Fairlight EV Charger Installation Specialists

Charging at home costs significantly less per kilometre than filling up with petrol. As a rough comparison, a petrol car averaging around 10 litres per 100km at $2.00 per litre costs about 20 cents per kilometre. A typical EV consuming 16 to 18kWh per 100km, charged overnight on an off-peak tariff of around 10 to 14 cents per kWh, costs roughly 2 to 3 cents per kilometre.

On 15,000 kilometres of annual driving, that difference adds up to $2,500 or more per year, depending on your specific vehicle, driving style, electricity tariff, and current petrol price. The savings are most pronounced for households that do most of their charging overnight at off-peak rates rather than during peak daytime hours.

There are also variable costs to factor in: EV charger installation is a one-off upfront expense, and there is no engine oil, coolant, or exhaust servicing to budget for. For most EV owners, the running cost reduction is one of the clearest long-term financial benefits of switching to an electric vehicle and charging at home.

The cable used in a home EV charger installation is standard TPS (thermoplastic sheathed) copper cable, typically 6mm2 for a 7.2kW charger or 10mm2 for an 11kW or higher-output unit. The conductor size is chosen to carry the charger's rated current continuously within safe temperature limits and to keep voltage drop within acceptable bounds over longer cable runs.

The cable runs inside conduit from the switchboard to the charger location. Conduit type depends on the route. Rigid PVC is used for surface-mounted runs along external walls and fences. Corrugated orange HDPE conduit is used for underground sections. Flexible steel conduit is used in short sections where rigid conduit can't turn a corner or where the cable enters a wall cavity.

Where conduit is surface mounted, it is secured with saddle clips at regular intervals as required by AS/NZS 3000. Underground sections are installed at the correct depth with appropriate cover to protect the cable from mechanical damage. The final termination at the charger is made with conduit fittings that maintain the charger's IP enclosure rating so the protected path runs unbroken from the switchboard to the unit.

There is no legal requirement to notify your electricity retailer before installing an EV charger. The installation is permitted electrical work and doesn't require retailer sign-off. That said, contacting your retailer after installation is worth doing, primarily to review your tariff plan.

Many retailers now offer time-of-use tariffs with distinct off-peak periods, typically late at night through to early morning, where the rate is substantially lower than peak daytime pricing. Switching to a time-of-use plan before you start charging regularly is one of the most straightforward ways to reduce your overall charging cost. Some retailers also offer EV-specific plans with additional off-peak windows.

If your current meter is a flat-rate accumulation meter, switching to time-of-use billing usually requires a meter replacement. Retailers arrange this at no charge to you, though the timeline varies. For households that also have solar, your retailer can advise on how to structure your plan so that off-peak EV charging, solar export, and household consumption are all optimised on the one tariff arrangement.

Steep driveways are common in Fairlight, and they don't prevent a charger installation. The charger unit itself mounts on a wall or post at a fixed height regardless of the slope below it. What changes with a steep site is how the cable and conduit are managed between the switchboard and the charger.

Surface-mounted conduit on a sloped wall uses closer-spaced saddle fixings than a flat run would require, so the conduit stays tight against the surface and doesn't shift over time. Underground conduit on a sloping driveway is installed with care at the base of the slope to ensure the entry point is elevated enough, or sealed adequately, to prevent water from running along the conduit interior during heavy rain.

Access for cable pulling is also a consideration. On a steep site, the cable pull from the switchboard to the charger location may need to account for directional changes that flat sites don't require. None of this makes the job significantly more complex. We assess the specific grade and layout during the site visit and plan the conduit route accordingly.