A home EV charger: what to prepare

Installing a charger is specialist work, but you can prepare a useful brief. IPLO states that optional charging points must also meet NEN 1010.

Start with how you use the car

Record the vehicle model and maximum AC charging power from its documentation. Note typical driving, when the car is at home and whether a second vehicle is likely. Distinguish a desire for rapid charging from the hours actually available overnight.

For illustration, replenishing 20 kWh at an actually available 3.7 kW would take about 5.4 hours before losses and other limits. This arithmetic is not advice to draw a particular current from a domestic socket.

Establish the location

Is the parking space privately owned, rented or part of a homeowners' association, a VvE? Establish required permissions before ordering. Public parking and shared garages present different questions from a private driveway.

Sketch the route to the proposed charger, with distances, paving, walls and possible excavation. Consider where the car's charging inlet sits. Positioning must work within the equipment's permitted cable arrangements; do not plan an extension lead to bridge a gap. Volvo prohibits extension leads for its described domestic-socket charging method because of overheating risk. Follow the instructions for your own vehicle and charger too.

Compare functions you will use

If you want charging to adapt to other household demand, ask how load balancing will work and what happens when communication fails. Solar charging, tariff scheduling and business reimbursement may require particular meters, connectivity, accounts or subscriptions. Establish those costs and dependencies before buying.

Milieu Centraal's home-charger comparison tool helps organise these choices. It does not assess your distribution board or select its protection.

For an enquiry, gather the vehicle model, parking permissions, route measurements, available supply details and operating preferences. A tape measure and documentation are enough for this preparation; you do not need installation tools.

Ask for the proposal to list the charger, mounting, cabling, protection, metering or communication equipment, groundwork, configuration and handover separately. Cable size and residual-current protection depend on the design and exact charger. Do not buy them from a universal shopping bundle or assume one RCD type always suffices.

Questions to settle before ordering

Will my electricity connection need upgrading?

Not necessarily. Capacity, usage and control need assessment together. The network operator handles changes to its connection.

Will charging work without internet?

This depends on the product and configuration. Ask which basic functions remain local and what happens to load control and billing.

Can CAS install any brand?

Send the proposed model and requested functions. Confirm supply, support and installation scope before purchasing.

Discuss your home charger with CAS. Include the car, parking location and the function that matters most to you.