Wave Electrical Solutions installed a 7.4kW Hypervolt tethered EV charger at a residential property in Truro, complete with a dedicated IP-rated consumer unit, surge protection, and load monitoring - all wired to current 18th Edition standards.
EV charger installations at residential properties are becoming increasingly common across Cornwall, and this job in Truro was a solid example of what a properly planned home charging setup looks like. The customer wanted a 7.4kW Hypervolt tethered charger fitted to the exterior wall at the front of their garage – a neat, practical position that works well for driveway charging without trailing cables.
The Hypervolt unit comes with a 7.5m tethered cable, which means the lead is permanently fixed to the charger. That might sound like a limitation, but for most people it’s actually the better option – the cable’s always there, always ready, and there’s no risk of leaving a portable cable behind somewhere. It’s one less thing to think about when you pull onto the driveway.
Rather than tapping into the existing consumer unit, a dedicated IP-rated EV consumer unit was installed adjacent to the meter cabinet. Siting it next to the existing meter equipment keeps the installation tidy and accessible, and the IP rating means the enclosure is suited for outdoor use – a practical consideration when the supply has to transition from inside to out. The unit was fitted with a 40A bi-directional circuit breaker and an integrated Surge Protection Device (SPD). The SPD is there to protect the charger and any connected vehicle electronics from voltage spikes or fluctuations coming in from the grid – something that’s easy to overlook but worth doing properly from the start.
To feed the new consumer unit, the incoming meter tails were split using 100A connectors, allowing the EV unit to run alongside the existing electrical supply without interfering with it. The supply cable was then run from the enclosure and clipped neatly at low level along the garden wall to reach the charge point on the garage wall. It’s a clean route that keeps everything secure and as unobtrusive as possible.
A load monitoring device was also installed as part of this setup. This is something that often gets left out of cheaper installations, but it plays a useful role. The device monitors the overall electrical load on the property and will dial back the charge rate if total demand gets close to the limit of the incoming supply. In a property that might be running a number of high-draw appliances simultaneously, that kind of automatic adjustment helps avoid tripping the main supply – without any input needed from the homeowner.
On the smart functionality side, the Hypervolt system was fully paired and commissioned during the visit to confirm everything was communicating correctly. Worth noting that the app-based smart features – things like scheduled charging and off-peak energy tariff management – rely on the charger having a stable Wi-Fi connection. If the router signal doesn’t quite reach the front of the garage, those features won’t work reliably. That’s a building-specific factor rather than anything to do with the charger itself, but it’s worth considering if smart charging is a priority.
Once the installation was complete, all circuits were tested and an Electrical Installation Certificate (EIC) was produced. This documentation is required for Building Control Notification of Electrical Works and forms part of the formal record of the installation – useful for insurance purposes and for any future property sale.
The whole job was carried out in line with the 18th Edition of the IET Wiring Regulations, the current standard governing electrical installations in the UK. For anyone thinking about getting an EV charger fitted in Truro or the wider Cornwall area, a dedicated circuit with the right protection devices is always the right approach – both for safety and to get the best out of the charger long term.
