Home EV Chargers in the East Midlands: Everything You Need to Know

The East Midlands has one of the fastest-growing EV adoption rates in England, driven by a combination of strong commuter culture, high average incomes in suburban Leicestershire and Northamptonshire, and the region's position on major transport corridors. Home EV charger installation is one of the most common add-ons to a solar panel installation — and when combined with solar diversion, it's one of the most financially compelling home energy investments available.

Energy Concerns installs Hypervolt Home 3 and Hypervolt Pro EV chargers across Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Warwickshire, Nottinghamshire, and Derbyshire. This guide covers everything East Midlands homeowners need to know.

Why Install a Home EV Charger?

Public charging is expensive (typically 50–80p/kWh), slow (unless you find a rapid charger), and inconvenient. Home charging changes the economics entirely:

• Cost: Home electricity at standard rate: ~28p/kWh. Octopus Go overnight: ~7.5p/kWh. Solar-generated: effectively 0p/kWh.
• Speed: A 7.4kW home charger adds approximately 30 miles of range per hour. Overnight, you'll fully charge most EVs.
• Convenience: Leave home every morning with a full battery, regardless of public charger availability.

For a household driving 10,000 miles per year in an EV averaging 3.5 miles per kWh, home charging on standard rate saves approximately £700 per year over public rapid charging, and over £1,200 per year when using Octopus Go overnight rates.

7kW vs 22kW: Which Charger for East Midlands Homes?

The vast majority of East Midlands homes are served by single-phase electricity supply, which limits home charging to 7.4kW maximum. This is sufficient for overnight charging of any consumer EV on the market — a 7.4kW charger adds approximately 40 miles per hour.

Three-phase supply (required for 22kW charging) is available in some rural Leicestershire and Northamptonshire properties, and in commercial premises. Energy Concerns can check your supply configuration during survey. For most homeowners, 7.4kW is the practical and cost-effective choice.

The OZEV £350 Grant

The OZEV Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme provides a £350 grant toward the cost of purchasing and installing an eligible home EV charger. To qualify:

• You must own or have ordered an eligible plug-in vehicle (most pure EVs and many PHEVs qualify)
• The charger must be installed at your home address
• The charger must be an approved model (Hypervolt Home 3 is approved)
• You must use an OZEV-registered installer

Energy Concerns is OZEV-registered. We handle the grant application as part of every EV charger installation — there's nothing for you to do except receive the £350 reduction in your invoice.

Solar Diversion: Charge Your EV for Free

Solar diversion is one of the most compelling reasons to combine solar panels with an EV charger. When your solar system is generating surplus electricity — typically between 10am and 4pm on a sunny day — that surplus is normally exported to the grid at a SEG rate of 4–15p/kWh.

Solar diversion redirects that surplus to your EV charger instead, effectively charging your car for free rather than exporting at a low rate. For a household driving 8,000–12,000 miles per year, solar diversion can cover 40–70% of annual EV charging needs from April to September.

The Hypervolt Home 3 supports solar diversion via its CT clamp integration. Energy Concerns configures this as standard on all solar + EV charger combined installations.

Smart Tariffs: Octopus Go and Intelligent Octopus

For households without solar, smart EV tariffs offer the cheapest overnight charging available:

• Octopus Go: 7.5p/kWh between 00:30–04:30. Fixed rate, simple to use. Best for households with predictable overnight charging needs.
• Intelligent Octopus: Smart EV tariff that charges your car automatically when grid electricity is cheapest (often below 5p/kWh). Requires a compatible smart EV or charger — Hypervolt is compatible.
• Octopus Flux: Best for households with solar + battery. Charges battery overnight cheap, discharges (and exports) at peak rates, and earns up to 15p/kWh for exported electricity.

Installation in the East Midlands: What to Expect

A typical home EV charger installation takes 2–4 hours for a standard installation. This includes:

1. Assessment of your consumer unit (fuse board) and available capacity
2. Cable routing from consumer unit to charger location (garage, driveway, side wall)
3. Charger mounting and connection
4. OZEV documentation and grant application (if applicable)
5. App setup and demonstration

Combined solar + EV charger installations are typically completed on the same day as the solar installation, sharing scaffolding and reducing overall cost.

Areas We Cover

All of Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Warwickshire, and Rutland. Also Nottingham, Derby, Coventry, and all surrounding areas within approximately 45 miles of Leicester city centre.