EV Charger Installation

There is no single "best" home charger — there is the best charger for your house, your car and your tariff. These are the three units we quote most often across Hampshire, and each one earns its place for a different reason. Tom fits all three personally, so the recommendation you get at survey is based on what suits your setup, not what happens to be in the van.

Our honest steer:

• Choose the Zappi if you have solar panels — or plan to add them — and want genuine surplus-only charging. ECO+ mode is still the benchmark for putting every spare watt of your own generation into the car, whatever brand your inverter is.
• Choose the Ohme ePod if you don't have solar yet and your priority is the cheapest possible overnight charging. Its tariff automation is the best we've used, and it's usually the lowest-cost quality unit on the wall.
• Choose the Sigen AC Charger if you have — or are quoting for — a SigenStor battery system. Running charger, battery and panels through one brain and one app is genuinely useful, not a gimmick.

Prices above assume a standard installation: a surface-run cable up to around 10 metres and a spare way in your consumer unit. Longer runs, groundworks or a fuse-board upgrade add cost, and we will tell you exactly what before any work starts — the price Tom confirms at survey is the price you pay.

The government's EV chargepoint grants got more generous on 1 April 2026 — but the eligibility rules catch a lot of people out, so here is the position honestly stated.

EV Chargepoint Grant — flat owners, renters and landlords: up to £500

• From 1 April 2026 the grant covers 75% of the cost of buying and installing a chargepoint, capped at £500 per socket — up from the old £350 cap.
• Who qualifies: people who rent their home, or own a flat, with their own private off-street parking. Flat owners need freeholder or managing-agent approval; renters need written landlord consent.
• Landlords can claim for up to 200 sockets a year across residential properties under the separate landlord chargepoint grant.
• The catch most websites bury: if you own and live in a house, you do not qualify. The homeowner version of this grant closed back in 2022 and has not returned. If a salesperson promises you grant money on an owner-occupied house, walk away.
• Process matters: since April 2026, applications go through the government's Find a Grant service, and your eligibility must be confirmed before installation — install first and you lose the money. Funding is currently confirmed until 31 March 2027.

Workplace Charging Scheme — businesses: up to £500 per socket, 40 sockets

• Businesses, charities and public-sector bodies can claim 75% of purchase and installation costs (including VAT), up to £500 per socket, across a maximum of 40 sockets.
• The scheme has been extended to 31 March 2027, and the government has described this as its final year — if workplace charging is on your list, this is the window to do it.

Solent Solar is an OZEV-approved installer, which is a requirement for both schemes — a charger fitted by a non-approved installer gets no grant. Tom handles the paperwork side with you as part of the job, so the application is confirmed before a cable is run. Get in touch and we will tell you straight whether you qualify before you spend anything.

The south coast is one of the best places in Britain to pair an EV with solar. A well-oriented array in Hampshire typically yields around 950–1,050 kWh per kWp per year — so a fairly ordinary 4kWp system generates roughly 3,800–4,200 kWh annually, and on a bright day much of that arrives in the middle of the day while your car sits on the drive doing nothing.

A solar-integrated charger uses a CT clamp to watch what your panels are exporting and diverts that surplus into the car instead of selling it to the grid. The economics are worth being honest about: every surplus kWh that goes into your car instead of the grid costs you only the export payment you would have earned — and Smart Export Guarantee rates vary widely, from around 4p per kWh on basic SEG tariffs to 12–15p on the better fixed export deals. On a low export rate, solar charging is the cheapest motoring you will ever do; if you're on one of the higher fixed export tariffs, a cheap overnight EV tariff can work out just as cheap per mile, and it's worth running the numbers both ways — which Tom will do for your tariff at survey.

Cost per mile, compared

*Assumes a typical EV efficiency of 3.5–4 miles per kWh. Tariff, export and public-charging prices move — treat these as mid-2026 indicative figures, not quotes.

Stacking solar with a smart tariff

The best-run homes we install for use both ends of the day: solar surplus fills the car (and the home battery) through the day, and a smart EV tariff tops up overnight at around a quarter of the standard rate. With a battery in the mix you can even charge the battery itself in the cheap overnight window and run the house on it through peak hours — the charger, battery and panels working as one system is exactly what our solar and battery packages are designed around.

A dose of realism, because we would rather you hear it from us: winter surplus in the UK is modest, and between November and February most of your charging will come from the overnight tariff rather than the roof. Solar-first charging is a summer superpower and a winter helper — anyone telling you your panels will run your car year-round is overselling. If you want the numbers worked through for your own roof and mileage, our EV charging and solar guide covers it in depth, or Tom will model it at survey.

What happens on installation day?

Do you need to notify the DNO before installing my charger?

Do I need three-phase power for an EV charger?

Tethered or untethered — which is better?