There’s a wealth of options for those looking to upgrade their home with a dedicated EV charger. Evec is one of a clutch of contenders offering straightforward systems for home EV charging, with several power options as well as the chance to get all-inclusive fitting.
It’s the latter that’s often a stumbling block, as the requirements for enhanced wiring and cable pathways aren’t always immediately obvious to the layperson. With the company working alongside a growing band of trusted suppliers, Evec’s products can all be supplied fully fitted. These range from wall-mounted tethered and untethered models (the latter requiring you to supply your own cable), as well the PowerPair model that can charge two vehicles at once.
Evec also supplies small businesses with single and dual-socket pedestal chargers, in either 7.4kW and 22kW guises, all the way up to its flagship commercial model, a 40kW DC rapid charger. Home installations usually require a physical survey, especially if there’s no obvious way of getting from your fuse box to the charger location.
Evec home EV charger: installation and review
For our install, the company first studied photographs of the available electrical hardware, before advising (unsurprisingly) that a c1930s fuseboard wouldn’t be able to meet the required standards. With this duly upgraded (by the electricity supplier), it was left to the company’s technician to find a way of threading the cable carrying 7.4kW across a hallway and out through a porch, terminating at the simple VEC01 wall-mounted charger.
With a charger mounted on a driveway outside a house, the best solution was an untethered unit, meaning there’d be no cable to get in the way. The company stresses that all its products are tested to work in all weather conditions, but cables and climbing plants aren’t necessarily a convenient combination.
Once up and running, the VEC01 is patched into your home WiFi using Evec's own app. Plug in the car, and then you can start and stop the charge from your phone, as well as delve deeper into the menus to time charging to take advantage of cheaper-rate electricity. The ring on the charge socket glows blue when not in use, and green when energy is flowing between car and port.
The charger itself is a fairly no-nonsense solution, with a functional and hard-wearing aesthetic. It’s also recognised as a smart device on your network, meaning that the Evec app can double up as a home automation centre, with the opportunity to link in existing smart devices and set up scenes and tasks, such as switching on external lights when it gets dark, or turning on radiators when the temperature drops.
Ensuring that chargers can be incorporating into existing eco-systems and set-ups is an essential part of broadening their use, especially if you’ve got the capability to generate your own electricity. Although there are those who see domestic EV chargers like elegant wall-mounted sculpture or a piece of upscale garden furniture, Evec’s EV chargers are treated like an essential and everyday part of life.
Evec VEC01 wall-mounted charger, supply and fit, £799.99, Evec.co.uk, @Evec_UK
