Electric vehicles are arriving fast in Johannesburg's northern suburbs, and the first question every new owner asks is how to charge safely at home. Here is what a compliant home EV charger costs, what your electrics need, and why a wall socket will not do.
Why you cannot just use a normal plug
A standard 16A wall socket is not designed for the sustained high current an EV draws for hours at a time. Doing so overheats the socket and wiring and is a genuine fire risk. A proper home charger runs on its own dedicated circuit with the correct breaker and earth-leakage protection, wired straight from your distribution board.
What a home EV charger costs in South Africa
A 7kW AC wall charger typically runs R12,000 to R25,000 supplied and installed. The charger unit is most of the cost; the rest is the dedicated circuit, cable run from your DB board, protection and the COC. A long or awkward cable route, or a DB board that needs upgrading, adds to the total — which is why we always assess on site first.
Can your DB board handle it?
Adding a 32A charger circuit to an older or fully-loaded board can be unsafe without an upgrade. We check your board's spare capacity and condition before quoting, and fold any required DB board upgrade into the plan so there are no surprises.
Load-shedding and EV charging
Many owners pair a charger with solar or a hybrid inverter so they can top up during the day and avoid charging on expensive grid power at night. If that interests you, our solar and inverter teams can design the two together.
The COC is not optional
An EV charger modifies your fixed electrical installation, so it must be installed and certified by a registered electrician with an Electrical Certificate of Compliance. Without it your insurer can decline a claim. We issue the COC with every install — get a quote.