If you're planning around a day off work or trying to coordinate with a delivery date, knowing exactly what to expect from the installation process matters. Here's a straight answer — and the detail behind it.
How long does a home EV charger installation take?
For the vast majority of homes, a standard home EV charger installation takes between 2.5 and 4 hours from the engineer arriving to final handover. Most customers are done well within half a day.
You don't need a full day off work. A morning slot typically finishes by lunchtime. An afternoon slot is done before the school run.
What actually happens during the installation?
Here's what the engineer does during your installation visit, roughly in order:
- Arrival and assessment — confirms the installation plan matches what was agreed from your photos, checks the consumer unit, identifies the cable route
- Consumer unit work — installs a dedicated circuit breaker for the EV charger
- Cable routing — runs the cable from your consumer unit to the charger location, clipped, trunked or buried depending on the route
- Charger mounting — fixes the charger to the wall at the agreed position
- Wiring and termination — connects all wiring, checks connections, installs earthing
- Testing — full electrical testing of the circuit to NICEIC standards
- App setup and handover — connects your charger to the app, sets up scheduling, walks you through how to use it
What makes it take longer?
A few things can extend the installation beyond the typical 3 hours:
- Long cable runs — if your consumer unit is at the opposite end of the house from where you park, routing the cable takes more time
- External cable routing — running cable along outside walls in trunking is slower than internal routes
- Consumer unit upgrades — if your fuse board needs replacing as part of the same visit, add 2–3 hours
- Older properties — solid walls, unusual layouts, or difficult access routes take longer to cable through
We identify anything that might affect installation time from your photos before giving you a fixed price — so there are no surprises on the day.
💡 Tip: we don't double-book engineers. When we're at your property, we're focused on your job until it's done properly. We won't rush to get to the next booking.
Do I need to be home for the whole installation?
Yes — someone over 18 needs to be present throughout. The engineer will need access to your property, your consumer unit (usually indoors), and the charger location. You don't need to watch every step — most customers just get on with their day while the engineer works — but you do need to be available to answer questions and sign off the completed installation at the end.
What happens before the engineer arrives?
At EV Monkey, we do as much as possible before anyone comes to your home:
- You upload photos of your consumer unit and proposed charger location
- We assess your installation remotely and confirm your fixed price
- We WhatsApp you to lock in a date and take a 10% deposit
- We confirm the engineer's arrival time the day before
By the time the engineer arrives, the whole job is planned and priced. There are no surprises, no day-of negotiations, and no "we'll see what it looks like when we get there."
How quickly can I book after getting a price?
Most customers in West Sussex, East Sussex and Surrey are booked in within 3–7 days of confirming their price. If you need it sooner — for example, your car is arriving at the weekend — let us know when you submit and we'll do our best to accommodate.
Half a day. Done properly. Charger working before you go to bed.
A standard home EV charger installation takes 2.5–4 hours. You don't need a full day off. By the time the engineer leaves, your charger is installed, tested, certified, and set up on the app. You plug in that evening and wake up to a full battery.
Ready to get booked in?
Upload two photos, get a fixed price within 24 hours, and we'll WhatsApp you to lock in a date. From £899 including everything.
Book your installation ⚡