How far can your EV charger be from the fuse box?
There is no single legal metre count we can print as “the UK limit”. Voltage drop, cable size, and the route (surface, cavity, buried) are what the electrician designs. Photos of the board and the parking place are how they price that run.
We do not publish a 10 m / 20 m cost ladder. If the survey said the run is not safe or not as quoted, they should stop.
Get a quote. We pass the enquiry to opted-in OZEV-authorised electricians. We do not promise a number of quotes, a reply time, or a public installer list.
What actually sets the distance
The install cable is the dedicated circuit from the consumer unit to the wallbox. That is a different length from the lead you plug into the car.
On a typical UK house a 7.0–7.4 kW catalogue row is a 32 A single-phase circuit. The electrician sizes that cable for the load and the route they actually take. A short surface run on a garage wall is a different job from a cavity chase, a buried driveway, or a feed to an outbuilding.
“safe UK maximum” in metres, a voltage-drop percentage, or a pounds-per-metre table are not quoted here. Whether the fuse box needs work is a separate survey. A long run does not automatically mean a new board. A short run does not automatically mean the board is fine.
That is not the tethered cable
Tethered vs untethered is about the lead from the wallbox to the inlet. Where our catalogue lists a tethered length, the figures are 5 m, 6 m, 7 m, or 7.5 m. That lead does not replace the install cable from the consumer unit. 5 m vs 7.5 m is the printed-length list.
Pick the tethered length against the parking bay. A 7.5 m lead will not reach a consumer unit in the house if the wallbox is on a detached garage. The electrician still has to design that run.
Photos are how they price the run
A photo of the consumer unit with the cover off, and a photo of where the car parks, is usually enough for a first look. They should still confirm it on the day against the real wall.
Say which parking place you mean: house wall, attached garage, or a separate building. A detached garage or outbuilding is often a longer or buried route. A detached house does not automatically need a long run, and a terrace does not automatically have a short one. If there is no suitable wall at the bay, a post or pedestal is a different mount, not a printed metre limit.
We do not publish a cost ladder by metre count. Ask them to write the route they priced — surface, cavity, or buried — on the quote.
What a useful quote should name
A vague “7 kW unit, subject to survey” hides the extras. What to expect from the quote is the list of lines to ask for: the exact model, the cable run they priced and the route they assumed, protective devices, whether consumer-unit work is included or excluded, certification, DNO notification, VAT, and anything they will not do.
If you already picked a wallbox from the catalogue, say so. Catalogue From figures are hardware RRP, not a fitted total. The electrician still prices the circuit and the route.
Compare itemised lines if more than one opted-in installer replies. There is no ChargerFit SLA that you will get three quotes.
What this means when you send the form
Send the two photos. Name the parking place. Name a catalogue model if you already picked one.
How it works is the matching path. You book and pay the electrician. No deposit, no escrow, no promised reply time.
