Charging an electric car at home overnight is far cheaper and more convenient than relying on public chargers, especially if you have solar. But a home charger is a serious appliance, and a proper install matters for both safety and charging speed. Here is what to know.
Every EV comes with a portable cable that plugs into a normal power point, but it charges slowly and a standard outlet was never designed for hours of heavy continuous load. A dedicated wall charger (a wallbox) charges far faster, is safer for daily use, and can include smart features like scheduling and solar integration. For anyone charging regularly, a wallbox is the right answer.
Most Brisbane homes are single-phase, which comfortably runs a 7kW charger, plenty to fully charge overnight. Three-phase homes can run faster 11kW or 22kW chargers. Part of our assessment is confirming what supply you have and matching the charger to it.
This is the step people skip. A charger is a large, sustained load, and older switchboards may not have the spare capacity or a free way for the circuit. We check the board and your overall demand first, and where needed do a switchboard upgrade as part of the job, so the charger runs safely without tripping the house.
If you have solar, a smart charger can prioritise charging from your panels, so you drive on sunshine rather than grid power. If you are adding solar or a battery too, it is worth planning them together.
A dedicated circuit from the switchboard, the right protection (including the correct type of RCD for EV charging), safe mounting and cable routing, and commissioning and testing. Done properly, it is a tidy, safe, set-and-forget setup. Book a free assessment and we will map it out for your home.
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