How to Plan an Electric Car or Scooter Charging Point at Home

EV charging point at home: the short answer

An EV charging point at home is a dedicated circuit from your distribution board, with its own MCB, an RCCB of the type the charger maker specifies, wire sized for that MCB, a sound earth, and at the end either a 16A socket for a portable charger or a fixed wall-mounted charger wired by an electrician.

The two common set-ups: a portable charger that plugs into a 16A socket, and a wall box charger wired to its own circuit. Both draw heavy current for hours, which is the condition house wiring is most likely to fail under, so neither belongs on a shared socket circuit or an extension board.

We should be clear about our part. We do not make EV chargers, and we do not make RCCBs. We make the MCBs, isolators, DP switches, 16A sockets and MCB boxes that go into the circuit, at our works in Marol, Andheri East, Mumbai. This guide covers what the circuit needs, the socket, the MCB, the wire, the load it adds, charging times and the society questions, with the charger maker’s manual always the final word.

What do you need for an EV charging point at home?

For an EV charging point at home you need a dedicated circuit from the board, an MCB of the rating the charger manual specifies, an RCCB of the type it specifies, wire that carries that MCB’s rating as installed, a tested earth, and a 16A socket or a wall box charger, plus enough sanctioned load on your connection.

The checklist: Dedicated circuit MCB per manual RCCB type per manual Wire sized to MCB Tested earth Sanctioned load.

Start from the charger’s manual, not the socket. It states the current it draws, the breaker, the leakage protection and the earthing it expects. Electric scooter chargers usually draw far less than car chargers; their rating label gives the figure.

Then the electrician checks the board: a spare way for the new MCB, room for an RCCB, and whether the incoming supply can take the added load. Our MCB box size list shows how many ways each box holds.

Can you charge an electric car from a 16A socket?

Yes, many electric cars can be charged from a 16A socket using the portable charger supplied or sold for that car, provided the socket is on its own dedicated circuit with a correctly rated MCB, RCCB and earth, and the charger is plugged in directly, never through an extension board or a multi plug.

What a 16A socket can deliver, by arithmetic: 16 A × 230 V is about 3.7 kW at most. Portable chargers draw at or below that, for many hours at a time.

Never a 6A socket for a car charger, and never a 6A to 16A conversion plug. Our 6A vs 16A socket guide explains why the socket, plug and wire must all match.

Never an extension board either. A coiled or thin extension cord carrying a charger’s current for hours is a common way for cords to melt; our guide to an extension board burning covers the signs.

Which 16A socket for EV charging?

The 16A socket for EV charging is the one that matches the plug on the charger’s cable, fitted on a dedicated circuit; many portable chargers sold in India use a 16A 3 pin plug, but some use an industrial-type socket, so check the plug before buying the socket and let the electrician fit it.

Sockets we make in 16A: KEMPS K193 6AX and 16AX VIZA V1266 16A VIYONA 154 6 and 16A.

A heavy continuous load is hard on a socket’s contacts. A socket used daily for charging deserves a look at the plug and socket for discolouration every few months. A switched socket lets you break the circuit before unplugging; our switched socket guide explains the benefit.

Which MCB for an EV charger at home?

The MCB for an EV charger at home is the rating its manual specifies, commonly in the 16A to 32A range depending on the charger’s current, and it must never be larger than the wire carries as installed; a double pole MCB, which breaks phase and neutral together, is a common choice for a dedicated charging circuit.

Why double pole: it isolates both wires when switched off, which is what you want for a dedicated outdoor or garage circuit. Our single pole vs double pole MCB guide explains the difference.

Our VIYONA 411 is a double pole MCB in ratings from 6 A to 32 A at ₹350 MRP, and VIYONA 412 is the 40 A double pole at ₹435 MRP. Both are in our VIYONA 10 kA range to IS/IEC 60898-1.

The MCB protects the wire, not the car. The car and charger have their own protection inside. Our MCB size calculation guide shows how a rating is worked out from the load, and which MCB for home covers the board as a whole.

Do you need an RCCB for EV charging?

Yes, an EV charging circuit needs earth leakage protection, an RCCB or RCBO of the sensitivity and type the charger maker specifies, because the car is a large metal object outdoors or in a damp parking area, and some chargers also need protection against DC leakage that an ordinary RCCB may not detect.

RCCB types differ in the leakage they can see. Some chargers have DC leakage detection built in and work with a common type; others need a type stated in the manual. That is why the manual, not the shop, sets the RCCB.

A 30 mA RCCB is common practice for protecting people. Our RCCB vs ELCB guide explains how an RCCB works, and RCCB tripping again and again covers trips in rain.

We do not make RCCBs. Buy one from a brand that lists the type your charger needs, and have your electrician fit it with our MCBs in the same box.

What wire size for an EV charging point?

The wire for an EV charging point must carry at least the MCB’s rating as installed, so by our catalogue’s in-conduit ratings a 16A circuit needs at least 2.5 sq mm, rated 18 A, and a 20A circuit at least 4 sq mm, rated 24 A, while a 32A wall box run needs more than our largest size, 6 sq mm, rated 31 A in conduit.

VIYONA 655, our 6 sq mm wire, is rated 31 A in conduit, one amp short of a 32A MCB. So a 32A charger in conduit needs a larger cable or a different installation method, which the electrician specifies.

Long runs to a parking slot add voltage drop. Our wire size for AC and geyser guide explains how length changes the size; the same reasoning applies here.

How much load does an EV charger add?

An EV charger adds its full rated power for the hours it charges: a 16A portable charger up to about 3.7 kW and a 32A wall box up to about 7.4 kW at 230 V, which is more than most home appliances and can run for many hours, so your sanctioned load and incoming supply must be checked first.

Add that to an evening with an AC, a geyser and the kitchen running and the main MCB or the supply can be overloaded. Our electrical load calculation guide shows how to add up a home’s load, and your bill shows the sanctioned load.

If the total is too high, the choices are a higher sanctioned load from the supply company, a lower charging current, or charging at night when other loads are off. Our single phase vs three phase guide covers when a bigger connection makes sense.

How long does home EV charging take?

Home EV charging time is roughly the energy to be added in kWh divided by the charger’s power in kW, so adding 30 kWh takes about 9 hours on a 3.3 kW portable charger and about 4 hours on a 7.4 kW wall box, before allowing for charging losses and the slower final part of the charge.

A worked example, our arithmetic only: 30 kWh ÷ 3.3 kW is about 9 hours; 30 kWh ÷ 7.4 kW is about 4 hours. Real times are longer because of losses and because many cars slow down near full.

For most households, a car that is plugged in overnight on a 16A circuit starts the day charged for normal city use. A wall box mainly helps with long daily distances or short parking windows.

Charging energy shows on the bill as units. Our how to calculate electricity bill guide shows how units become rupees.

EV charging in a housing society parking

For EV charging in a housing society parking, the questions are whose meter the charger runs from, how far the cable must travel, whether the society permits the installation, and whether the socket will be outdoors or damp, so agree the route and metering with the society before any electrician starts.

The options commonly discussed: From your own meter A separate meter Society common supply. Each has different paperwork and different cable lengths.

Long runs from a flat to a basement slot often need a larger wire than the same charger close to the board, because of voltage drop. The cable route through common areas may also call for a specific fire grade; our FR vs FRLS wire guide explains the grades.

Outdoors or in a damp basement, the socket needs weather protection suited to its location, and the RCCB matters even more.

What we make for an EV charging circuit

For an EV charging circuit we make the double pole MCBs, isolators, 16A sockets, DP switches and MCB boxes at our works in Marol, Andheri East, Mumbai, and supply VIYONA copper wire made for us by a partner to IS 694; we do not make EV chargers or RCCBs.

From our catalogue: VIYONA 411: DP MCB ₹350 VIYONA 442: DP isolator ₹230 KEMPS K516: 32AX DP ₹392.

KEMPS K516 is a 32AX DP switch at ₹392 MRP, and VIZA V1250 is a 32A DP switch at ₹330 MRP. Our DP switch guide explains where a DP switch helps. The full breaker range is on our VIYONA 10kA MCB page.

Every charging circuit is a job for a licensed electrician, working with the board switched off and the circuit tested dead.