The best home EV charger for you: a buyer's checklist
Not a ranking: our checklist for any home EV charger. Smart rules, cable style, 7 kW or 22 kW, solar modes, load management, PEN protection, tariffs.
19 October 2026
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The bits worth knowing.
What we end up explaining on kitchen tables: how a battery earns its place, what the network operator needs, what the export guarantee actually pays for, and how to charge a car from your own roof.
No sales pitch. Where a guide leans on a regulator or a manufacturer, it links the source.
Latest
Start here.
Everything else
The rest of it.
Six more, newest first — batteries, chargers, export paperwork and the things people ask on the doorstep.
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EcoFlow PowerOcean explained: packs, usable capacity and where it can go
EcoFlow PowerOcean from the installer's side: 5 kWh LFP packs, usable capacity, limits per inverter, backup output, cycle life, protection and mounting.
19 October 2026
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EV charger grants in 2026: who qualifies and who doesn't
The 2026 EV charger grant is for renters and flat owners with off-street parking. Who qualifies, who doesn't, how it's claimed, and the on-street grant.
19 October 2026
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EV charger installation cost: what decides it
What decides the cost of installing an EV charger at home: your supply and main fuse, the cable run, earthing, the cable style and the paperwork.
19 October 2026
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Do I need planning permission for an EV charger?
Most home EV chargers are permitted development. England's rules change on 21 October 2026, Wales keeps its 2019 rules, and the DNO must always be told.
19 October 2026
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Fox ESS batteries explained: EP batteries, K-series inverters and FoxCloud
A Fox ESS battery from the installer's side: EP capacities, the K-series hybrid inverter, new or retrofit, FoxCloud 2.0 work modes, protection, the cold.
19 October 2026
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Hypervolt Home 3 Pro: what it does, from the people who fit it
The Hypervolt Home 3 Pro from the installer's side: 7.4 kW, Boost, Eco and Super-Eco, the CT clamp, PEN fault protection, cable lengths and the survey.
19 October 2026
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Intelligent Octopus Go: what it needs from your home charger
How Octopus Intelligent Go works with a home EV charger: the six-hour window, which chargers and cars it needs, and how it sits with solar and a battery.
19 October 2026
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Tesla Powerwall 3 explained: the battery, the inverter and the gateway
Tesla Powerwall 3 in plain terms: 13.5 kWh, a solar inverter built in, Backup Gateway 2, Expansion units, where it can go, the app and the G98 or G99 step.
19 October 2026
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Tethered vs untethered EV chargers: which suits your drive
A tethered EV charger has its cable fixed on; an untethered one has a socket for your own cable. How to choose, and why the Hypervolt we fit is tethered.
19 October 2026
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Do solar panels need planning permission?
When solar panels on a house are permitted development in England and Wales, the limits that apply since August 2026, and when you need the council first.
15 October 2026
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Do solar panels work in winter?
Yes, but far less: what a south-facing roof in Cheshire makes month by month, why winter is a small slice of the year, and what a battery does in December.
15 October 2026
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Solar panels on a flat roof: how they're fitted and what's allowed
How solar panels are fixed to a flat roof, why ballast needs a wind calculation and an engineer, the roof warranty, and the planning limits that apply.
15 October 2026
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Adding a battery to the solar you already have
AC-coupled or hybrid, what we check first, what changes on the day and the paperwork involved: how a battery is added to panels already on your roof.
15 September 2026
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Charging an EV from your own solar
What solar and eco modes on a Zappi, Ohme or Hypervolt do, why the charger watches your whole supply, and how a home battery and a car share the surplus.
27 August 2026
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G98, G99 and your network operator
What a G98 notification and a G99 application are, when each one applies to solar panels and batteries, who sends them, and what an export limit means.
6 August 2026
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The Smart Export Guarantee explained
Who has to offer the Smart Export Guarantee, what you need before you apply, how batteries fit in, and why Ofgem tells you to shop around for a tariff.
16 July 2026
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How much can you really save with solar panels in the UK?
How solar panels and a battery cut what you buy from the grid, what your savings depend on, and why panels still work under Britain’s grey skies.
29 April 2025
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How to save energy at home with solar power
How to save energy at home with solar panels: how they bring your bills down, the everyday habits that make the most of them, and whether solar suits you.
29 April 2025
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Are solar panels worth it now prices have fallen?
Why the idea that solar is only for the wealthy is out of date: what has changed, why the myth sticks, and how to tell whether solar suits your home.
29 April 2025
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Start with a conversation, not a quote.
Tell us the postcode and roughly what you use. We’ll tell you honestly whether the roof is worth doing — and if it isn’t, that’s a perfectly good answer too.
- Takes about a minute
- You get a person, not a brochure
- No obligation, and no visit until you ask for one