Is An Old house EV Charging Possible?
Old housing units may have wiring that is unsuitable for EV charging installation. Housing units older than 10-15 years need to be inspected to see if the quality of the electrical system needs upgrading or reparation work, especially if there is an electrical installation that will divert a vast amount of current. At most, upgrading the existing electrical system may cost an exorbitant amount, but it’s better than ending up with a house full of ashes. This article will touch on a few essential things to help you determine whether having an EV charger at home is safe for an older household.
Does an old housing unit require immediate rectification?
Generally, typical house wiring will risk deteriorating after 10 years of usage under normal conditions. The sheath of the wiring, or as we call it, insulation, will eventually become brittle, and its performance will significantly reduce. Not only does the inefficiency cause greater resistance and poorer contact in the electrical system, but it also heightens the electricity bill. But as always, an inspection and assessment is required to tell the extent of the deterioration to determine if it is time for re-wiring.
Difference between an old housing unit and a newly built.
| Housing type | Old | New |
| Insulation of wiring | Susceptible to wear and tear over the years; brittle and stiff | Insulation that performs efficiently due to its recent application of use |
| Termination of connections | It could be loose over the years due to deterioration. | Connections are terminated well and secured to their designated points. |
| Electrical outlets | Lesser than newly built homes | Higher count of outlets compared to old |
| Fuse rating | Rating is usually lower than that of newly built homes, thus requiring an upgrade. Usually, it’ll be rated for 30A to 40 A. | The rating is usually higher to meet the higher power draw of today’s average electrical appliance count. Rated fuse would normally be 63A – 100A |
Don’t be hasty; let a certified professional assess.
There is a dangerous risk in self-inserting yourself to determine some of these faults that will bring safety hazards to you and your home. Be inclined to have a certified professional assess your home’s electrical system. Energielite employs well-versed employees who have had the virtue of troubleshooting multiple scenarios that stem from a household’s electrical system, which would’ve made it dangerous if installations were continued without rectification.
Things to note for an old house EV charging installation.
Check whether your house is single-phase or 3-phase
You can do this by simply identifying the amount of fuse at the main breaker near the TNB meter. These fuses will show the phase voltage of your home:
- Single phase – one fuse
- Three phase – three fuses
The main breaker fuse or MCB/RCCB fuse capacity limit.
With older houses, we can usually see a lower specified fuse rating for the electrical system’s protection components due to the lower electricity usage compared to today. To accommodate the additional load intended for installing the EV charger itself, your electrical system’s breakers might need to be upgraded to 63A-100A for both single and three-phase.
Existence of a surge protection device (SPD)
Under the IEC 60364-7-722, an SPD is mandatory to be installed with an EV charger as it is a protective component to the electrical installation.
If your old house doesn’t have a surge protection device, don’t worry—we can install one for you. The surge protection device safeguards sensitive electronic devices, such as your EV charger that could be caused by excessive current. This device redirects the surge towards the ground instead of reaching your electronic devices.
The current draw from your selection of EV charger
The most obvious of all is to check whether your home is capable of accepting the EV charger’s current draw without it causing a trip due to the main breaker’s fuse’s incapability to provide enough buffer. There are three types of EV chargers, and each has its own amperage to consider:
| EV Charger Power Draw (kW) | 7kW | 11kW | 22kW |
| EV Charger Level Output | Level 2 | ||
| Current Draw (A) | 32A | 16A | 32A |
| Recommended House Power Supply to Install | Single Phase / Three Phase | Three-Phase | |
Signs that your wiring system is outdated.
Sudden tripping of circuit breakers
Most associated problems with your household wiring can be easily identified if, for some reason, the breaker decides to trip while you are using your everyday electrical appliances. This could stem from various reasons, such as:
- Overloaded circuits—Certain old housing units don’t have more outlets than today’s housing. As such, this could lead homeowners to resort to plug extensions that draw more power than initially intended by the electrical system’s design.
Wiring Conditions
- Deterioration of wiring—This could happen over time due to the supply of current over the years of being utilised. This potentially leads to hazards that create a hotspot from how heat accumulates at a point of failure and combusts from arcing.
- Loose wiring connections—Deteriorating wiring leads can cause wires to be loose and disconnected from their initial termination point. Plug points showing brownout could indicate that wiring leads like Live and Neutral are intertwined or touching. This causes a short circuit to ensue as the sudden surge of electricity generates an accumulation of heat within a certain point.
Lights start to flicker
There’s a chance that it might need a new bulb, so it doesn’t flicker, but there’s also the possibility that the wiring connected to the lighting is faulty. Fluctuations of the power supply cause the irregularity of the light to assume its full brightness.
Unusual noise of buzzing or humming.
These sounds, if heard, are dangerous as they indicate that arcing is happening from the source of the sound. If the noise is traced all the way to the circuit breaker of your home, immediately take action and switch off the electrical supply through the main breaker. Proceed to call an electrician immediately.
Smell of burning Odor from source.
If a burning scent is smelt from within the electrical panel of any source of outlet, it is most likely that the wiring has overheated. Consequently, it also tells that your circuit breaker may be unable to function properly to prevent a fire from breaking out in your home.
Hot to the touch outlets.
If you felt a warm sensation coming from touching the outlets of your housing, then it’s possible that the circuit wiring linked to the outlets are faulty.
How much does it cost to rewire my entire house
The cost of rewiring depends on how much you are willing to spend on concealing the electrical system’s wiring. On average, however, for an average-sized home, it can cost between RM 5000 – RM 15000.
Do I need to re-wire the entirety of my old house?
Depending on the severity of the deterioration, it may be wise to replace everything as it may have been servicing you the same lengths as the wires that need to be replaced. However, it should be noted that the installation wiring will ultimately be done as a sub-circuit for an EV charger installation. The most crucial aspect that needs to be checked for old housing are:
- Proper grounding
- Enough buffer capacity from protective components from cut-out fuse to MCB/RCCB.
- Detection of wire faults in the sub-circuit installation
Safety Hazard from an old wiring system.
Electrical fire hazard
There is a chance for an electrical fire to spark from an old wiring system that hasn’t done its maintenance work in due time. This nightmarish scenario happens from the kinking of wiring that produces a form of resistance that results in heat being trapped. Consequently, the wiring becomes frayed, and electricity will start to arc, generating a fire across the area that’ll slowly consume your home if you’re not careful.
Our form of assessment – Energielite.
We provide everything that we’ve written thus far regarding the upgrades necessary to meet the demands of installing an EV charger. Old house or new, we ensure that it’s to the highest safety standards and, most importantly, allow you to charge your EV without worry. The site assessment of ours includes also :
- Nominal Voltage Checks—The phase voltage supply will have a range of optimal voltage values for the tolerance of your home’s electrical appliances.
| Single Phase | Three Phase |
| 230V +- 10% | 415V +-10% |
- Earthing Check – If SPD is not installed, we’ll check first to ensure that the earthing is below 200 ohms as per the guidelines of electrical installation by ST and that everything is grounded properly.
- Phase rotation– Check if your wiring is configured correctly or is installed within the wrong terminal ends. This is important to ensure that exterior faults are pre-determined prior to installation.
- Check for capacity to install within the main DB; if not, we’d advise installing a sub-DB for the extra electrical components going towards the EV charger installation.
- Thermal checks for looping of wires on the main DB or TNB cut-out fuse that could coil and spool heat that would eventually lead to a fire hazard.
- Calculate the load current buffer on the main breaker, cut-out fuse, and MCB/RCCB.
- Planned visualization of points of access for the wiring to be routed towards the point of installation for the EV charger so that unnecessary damage to property is avoided.
Most importantly, our site assessment doesn’t cost anything; we’ll make sure that you understand the workaround that needs to be done for the installation to happen. So, get your free assessment today!
