Upgrade of house main fuse

[Jomarkh]

So my electrician has said 60a is more than enough so he doesn’t need to contact the DNO. Looking at the form it’s impossible to fill in without being qualified electrician. Leaves me in a bit of a position

The DNO needs to be informed on All EVSE installations and heat pumps.
Is your electrician a registered EVSE installer?

 

[bobbarley]

He said that he is

 

[Lovemyev]

Will a 60 amp fuse be enough ?.
The simple answer to that question will depend on how and when you intend to put it’s capabilities to the test really.
It is never going to be the same for any two different usage cases.
Example :- The first person only charges once or twice a week, he has a “off peak” tariff and therefore conducts all of his charging at night.
He / She has a single electric oven and a 10 kW electric shower and a washing machine and tumble drier.
Very rarely are two of these items ever running at the same time.
This user case should have no issues running on a 60 amp main fuse.
The second person has a standard tariff and arrives home at about 5.00pm with only a small amount of range, he/she puts the car straight on charge.
Enters the house and puts on the washing machine and turns on the oven.
Then wants to use the electric shower.
Sixty amp fuse is being challenged now alright !.
I would sit down and work out what and when you intend to use your equipment, then decide if you will be getting close to pushing that 60 amp fuse and go from there.

 

[mystreet]

So my electrician has said 60A is more than enough so he doesn’t need to contact the DNO. Looking at the form it’s impossible to fill in without being qualified electrician. Leaves me in a bit of a position

I would question his qualifications for EV charger installation.

Have a read of this

How to notify the DNO of an EV charger installation - EV chargers & DNO

A significant part of the EV charging process is notifying your DNO before your installation can go ahead. In this blog, we will explain what a DNO is, its role in an EV charge point installation and how to notify the DNO of an EV charger installation.

wepoweryourcar.com

 

[siteguru]

I wonder if @Ayoull has any thoughts on this thread?

 

[mystreet]

See also this

https://www.energynetworks.org/industry/connecting-to-the-networks/connecting-electric-vehicles-and-heat-pumps

It is the 'property owner' who is required to apply to the DNO.

This is carried out for you by the installer, as you have found out the form is really hard to complete if you are not an electrician (qualified)

 

[Alb]

I received a letter from my DNO confirming that they had details of my EVSE installation on record.

 

[bobbarley]

Well he turned up and did the work. Took exactly 1 hour to do everything, including the additional CU. It looks so simple to install an EV charger tbh.

 

[johnb80]

Well he turned up and did the work. Took exactly 1 hour to do everything, including the additional CU. It looks so simple to install an EV charger tbh.

You should never underestimate the complexity of a task when witnessed it performed by an expert

Youre right, it's in it's simplest form Live Neutral and Earth at either end with a suitable MCB/RCBO on the feed and in some cases a CT clamp around the feed cable.

 

[siteguru]

The hardest part of my EVSE install that the installer had was drilling a hole through the wall for the cable. ?

 

[Deleted member 7316]

Which is one of the reasons I drilled the hole before the installer arrived. Ostensibly for me to install a 16A socket for the caravan, including Henley block and a second CU exclusively for outdoor circuits. The main CU was at the opposite end/side from the incomer, itself adjascent to the location of the charge point. The installer was extremely grateful to find a good part of his work done for him but it made certain that it would be done how I wanted.

 

[siteguru]

In my case drilling the hole was pretty simple ... out the back of the cupboard where the CU resides and through the exterior wall. Cable run was then very simple. (See photo .. the hole is just before the gate post/just after the drain downpipe):

 

[Rolfe]

I'm having the Zappi mounted inside my garage. I don't want to be obliged to leave the car sitting in the drive where it might get covered in snow or starling shit depending on the season, if I want to charge it.

 

[Lovemyev]

I'm having the Zappi mounted inside my garage. I don't want to be obliged to leave the car sitting in the drive where it might get covered in snow or starling shit depending on the season, if I want to charge it.

I had my wall box fitted to the internal wall of our garage also.
The incoming cable / main fuse / meter and consumer unit are only about eight feet away.
As installs go, it could not have been any easier TBH.
It was great not having the tethered wall box on show on the front of my property and it is never exposed to any elements thrown at it by the weather, which is a bonus.
The garage door has a soft rubber gasket on the bottom edge of the door and the limit switch has been set, so just as the gasket touches the floor, the door just stops.

 

[Gadget Geek]

I had a long run of cable to my back gate, but I dug the trench myself so it only cost me £50 for the extra cable.

 

[Robf]

I had my wall box fitted to the internal wall of our garage also.
The incoming cable / main fuse / meter and consumer unit are only about eight feet away.
As installs go, it could not have been any easier TBH.
It was great not having the tethered wall box on show on the front of my property and it is never exposed to any elements thrown at it by the weather, which is a bonus.
The garage door has a soft rubber gasket on the bottom edge of the door and the limit switch has been set, so just as the gasket touches the floor, the door just stops.

Exactly what I have done, gives the option to charge inside or outside the garage whilst the unit is inside (just inside garage door.

 

[Ayoull]

I wonder if @Ayoull has any thoughts on this thread?

Sorry I'm not as regular on the forums as historically two young kids who demand attention ??

EVSEs are required to be notified to the DNO in all situations.

There are however two notification types, after the fact and prior.

The after the fact notification is only permissible where all of the following are true:

• service fuse is known
• maximum demand is 60A or less total
• service is not looped (you won't know this without access to records from DNO, as we have historically looped cables in the road / footpath not just in houses)
• EVSE is on the ENA type tested register

All other scenarios require notification prior to installation, and wait for DNO approval

 

[EV guys]

So my electrician has said 60A is more than enough so he doesn’t need to contact the DNO. Looking at the form it’s impossible to fill in without being qualified electrician. Leaves me in a bit of a position

He has to inform the DNO regardless. If the maximum demand of the property is above 60A he has to inform them before installing. But can notify after (within 28) if it’s not.

 

[EV guys]

Where are you based? I recently used Skyelec Electrical Contractors in Sussex.
They’re EV charger installers in Brighton.

Website here Electricians in Brighton

 

[Eclectic]

I had a 60 amp fuse and had no trouble with EV charging, but I asked to have it upgraded on advice from an electrician friend.
Power company came and inspected it, upgraded to 80 amps free of charge. They couldn’t upgrade to 100 amps without changing the holder and re wiring out to the road (90ft drive) so I said I’d see how it went.
That was about 6 years ago, and no problems. We have a 7kW charge point, electric oven, washing machine and tumble dryer. Gas combi boiler and hob.