EV Chargers & Battery Storage
Home EV charging points and battery storage costs, how they work, and how they pair with solar - then get introduced to one vetted local installer based on your home’s real EPC data.
Check My PropertyAn EV charger and a home battery are the two upgrades most often added alongside a wider retrofit - particularly when a home is also having solar fitted. A home EV charger is a dedicated wall-mounted charging point that lets you charge an electric car overnight on your own driveway, rather than relying on public chargers. A home battery stores electricity so it can be used later - typically storing surplus solar generated during the day, or cheaper off-peak grid power, to use in the evening when electricity is most expensive.
Neither is usually the reason a homeowner starts a retrofit, but both make the most of the rest of the work. A battery lets you keep more of the solar you generate instead of exporting it cheaply, and both pair naturally with a smart, time-of-use electricity tariff that charges the car or the battery when power is cheapest. They can be fitted at the same time as solar or added later.
Eco Renovate does not install chargers or batteries. We use your home’s real government EPC data to understand your property, then introduce you to one vetted, qualified local installer who can assess your electrics and confirm what is suitable and what it will cost.
Key benefits
Home EV charging
A typical 7kW smart wallbox (brands such as Ohme, myenergi Zappi, Hypervolt or Wallbox) charges a car far faster than a standard plug and lets you top up overnight at home. Installed cost is usually around £800 to £1,200, and pairing it with an EV-specific tariff means charging at the cheapest overnight rates. Requires off-street parking and a certified installer.
Battery storage
A home battery (such as a Tesla Powerwall, GivEnergy or similar) stores electricity for use later. It captures surplus solar during the day, or cheap off-peak grid power overnight, so you draw on stored electricity in the evening instead of buying at peak prices. Typical installed cost runs from around £3,000 for a small unit to £7,000 for a larger one, depending on capacity.
Pairs perfectly with solar
Solar panels generate most during the day, when many households use least. A battery stores that surplus so it powers your evenings rather than being exported to the grid for a small payment, which is what makes solar-plus-battery systems so much more self-sufficient than panels alone.
Smart tariffs and time-of-use savings
Both a charger and a battery come into their own on a time-of-use tariff. You can charge the car and fill the battery during cheap overnight windows and run the home from stored power at peak times, shifting a meaningful share of your usage to the lowest available rate.
0% VAT on battery storage
Standalone home batteries were added to the government’s list of energy-saving materials in February 2024, meaning they currently qualify for 0% VAT - the same relief that applies to solar. This 0% rate is in place until the end of March 2027 under current rules.
What it typically costs
A home EV charger typically costs around £800-£1,200 installed for a 7kW smart wallbox, while a home battery generally runs from around £3,000 for a small unit to £7,000 for a larger one, depending on capacity (roughly 5kWh to 15kWh). These are approximate ranges - your installer’s quote after assessing your electrics is the figure to rely on.
- For a charger: the distance from your consumer unit to the parking spot (longer cable runs cost more)
- Whether your fuse box or consumer unit needs upgrading to take the extra load
- Whether any groundworks or trenching are needed to route the cable across a driveway
- For a battery: its capacity in kWh, and the brand and warranty
- Whether the battery is installed alongside new solar or retrofitted to an existing system
- Your home’s single- or three-phase supply and available space for the unit
From EPC check to installed
Free EPC-based check
You give us your address and we pull your home’s real government EPC data - a simple, no-guesswork starting point for understanding your property.
Introduced to one vetted local installer
You’re introduced to a single qualified, vetted installer operating in your area - not a list of leads sold to multiple companies.
Assessment and quote
Your installer checks your electrics - the consumer unit and cable route for a charger, or your space and any existing solar for a battery - and provides a firm quote.
Installation
A certified electrician installs and commissions the charger or battery to the relevant standards, and shows you how to use it with a smart tariff.
Up and running
You start charging at home or storing cheaper power straight away - and a battery can always be added alongside solar later if you fit the charger first.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need solar panels to install a home battery?
No. A battery can be charged from cheap off-peak grid electricity on a time-of-use tariff and still save money, even without solar. That said, it works best paired with solar, because it lets you store your own daytime generation instead of exporting it cheaply. Your installer can advise whether a standalone or solar-linked battery makes more sense for your usage.
Can I add a battery to my existing solar panels?
Usually yes. Batteries can be retrofitted to most existing solar systems, though the exact approach depends on your current inverter - some systems need an additional or hybrid inverter, which your installer will confirm on assessment. Retrofitting is a common upgrade for homes that fitted panels before batteries became affordable.
How long does a 7kW home charger take to charge a car?
A 7kW charger adds roughly 25-30 miles of range per hour, so most electric cars charge fully overnight from a typical daily state of charge. It is far quicker than a standard three-pin plug, which is why a dedicated wallbox is the standard choice for home charging. Exact times depend on your car’s battery size and on-board charger.
Is battery storage worth the cost?
It depends on how much electricity you use, when you use it, whether you have solar, and your tariff. Batteries deliver the strongest returns for homes with solar or on a time-of-use tariff, where stored cheap or self-generated power replaces expensive peak-rate electricity. Your installer can model the likely savings for your specific home before you commit.