Ask about five things: the installer’s licence and EV experience, your panel’s capacity, the permit and inspection, exactly what the quote includes, and who stands behind the work afterwards. Good answers are specific and checkable. Vague answers are how a cheap quote becomes an expensive job.
Key Takeaways
- Ask in five groups: licence, capacity, permit, quote contents, and aftercare.
- A good answer is specific and checkable — a licence number, a load check, itemised lines.
- Panel capacity and permit arrangements are the two answers most worth pinning down first.
- The charger’s current setting sizes the circuit, so name the exact unit in the conversation.
The Five Groups of Questions
| Group | Ask | A good answer sounds like |
|---|---|---|
| Licence and experience | Are you licensed for this work, and how many charger installs have you done? | A licence number you can verify, and past jobs like yours |
| Panel and capacity | Will you check my panel’s capacity before the price is firm? | A load check first, and the options priced if capacity is short |
| Permit and inspection | Who files the permit, and is the inspection included? | A named person responsible, and the fees written on the quote |
| The quote itself | Is every part itemised — charger, labour, cable run, panel work, groundworks? | Separate lines you can compare against another quote, line by line |
| Setup and aftercare | What current will the charger run at, and who do I call if it faults? | A setting matched to the circuit, and the product warranty separated from the workmanship warranty |
Questions About Capacity and Scope
These questions settle whether the price you are quoted is the price of the whole job:
- How will you size the circuit? Charging is a continuous load, so the breaker is sized at 125% of the charger’s current — 32 A of charging on a 40 A breaker, 40 A on a 50 A, 48 A on a 60 A. An installer who explains this unprompted is designing, not guessing.
- What if my panel is full or short on capacity? Ask for the answer priced now — more panel work, or the charger set to a lower current — not discovered on the day. Our guide to what size charger your panel can support shows what the check involves.
- Hard-wired or plug-in — which do you recommend here, and why? Both are legitimate; the answer should turn on your circuit, your outlet and how permanent the setup is, not on habit.
- What does your price assume about the cable route? Run length and surfaces crossed are where quotes quietly differ.
Questions About the Quote and the Paperwork
A quote is a document, not a number. The questions that protect you are about its edges: what is excluded, what changes the price after work starts, and how changes get approved before they are fitted. Ask whether the permit fee is in or out, who files the paperwork, and whether the inspection visit is part of the job or yours to arrange. Ask how long the price holds. The factors behind each line are set out in what affects EV charger installation cost, and checking the firm itself — licence, insurance, trading history — is the separate step covered by how to choose an EV charger installation company.
What the Charger Choice Adds to the Conversation
Bring the exact charger to the discussion, because its setting sizes the circuit behind it. The EV-ACT5006T wall charger runs up to 48 A, hard-wired or on a NEMA 14-50 plug, so the installer confirms which connection and which current setting your panel supports. The EV-ACT3204PE 22 kW wallbox is a three-phase unit — the right question for it is whether your supply is three-phase at all. EVDANCE chargers carry a 3-year standard product warranty; the installer’s workmanship warranty is a different promise, made by a different party, and both belong in the conversation. Our residential charging page lists the home range.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many installers should I ask?
Two or three, asked the same questions. The point is not the lowest total; it is seeing which parts of the job each firm counts, and which parts only appear when you ask.
What if an installer says no permit is needed?
Treat it as a question to verify, not an answer to accept. Whether a permit and inspection apply is decided by your local authority, and an installer who will not discuss it is telling you something. The qualifications behind the work are listed in what qualifications an EV charger installer needs.
Should the answers be in writing?
The scope, the price lines, the permit arrangement and the warranty terms — yes. Verbal answers suit advice; anything that costs money or assigns responsibility belongs on the quote or in an email you keep.
Related Reading
- What Qualifications Do You Need to Install EV Chargers?
- How to Choose the Best EV Charger Installation Company
- What Is a Standard EV Charger Installation?
- What Affects EV Charger Installation Cost? 8 Factors to Check
