A home EV charger on a Dunfermline driveway is normally a one-day job, from £900 fully fitted for a standard socketed charger, £1,050 for a smart untethered one and £1,300 for a premium tethered unit. What moves the price is not the town, it is the house: how far the drive is from the fuse board, what the board is like, and how the cable gets from one to the other. Here is what Jack looks at before he gives you a number.
You can get a real fitted price for your own driveway in about 60 seconds on the EV charger page.
Dunfermline houses are not all the same job
Dunfermline is a big place, and the housing runs across three eras. That shows up in EV installs.
The newer estates, Duloch, Kingseat and the like. Most houses have a driveway beside or in front of the house, a modern board and the meter on an outside wall. These are often the simplest installs: a short cable run, a spare way on the board, and the charger on the wall by the drive. This is the kind of house the from-price is built around.
The post-war streets. Many have a driveway or a run-in, but the board may be older, inside a cupboard at the back of the house, and the cable has to travel further. The board is the bit to check first. An older board with no RCD protection or no spare way may need upgrading before a charger goes on it.
Sandstone and Victorian terraces near the centre. Where there is off-street parking, the challenge is usually the route: thick stone walls, long runs and a board that has been added to over the years. Where there is no off-street space, a home charger is usually not possible, because a cable cannot run across a public pavement.
What Jack checks on the survey
- The board. Is there a spare way, is there RCD protection, and is it in good enough shape to take a 7kW load for hours at a time? If not, he tells you and prices the upgrade separately. More on this in will my fuse board cope with an EV charger.
- The supply. The size of the main fuse and what else is already running, like an electric shower, a heat pump or a hot tub. Smart chargers can be set to back off when the house is busy.
- The earthing. Modern chargers have built-in protection for the most common supply type, which saves fitting an earth rod in most cases. Jack confirms which applies to your house.
- The cable route. From the board to the charger, through walls or along them, and how far. Longer runs cost more in cable and time. A detached garage is a different job from the wall beside the front door.
- Wi-Fi at the drive. Smart chargers need a signal, or a workaround, to use the app and cheap tariffs.
Which charger suits
Jack fits Hypervolt, Zappi and Ohme.
- A smart untethered charger is what most people end up with. You use your own cable, schedule charging for the cheap overnight hours, and see what it costs in the app.
- A tethered unit keeps the cable on the wall, so you just park and plug in. Good if you never want to dig a cable out of the boot.
- A standard socketed charger is the simplest and cheapest option if you just want reliable charging.
If you have solar panels, Zappi can charge from spare solar. There is a longer comparison in EV charger brands compared and smart chargers explained.
On the day
Jack fits the charger, runs the cable, adds the protection it needs on the board, tests everything and gives you the certificate. The network operator is notified as part of the job. Before he leaves he sets the charger up with you, so it is working on your tariff from the first night. It is usually done in a day, with the board checked on the same visit.
Getting a price
Use the 60-second quote on the EV charger page, or send Jack a photo of the board and the driveway on WhatsApp and he will come back with a straight number. There is more about the area on the Dunfermline page, and nearby on Rosyth, Cairneyhill and Crossgates.
Common questions from Dunfermline drivers are below.