Electric vehicles (EVs) are no longer the future, they’re here. But while plugging in a car may seem simple, there’s a lot more happening behind the scenes to make sure every charge is safe, efficient, and sustainable.
At Blaby Electrical, we specialise in EV charge point installations for homes and businesses across Leicestershire. But our job doesn’t stop at fitting a charger to a wall. Every installation is the end result of careful planning, load management, and future-proof design that connects your property seamlessly to the national grid.
Let’s take a look at what really happens, from charge point to grid.
1. Assessing Your Supply: The Power Behind the Plug
Before any EV charger is installed, we start by checking the incoming electrical supply to your property.
This includes:
- The size of your main fuse
- The existing load on your circuits
- The capacity of your consumer unit
Why does this matter? Because EV chargers can draw significant current for long periods. Typically 7.2kW for a single-phase home unit or up to 22kW for three-phase commercial setups. Ensuring your supply can handle this safely is step one.
If your supply isn’t sufficient, we’ll guide you through DNO notification or approval (your local Distribution Network Operator), ensuring compliance and safety from the start.
2. Load Balancing and Smart Energy Management
EV charging isn’t just about plugging in, it’s about balancing demand.
Smart chargers can communicate with your home or business network to manage load dynamically, ensuring your EV charges efficiently without tripping your main fuse or overloading circuits.
For businesses with multiple charge points, we often integrate load balancing systems that distribute available power intelligently, keeping energy use stable across all chargers.
Bonus benefit: These smart systems can be paired with solar panels and battery storage to prioritise renewable energy use, a major win for sustainability and cost control.
3. Grid Interaction: Working With, Not Against, the Network
When you plug in, your EV charger draws energy directly from the local distribution network. But what happens as thousands of vehicles start charging at once?
Modern infrastructure and smart grid technology now allow two-way communication between chargers and the grid.
This means the grid can respond to real-time demand, shifting loads or even pausing charging during peak times, all automatically.
In the near future, vehicle-to-grid (V2G) systems will take this further, allowing EVs to return energy to the grid during high-demand periods, turning every parked car into a mini power station.
4. Future-Proofing Your Installation
At Blaby Electrical, we design every EV charging system with future capacity in mind. That means planning for:
- Additional charge points
- Solar PV and battery integration
- Smart tariffs and off-peak optimisation
- Emerging V2G and demand-response technology
Even if you only need one charger today, a well-planned installation saves you time and money when you expand later.
5. Safety, Certification & Compliance
Once your installation is complete, we conduct a full set of tests to confirm:
- Correct circuit protection
- Safe earthing and bonding
- RCD performance
- OLEV compliance (where applicable)
Powering a Smarter, Greener Future
From the outside, EV charging might look simple. But every working system is part of a much bigger picture. One that connects your home, your vehicle, and the national grid in a dynamic, intelligent energy ecosystem.
At Blaby Electrical, we’re proud to be part of that transformation. Whether you’re a homeowner, landlord, or business, we’ll help you plan, install, and future-proof your EV charging infrastructure the right way.
Ready to power up?
Get in touch with our EV team today to discuss your installation, or book a site survey to see how ready your property is for the electric future.