Zappi EV Charger + Consumer Unit Upgrade

Full Installation Walkthrough

This project in Teesside combined a MyEnergi Zappi EV charger installation with a full consumer unit upgrade, and it highlights an issue that affects many older properties across the region. The homeowner had recently purchased an electric vehicle and contacted ALPS Electrical to arrange a home charging installation. During our initial site survey, we identified that the existing consumer unit was an outdated wylex rewirable fuse board that was not suitable for the addition of an EV charger circuit.

This is a situation we encounter regularly. Many properties built before the 2000s still have older-style fuse boards that use rewirable fuses rather than modern MCBs and RCBOs. These older boards do not provide the level of protection required by the current wiring regulations for new circuits, and an EV charger draws a significant sustained current that demands reliable, modern circuit protection. Installing an EV charger on an old fuse board would be unsafe, non-compliant with BS 7671 and could invalidate the homeowners electrical installation insurance.

Our recommendation to the homeowner was straightforward: upgrade the consumer unit to a modern dual RCD board with individual RCBO protection on every circuit, and then install the Zappi EV charger as part of the same project. This approach ensures that the entire electrical installation is brought up to the current safety standard, not just the new EV charger circuit, and it is more cost-effective than doing the two jobs separately.

The consumer unit upgrade was carried out first. Our electrician isolated the supply at the meter and carefully disconnected every circuit from the old fuse board, labelling each cable as it was removed. The old board was then uninstalled and the new consumer unit was mounted in the same location, using the existing cable routes wherever possible to minimise disruption to the property.

Every circuit in the house was reconnected to the new consumer unit with individual RCBO protection. RCBOs combine the functions of an MCB and an RCD in a single device, providing both overcurrent and earth leakage protection on every individual circuit. This means that a fault on one circuit will only trip that specific RCBO, rather than taking out half the house as would happen with a split-board RCD arrangement. It is the gold standard of consumer unit design and provides the highest level of protection and convenience for the homeowner.

With the consumer unit upgrade complete, we carried out full testing of every existing circuit to verify that all connections were correct, insulation resistance was satisfactory, earth fault loop impedances were within limits and all RCBOs were functioning correctly. The test results were recorded on an Electrical Installation Certificate, which is a legal requirement when a consumer unit is replaced.

The Zappi EV charger was then installed on the outside wall of the house, adjacent to the driveway where the vehicle is normally parked. The Zappi is our most frequently recommended home EV charger because of its intelligent charging modes, build quality and integration with other MyEnergi products. It was connected to the consumer unit using a dedicated radial circuit with appropriately rated cable for the thirty-two amp charging current.

The Zappi offers three charging modes that make it exceptionally versatile. In Fast mode, it charges at the full rate regardless of solar generation, which is ideal when you need a quick top-up before a journey. In ECO mode, it uses a blend of solar surplus and grid power to charge at a steady rate. In ECO+ mode, it will only charge using surplus solar generation, pausing the charge completely when the sun goes behind a cloud and resuming when it returns. For homeowners with solar panels, the ECO and ECO+ modes can dramatically reduce the cost of vehicle charging by using free solar energy instead of grid electricity.

Although this particular homeowner did not have solar panels at the time of installation, the Zappi was configured ready for future solar integration. When they decide to add solar in the future, the Zappi will automatically detect the surplus generation through its CT clamp and begin diverting that free energy into the vehicle. This future-proofing is one of the reasons we recommend the Zappi over simpler chargers that lack solar awareness.

The installation was completed in a single day, with the consumer unit upgrade taking the morning and the Zappi installation and commissioning taking the afternoon. The homeowner now has a modern, safe consumer unit that meets current regulations, a high-quality EV charger that will save them hundreds of pounds per year compared to public charging, and an electrical installation that is ready for the addition of solar panels whenever they choose to take that next step.

This project perfectly illustrates why it is important to choose a qualified, experienced installer for your EV charger. A less thorough company might have simply bolted the charger to the wall and connected it to the old fuse board, creating a potential safety hazard. At ALPS Electrical, we always assess the whole electrical installation and advise honestly if any upgrades are needed to ensure a safe, compliant result.