to work there has to be a line of communication between your smart phone and smart charge point.

Connectivity is mostly commonly by Wi-Fi. Your charge point connects wirelessly to your router like other appliances such as smart TVs and wireless printers.

In most cases this arrangement will work fine.  It could be however that your chosen position for the charge point is in a poor Wi-Fi area and so the connection will be unstable or just too weak.

Nemac-EV has solutions for this problem.

Some of the charge points in our range can be hard wired to your router giving you a permanent stable connection.

We also offer charge points which have a built in SIM card and use mobile data in the same way as your smart phone does.  In urban areas this is usually a very good and stable signal. The SIM is a “roaming” type which uses the strongest signal and is not tied to any network.

If Wi-Fi is the preferred option, then we can install range extenders/boosters.

Adding a 7KW EV charge point to your electrical installation is going to increase “demand” considerably. The demand (measured in Amps) that you are allowed to create is limited by the size of your main supply fuse.  If you are lucky this fuse will be 100amps but it could be 80 amps or as low as 60 amps.

The charge point will add another 30amps or so which means half of your limit is used by one appliance if you only have a 60 amp supply.

There is therefore a possibility that the increased demand will blow your main cut out fuse, leaving you without any power to your home.

This is clearly an undesirable situation and so to combat this, the majority of our charge points have fuse protection as standard. Fuse protection is referred to by some other names such as “load balancing”.

Basically a charge point with fuse protection will monitor the demand on your installation and automatically reduce the power going to your vehicle to ensure that the fuse isn’t overloaded.

This will typically happen only when other high demand appliances such as kettles, showers and hobs are in use.

As most people charge their vehicles overnight when those other appliances are generally not being used, the fuse protection system in reality will be rarely used.  It is still however an important safety feature of any EV Charge Point.

All EV charge point installers have to apply to the District Network Operator for permission to connect.  If the new maximum demand is higher than the main fuse rating then the application is likely to be rejected unless there is a fuse protection system in place.

Nemac-EV does not fit earth rods.

Most of our EV charge points have a built in PEN fault device which eliminates the need for an earth rod.

Where it is not built into the unit we will fit a separate PEN fault device.

No earth rods required.

If you are fortunate enough to have a solar PV system at your home then you can literally charge your car from the sun.

Some of our charge points can be linked to your solar PV system and divert surplus solar energy into your electric vehicle rather than export it to the grid.  This will not only save you some money but give you the satisfaction of taking journeys using energy direct from the sun.

See our handy comparison tool to see which charge points are compatible with solar integration.

Nemac-EV is a trading name for Nemac Ltd.

Company Registration Number 7130683

Registered Office: 27 York Avenue, Wolverhampton WV3 9BX

Nemac Ltd complies with the principles of GDPR. Our overall guiding principles are:

• Lawfulness, Transparency, and Fairness
• Purpose Limitation
• Data Minimisation
• Accuracy
• Storage Limitation
• Confidentiality and Integrity

Your privacy and security are very important to us. We will always follow these principles.

The information Commissioner is responsible for enforcing the UK GDPR.