How Long Does EV Charger Installation Take?

For a standard new build installation — charger on the garage wall or house exterior, consumer unit nearby, standard cable run — expect 3 to 4 hours from the installer arriving to your first charge.

This includes isolating the supply, installing a dedicated circuit at the consumer unit, running the cable to the charger location, mounting the charger, earthing, testing, commissioning, and showing you how to use the app.

More complex installations (long cable runs, external trenching, consumer unit upgrades) can take 5-6 hours or may be split across two visits. But these are uncommon in new builds.

1. Initial survey (15 min): The installer checks your consumer unit, measures the cable run, and confirms the installation plan matches the quote.
2. Consumer unit work (30-45 min): A new dedicated circuit is added to your consumer unit with its own MCB (miniature circuit breaker). Your power will be off briefly during this step.
3. Cable routing (30-60 min): SWA (steel wire armoured) cable is run from the consumer unit to the charger location. In a new build, this often goes through the garage or along an internal route.
4. Charger mounting (15-30 min): The charger unit is fixed to the wall at the correct height, cables connected, and any additional earthing protection your supply needs put in place.
5. Testing and commissioning (30 min): Full electrical testing, earth fault loop impedance checks, RCD testing, and commissioning on the charger's app. The installer will test it with your car if available.
6. Paperwork (15 min): You'll receive an electrical installation certificate, the grant paperwork (if applicable), and a walkthrough of the app and charger features.

Yes — for at least part of the installation. The installer needs access to your consumer unit (usually inside the house) and will need to turn the power off briefly. You don't need to supervise the whole installation, but being available to answer questions and grant access is important.

Most installers are happy to work around your schedule. Morning installations are most common — finished by lunchtime, and you can charge your car that evening.

Before moving in: If your developer allows access before completion (many do for trades), get the charger installed before you move. You'll have charging from day one.

First few weeks: Most new build buyers book within the first month. The process from first enquiry to installation is typically 1-3 weeks — faster if the installer has stock of your chosen charger.

Charger lead times: Popular chargers (Ohme, Wallbox) are usually in stock. Premium options (Andersen, Easee) may have 1-2 week lead times. Ask your installer about availability when booking.

Your NHBC Buildmark policy won't cover a charger you have installed, the installation work, or anything either of them causes — the policy for homes registered with NHBC from 1 August 2023 excludes anything done to the home after completion and any work done by anyone other than the builder.

Those are general exclusions, so they apply both in the first two years, when the builder must put right anything not built to NHBC requirements, and in years three to ten, when cover is for certain structural problems. The same policy also excludes the performance, charging speed, location or positioning of electrical installations such as EV charging points beyond what the Building Regulations require — so even a developer-fitted chargepoint is only covered to that extent.

We did not find wording in the policy booklet saying that your own work cancels the rest of your cover. But if a problem is linked to the charger or its installation, expect it to be excluded. If your home was registered before 1 August 2023, or your warranty is with another provider, read your own policy, because the wording may differ.

Installing a new circuit is notifiable work under Part P of the Building Regulations, and if it isn't certified the work doesn't have the evidence of compliance you need — local authorities can require homeowners to remove or alter work that doesn't meet the Building Regulations.

The work must be certified in one of three ways: by an installer registered with a competent person scheme, by a registered third-party certifier, or by building control. A registered installer gives you a certificate that can be used as evidence of compliance and shows up in solicitors' searches when you come to sell, so missing certification is likely to be raised when you sell.