EV Charger Installation Parkside: Home Charging for Character Homes

A Level 2 charger is a wall unit wired on its own circuit straight from your switchboard. It charges far faster than the portable cable that came with the car, often called a granny charger, which plugs into a normal powerpoint and adds range very slowly.

The electrician starts at the board. They look at what your supply can carry, how much room is left for a new circuit, and whether the existing protection can handle the extra load. Then they plan the cable path to wherever the car parks, fit the charger, test the circuit and set the unit up.

In-scope AC wall chargers installed from 1 July 2024 are set up to the Office of the Technical Regulator guideline, including demand response where it applies. Demand response lets the network ease the charging rate at busy times, and the charger only connects to it with your agreement. Your electrician handles that set-up.

When the job is done, the electrician certifies the install with an electronic Certificate of Compliance. The distance from the board to the car and any board work are what move the price most.

Usually, yes. In most character homes the real work is routing the cable neatly and checking the board. A good electrician keeps the charger and conduit tidy, tucks runs along rooflines, eaves or fence lines, and avoids drilling through anything that matters to the look of the house.

The usual sticking point is distance. In many older houses the switchboard sits on the opposite side from the garage or carport. A longer run costs more in cable and labour, so the quote reflects the actual path.

Surface-mounted conduit is often the neat answer when opening up old walls would be messy.

Sometimes it will, and sometimes it needs work. A car charging overnight draws power steadily for hours, which is a heavier load than a kettle or oven that runs for minutes. An older board with no spare space, ageing fuses or no safety switches may need an upgrade before a charger goes on.

The electrician checks this first so the charger doesn't trip things once the car plugs in. If the board needs work, you hear about it before the job starts.

Some homes can avoid a full upgrade. A charger that adjusts its draw to what the house is using at the time can sit on a modest supply.

A powerpoint is fine for a short commute or a top-up now and then. For daily driving it often falls behind, because the car may not recover a full day's use overnight.

A Level 2 home charger is the usual choice when the car works hard each day. It also keeps the charging load on a dedicated circuit built for the job, rather than a general powerpoint that was never meant to run flat out for hours.

If you have already bought a charger, the electrician can look at whether it suits your supply and the current rules before fitting it.

A charger can work with rooftop solar, and many people want the car to fill from the panels on sunny days. The electrician checks how your inverter, battery and charger share the supply so they don't fight each other. If your solar installer can't fit you in for months, a separate electrician can usually install the charger on its own and leave room for solar later.

Parkside is in the City of Unley, two kilometres out from the city centre, and its heritage character homes line leafy, quiet streets. Parkside is one of Adelaide's early suburbs, laid out long before anyone planned for a car or a charger. The Adelaide Parklands, Unley Oval and Henry Codd Reserve give the area its open, green setting, while the charger work happens at the house itself.

In a cottage the board can sit in an original front room while the car parks off a rear lane or under a carport added later. A narrow side passage may be the only way through. Each layout changes where the charger goes and how the cable gets there.

If your cottage has no driveway and the car stays on the street, a wall charger needs a private off-street spot to work from. A kerbside space won't do.