Hove · Brighton · Sussex
EV charger installation in Hove.
Home and workplace EV chargepoints installed properly — DNO-notified where required, load-managed, tested and certified. Paul will survey the incoming supply, cable route and consumer unit, then recommend a chargepoint that actually suits the property.
7.4 kW & 22 kW
Single or three-phase chargepoints from all major brands — Zappi, Ohme, Andersen, Wallbox, Hypervolt and more.
Compliant & certified
Installed to BS 7671 & BS EN 61851, RCD Type A + 6 mA DC protection, tested and certificated.
Neat cable routes
Discreet cable runs, weatherproof containment and a tidy consumer-unit finish — the install looks as good as it works.
What Paul checks before quoting.
- · Main incomer, tails and existing consumer unit capacity
- · Earthing arrangement (TN-S, TN-C-S or TT) and any required upgrades
- · Cable route, containment and access — internal or external
- · Load management vs DNO notification for higher-power installs
- · Chargepoint brand fit for the vehicle, tariff and use case
Hove & Brighton specifics
What makes a Hove install different.
Hove is a mix of wide Edwardian villas with side returns, 1930s semis in Hangleton and Aldrington with integral garages, and flat conversions along Church Road and the seafront. Each type changes the job:
- · Villas with long side returns: 20–30 m cable runs mean voltage drop has to be designed in — usually 10 mm² rather than 6 mm² to hold within the 5% limit.
- · Integral garages: the cleanest installs, but the garage sub-main is often an old 2.5 mm² lighting spur that cannot carry a charger and needs replacing.
- · Flat conversions: allocated parking is often communal, so freeholder consent and a metered supply from the correct flat both need sorting before any cable goes in.
- · Seafront exposure: salt air eats cheap external isolators and unglanded SWA terminations; stainless fixings and correct IP-rated enclosures matter here more than inland.
- · Conservation areas: front-elevation units in the Willett Estate and Brunswick area are best sited discreetly and cabled internally where possible.
The regulatory detail behind all of this is set out on the EV charger regulations page.
EV charging FAQs
EV charger questions from Hove customers.
- How long does an EV charger installation take in Hove?
- A straightforward install with the chargepoint near the consumer unit is a half day. Long cable runs, an external route around a Hove terrace, a dedicated garage supply or an earthing upgrade push it to a full day. Paul confirms the timing after the survey, not after arriving.
- Do I need a driveway to have a charger fitted?
- You need off-street parking. Cabling across a public footway is not permitted in Brighton & Hove without a licensed cross-pavement solution, so terraced streets without a driveway usually cannot have a home charger. Paul will tell you honestly at survey rather than quoting for something that will not pass.
- What is a load curtailment or load-managed install?
- A CT clamp on the incoming supply measures total house demand and throttles the charger when the shower, oven and immersion are all running. It lets a 7.4 kW charger sit safely on a typical 60–80 A domestic supply without upgrading the cutout, and it satisfies the maximum demand assessment required by BS 7671.
- Does the DNO need to be notified?
- Single-phase installs up to 7.4 kW with load management are notified to UK Power Networks after commissioning. Three-phase 22 kW units, or anything without load management on a constrained supply, need approval before work starts. Paul handles the notification either way.
- What protection does an EV charger need?
- A dedicated final circuit with 30 mA RCD protection of at least Type A, plus 6 mA DC fault detection — usually built into the chargepoint under BS EN 61851-1. TT and PME earthing arrangements each have their own requirements; open-PEN detection is what allows most PME supplies to be used without an earth rod.
- Which chargepoints do you install?
- Zappi, Ohme, Andersen, Wallbox, Hypervolt, Easee and Podpoint among others. Paul recommends by use case — solar diversion, cheap-rate tariff scheduling, tethered versus untethered and how the unit will look on the front of the house.